A Nice Simple Question.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Here We Go. A Nice Simple Question  for all you Magpie Fans.

Would You Like To See Notts County F.C. In the Premier League?

[Robbie]

I think that it would be the wish of the vast majority of Notts fans to see Notts in the PL eventually. I am one of those fans.

Teams like Brentford & Bournemouth were always regarded as lower league teams when I started watching football, but they established themselves in the PL eventually.

As far as Notts is concerned, and taking into account the present financial model, I think we are looking at a minimum of ten to fifteen years before Notts will be in a position to challenge for PL status.

I think Notts will need a big injection of money once they have established themselves in the Championship to even think about promotion to the PL.

The way that football is going though, I would rather Notts be in the top half of the Championship, than struggling in the PL to stay up & becoming a yo yo club.

 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Ok  Here Goes.

NO. Certainly NOT in it's current form. I think for any Club in the Lower Leagues to Gain Premiership Status their Owners are going to have to have Very Deep Pockets. Wexham come to mind but at the moment their American Owners haven't faced any Sort of a Major Footballing Problem. Their Reaction when something goes Drastically wrong at the Club, will show how Loyal they are to the Red Dragons.

Another reason I'll state is this, well a Question to ask, do the Current Owners of Notts have the type of Money to be able to get Notts into the Premier League and keep the Magpies there and make any sort of Impact? Looking at their current financial position the answer is NO. Now that's No disrespect to Chris & Alex, we Notts Fans could never repay them for what they have done,  at the Lane since they purchased the Club from it's previous Owner. But if their current financial position excludes them from taking Notts into the English Games Top Division, it would seem New Owner(s) would come in and No one knows how any New People would run the Club, nor how long they would remain the Owners if the Going Got Tough. I certainly don't want to be throwing my loose change into a plastic bucket again.

How many current Notts Fans would be able to afford  the  outrageous Season Ticket  Prices some current Premier Clubs charge? And would they be content with what appears to be none interest from the Club, with the attitude of Give Us your money which seems the Mantra of Top Clubs? 

I Don't Want That (your opinions may differ) I just want to make sure that the Magpies are on a Financial Even Keel and the Club is still here when I can bring any Grand kids down the Lane. No Matter what League they are in.

 

[Chris]

It would be nice, but then the shape of the club and what it stands for might be lost.

Personally, I would be happy with being a good League One club that is good enough to gain promotion to the Championship, but is never at any risk of relegation to League Two. Teams like Peterborough United have done excellently in this regard. When I was younger, they weren't a club that I would imagine seeing playing higher than the 3rd or 4th tier.

They did remarkably well to use their player assets as a means to fund their progression, so a similar thing for us would be nice. It's great having players like Macaulay Langstaff and retaining the best ones is very much unlike us. However, I wouldn't begrudge seeing players sold for a good fee, then reinvested - instead of losing them completely as a free agent when their contracts are up. Spending our budgets wisely, navigating the leagues would be nice to see.

In regard to the Premier League, it would be nice to see Notts there in my lifetime but fans who were lucky enough to see the club in the topflight. It's not the same as the pressures involved with the Premier League these days. Player fees, those pesky agents and transfer fees are huge. All this will come mostly at the cost of the fan base. I have a friend who runs a popular Leicester City fan site. He once told me before they won the league that he preferred the Championship. Not because he feared or didn't want to see them struggle, but because being in the Championship is a stable environment for them. After they won the league, his site really picked up as did their fan base. He now says whilst it was a great thing to see them lift the Premier League title - the consequences of attracting false fans, huge fees and higher expectations has been a drain.

There's no doubt it's a dream to win the Premier League, play in one of the best European cup competitions and have players who represent their countries. Yet, we have something very humble and special right now with what we have.

Whilst not every Premier League player distances themselves from the fans or treats them badly, we are very lucky to have a squad of players who appreciate the fans and will interact with them. Jodi Jones, Macaualay Langstaff, etc are all good ambassadors of our current squad. We risk losing our family club, togetherness, by being incorporated with the demand of the elites.

