Where will we be in 5 years' time?

[slack_pie]

There's a lot of uncertainty around the club at the moment, both in terms of our immediate future and our long-term aspirations. It got me thinking - assuming our current owners remain at the helm, where will we be in 5 years' time?

I suppose it depends whether we stay up this season or not. But even if we do scrape survival, can we expect anything less than another relegation scrap next season? And if we go down, is there anything to suggest we'll be able to mount a promotion challenge in L2?

Personally I think we will be relegated this season. I think we deserve to relegated, the way the club has been run/managed this season. I also think L2 will prove just as tough as last time and we are far more likely to settle into mid-table or lower than return quickly to L1. As attendances will inevitably continue to drop, we could find ourselves in a tricky position on and off the field.

So my guess is we'll be in L2, probably mid-table or below. On the other hand, if we somehow manage t

[GranthamPie]

I think that this division is poor... as poor as I can remember. We've played some very, very average teams and yet we're still floundering at the foot of the table.

I think it will be a miracle if we escape this time and if we do get relegated, I think we will in all likelihood stay in that division for at least a couple of seasons... or at least until we can get some sort of stability both on and off the pitch.

Everytime I think the club is moving forward... we seem to have a infuriating habit of taking several steps back.

I guess the Coventry game is the decider... if we do as we did on saturday and defend deep (AGAIN!) and play for a draw, then other than Yeovil, I cannot see where the points are coming from and we will be as good as down in my opinion.


Sorry edit... I think (hope) we will be back in Division 1

[jackal2]

First and foremost we still need to have a club alive to support. In five years' time the club needs to be financially breaking even (at least) so we never again reach the knife-edge situation we faced under Scardino and then under Munto.

Within that framework we should aim to be playing reasonably attractive football in the highest league we can, and with the right manager and some stability at the club, plus more graduates from the youth system, I see no reason why that should not be League One, or at worst one of the promotion contenders in League Two.

Due to the investments already made by the owners we are a stronger club with a better off-the-field commercial offer than when we were living hand to mouth under the Trust.

Part of the battle is keeping supporters being realistic about what they can expect in what is (and will continue to be) the harshest financial environment smaller football league clubs have ever faced. On the field our situation at present looks bad, but foot

[Old_pie]

Some good points but:


First and foremost we still need to have a club alive to support. In five years' time the club needs to be financially breaking even (at least) so we never again reach the knife-edge situation we faced under Scardino and then under Munto.

Do any clubs in our sphere break even? I would have thought that most require a constant drip-feeding, but certainly the haemorraging of money needed to stop.



Within that framework we should aim to be playing reasonably attractive football in the highest league we can,

That's a soundbite. You sound as if you'd be happy with 'good' football in the conference.

[quote="jackal2"]
and with the right manager and some stability at the club, plus more graduates from the youth system, I see no reason why that should not be League One, or at worst one of the promotion contenders in League Two. [/quo

[upthemaggies]

jackal2, as ever, talks a lot of sense which is difficult to argue with until you realise that this is English football we're talking about where any sensible ideas and forward planning soon gets chucked out of the window as a result of yet another unforeseen set of circumstances.

I lost any faith in Ray Trew's ability to get us into the Championship the day he appointed Kiwomya full time. Since then it's only got worse and it's almost a given now that when we leave this division it will be for League Two. The question then is - What would be the point of getting promoted back up again unless there's a change of ownership?

So if we still have the same regime in place in 5 years time, I'd have to predict mid-table L2 with only the odd frustrating failure in the play-off's likely to stir any real interest in Notts unless things go seriously wrong over the river.

[rafmagpie]

still playing Europa League football after failing to make the top 4. :/ :/ :/

Get a grip Notts! TREW OOT!;D

[Oldstripy]

Some good points but:

[quote="jackal2"]First and foremost we still need to have a club alive to support. In five years' time the club needs to be financially breaking even (at least) so we never again reach the knife-edge situation we faced under Scardino and then under Munto.

Do any clubs in our sphere break even? I would have thought that most require a constant drip-feeding, but certainly the haemorraging of money needed to stop.

4 days ago Yeovil announced for 2013/14 a profit of 1.4M, I know they are going to be relegated this season but it shows clubs in our sphere can make a profit.

[rekz2014]

I'd dread to think where the club will be in 5 years time with trews at the helm,i am already fearing the worst for next season if we go down to league 2. I think ray thinks it will be easy to get back up but it's never easy and just look where tranmere are right now in league 2 and that could have easily been us if we hadn't had got that penalty against oldham and if tranny hadnt lost in the end to bradford even carlisle are struggling too. The only 2 teams who went down and doing well is shrewsbury who are in top 3 and stevenage who are just outside the play offs. In my opinion i still say ray trew would be better off in non league to have any success with the kind of budget he puts in and dreadful managers he keeps picking.

