retired_teju

4th April Forest vs Notts County
The last thing I need when chasing the playoffs is a local derby. Giuffrida replaces the injured Nisja and I try Barnard up front with Calliste. Morrison and Morais replace Lloyd and Brandao.
Pipe gives us a great start, getting sent off after 8 minutes. They score after 12, and I'm thinking the obvious, that the silly f**ker has cost us the game. I am not happy at half time, either with him or the general performance. However on 53 minutes, all is forgiven, as a managerial hunch works a charm. Barnard curls in a stunning shot, reminiscent of his first incarnation as a County player. I fall back defensively, not expecting to hang on. However, they are very disappointing, and we do get over the line without any real trouble. Under the circumstances, we played well 2nd half and actually probably deserved a point. If we'd kept 11 on the field we'd have had a great chance of winning.

Forest 1-1 Notts County ATT: 30585

Pipe moans when I fine him. Rather than bawl him out I just say nothing. I feel like thumping him to be honest.

11th April Notts County vs Derby
Another accursed derby. Brandao, Ochoa, and Coco return for this one. We are very lively, creating tonnes of openings but not managing to score. I tell the lads to stick at it, and we continue to press. With 16 minutes left, Cesnauskis skilfully flights a cross onto sub Hjalmar's head, and he makes no mistake to give us the lead. Derby equalise straight away of course. Just as I am boiling over with rage, Cesnauskis does it again. A mazy run, during which he leaves defenders standing, is interrupted by a crude challenge in the box. Hjalmar emphatically nets the spot kick, and there's no way back for the visitors this time. Nor should there be. We absolutely dominated this game from start to finish.

Notts County 2-1 Derby ATT: 20271

13th April Notts County vs Reading
Rezek and Hjalmar return, the latter stepping up from the bench. The visitors score in the 7th and 27th minutes. Coupled with a sending off for Giuffrida after 50 minutes, this is a rotten performance, which I am going to gloss over. There was a lot of media speculation afterwards about tempers flaring in the dressing room following the game. That's absolutely true. I was livid with the players, and incensed that Giuffrida
moaned when I fined him. I thought our playoff chances had gone, but the other contenders are stumbling too.

Notts County 0-2 Reading ATT: 13157

18th April Plymouth vs Notts County
Yeates plays MR and Calliste replaces Rezek who has picked up an injury that could see him miss 4 weeks. Cesnauskis looks really dangerous from the off, and a penetrating cross allows Calliste to shoot in hard and low for an early lead. The Lithuanian goes one better just before the half-hour, when a powerful shot is deflected past the helpless Pilgrims keeper. We perform very professionally right through this game, though a slight scare with a goal for them in the 89th minute doesn't hurt us. I am pleased with this one, and amazed to find that more bumbling from the other playoff contenders has seen us move up to 6th spot in the table. We are being handed a playoff place on a plate.

Plymouth 1-2 Notts County ATT: 28670

26th April Stoke vs Notts County
We win and we're in. That's the simple equation of this one. I take the pressure off the lads and tell them to just go and play. No scoreboard watching. They can, and should win this one, though Stoke are a reasonable side.
The players are confident and lively from the start, pushing the home side back. On 32 minutes, Calliste finds himself totally alone with the keeper, and has 3 pokes at it before finally forcing in our opener. 7 minutes later, the Welshman expertly plays in Hjalmar for number 2, and we're coasting. Not for long. In 1st half injury time, we concede our trademark sloppy goal, but another trademark, a powerful header from Hjalmar, restores our 2 goal cushion after 66 minutes. We really are coasting now, and don't have to worry about scoreboard watching. We're in with a win. There's no elation afterwards, except from the supporters. Myself and the players know that all we've achieved is the extension of our season, with the distant possibility of a Premiership place at the end of it.

