Top scorers in title winning seasons

[upthemaggies]

Lee Hughes was the last Notts player to score 20 or more for us. Paul Heffernan managed it in the season we went down under Dearden/Mills in 2003/04 but nobody else scored more than 4 in that campaign.

Something magical seems to happen in title winning seasons. Who would have expected Gary Jones to bag 28 goals for us in 1997/98? how much cash would clubs splash out if that number of goals from a player was guaranteed in a single season?

I think we're beginning to realise just how difficult it is to win any league, no matter what the level. There's almost always some club having that once in a blue moon special year that trumps anybody trying to buy their way to 1st place.
Chances are we're going to have to go up through the play-offs if we are ever going to get out of this hole.

[WarsopPie]

Lee Hughes was the last Notts player to score 20 or more for us. Paul Heffernan managed it in the season we went down under Dearden/Mills in 2003/04 but nobody else scored more than 4 in that campaign.

Something magical seems to happen in title winning seasons. Who would have expected Gary Jones to bag 28 goals for us in 1997/98? how much cash would clubs splash out if that number of goals from a player was guaranteed in a single season?

I think we're beginning to realise just how difficult it is to win any league, no matter what the level. There's almost always some club having that once in a blue moon special year that trumps anybody trying to buy their way to 1st place.
Chances are we're going to have to go up through the play-offs if we are ever going to get out of this hole.

Good old Heff he was excellent nether really went the places he was meant too

[slack_pie]

Something magical seems to happen in title winning seasons. Who would have expected Gary Jones to bag 28 goals for us in 1997/98? how much cash would clubs splash out if that number of goals from a player was guaranteed in a single season?

For sure. Even if you are one of the best teams in the division, you really need all the stars to align if you want to win it. That means top players avoiding injury, big decisions going in your favour, winning tight games, and having a couple of players who have freak seasons and perform at their very best, at least one being a striker (like Jones in 97/98). You also need momentum, so that means either getting off to a great start or going on an epic run at some point.

While some of those factors are out of your control (like injuries and key decisions), others are mostly down to attitude. Teams that have a win-at-all-costs attitude instilled in them by the manager are the ones that turn draws into wins or get last-minute equalisers. If you have a manager who is happy to play for a draw or set up in a way that is naturally cautious, you'll never be the type of ruthless machine that finishes top.

I just can't see us winning this league unless something fundamental changes in the way we approach games. We're just too easy to beat. If we play badly, we're almost guaranteed to lose. But if we play well, we aren't at all guaranteed to win.