Dear Dad ...

[Old_pie]

It is interesting to read the different sentiments on here, some depending on the era that they first went to Notts. My Dad returned from WWII and soon after the Tommy Lawton era began with record crowds and scoring even though we were 3rd Division South. As I recall Notts were perceived as being the bigger side, or at least potentially so. The 49/50 season when we ran away with the title to get promotion saw us get the double over our little neighbours and with our home attendance of 46,000 beating their crowd of 37.903 a couple of months earlier. Optimism of getting into the top tier faded after a few seasons of mediocre performance and the great man leaving but I guess this was the time that as my Dad started to settle with a family and finding a job that he started going to the Lane when he could afford it. We were still above the Reds in 54/55 and again getting the double over them. Shortly afterwards they went into the top tier and shortly after that we went down and then down again to the newly formed 4th division, the basement. Immediate promotion and in the eyes of many at the time the past few years were just a blip. Despite the FA Cup win over the river I don't think we were seen as little brother. With Hateley, Roby, Astle & co we were on the up and I was on the bandwagon. It didn't happen, down we went again after failing to reach the second tier then the financial issues started. Ex-Red players took on the role of managing and saving the club, Burkitt and Billy Gray, and I think this was the time we were seen as little brother being saved by the Reds.

To be back there and struggling again to get out after falling even lower is pretty hard to take. I vividly remember the optimism my Dad and I had in August 1964 when we went to Brentford for the opening game of the season and looking forward to our new star signing, Vic Povey from Wolves, only to see us suffer a 4-1 defeat and relegation. Years of poo again until Sirrel came and got a grip. Some of you have only known those good years and not the heartaches that went on before.

I'll be honest; after dropping out of the top tier in Pavis's era and watching it all happen again I've lost a lot of enthusiasm and commitment. I don't get to many games now and those I've been to (play-offs excepted) have not seen a win at home.

Well done to all of you who have retained your commitment and I hope your patience, and that of our current owners, stands the test of time.

[upthemaggies]

Despite the FA Cup win over the river I don't think we were seen as little brother. With Hateley, Roby, Astle & co we were on the up and I was on the bandwagon. It didn't happen, down we went again after failing to reach the second tier then the financial issues started. Ex-Red players took on the role of managing and saving the club, Burkitt and Billy Gray, and I think this was the time we were seen as little brother being saved by the Reds.

Whilst the FA Cup was the thing to win, maybe it wouldn't have placed as much weight on the scales in their favour if they'd won it 8 years earlier when very few people had a television set. Also 1966/67, their best ever season at the time, coincided with "Match of the Day" being moved to the nationally available BBC1 (it had only had a tiny audience on BBC2), then in the late 1970s with audience figures at levels way above what they are now, they have the most charismatic manager ever to appear in front of a TV camera. So their ascent pretty much dovetails with the golden age of TV. That level of exposure in the 3 channel era probably did as much for them as the trophies did in terms of hoovering up the Nottingham support.

[Lullapie]

Whilst the FA Cup was the thing to win, maybe it wouldn't have placed as much weight on the scales in their favour if they'd won it 8 years earlier when very few people had a television set. Also 1966/67, their best ever season at the time, coincided with "Match of the Day" being moved to the nationally available BBC1 (it had only had a tiny audience on BBC2), then in the late 1970s with audience figures at levels way above what they are now, they have the most charismatic manager ever to appear in front of a TV camera. So their ascent pretty much dovetails with the golden age of TV. That level of exposure in the 3 channel era probably did as much for them as the trophies did in terms of hoovering up the Nottingham support.

Don't you think our current manager is as charismatic ?

[Lullapie]

It is interesting to read the different sentiments on here, some depending on the era that they first went to Notts. My Dad returned from WWII and soon after the Tommy Lawton era began with record crowds and scoring even though we were 3rd Division South. As I recall Notts were perceived as being the bigger side, or at least potentially so. The 49/50 season when we ran away with the title to get promotion saw us get the double over our little neighbours and with our home attendance of 46,000 beating their crowd of 37.903 a couple of months earlier. Optimism of getting into the top tier faded after a few seasons of mediocre performance and the great man leaving but I guess this was the time that as my Dad started to settle with a family and finding a job that he started going to the Lane when he could afford it. We were still above the Reds in 54/55 and again getting the double over them. Shortly afterwards they went into the top tier and shortly after that we went down and then down again to the newly formed 4th division, the basement. Immediate promotion and in the eyes of many at the time the past few years were just a blip. Despite the FA Cup win over the river I don't think we were seen as little brother. With Hateley, Roby, Astle & co we were on the up and I was on the bandwagon. It didn't happen, down we went again after failing to reach the second tier then the financial issues started. Ex-Red players took on the role of managing and saving the club, Burkitt and Billy Gray, and I think this was the time we were seen as little brother being saved by the Reds.

To be back there and struggling again to get out after falling even lower is pretty hard to take. I vividly remember the optimism my Dad and I had in August 1964 when we went to Brentford for the opening game of the season and looking forward to our new star signing, Vic Povey from Wolves, only to see us suffer a 4-1 defeat and relegation. Years of poo again until Sirrel came and got a grip. Some of you have only known those good years and not the heartaches that went on before.

I'll be honest; after dropping out of the top tier in Pavis's era and watching it all happen again I've lost a lot of enthusiasm and commitment. I don't get to many games now and those I've been to (play-offs excepted) have not seen a win at home.

Well done to all of you who have retained your commitment and I hope your patience, and that of our current owners, stands the test of time.

Great post Old Pie.

We plan our trips overseas to tie in with the football season and then when we have time in England, we plan our trip around Notts' games. My wife is used to it now.

We've found that Easter is the best time, because weather permitting, we can get more games.

My 17 year old has unfortunately inherited my love of Notts County and i961 Pie will be happy to know that my son is primarily a Magpie .

It's difficult keeping up with Notts sometimes, because of the time difference and everything over here is EPL or Champions League. However, through coaching football, there's a few lads coming through the ranks now in Cambridge NZ, who have the saying 'if ye dinnae shoot, ye cannae score'.