The Conference years

[DangerousSausage]

Well that closes the book on a chapter of our club's history that will hopefully remain unique. What I sometimes thought (but dared not articulate) was that the National League is something you could get nostalgic about, but only once you've left it behind. Now we have, and I'm so relieved all the superb efforts that went into rebuilding the club - and not least the loyalty of the fans - were rewarded.

We started the journey with the shock of an unthinkable relegation, facing liquidation and with a skeleton squad, and end it with a record-breaking team and manager well placed to take the momentum into L2. Along the way we had Neal Ardley steadying the ship, our own PE teacher Ian Burchnall turning us into a force at Meadow Lane, Schmeichel Doyle between the sticks, the likes of Kyle Wootton and Cal Roberts in the black and white and of course JOB, who was there for all of it.

While the club has never been lower, we finished fifth or above every season - Oldham and Scunny fans know it can go very differently, and even Wrexham spent 15 years messing about in the NL. Hopefully these years will be remembered as a springboard for better things to come - Lincoln and Luton have shown the way.

What do you think? And what were your personal highlights and lowlights?

[4everapie]

It may have been a blessing in disguise to go down to come back stronger with a better set up and some positive structure in place

[liampie]

its made the club rethink things and the reedtz stick to a plan, i think its been the best thing that has happened in truth. the football has not been that bad and we have always been one of the upper half teams. its given us enough time to form a team that could go the distance again. its all about adding quality and going again.

[Chris]

To say, where we came from and where we've gone since stepping into the National League - I think it shows how quickly the club has made use of hitting the reset button. A hard reset was necessary, and while I understand that some of our fans may have thought we would fail without gaining promotion in our first season due to the Reedyz brothers' takeover, I believe those expectations were unrealistic.

In principle, they would need time and having money doesn't guarantee a quick turnaround.

We would have definitely been better off spending four seasons at this level than trying anything that Ray Trew or Alan Hardy attempted to put together. They both failed to build any long term foundations or, legacies.

[menzinho]

In a weird way I’ve enjoyed our spell in the 5th tier, watched some new teams, we won most weeks and like you say finished top 5 every season. Hardly a disastrous way to spend 4 years in my opinion but it’s certainly a great feeling to back in the EFL! I won’t miss the general shenanigans and incompetence of the NL Board, but we can look back and laugh now.

Some highlights (lowlights) for me…

Getting played off the park by Barrow(celona) and genuinely thinking we’ll be down here forever!

James Rowe the Chesterfield manager telling an opposition player he’ll bite his f’ing nose off.

Jim Parmenter telling us that their pitch at Dover was fine yet he had to record a video inside because it was raining so much…

Gary Johnson dancing around when Torquay beat us in the “you stole our players” derby.

(Funny how the last two are in NL South now, enjoy it lads, you could be there a while)

[DangerousSausage]

I'm totally with you @menzinho, we'll be able to look back on some of the general tinpottery and smile now. I remember there being a bit of a fall-out with Kings Lynn's vampire owner too. Hopefully we'll move on to better things now, but that also involves more visits to bland out-of-town stadiums. Personally I'm a sucker for an away ground with 15 stands and traditional terracing.

Also, if you get knocked out of the FA Cup by Red Lion Old Boys FC in the fourth qualifying round, nobody cares apart from a few non-League anoraks. If that happened in the first or second round, we'd be on BBC One.

All the same, I'm very glad we're out of it now. It's always a bad sign when fans of rival clubs feel sorry for you. 

[Fan of Big Tone]

I’ve also enjoyed being in the NL particular this season obviously, I don’t go to away matches but I’ve enjoyed watching them either on BT Sport (when shown) or streamed live on the NL website, although some of the commentary on the streamed matches was abysmal.

Having said I’ve enjoyed our stay it goes without saying that I am overjoyed to be back in the league, can’t wait for the new season. Whoop! Whoop!

[liampie]

On 16/05/2023 at 20:22, menzinho said:

In a weird way I’ve enjoyed our spell in the 5th tier, watched some new teams, we won most weeks and like you say finished top 5 every season. Hardly a disastrous way to spend 4 years in my opinion but it’s certainly a great feeling to back in the EFL! I won’t miss the general shenanigans and incompetence of the NL Board, but we can look back and laugh now.

i think its not actually been that bad either, the standard of football for me turned out to be better. there are too many teams in league two that just lump the ball forward or use their physicality to muscle out play. i preferred the 4 years in the fifth tier more than most of the seasons i have seen us in league two.

under our current ownership, squad and how more on board the fan base is due to all this, its promising. 

