This is an interesting appointment by Notts that will strengthen the Notts academy. I suppose that this appointment fits with the Notts intention to reorganise the Football management structure at the club.

Here's a more detailed look at his career so far via Google.

"Nimesh Patel is a football coach and educator".

"He has extensive experience coaching at various levels, including the Leicestershire & Rutland County FA and Coventry City Football Club". 

• "Head of Football and Futsal at the University of Leicester: Patel is responsible for coaching and managing both first teams and overseeing the entire program for men's football and futsal. 

• FA Coach Developer: He is involved in developing coaches within the football system. 

• Leicestershire & Rutland County FA: Patel has held several roles, including U18 County Squad Manager and Social Inclusion Officer. 

• Coventry City Football Club: He has worked as an Academy Coach. 

• Early Career: He began his coaching journey after college, pursuing qualifications and starting with the FA Level One at a young age. 

• Focus on Youth Development: Patel's career reflects a strong focus on developing young players and fostering their growth in the sport". 

Does this mean Dan Leivers has left Notts? Welcome to Meadow Lane, Nimesh Patel.

@NiftyNick

There's no info about anyone leaving. Dan Leivers is Academy Manager. Nimesh is Head of Coaching development within the Academy management team.

Might this be the club starting to realise that to have youngsters who are good enough, they need to be getting game time and coached during the period where they are breaking into the first team? When we had Sam Osborne, it bothered me that "he's no better than what we have" comments were made by the then-manager. You can't expect them to be, it takes seasons and many minutes for them to get that experienced. If the arrival of Nimesh Patel is a start to focus on making sure that the head coach is supported with playing young players and we start to see a difference, then it should be wages well spent.

Welcome to Meadow Lane, Nimesh Patel.

I hope you can help Notts develop young talent, reducing the need to buy players and finally allowing the club to produce its own stars. That’s something most fans would love to see.

Good appointment.

Hopefully, he’ll help young players make a smoother transition into becoming professional footballers.

I don’t understand why Notts doesn’t announce things like this on the main site instead of using academy accounts. On some days, it would help to fill the space taken up by adverts from league sponsors.

I’m happy to welcome Nimesh Patel to the academy setup and hope he proves to be a strong addition to the coaching team.

@OoooooTommy Good point. It's an important announcement & should get the widest coverage

I hope it's a significant improvement, as our academy does a very good job, but we waste so much talent by not getting them exposed to regular minutes. Sending them out on loan is fine, provided they get played, they learn, and gain that valuable experience. If we were persistent with them getting the right first-team football and building them into our team when they are not far from the standard needed. We'd have more promising players coming through instead of being released every year. I do agree, it would be great to have Nimesh Patel work towards this.

4 hours ago, Robbie said:

@OoooooTommy Good point. It's an important announcement & should get the widest coverage

Having separate social media accounts is fine, but all news should be on the official site. It feels like the different departments struggle to work together, with each needing someone to do the same job but for separate areas.

i think it sounds like great news, name a notts fan who does not want to see academy players reach their potential or help us to move forward up the leagues? we need to try harder to get homegrown players into our team.

33 minutes ago, liampie said:

i think it sounds like great news, name a notts fan who does not want to see academy players reach their potential or help us to move forward up the leagues? we need to try harder to get homegrown players into our team.

I do hope that this appointment will improve the Notts academy players chances of graduating to the first team. We do have some academy players that have shown plenty of promise, so it would be big to have a player get a regular place in the first 11.

58 minutes ago, OoooooTommy said:

Having separate social media accounts is fine, but all news should be on the official site. It feels like the different departments struggle to work together, with each needing someone to do the same job but for separate areas.

I agree. All important academy news such as important announcements should be on the official Notts site. Match fixtures & results should be on the Notts academy site. Fixtures, match reporting and results are not reported consistently. This needs to change I think.

Paul Hart and Mick Halsall couldn’t get the academy to produce players, so we can only hope. Hart wasn’t back long enough to make a real impact, but Halsall was a great youth coach. I hope Nimesh Patel can help.

The key to academies is consistency and high standards. Training prospects but not giving them enough time won’t develop talented young professionals.

It only helps bigger clubs when they start looking for new talent.

Welcome to Meadow Lane, Nimesh Patel. I agree with those before me in hoping that he can bring the best out of the academy and help young players find their path to the first team. Developing talent takes patience and the right guidance, and if he can provide that, the club will benefit greatly in the long run.

A warm welcome to Nimesh Patel. It could be a good time to take another look at how the academy is set up. Some changes might help more young players make the step up to the first team.

A word from Nimesh.

I wish him every success and hope he can make a real difference with the academy lads coming through. If he can guide them, support them, and give them a bit of belief, there’s no reason it can’t work out.

Welcome, Nimesh Patel.

He didn’t really need to highlight that he’s the first South Asian Head of Coach Development in academy football in England. If you’re good at what you do, that should be what matters most. Saying that makes it sound like where he’s from played a big part in the decision. I’m sure he’s proud of his background, and that’s fair enough. But the message could have focused more on what he wants to achieve. It came across as a bit too much about him and less about the job.

I’d much rather hear someone talk about how vital it is to guide young players and help them get the best from their careers. That’s the heart of the role. Let’s hope he keeps his feet on the ground and stays focused on the work, not himself. There’s no room for egos in youth development. It’s about the players, not the spotlight.