Stoke 1-3 Notts County ATT: 20276

The board, no doubt feeling orgasmic in their wallets, are delighted with the play-off place. I was aiming for that at the start of the season, so my reaction is blase at best. The club profits by 454K for the month.

retired_teju

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | West Brom | | 46 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 80 | 45 | +35 | 93 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Norwich | | 46 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 81 | 52 | +29 | 82 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Pl | Fulham | | 46 | 25 | 5 | 16 | 78 | 49 | +29 | 80 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | Pl | Portsmouth | | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 75 | 58 | +17 | 77 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Pl | Leicester | | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 67 | 58 | +9 | 76 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | Pl | Notts Co | | 46 | 22 | 8 | 16 | 65 | 60 | +5 | 74 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Doncaster | | 46 | 22 | 7 | 17 | 75 | 60 | +15 | 73 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Crystal Palace | | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 64 | 50 | +14 | 71 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Reading | | 46 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 58 | 44 | +14 | 69 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Stoke | | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 66 | 67 | -1 | 69 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Derby | | 46 | 15 | 22 | 9 | 55 | 41 | +14 | 67 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Wolves | | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 88 | 81 | +7 | 64 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Coventry | | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 67 | 69 | -2 | 64 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Southampton | | 46 | 13 | 21 | 12 | 72 | 65 | +7 | 60 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Nottm Forest | | 46 | 13 | 20 | 13 | 69 | 58 | +11 | 59 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Sheff Utd | | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 55 | 69 | -14 | 58 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Sunderland | | 46 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 49 | 53 | -4 | 56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Ipswich | | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 63 | 72 | -9 | 56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Hull | | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 53 | 67 | -14 | 52 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Plymouth | | 46 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 53 | 70 | -17 | 50 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Brighton | | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 52 | 72 | -20 | 46 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | R | Crewe | | 46 | 13 | 7 | 26 | 50 | 82 | -32 | 46 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | R | Lincoln | | 46 | 9 | 7 | 30 | 67 | 101 | -34 | 34 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | R | Bournemouth | | 46 | 7 | 5 | 34 | 39 | 98 | -59 | 26 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Doncaster slipped up very badly in the final weeks of the season. They kept giving us a chance, when any decent run of form would have buried us. I'm not complaining, though I seriously doubt we'll make a decent fist of the playoffs. We have injury problems, and we're really not playing well at all, even when we win. Next season should provide a more genuine promotion push.

retired_teju

3rd April Notts County vs Fulham Playoff Semi 1st Leg
I don't have a great feeling about this. Here's my team. Briland, Coco, Brandao, Ochoa, Vitale, Flamini, Yeates, Jenas, Hjalmar, Calliste, Cesnauskis.
They start brightly, and we look tactically bankrupt. Calliste is forced off early with an injury, to be replaced by Ebanks. It makes little difference. After a very poor 1st half from us, when we are lucky to be on level terms, I go nuts at the players. We were outshot 8-0 and that's pathetic. Despite my tirade, we're not much better 2nd half. We start creating chances, but are woeful in front of goal. The commentary seems to think my team talk put a rocket up the players, yet we are still nowhere near our best. The 0-0 final looks about right on our 2nd half performance, though overall it was a depressing game.

Notts County 0-0 Fulham ATT: 20267

Speaking of which, Calliste has torn his hamstring, and with a 2-3 month recovery period, he could miss the start of next season, never mind the last game(s) of this one. Cosmic.
Cos-bloody-mic.

6th April Fulham vs Notts County 2nd Leg
The squad is starting to look bedraggled with injury as we arrive in London.
Nisja is back though, and replaces Yeates. They are all over us like a drool on a baby right from the first whistle. Briland is superb in goal, but eventually is beaten in 1st half injury time. I know in my heart of hearts that the game is up here, and I am not surprised when we concede again after 53. The lads don't exactly give up, though it looks like they have been ground down by the long season. Two more goals conceded in the last few minutes give an unfairly humiliating tinge to the scoreline, however, we were beaten fair and square today.
I am not too hard on the lads afterwards, commending them for a great overall effort this year (despite the shocking nature of many of the performances). I tell them they can be proud of a 6th place finish, and it can only stand us in good stead for next year, when we really should be starting to think seriously about promotion.
The trip home isn't exactly a barrel of laughs, though the spirit is ok. I sit at the front with the coaching staff, silently thinking about next season, before turning my mind towards my usual very long Summer holiday.

