This is the final game of the season.  All League 2 matches will kick off simultaneously at 3pm today.

County’s home ground, Meadow Lane, has attendances this season that are second only to Bradford City in this league (averaging over 10,000).  There may be an atmosphere as Rovers finish their spell in the EFL.

Expect some fireworks for this game!  Only Stockport have scored more than Notts County’s 89 goals this season.  And nobody has conceded more than Notts County’s 85 goals this season.

County have been involved in some crazy games this season.  They lost to Sutton 5-1 in their first game then lost again to Sutton 3-4 in the return game at Meadow Lane.  They lost away at Colchester 5-4 and drew away at Grimsby 5-5.  When Rovers played at Meadow Lane in September,County won 4-3, with Troy Deeney getting a hat-trick.

The Magpies are in 14th place in the league, threatening neither the play-off places nor the relegation places.  Their season started brightly – they looked pretty good for at least a play-off place.  But, since the start of February, they have had 10 defeats, 4 wins and a couple of draws.  This dip in form has seen them steadily drop down the table.

Steve Cotterill signed as manager of Notts County until the end of the 2009–2010 season.  Cotterill led the club to the League Two title after a 5–0 away win against the already-relegated Darlington.  A month after winning the title, Cotterill stated that he would not be renewing his contract at Meadow Lane.

On 23 February 2010, it was announced that Steve Cotterill would become manager of Notts County until the end of that season.  Cotterill was named March Football League Two Manager of the Month for six wins and two draws in that month.  He went on to repeat the accolade for April Manager of the Month 2010.  At the end of April 2010, Notts County were crowned champions of League Two after defeating Darlington 5–0.

At the end of that season Cotterill was linked with the vacant Coventry City post  followed by interest from another Championship club, Portsmouth.  In May 2010, Notts County announced that Cotterill had left after failing to commit his future to the club.  Notts County chairman, Ray Trew said of Cotterill: “The job that Steve did for us here will live long in the memory of all Notts County fans and, as is a mark of all great managers, he leaves the club in a much better position than when he arrived.”

Cotterill was appointed as manager of Portsmouth on 18 June 2010.

A man common to both FGR & Notts County.

County’s most dangerous player is their number 9, Macaulay Langstaff.  Langstaff scored 42 goals in 45 appearances last year in the National League.  This was a new National League record for goals in a season.  Unlike Erling Haaland, none of them were penalties!  Langstaff has continued this season in similar vein with 28 goals and he is the league’s top striker.

Also very dangerous is striker David McGoldrick number 17.  McGoldrick was at Derby County last season and Rovers will remember his hat-trick against us at Pride Park.  McGoldrick has returned to his home town club and the club where he began his career.  His career has included 3 seasons at Premier League level at Southampton and at Sheffield Utd (most recently in 2021).  In 39 appearances for Derby last season he scored 22 goals and he has 12 goals this season for Notts County.  Now 35 years old, he is still a lethal finisher.

Final player to watch will be number 7, creative midfielder Daniel Crowley.  Crowley has quick feet, strong dribbling skills and a speciality for set pieces.  He has scored 15 times so far this season.

Danny Crowley – the midfielder is County’s 2nd top scorer.

Macaulay Langstaff is one of the most coveted strikers outside the top flight.

David McGoldrick – the other half of Notts County’s deadly strike force.

Notts County is owned by the Reedtz brothers.  The brothers are leaders of a Danish consortium that bought Notts County in 2019, a real low period for the club as they were heading out of the Football League.

Brothers Christoffer & Alexander Reedtz are the brains behind London-based statistical football analysis company Football Radar.  The company’s aim is to become the “number one experts” on the game and they employ a 200-strong team of highly-skilled analysts who scrutinize data to help their clients achieve “outstanding results”.  The experts analyse games from around the world, in over 50 leagues, as they look to pick out key data from what they see.  The main focus seems to be to provide betting advice on football through statistical analysis.

The Reedtz brothers, owners of Notts County.

Notts County is the oldest of the world’s professional association football clubs.  There are older professional clubs in other codes of football, and Sheffield F.C., an amateur club founded in 1857, are the oldest club now playing association football.  Founded in 1862, Notts County became one of the founder members of the Football League when it was formed in 1888.

Third place finishes in the top tier in 1891 and 1901 represent their best ever league position.  They won the FA Cup in 1894, having been beaten in the final 3 years earlier in 1891.

They are nicknamed the Magpies due to the black and white stripes of their home kit, a kit which was copied by Juventus in 1903.  However, since the War, they have tended to bump up and down around the 3rd tier.  There have been some golden years, masterminded by manager Jimmy Sirrel and trainer Jack Wheeler.  The pair brought the club from the lower reaches of the 4th tier, back up to the top tier – an achievement they eventually managed in 1981.  But there have also been some darker days.  Financial struggles culminated in County being relegated from the EFL for the first time in their history in 2019.  After 2 seasons of play-off failures they finished last season with 107 points but were still second to Wrexham.  However, this time the play-offs went well (albeit not without incident) and they defeated Chesterfield on penalties in the final to secure the 2nd promotion spot to the EFL last season.

The club have probably the largest number of overseas fans in the EFL.  These are mostly from Hungary and Italy, apparently!  Perhaps the Italian connection shouldn’t surprise – on 8th September 2011, to mark the opening of their new stadium in Turin, Juventus invited Notts County for an historic exhibition match.

The club’s main rivalry, not surprisingly, is with Nottingham Forest.  But nowadays they are more likely to play another Nottinghamshire rival, Mansfield Town.  Derby, Lincoln and Chesterfield also figure as local(ish) rivals.

Plaque outside the George Hotel, Nottingham.

A statue of Jimmy Sirrel and Jack Hawkins at Meadow Lane.  The pair oversaw the most successful period in County’s recent history.

Notts County mascots – Mr & Mrs Magpie.

Notts County have been at Meadow Lane since 1910.  Just over the River Trent is Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.  It is less than 300m away, making these the 2 closest stadiums in England.

Meadow Lane is in the foreground, Nottingham Forest’s City Ground is just across the River Trent, and cricket’s Trent Bridge is in the background.

You can check out views on the Notts County forum here Notts County Forum

Musician Jake Bugg is a Magpies fan who was a club sponsor in 2017.

Harold Shipman, Britain’s most prolific serial killer, was a Notts County fan!