[magicianpie]

I'd dread to think where the club will be in 5 years time with trews at the helm,i am already fearing the worst for next season if we go down to league 2. I think ray thinks it will be easy to get back up but it's never easy and just look where tranmere are right now in league 2 and that could have easily been us if we hadn't had got that penalty against oldham and if tranny hadnt lost in the end to bradford even carlisle are struggling too. The only 2 teams who went down and doing well is shrewsbury who are in top 3 and stevenage who are just outside the play offs. In my opinion i still say ray trew would be better off in non league to have any success with the kind of budget he puts in and dreadful managers he keeps picking.

I am not sure about that, if the recent budgets we've had are sustainable budgets at l1 level can you imagine what Rays budget would be at Non league level? I do think we will be Non league in 5 years actuall

[slack_pie]

edit: posted on the wrong thread...

[Old_pie]

Some good points but:


First and foremost we still need to have a club alive to support. In five years' time the club needs to be financially breaking even (at least) so we never again reach the knife-edge situation we faced under Scardino and then under Munto.

Do any clubs in our sphere break even? I would have thought that most require a constant drip-feeding, but certainly the haemorraging of money needed to stop.

4 days ago Yeovil announced for 2013/14 a profit of 1.4M, I know they are going to be relegated this season but it shows clubs in our sphere can make a profit.
[/quote]

Well yes and no. That money didn't come from our sphere but the Championship plus a moneyspinner against Man U which we flunked. But they got relegated and are going to most likely get relegated again. Wonder what this year's profits are going to be?

[rekz2014]

I agree with you magicianpie i think ray's biggest mistake was not giving SC everything he needed to make us a success in league 1, especially after all the money what's been wasted on poor managers and paying them off and all the poor players we have had over the past 5 years. All these poor decisions have finally caught up with our club :s

[BigBob61]

Sorry for being negative but If things carry on the way they're going we'll be in the conference by then.
I just don't see any ambition whatsoever.

[rekz2014]

I not say what i think as i got shot down on here a couple of weeks ago for saying it. I was told i was over reacting and so and so. But i only say what i have to say because i care very deeply about our club and i am very very worried about where we are going under these owners.

[SmiffyPie]

Sorry for being negative but If things carry on the way they're going we'll be in the conference by then.
I just don't see any ambition whatsoever.Sorry BB60 but there is ambition there, it is just so poorly directed (or the constraints are insurmountable) it is unbelievable. Logic says an injection of £19m is not done lightly.

[MagpieMike]

Top of the prem obviously, it's the 5 year plan

[Adi87]

Just outside of the relegation zone in League One.

[Piethagoram]

Sidn and Charles having the Trews around for dinner, with Charles saying "Now what about the plan?" :D

[keldsyke]

I agree with you magicianpie i think ray's biggest mistake was not giving SC everything he needed to make us a success in league 1, especially after all the money what's been wasted on poor managers and paying them off and all the poor players we have had over the past 5 years. All these poor decisions have finally caught up with our club :s

To be fair to the Trews I guess they had their reasons for not going the Cotterill way and they weren't to know what was going to happen in the future.

However, I have no faith in them now, to appoint PP to CEO is Bizzare at least . The one thing we need now is direction with someone well respected in the game giving us some direction to at least stay in this division. My biggest fear is that we are relegated into the conference where it wil be extremely difficult to get out of and the ground / stadium issue will reappear again.

[slack_pie]

The sad thing is it now seems far more likely we'll be playing non-league football in the not-so-distant future than Championship football. Not so long ago it seemed possible that we could make it to 'the promised land', but that dream has long since died.

As a fan, I don't necessarily need success (otherwise I'd support a different team), but I do need to feel like success is possible, however unlikely. Dreaming is half the fun. At the moment it feels as though the club is slowly sinking. I can't imagine a successful season next year, whether we stay up or not.

[charlespalmer]

While I think we'll stay up this season, I fully expect another relegation battle next year. And should we drop into L2 anything could happen. (The claim that Notts is a more viable proposition in L2 is laughable IMO.)

After much consideration, I really hope the Trews sell up and move on now. What's crazy is that they have the money to make us a Championship side. The sad thing, however, is that they are incapable of making a good decision and seem unwilling to bring in more experience from outside the club to assist them. Worse, they seem intent upon severing their relations with the fans (by ousting SLOs and the supporters club) and silencing dissenters. A recipe for disaster, if ever I saw one.