During the next week I make some personnel decisions, without consulting the brains trust as I used to when Riggy was still here. Coco gets free transferred, since his contract wasn't going to be renewed anyway. I transfer list Lewis, Tandy, Yeates, and Hjalmar. The first and last guys because they can bring good money, the middle two because they are never going to be world beaters, and I can get a good few hundred grand for them.

15th May I sell Adrian Pettigrew to Morecambe for 250K, which involved more thought than it normally does for a player on the transfer list. I eventually decide that he's hit the glass ceiling, or at the very least, he needs to go backwards before he can go forwards.

29th May Ianis Zicu a young Romanian international AMC will be joining us from Inter. A Bosman this one, a 4 year deal at 7.5K/week. His pedigree is very good, and I am expecting good things, although he's not as exciting as Iakovenko, who looks a real gem.

The club records a loss of 161K for the month, and just before I p**s off for the Summer, it's time to look back on the season as a whole.

retired_teju

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pkd | Inf | Name | Position | Morale | Form | Con | Apps | Gls | Av Rat | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Inj | Edgaras Cesnauskis | AM L, F C | Very Good | 6-9-7-7-6 | 64% | 15 | 2 | 7.33 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Inj | Jan Rezek | AM LC, F C | Okay | 7-9-7-8-6 | 63% | 43 (1) | 21 | 7.27 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Luca Vitale | D C | Very Good | 7-9-8-8-6 | 100% | 29 | 1 | 7.21 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Jermaine Jenas | AM RC | Very Good | 6-7-7-8-6 | 96% | 21 | - | 7.14 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Philip Briland | GK | Very Good | 7-8-8-7-5 | 100% | 23 | - | 7.13 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Luis Fernando Saritama | M C | Very Poor | 7-8-7-6-7 | 92% | 15 (7) | 2 | 7.09 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Lst | James Tandy | AM L | Poor | 7-6-7-7-7 | 96% | 10 (1) | - | 7.09 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Anthony Lloyd | D/WB L | Poor | 7-7-6-7-6 | 96% | 33 | - | 7.09 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Diego Ochoa | D C, DM | Very Good | 7-7-7-7-6 | 100% | 46 | 1 | 7.07 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Mathieu Flamini | DM | Very Good | 7-8-8-7-6 | 98% | 42 (4) | 2 | 7.07 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Gonçalo Brandão | D LC | Very Good | 6-8-8-7-5 | 100% | 30 (1) | - | 7.06 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Wnt | Jamie O'Hara | M C | Very Good | 6-5-7-7-7 | 96% | 29 (3) | 1 | 7.00 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Vidar Nisja | AM RC | Very Good | 6-6-7-7-6 | 94% | 33 (3) | 1 | 7.00 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Inj | Ramon Calliste | ST | Good | 8-6-7-8-6 | 82% | 38 (7) | 19 | 6.93 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Wnt | Hjálmar | F C | Very Good | 5-7-8-7-6 | 98% | 26 (7) | 14 | 6.91 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Nuno Morais | D C, DM | Good | 6-6-8-6-7 | 96% | 16 (8) | 1 | 6.88 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Slt | David Pipe | D/AM R | Poor | 8-7-7-7-5 | 98% | 28 (1) | - | 6.86 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Bid | Joe Lewis | GK | Poor | 8-7-7-5-8 | 96% | 21 | - | 6.76 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Bid | Mark Yeates | AM RC, F C | Okay | 7-7-7-7-6 | 100% | 7 (10) | 1 | 6.76 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Tim Sparv | DM, AM LC | Very Good | 7-6-7-7-6 | 96% | 17 (15)| 1 | 6.72 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Christian Giuffrida | AM RL, ST | Okay | 7-6-7-7-5 | 98% | 10 (3) | - | 6.69 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Sylvan Ebanks-Blake | ST | Very Good | 6-6-6-6-6 | 96% | 11 (12)| 4 | 6.65 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Lee Barnard | ST | Very Good | 7-6-7-6-6 | 100% | 4 (2) | 1 | 6.33 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_teju

Season in Review

The end of season press conference seems a little bare compared to the previous promotion celebrating bashes. I go through the motions. Platitudes and cliches are all I can offer, in my mind I am still thinking over what we need to do.