[allardyces tash]

The National League years serve as a reminder that life exists outside of the Football League. However, it also reminds us that we cannot take the club for granted. After the poor seasons we’ve had under other reigns, it’s refreshing to have owners who are moving the club forward.

[TheSkipper]

I dreaded seeing Notts play in the National League. While I thought promotion would happen, there were points when I thought we would never get out of the league. At the very least, I thought we would be there for 6 or more years. However, I did believe that this season would be the year we escaped.

The standard hasn't been bad at all. We have mastered playing good attacking football, albeit with a few wobbles. It's by far the best we've played since I have supported the club. Our 2008/09 squad on their day was brilliant, but we relied on the better players and didn't always play practically well. I don't think the managerial changes helped, but the club has made huge strides.

The squad this season has done brilliantly and it's a high I don't think we will see for a while. We may have good seasons, but I don't foresee us hitting 107 points or scoring over 100 goals for some time.

[CliftonMagpie]

Notts has had a successful run during the conference years, performing well in their first season. Some fans may have had changing expectations due to the arrival of the Reedtz and the possibility of increased spending. However, it’s important to note that both the Reedtz and the club as a whole needed time to adjust. Finishing in the playoffs has been a great achievement and could serve as a hallmark of the club’s success. The two appearances at Wembley were incredible experiences, and it’s unfortunate that fans were unable to attend due to COVID restrictions. Achieving promotion within four seasons is a respectable accomplishment!

[themightymagpies]

I don't believe that the club would be in its current state if it weren't for the heartbreak of relegation. It's easy to ponder about what could have been, but the National League has been a decent place for the club over the past four years. We have had four years of reasonable success, with the club improving each season. In my opinion, that can only be a good thing. The club has shown resilience and determination to bounce back from the disappointment of relegation and has made steady progress in the National League.

[heraldmagpie]

I have to admit, I enjoyed the four years in the Non League. It was a different experience, a chance to visit new grounds and meet new fans. It was also a time to rebuild our club and our identity, and to appreciate what we have. But I can’t deny that it still hurts how we got there. We didn’t go down fighting, we went down with a whimper. We let ourselves and our history down. We deserved better.

Some of the highlights from the past four seasons in the National League were:

The 5-1 win over Chorley in our first game back in 2019. A statement of intent and a glimpse of hope.

The FA Trophy run in 2019-20, reaching the semi-finals and beating some tough opponents along the way. A shame we couldn’t finish it off.

The 3-0 win over Chesterfield in 2020-21. A sweet revenge over our old rivals and a sign of our progress.

The 4-0 win over Torquay in 2021-22. A dominant performance and a confirmation of our promotion credentials.

The 4-1 win over Barnet in 2022-23. A superb home victory against a good club who looked lost against us.

I’m proud of what we achieved in the Non League, but I’m also glad to be back in the Football League. We belong there. We are Notts County.

[AmericanPie]

While the Non-League hasn't been detrimental, I'm thrilled we've managed to leave it behind. Our time there could have dragged on, shortening the Reedtz era. Now, we can focus on achieving even greater success for Notts County.

[Countyman]

The Non League years have seen Notts reshape their identity after losing it in the season we were relegated. A team that could barely defend, took us down with zero pride and little responsibility for failing to do it. As for the owner at the time, I wish not to speak of that fool.

[Robbie]

I do look back on Notts County's time in the National League with nostalgia.

The time in the National League began on a big downer, but we could have easily have been promoted at the first attempt, but just came up short in the playoff final against Harrogate. 

As other PON members have mentioned, we never finished lower than fifth whilst we were in the National League and we always played attractive entertaining football, to a very high standard.

Thanks to Neil, Ian and Luke, Notts were always challenging near the top of the league for all the time that Notts were in the fifth tier. That's some achievement in itself.

Being in the fifth tier enabled Notts to get their mojo back and it was great that Notts became a national story once again with their promotion tussle with Wrexham.

So pleased that we are back where we belong, but disappointed that our high standards weren't maintained during our first season back in League 2.

But hopefully that will change for the season 24/25.