My personal play-off record

[DangerousSausage]

In another thread, @Chris mentioned that he'd like our next Wembley appearance to be in the play-off final, and it sent a shiver down my spine. The play-offs are our most likely route back to League Two, but I hate them. I joined the party too late for Neil Warnock's triumphs, but in time to see us get our bellies tickled by Bradford in 1996. On top of that, I follow a team in Germany with a pretty catastrophic play-off record themselves.

1995-96 - Bradford 2-0 Notts, League One play-off final. There were three times as many Bradford fans there, and they knew they were going to win. We were pants.

2015-16 - SV Waldhof Mannheim win the Regionalliga Südwest (fourth level), but miss out on promotion to the third division after losing the home leg 0-2 against a superior Sportfreunde Lotte side. I was there. The joy.

2016-17 - Waldhof had a promotion play-off again, this time against SV Meppen. After two 0-0 draws, Meppen won on penalties.

2017-18 - A double header! Notts were well beaten by Coventry (with a bit of help from the ref) and Waldhof made it a hat-trick of play-off defeats by losing at home to Uerdingen (the match was abandoned 10 minutes from the end with the score 3-1 to Uerdingen after home fans starting firing fireworks onto the pitch).

2019-20 - Notts reached a first Wembley final since 1996 and I couldn't go because of The Situation. We lost.

2020-21 - Torquay v Notts. We lost.

It could be eighth time lucky, I know. And it's by no means certain that we'll make the play-offs at all. But if we're in the top seven, please let us be first!

[Chris]

 To say Notts has made the play-offs, twice, reaching the finals once. I feel pretty confident that we have the quality, I'd love it if we decided to go for the title and, secured a striker to chip in with goals. It would show some real ambition to add to the quality we have, but it's unlikely I feel. I would settle for 2nd/3rd aiming to secure a solid play-off position.

It's got to change at some point and, I must admit I would be more nervous about a penalty shoot out than I would 90 minutes in the play-off final.

Let's hope this year is our year.