By Joe Jones
Notts County are flying high at the minute, currently unbeaten in five in all competitions and sitting fifth in the League Two table with 10 points from five games.
September is a busy month - having got one fixture out of the way, a 1-0 win at Port Vale, we now embark on the second of seven league games, against Morecambe at Meadow Lane.
The Shrimps have been widely tipped to endure a difficult season, but they are somewhat of a bogey team for Notts, given they're unbeaten in four and have registered two 4-1 wins.
Pride of Nottingham spoke to Morecambe fan Brian ahead of Saturday's game to get an insight on the opposition.
About Brian: I've supported the Shrimps since 1995 - a good year as we were promoted into the Conference - and my favourite player of all time is Kevin Ellison.
What happened last season with the whole ownership saga?
Wish I had an actual proper answer for you! Was all a bit of a mess really. So a Brazilian businessman, Diego Lemos, takes over the club in September. He then goes AWOL, then another suit, Joseph Cala, turns out saying he's the new owner, then Lemos comes back, then the whole thing ends up in court and now it's in the hands of a guy called Graham Burnard. Just a load of nonsense.
You're celebrating 10 years in League Two this season. How would you assess your first ever decade in league football?
Nothing less than we deserve. We had been steadily rising up the leagues - it's not been quick, but it's about getting there. Being promoted from non-league is hard but we've persevered and got there in the end, and we've had a good run so far in League Two, got some great results along the way and really just enjoying the ride.
In an era of hiring and firing managers, you've had just three different men at the helm since 1994. Do you see it as a kind of honour to have had such a little turnaround?
Well, the manner in which the club changed manager in 2005-06 was a bit unsavoury - Jim Harvey took us into the Conference and kept us near the top for ten years, then he sadly suffered a heart attack - he recovered, thankfully - which saw Sammy McIlroy take the helm supposedly until the end of the season. Jimmy then came back and was sacked, with McIlroy getting the job permanently. Left a very bitter taste in the mouth, but the club was then promoted the following year, so that was sort of forgotten. But as for the original question, yeah, it's good that each manager has had the chance to create a legacy here. Don't really see it much anymore nowadays.
You've had one playoff finish in 2009-10. Can you see Morecambe challenging again for a top seven place this season?
I would be surprised if that was the case. Below the top 3 that season, it was all up for grabs, the playing field was so even among the clubs - we were 4th on 73 points, Northampton were on 67 and finished 10th. Now you've got clubs in League Two with huge budgets that are signing Championship-quality players, so unless we get another perfect storm, it's unlikely. But we've got a fairly large squad with a lot of youngsters, so we should be competitive.
Who are Morecambe's danger men in the current squad?
Adam McGurk joined us on deadline day and he's a striker who caused us no end of trouble when playing against us so we're hoping he hits the ground running for us. Vadaine Oliver is suspended at the minute but he looks a handful, and same for Callum Lang, the young loanee from Wigan. Garry Thompson and Kevin Ellison aren't getting any younger but they've still got goals in them.
Final score?
Notts are a tricky proposition at the minute, you're on form and are unbeaten at home, but I'm hoping our good recent form against you guys will hold up, so I'm going to say a 1-1 draw.
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