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man that's why I think that Notts will need a substantial cash injection to even challenge for the PL, & even more when they get to the PL just to survive.

The current financial rules are very rigid & we've seen what happens to clubs when those rules are broken.

The Reedtz brothers head a consortium, so I would assume that they would be looking for a cash injection by a third party, similar to what happened at Man U recently.

I personally think that the owners are only looking as far as being a stable Championship Club for the foreseeable future, once they get there.

[menzinho]

Yes, I’d love to win the Premiership and be the best team in England!

I think it could happen in my lifetime, getting to Prem that is, but I think the current structure and seemingly limitless finances is what will stop us. That would need to change to give us a chance. Right now the gap between the Premiership and Championship is getting bigger and I think we could eventually see pretty much the same group of teams go up and down each season. That would almost make it farcical, but hopefully it would be the catalyst for change. If the league did become properly regulated and financially fairer then we might have a chance.

I’m not particularly fussed what happens to Notts though, like others have said just having a club to support and games to go to and discuss is all that really matters. I’ll watch us even if we go the other way and end up in the Northern Prem!

[Fan of Big Tone]

I am lucky enough to have seen Notts in the top flight (the then Division 1) but sadly although I followed their fortunes avidly I didn’t go to a lot of games because in those days money was very tight and I just couldn’t afford it every Saturday.

So I would love to have that chance again and see us playing the likes of Man Utd and Liverpool etc., I can’t imagine any fan wouldn’t want that.

Having said that I’ve also seen Notts within a whisker of going out of existence more than once so I am just really grateful that I even have a club to follow.

[Scotty]

As stated in enlightening posts above, team such as Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth evidence that it is possible for teams like Nott to survive in the Premier league. In the case of Brighton; to qualify for and play in Europe.

When first asked about their ambitions, the brothers said to win promotion back into the EFL. When most recently asked, it is to win promotion to League 1. That is how they operate. As stated in earlier posts, they will need very deep pockets to get into the Premiership. The Consortium that they represent does have very deep pockets. They continue to make strategic investments into other continental football teams. Notts represents their biggest investment and ambition. By sticking to the mantra of let’s get out of this league, will hopefully result in us targeting the Premiership.

I think the fact we are having this conversation without laughing shows how far we have come since the various eras over the last couple of decades. Where a good season was defined by winning a relegation dog fight via a 1-1 draw away at Oldham on the last day of the season. Now we are disappointed when we don’t win promotion.

The brothers and the consortium they represent have set their stall out. They have made their money from using data-driven analysis to predict the outcome of football matches. They are not a Petrol State. They are footballing intellectuals who have a desire to invest the wealth made from football into our club. Whilst using that very same data-driven analysis to have a style of play and a recruitment process; all whilst striving for the club to become financially self-sufficient.

So, sit back and enjoy the ride. Let’s focus on getting to league one and striving to be self-sufficient. But bear in mind, should we ever be able to target getting into the Premiership, the pockets are deep.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@Scotty

An interesting comment but if it's Not a Secret how do you know all this? Most Fans on PON just seem to be able to speculate about what's going on at the Lane and express their opinions, but your comment seems to give a more in Depth answer regarding what the Owners intend to do with the Magpies, there are somethings within your comment I've never read or even heard rumoured about. Do you have a connection with someone at  the Club? Because it can't be down to Rumour and Hearsay.

[Scotty]

@Wheelbarrow repair man Afternoon, no I have no connection with anything, I'm just a simple Notts fan. But I do know it's not just about the Bros. Not just about Football Radar. There are others within the Consortium, who I do not know and I won't speculate. At the time when Hardy sold Notts, it was to a Consortium. That consortium is part of an investment group which has acquired a majority share of Danish Superliga side Viborg FF.  Am I correct in saying there has also been a recent Italian investment?