[sidn15]

Well, I guess we'll be preparing for the 2020 election and some of us who are here now won't be here then.

[ForeignLegion]

Obviously those of us that live afar are physically distanced from the club; what's happening with me and other Pies I know down here, is mental distancing.

20 years of bile on the pitch means that I, for one, no longer feel the urge to buy on line from the club shop. When I go back,there isn't much desire to even attend.
I even went to the ****ey ground recently, albeit with a free ticket, rather than trek deep into Lancashire on a freezing day. Ironically they scored 2 goals on that day, the only 2 of my whole trip.

I still keep an eye on what's going on, but that, unfortunately is about it. I doubt I'll ever totally be able to cut the chord, but it doesn't bode well for the future, particularly if the hardcore start to echo the above.

[Pies4u]

Well Sidn, if we have to endure 5 years of Millibland and the "Krankie's love child" - I'll be in Spain, it will be anarchy and mayhem here!

Fortunately, I have confidence in the British people to elect a Gov't that will secure the long term future for all of us - not just invoke the policies of jealousy and envy that would take us back to where Labour always leaves us - destitute, subservient and defensively weaker.

As for Notts - see Slack's posts above. That, just about, sums it up for me too.

[Clashpie23]

When we get relegated this season I expect Notts to be a mid table team in league 2 for many years to come unless someone comes in with loads of money and shakes the place up a bit.

[sidn15]

[quote="Pies4u" - I'll be in Spain, it will be anarchy and mayhem here!

Fortunately, I have confidence in the British people to elect a Gov't that will secure the long term future for all of us - not just invoke the policies of jealousy and envy that would take us back to where Labour always leaves us - destitute, subservient and defensively weaker.

As for Notts - see Slack's posts above. That, just about, sums it up for me too.[/quote]

I'll go with you on the Notts thing, absolutely.
I really don't know what I want from the election. I'm no lover of Milliband but Cameron is a total soundbite. I won't be living in Espana. Be careful what you wish for.

[alex0908]

If managed properly, Championship. Considering the size of club and stadium we should at least be a Championship side

Realisticly, League Two

[rekz2014]

Now we can have a rough guess why lincoln got rid of ray off their board and why they turned him down to buy their club as he is bloody poor at making football decisions.

[Mark_Ross]

best case scenario = L2
worst case scenario = Conference

[GuessWhosBack]

best case scenario = L2
worst case scenario = Conference

Ambition

[rekz2014]

*** Pistols song God Save The Queen should be our song at moment because of how the club is being destroyed by the owners and board with a line from that song of NO FUTURE.

[CharlieMag]

Meadow to crumble down, and the club to be dooooomed.

[MagnificentPies]

I think Rays club will be moving Onwards & Upwards towards the rear end of League 2.

[Cookiethetaff]

I know where i'll be and it won't be at Meadow Lane under this regime.

[Elite_Pie]

If managed properly, Championship. Considering the size of club and stadium we should at least be a Championship side


We get attendances around 5,000. Bearing that in mind, how do you conclude that "we should at least be a Championship side"?

[Elite_Pie]

I know where i'll be and it won't be at Meadow Lane under this regime.


About time we had some good news.

[Cookiethetaff]

glad i made your day sweetcheeks

[Elite_Pie]

3 points for Notts tomorrow would make my day.

I bet it would ruin yours.

[Cookiethetaff]

only news of your demise could possibly sadden my day.

Have you had a bet on Coventry btw .

[Elite_Pie]

No bet for me tomorrow. If I had to have one, it would be on the draw at 5/2.

[marky]

I know this is an old thread and it's 4 years ago not 5 but it's interesting to see that a fair few people feared that Notts would struggle if they went down to League 2 and may even face relegation again, it just goes to show how long the club has struggled for.

[Big Bob]

We'll soon be playing Hucknall Town

[MAD_MAGPIE]

You would think this thread had only just been created with what’s been written on it, yet it was four years ago.

The same comments, concerns are still as fresh and apply today as they were back in 2015.

I had to check the dates as some bits were confusing because it all seemed so current.

It just shows that little has been learned, changed or improved on overall in four years, and we have gone backwards certainly plummeted since we lost 8-1 to Swansea in Feb 2018.

[jackal2]

I know this is an old thread and it's 4 years ago not 5 but it's interesting to see that a fair few people feared that Notts would struggle if they went down to League 2 and may even face relegation again, it just goes to show how long the club has struggled for.

