I wrote this on Facebook 16 years ago today.

I’m now the supporter of league two's richest team as we have been taken over by middle eastern multi-millionaires. Whoo hoo! We'll soon be in our rightful place above the red scum.

Oh dear, my red friends have never let me forget it.

Fast forward sixteen years on to the present & we have owners in the Reedtz brothers who are very savvy when it comes to Football economics.

4 minutes ago, Robbie said:

Fast forward sixteen years on to the present & we have owners in the Reedtz brothers who are very savvy when it comes to Football economics.

Yes agreed but part of me wishes the multi millionaires had been real, we’d be playing in the Premiership now, I’d like Notts to achieve a degree of real success in my lifetime and I’m getting on so there’s not much time left.

Fool’s gold and dodgy banker’s drafts, it was all a bit of a dream that lasted one season before everything went wrong. In one way, it’s a real shame how it turned out, but in another, we were lucky to have had that time at all.

Our years in League One had their ups and downs, but I’m still glad we got to see that team with Lee Hughes, Neal Bishop, Ricky Ravenhill and the rest. It gave us memories to hold onto.

Just think of the glory supporters it got rid of, and how the Munto led to our current owners finding us via two poor owners who had no real clue how to put the club before their own egos and ideas. Supporting teams at our level might be a rollercoaster, with not so many ups as we have downs, but at least we are looking to be on the verge of something special with the Reedtz at the helm.

Notts has never been in better hands, and at least we still manage to attract those casual, floating supporters without the money. 🤣

Notts had sent through a discount letter, which I used to encourage @GrannyPie and @super_ram to come. We went in the MLSB, which back then reminded me of a very run-down bar you might find at Skegness in the early 90s. It was horrible; the floor was sticky, and the lemonade was awful. Prior to this, I would just go into the ground, but with it being a family occasion, we wanted to have a drink beforehand.

I can remember a loudmouth bragging and shouting with his group of friends about how we were going to sign David Beckham. 😂🫣

"We're richer than Manchester City and Chelsea combined." To which I spoke to my family about how scared I was that this would change the club for the worse. I worried the family feel would disappear and more fans who only cared about winning would take over.

Due to Notts frequenting where I worked, I managed to stay up-to-date a lot better than most. 🤫

I remember breaking the Sol Campbell signing and being called a liar, and then once it was confirmed, I kept getting people asking me for information. I probably shouldn't have, in hindsight, mentioned Sol, as it could have put my job security in danger, but I was quite pleased that the club was looking to improve. It's due to Sol I knew something wasn't right, and all the antics with Russell King trying to pretend to be more regal than he was, with fake security protection and the bills that weren't paid by him but put on the club's account. I do hope Mr. Hart never saw the light of day with regard to that money.

I'm quite glad in a way it never materialised, if the millions/billions were real I think in the end even the massive amount of money spent would've caused us bigger problems in the future, potentially club ending.

Imagine if we had Mancini as manager and signed Chrisitan Vieri, Patrick Viera, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham, the wage bill would've been astronomical. Even with a likely full Meadow Lane the losses we'd have made would've been huge and if at any point the owners wanted to leave it would've caused big problems. They'd have been selling a club that's losses would be millions and millions and you'd have to pay for the privilege of it. Can't see many takers somehow.

I'm more than happy having watched the likes of Langstaff, Rodrigues and McGoldrick in recent seasons. Hopefully I can add a new name to that list this season..

The facts speak for themselves. Under the ownership of the Reedtz brothers, since our relegation to the NL, Notts have made the playoffs 5 times out of 6 seasons including a promotion.

Notts are in very good hands & I for one trust that they will continue with the success they have achieved so far.

24 minutes ago, Robbie said:

Notts are in very good hands & I for one trust that they will continue with the success they have achieved so far.

Yes but they’ve said nothing about a monorail yet, or building a hotel, or signing Messi. Where’s their ambition?

You have to wonder what Ray Trew and Alan Hardy make of it all. Munto, with nothing in the bank but big promises, ended up delivering a season they could only dream of.

For all the dodgy dealings behind the scenes, that campaign brought a buzz back to Notts. It reminded everyone we were still a big name in lower league football, and for once, we actually looked like champions. The fallout could’ve been a disaster. Sven walking away from his wages, Kasper not costing a penny in the end, and Man City somehow getting ghosted on a transfer fee, it’s madness. But what a ride it was.

@allardyces tash I hear what you say but with regard to Man City, "football debts need to be settled in full"..... so think that cost the Trews a lot of money?