We wasted a hot start really. Still picking up wins despite some rotten performances shouldn't disguise the fact that we flagged badly, even though a 6th placed finish looks pretty flash for a newly promoted side.

The player table is interesting. Some star performers, yet apart from Rezek, the strikers struggled. They are on notice for next season. They are in the team to get goals, that's all that is asked of them. Their training is geared solely to do that, and they simply have to produce. Or else. Ebanks battled injury all season, so he gets a bye-ball.

The defence was great to start with, and battled hard. Things definitely caught up with them later on in the year too. Vitale was solid, if a little impetuous. Ochoa looked very high class, and just a touch inexperienced, so I have no fears for him. Pipe isn't good enough, simple as that.

The midfield worked fine. Jenas was steady rather than spectacular, not what I was expecting for 2.9M. Cesnauskis was excellent, and really added something. Flamini is a bit of a problem. He has plenty of skill and all that, and was intermittently very effective. But he is a defensive midfielder, which isn't necessarily our style of player. I feel like we're having to build the entire team aound his style of play, which I don't like. Not sure what to do about that.

The biggest disappointment for me was Joe Lewis. He came with a big, and deserved, reputation. I was looking for another big season from him, and he just didn't deliver. Briland was outstanding, and he was supposed to be the developing back-up rather than the main man. I am in the market for a goalie now, which I shouldn't have been, and there's no question that's my fault. I sold Marton Fulop because I over-estimated Lewis. That was a mistake, and may have cost us promotion. I didn't really appreciate the massive impact Fulop had on the team until he had gone. Same goes for Mike Rigg.

Next season is a simple equation. Get more consistency. See if we can get some top class players in. That will be difficult, but at least we've got the money behind us. Maybe then we'll get promotion.

retired_teju

12th June There's very little action at the start of this month, but on this day I agree to sell our reserve team keeper Karl Dryden to Burnley. When I say sell, he actually goes for free, with a 40% sell on clause. I regret doing this because he was always a nice prospect. I rated him. The problem was he was 3rd on our depth chart and he wasn't getting any playing time. I just couldn't string him along for much longer. He deserves a 1st team chance. Doubtful if he ever would have got it here. It's just too difficult to blood a young keeper at higher levels.

14th July Jarno Parikka departs for Wycombe, for a fee of 70K. He was a flop really, though not in the same class of flop as Radim Kopecky. If I'm being totally honest, he didn't get much of a run in the side or much patience to develop, however he sealed his own fate by criticising me in the media.

18th July The clearout continues. Mark Yeates goes to Sunderland for 500K. I'm not saying I ripped them off. Let's just say I am very satisfied with the terms of the deal. The lad was a reasonable player, but not likely to develop much more than his current level. Under those circumstances, it was an easy decision to make.

20th July Rezek scoops our player of the year award, which was hardly a shock. The board offers up a transfer budget of 4.6M with 80K/week wages. That should suffice in the meantime I suppose.

A mighty profit of 2.2K for the month of July swells our bank balance.

retired_teju

1st July Iakovenko, Peltier, Brad Jones, and Zicu arrive, while Pettigrew, Dryden, Parikka and Yeates make their merry way round the motorways of England to pastures new.

3rd July After a bit of haggling, I sell Jamie O'Hara to Blackburn for 1.3M. I am shocked by the virulent reaction from the fans. They are absolutely furious with this move. I see the lad as a nice player, but no worldbeater. Time will tell if I'm right, and I generally am.

10th July Nisja signs a 2 year extension at 2.6K/week, that will keep him at the club till 2012.

11th July Norwich declare their interest in Brandao. I dismiss it with a predictably terse response.

12th July Tandy joins Blackpool for 150K, for much the same reasons as all the others did. They'd all hit the glass ceiling in my humble opinion.

13th July After much running about, we organise a pre-season friendly competition, the remarkably unexcitingly titled County Cup. Our close rivals Forest have agreed to star as the main attraction, to be joined by QPR and Airdrie. If this rather feeble line-up suggests to readers that we were rebuffed by a number of major clubs, then you would be absolutely correct.

On the same day, Brandao declares his love for the club, and says he has no intention of leaving. I also arrange a friendly with my hometown club Carrick Rangers in the Irish League.

