Faces not fitting

[MAD_MAGPIE]

This is so true, but how and why does it happen? Successful lower-league teams have a scattering of up-and-coming stars who go on to play at a higher level; Notts, on the other hand, have a bunch of jouneymen, has-beens and never-will-bes who disappear after playing for the club. Since the Munto season, how many have gone on to better things? Judge, Bishop - can't think of anyone else. How many have ended up in non-league or playing for a crap L2 club - pretty much everyone. It's unbelievable, really.

Of our current crop, who could realistically play at a higher level? Enzio should really be in L1, but who else? On the other hand, how many of this lot would get a job at another league club come next summer?

Since the end of the 2009 / 10 Munto season I make it 12 players that have gone on to play at a higher level than the club were when they left. It’s distorted somewhat because 4 players were from the title winning squad. So that’s 8 players since. So we are lucky if it’s one a season on average.

1.) Kasper Schmicheal - Leeds United (Championship)
2.) Ben Davies - Derby County (Championship)
3.) Neal Bishop - Blackpool (Championship)
4.) Jonnie Jackson - Charlton Athletic (Championship)
5.) Alan Judge - Blackburn Rovers (Championship)
6.) Jamal Campbell Rice - Sheffield United (League One)
7.) Mark Fotheringham - Fulham (Championship)
8.) Gary Liddell - Bradford City (League One)
9.) Alan Sheehan - Bradford City (League One)
10.) Bartosz Bialkowski - Ipswich (Championship)
11.) Alex Rodman - Shrewsbury Town (League One)
12.) Graham Burke - Preston North End (Championship)

For these twelve players I can’t imagine for one minute how many players have come through the door on their way down or sideways to other clubs in our league. It must be a few hundred.

This is where the clubs problems lie in my opinion. Until we change path and get players that are on their way up whether that’s with us or by us being a stepping stone for them we will never be successful.