What a crazy time that was. It was so obviously dodgy in hindsight, but at the time I was desperate for it to be real but also somehow wholesome and above board. If it had been real, it would have broken my heart to see us turn into the kind of soulless club Man City have become. I wanted us to become a Fulham, to play the big boys but hold on to our identity. All moot now anyway.

16 hours ago, Chris said:

all the antics with Russell King trying to pretend to be more regal than he was

That's putting it lightly. According to a podcast about the saga, he sat Sven in a restaurant in Qatar or somewhere and arranged for a bloke to come in dressed as the king while all the waiters stood and clapped!

1 hour ago, allardyces tash said:

You have to wonder what Ray Trew and Alan Hardy make of it all. Munto, with nothing in the bank but big promises, ended up delivering a season they could only dream of.

It was Ray Trew who ultimately paid for it all. That season could have ended the club, but instead we had a fantastic season with excellent players with our next owner footing the bill. Shame we ultimately squandered it.

50 minutes ago, Piethagoram said:

@allardyces tash I hear what you say but with regard to Man City, "football debts need to be settled in full"..... so think that cost the Trews a lot of money?

Manchester City never received a penny for the transfer fee; they didn't ask for it in the end.

Kasper has also been vocal about how he effectively joined on a free transfer.

4 minutes ago, DangerousSausage said:

That's putting it lightly. According to a podcast about the saga, he sat Sven in a restaurant in Qatar or somewhere and arranged for a bloke to come in dressed as the king while all the waiters stood and clapped!

I had the opportunity to serve Russell King several times at my workplace, where he frequently claimed to be of royal descent or at least connected to royalty. He had this fancy gold walking cane that had what looked like rubies and diamonds all over it. He would slam it down as you approached with food, then two big body guards would take the food off you.

You weren't treated very friendly, but Sven was always a true gent. Meeting him in person, and the way he would approach me every time he came to dine, changed my thoughts on how the media perceived him.

1 hour ago, Piethagoram said:

@allardyces tash I hear what you say but with regard to Man City, "football debts need to be settled in full"..... so think that cost the Trews a lot of money?

Not at all, just like @Chris s said. No fee ever changed hands when he signed or afterwards. It was just another Munto fairy tale. Some have claimed the payment was made, but that’s long been proven nonsense. Kasper even cleared it up on a podcast with Joe Hart, saying he gave up his wages and came in on a free.

13 minutes ago, DangerousSausage said:

It was Ray Trew who ultimately paid for it all. That season could have ended the club, but instead we had a fantastic season with excellent players with our next owner footing the bill. Shame we ultimately squandered it.

Not everything got sorted, but enough was done to stop the club from going under. There were stacks of unpaid bills, and the Trews got lucky that no one came knocking for them. While they did keep us afloat, I reckon someone else would have stepped in. Even so, it was the right call not to send the club into administration.

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@Piethagoram:

This is a good watch.

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If I can, I’ll try to put together a feature on how the Kasper fee got misreported and what really happened. My workplace might be keen, but I’d also be happy to run it for PON.

I remember the talk of £1,000,000 and £500,000 being paid at the time, but later people began saying it was actually a free. It’d be good to clear that up with the facts. I wouldn’t want to focus just on Munto, but looking into the behind-the-scenes bits of deals like Kasper’s and Sol Campbell’s would make a cracking read.

I always thought Kasper came in on a free transfer. I remember reading that he signed for a million, but over time I started to think that might’ve been a lie from Munto. Back then, clubs could probably get away with saying they paid a fee without much proof. @TheSkipper, if you ever feel like looking into it, I think it’d be a good read. I understand why you might want to steer clear of Munto stuff though, it has been covered a lot.

The Munto era was wild. It brought loads of attention to Notts and even helped bring some fans back. But over time, a few of those fans drifted away, either because of how the club spoke to supporters or because of the drop to the National League. I sometimes wonder what might have happened if the takeover never went ahead. In another universe, maybe Notts could’ve been the ones replacing Bournemouth or Brentford.

1 hour ago, CliftonMagpie said:

I always thought Kasper came in on a free transfer. I remember reading that he signed for a million, but over time I started to think that might’ve been a lie from Munto. Back then, clubs could probably get away with saying they paid a fee without much proof. @TheSkipper, if you ever feel like looking into it, I think it’d be a good read. I understand why you might want to steer clear of Munto stuff though, it has been covered a lot.

I pitched it earlier today; my editor is thinking it over. Even if he doesn't like it, I might persist in my personal time. It would be a lot easier to use my media credentials. At least from the investigative angle. I might reach out to Peter Trembling, but he may want to distance himself from it now. He clearly was the pawn behind it all and probably was clueless as to Russell King's lies.