Our hastily conceived friendly tournament begins the same evening as it was finalised, with a game against our greatest rivals.

Notts County vs Forest
Lewis, Peltier, Brandao, Ochoa, Vitale, Flamini, Jenas, Iakovenko, Ebanks, Rezek, Cesnauskis.
We start off like a house on fire, though they come back a bit later on. In the 2nd half, a goalkeeping error allows Rezek to tap in (60). We outshoot them 11-8 and give a decent performance. Yes it was that good a match. And really captured the imagination of the public, as you'll see from the attendance.

Notts County 1-0 Forest ATT: 843

Our opponents in the final are QPR, who disposed of the mighty Airdrie.

14th July Notts County vs QPR
I make a few personnel changes, nothing major. They are all over us to start with, and score after 11 minutes. Rezek responds after 20, latching onto a dreadful backpass. The visitors manage to take the lead again after 37. Giuffrida salvages the game with a powerful volley 6 minutes from time, and we win with the great drama of a penalty shoot-out. Our first trophy of the season!!! The packed house goes wild...

Notts County 2-2 QPR Notts County on PENS ATT: 1648

After the game, Nuno Morais completes a 300K move to Sunderland, who are fast becoming a rest home for our cast-offs. It was a financially motivated deal in every sense, removing his wage off a bill that has ballooned over the Summer.

17th July Former Northern Ireland international goalie Alan Fettis joins us as a goalkeeping coach. He was a quality keeper in his day, and his coaching profile looks very competent. Of course we have plenty in common, and it's great to have someone from home on the coaching staff. He's also tabbed as my new drinking partner.

19th July The time honoured pre-season injury curse strikes. Brandao will miss 2-4 weeks with a strained groin. Jenas has gone one better, tearing his groin, and will miss 1-3 months. That's a sickener, because he'd been shaping up very well in his new role on the right side of midfield.

24th July Gary Harkins leaves the club to join Bournemouth in a deal worth 240K plus 25% sell-on. Same reason as the others (see earlier).

25th July The friendly against Carrick Rangers was a useful exercise, an 8-1 win on 31 shots, goals spread throughout the team. A useful exercise for them too, with a gate of 4329 equal to about 10 times the attendance for a regular game at the club.

29th July We are 2nd favourites for promotion, 3-1 with the bookies. I am not bothered by that at all, I expect us to do well, and by that I mean better than last season.

31st July With impeccable timing, Jan Rezek demands a better contract, claiming he might need to leave if he doesn't get one. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, and he's a real leader at the club. At this point however, the answer is no. We're way over budget already. If he doesn't like it, he can go with our best wishes, for a very large fee. In the event, he backs down, but I feel I may be hearing more about this come January.

This month's profit is more like our usual standard: 1.34M. Now it's down to the serious games. Then on the eve of the season, Robert Pires is offered the job at Sheffield United, ironically our first opponents of the season. Me and him never really hit it off that well, and when I encourage him to take it, it's partly through my own selfishness. It hasn't worked out that great with him as assistant manager I don't think, and I want to replace him. Him getting offered that job is a gift to me. Let's hope he takes it.

retired_Tums

hi i've only just started readign this story tonight(12th may) but must say its a fantastic read, im one of the few hundred season tickt holders at meadow lane and dream about this happening in real life!!! just to say i hope you can make the premiership as the infrastructure is definitely there for it to happen both in the game and real life just please stick with the mighty magpies till you get promoted!!!

retired_teju

Thanks a million glynnbob:-) Like I said in the story somewhere, this is potentially one of the biggest clubs in the country, with Nottingham being a major English city.

I have a pretty big update coming which is very up and down stuff. I am staying here for now, because I think the job won't be complete until we get to the Premiership. I think we've got the players, let's see if we can make it!

retired_Tums

i've just gotin from work mate and read your reply. i must be honest and say that normally i go with leicester city on fm as i'ts a bit easier than notts! but after a weekend of delibeation im going to start a new game tongiht to see if i can match you! any ideas where to start? i too was thinking of a 4-4-2 formation with pipey automatic choice he's the best player at notts imo.also any loan signings you'd reccomend straight away any help much appreciated mate.