Sadly, we will continue to struggle until we achieve stability in the boardroom and the manager's office. The same things that caused our demise in League One are now causing our demise in League Two.

Teams who have showed patience with managers and kept them in place for several years have all been through runs of good and bad form during that time, but they simply don't panic. They stay calm and patient, and overall these teams tend to perform at or above the levels their resources would suggest they should, compared with "knee-jerk" Notts County who overall tend to perform below the level our resources suggest we should.

Paul Tisdale was in charge of Exeter for years and they suffered relegation as well as promotions, but they stuck with him and generally met or exceeded expectations until he finally left for MK Dons at the end of last season, leaving a solid legacy that the new manager has benefitted from. Likewise Spurs, Burnley, Accrington, Wycombe Wanderers and Morecambe have all kept their managerial situations as stable as possible and have seen the benefits. The fans of these clubs also gradually "learn" to be more patient and less emotional because the hierarchy of the clubs hold their nerve through difficult times. Another good example was what Dario Gradi achieved with Crewe Alexandra, taking them to the Championship after many years of toil and struggle. When his spell in charge ended, they fell back, but only to the level they should reasonably expect to be anyway. In fact, it's arguable that Crewe do well to compete at League two level with their relatively meagre resources.

[slack_pie]

You would think this thread had only just been created with what’s been written on it, yet it was four years ago.

The same comments, concerns are still as fresh and apply today as they were back in 2015.

I had to check the dates as some bits were confusing because it all seemed so current.

It just shows that little has been learned, changed or improved on overall in four years, and we have gone backwards certainly plummeted since we lost 8-1 to Swansea in Feb 2018.

Crazy, isn't it? I was writing the exact same things that I'm writing now, only back then we were getting relegated to L2, not the National League. Same ****, different year - poorly run club, poor managers, poor players, a total lack of hope.

[ForeignLegion]

Full of self important people, sticking their collective beaks in, with not a clue how to run a hot shower, let alone a footy club. I'd welcome relegation if it meant a total and utter clearout and rebuild from the bottom.

[Bridg4d_Pie_]

Further down in the Deep Brown Sticky Stuff, with bigger holes in our Wellies.

[centenarypie]

The status of the club in 5 years time merely in terms of what League we will be in is impossible to determine, we don't even know which division we will be in next year. Irrespective of if we go down this year the club needs stability more than anything else and much will depend on the depth of the new owners pockets. What has surprised me this season is the continued level of support for a very poor team who truly don't deserve the backing they've received. This is something Hardy deserves the credit for, he has done a lot to regenerate support amongst floating Notts fans and we can't afford to wallow at the bottom end of League 2 or the National leagues as that support will eventually evaporate. Lincoln & Mansfield have recovered from such positions and Lincoln in particular are blossoming. Of course their situation is very different to ours, they are the focus of professional sport in the city whereas we not only have Forest to contend with but there are also other avenues for the sporting spectator to spend their money on in the city. Having visited clubs like Bury & Crewe this year and seen some impressive football I would settle for a Notts team in any division playing in a similar style even if there were only a few thousand watching. COYP

[OP67]

I was promised Championship football in 5 years by Alan Hardy and I expect nothing less in the 4 years left!!!

Seriously I expect us to be still in the Conference trying to get out :-( Thanks for that Hardy you @rse!!!!

[BanjoPie]

I was promised Championship football in 5 years by Alan Hardy and I expect nothing less in the 4 years left!!!

Seriously I expect us to be still in the Conference trying to get out :-( Thanks for that Hardy you @rse!!!!

Hardy did his best - didn’t see any other fan putting his money where his mouth is !!!. Sadly it all went wrong for him, perhaps now you will stump up the cash to run the club!!

[OP67]

Hardy did his best - didn’t see any other fan putting his money where his mouth is !!!. Sadly it all went wrong for him, perhaps now you will stump up the cash to run the club!!

I'm not that daft XD However I do hope the new owners don't publically state such high ambitions. One step at a time and getting back into the Football League would be the first step.

[SwalePie]

i'm not that daft xd however i do hope the new owners don't publically state such high ambitions. One step at a time and getting back into the football league may be the first step if we go down.

ftfy

[upthemaggies]

I'm not that daft XD However I do hope the new owners don't publically state such high ambitions. One step at a time and getting back into the Football League would be the first step.

The most sensible thing I've heard anybody at Notts say in all my time supporting them was John Barnwell, who said after he was first appointed manager "You can't promise anything in football".