Director of Football: Now You See Him, Now You Don’t

Why is it that whenever things start looking vaguely positive for Notts County, the universe immediately slams the panic button? You’d think supporting the Magpies would come with a health warning by now.

We’ve had 11 new arrivals, Curtis Edwards politely ushered out to Gateshead, Jack Hinchy turning up on loan market, and the midfield reinforced with what looks like a group discount at the “young loanee” section of the Football League. So far, so standard. But then the real curveball: Director of Football Roberto Gagliardi has left the club. By “mutual consent”, naturally, which in football-speak usually means “please go away quietly and don’t touch anything on your way out”.

This all lands just five months after he arrived, complete with a fancy job title that started as “Head of Football” before someone decided “Director” sounded more important. The actual implication was simple: Martin Paterson runs the matchday show, while Gagliardi shuffles papers and pretends the loan market isn’t an elaborate version of speed dating.

On paper, his CV looked sturdy enough: experience at Göztepe in Turkey, Portsmouth, and enough buzzwords about “wealth of experience” to fill a LinkedIn profile. But he was following Richard Montague, who had the annoying habit of actually signing players who fit the club’s style. Gagliardi, by contrast, seemed addicted to the loan system like a teenager hoarding free Spotify trials.

What’s odd is how quickly he’s gone. This wasn’t some random stranger off the street; the Reedtz brothers knew him, worked with him, vouched for him. It should have been a neat fit. Instead, we’re left with the usual fanbase speculation buffet: did the Reedtz lose faith? Was it politics? Or did everyone simply realise, far too late, that it wasn’t working?

He himself had said he wanted to work for people he believed in, praising the Reedtz for their patience and lack of emotion in decision-making. Which is a bit awkward now, since he’s lasted about as long as a Love Island couple after the cameras stop rolling.

The timing doesn’t help either. Notts have started the season in a way best described as “patchy”. Pre-season included a jolly jaunt to Germany that, in hindsight, probably would’ve been more useful if spent in Nottingham making the players run up hills. Transfer targets may have slipped through the cracks, hence the sudden panic-buying of loans.

The matches have been a mixed bag too. Newport looked promising but unlucky. Salford reminded us we can still be bullied. Barrow was like watching a balloon slowly deflate. Beating Shrewsbury 4-1 should’ve been a highlight, but felt more like we’d been gifted goals by a team that couldn’t pass water. Bromley was disappointing for entirely new reasons. And then, just when despair set in, wins against Tranmere and Fleetwood arrived, suggesting the squad is finally capable of lasting an entire 90 minutes without collapsing.

Meanwhile, the Jatta saga added a touch of absurdity: ruled out with a “back spasm” one week, then reappearing after the club triggered a contract extension the next. Convenient timing, that.

So yes, it feels like a transition period. Criticism of the Reedtz might be harsh, but there’s no denying that right now the whole thing feels like watching someone try to solve a Rubik’s Cube with oven gloves on. My focus, like everyone else’s, will always be on the pitch. But you can’t ignore the sense that behind the scenes, something isn’t quite clicking.