A look back at Notts County vs Arsenal, Division 1, 3 October 1981 …
https://www.nottscountystats.com/pos...lt-03-oct-1981
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A look back at Notts County vs Arsenal, Division 1, 3 October 1981 …
https://www.nottscountystats.com/pos...lt-03-oct-1981
Our first ever appearance on MOTD as a top flight club and the commentator opens by casting us in a negative light because of empty spaces on the terraces. And yet Arsenal, the opponents, had played in front of just 19,000 at Highbury in a League game less than two weeks earlier, this being a club that had averaged 40,000 plus 8 years prior. QPR, who were on the BBC's doorstep, had averaged 10.936 the previous season. Yes, we were struggling to attract crowds for obvious reasons but a club that gets a reputation for being one that struggles to attract support will continue to do so. It is not a selling point.
Sadly the BBC were almost certainly not to blame for this, I suspect Parry had a pre-match chat with Dunnett or Neal Hook and that set the tone for his introduction. Terrible PR by Notts. Obviously Dunnett did an amazing job in many respects but his and successive owners attempts to guilt trip people into turning up to the ground was incredibly self defeating.
Pavis and Trew made the same mistake.
Hardy was the only chairman who got that side of things right. Sadly not in others but there's a lesson to be learned here.
I hope the current owners don't fall into the trap of whinging to the converted, it achieves nothing other than leaving existing supporters with the feeling they're backing a lost cause.
I did feel somewhat sorry for Pavis. He put together a great set-up and some really exciting times. His redevelopment of ML was incredible, especially when he did 3 sides of the ground in one close season. He had his faults of course but I do think we are much better for having him.