What I do have is a belief in what they are trying to do. I'm a naively glass is half full kind of person. They have a process, they have a formula, and that is translating into progress. Its not Man City Oil State wealth buying up the best of everything or US Hollywood doing what they're doing with back to back promotions in north Wales. But its specialist knowledge. Knowledge that the likes of Wrexham or City would have to buy from the likes of Football Radar.  There's something distinctively continental about the operation at Notts. Cerebral, intellectual and grounded, distinct and separate to the fur coat and no knickers of some football owners. Owners who seek spend money like Elton John and work with big names, reputations with headline grabbing signings without  the basics, ending up in relegation like Birmingham City to League 1.

So, to answer your question, I know nowt special but I have faith and I'm looking forward to the new season.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@Scotty I was not aware of any Italian Investment, if it has happened then it doesn't appear to be in any Media either National or Local. And there been nothing on the Official Notts County Site. Other members on PON may have heard of it but Notts Fans I know all have stated they've heard Nothing. In fact looking at anything on the Internet, the Owners of Notts County are Chris & Alex Reedtz owners of Football Radar and there's Nothing regarding them being the Heads of a Consortium in purchasing Notts. But as long as they keep the Magpies on a Financial Even Keel and there's No worries of the Magpies going into Administration, then all Well and Good. It appears that Notts have Adopted a Slow But Sure Attitude regarding  Promotion higher up the Football Pyramid.

And as Notts Advance I Honestly Hope the Club Remain Family Focused and there's Always a Connection between Players and Notts Fans.

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man There are quite a few sources on the web that describe the Reedtz brothers of heading a Danish consortium, the Nottingham Post, The Guardian, & Sky sports news being three sources.

Sky say they are part of a Danish Consortium but they don't elaborate how the consortium is made up.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Ok @Robbie I I was unaware of other sources.  I will admit the only thing I was interested  in when the Reedtz Brothers took over at Notts, were who they were and read up about their Company Football Radar . I Don't have Sky TV and I don't read papers or check their Websites or watch their You tube channels. Nottingham Post is a Red Rag who I think are totally unaware that in fact Nottingham have 2 Professional Football Teams. 

[Piethagoram]

https://www.business-live.co.uk/technology/everything-you-need-know-firm-16663367

Again refers to the "Danish consortium". I remember at the time, speculation around who the members could be... I am sure somewhere on social media,  I saw thoughts expressed of their secretive father being financially "loaded"

[Robbie]

I think the fact that the Notts Owners are described as a consortium bodes well for the future.

The Reedtz brothers could look to have more significant investors in the Club as Notts rise up the League structure.

On a much more bigger scale of course, we saw what happened at Man U recently with a large minority stake in the Club being bought.

[allardyces tash]

I hope that long-standing fans will make it abundantly clear to those at Notts that we are a family club. The Danish brothers might propel us to the Premier League, and I don’t think they would alter much. However, my greatest worry is seeing the club succumb to a scheme similar to Munto’s, but with real money. This could lead to the purchase of artificial fans and the loss of our current identity, which we take great pride in.

It would be fantastic to see Notts County in the Premier League. I agree with the sentiment that players should be role models, and I hope this wouldn’t change. The higher the standard of play we can enjoy, the happier we will be. However, this must be achieved while upholding our principles.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@allardyces tash

100% Agree with You. Notts Must Remain a Family oriented Club.  As most current Premier League Clubs don't have the type of Bond the Magpies have with their Fans. It Seems the Top Clubs just want your money. They Don't Care Just As Long As You Pay Your Cash.

But with all this Talk of a Consortium with loads of Money, they certainly seem to do things on the Cheap. Both new signings came to Notts on a Free Transfer.

Which is No Bad Thing as the Pennies are being watched,  after the Financial Problems Notts have had in the Past. Dark Days which Fans will Not Want  to See Again.