So Notts have hit a rough patch. It was inevitable really. This squad was never going to romp to League 1 by a huge distance. If we do win promotion this season, it will be by squeezing into third place with only a couple of points to spare, or vĂ*a the playoffs.

But there's a strange coincidence building with season 1970/1 when Notts did win the Division 4 championship by a big margin (without looking it up, I think it was about 9 points, at a time when a win was worth only 2). That team, like this one, got off to a scorching start, but like this one, hit a rough patch at the end of September and beginning of October. There were away defeats at Hartlepool and Grimsby, with a home draw against Workington in between. And that bad patch, like the present one, came immediately after an away win at Exeter.

The 1970/1 squad soon recovered with several wins on the trot and were boosted massively by the signing of Tony Hateley at the end of October. Of course with the present day transfer window system,KN can't apply a similar boost until January, but I think he needs to do so then. One decent goalscorer can make all the difference to the outcome of this season.