That's the question I am asking, or putting it another way, were the brothers fully prepared for Notts to get promoted?

I think the question has to be asked because with less than a week to go before the regular season begins, the Notts squad is very light at this particular time. Even Martin Paterson has eluded to it.

There have been plenty of rumours that players are on the verge of signing, but I do have concerns that even if players are recruited this week, it will take time for them to adjust to life at Notts, with a new squad to acclimatise with.

No way that I am criticising the owners who have done great things for Notts since they bought the Club. I just think that maybe they may have been taken a bit by surprise when we go promoted via the playoffs.

Since the brothers bouth the club they are doing like they need few years to be ready for the place where they are

Something doesn't feel right, but I remember saying the same thing last pre-season. I think although we are in league 1 and don't seem anywhere near ready, the aims this year are different. Last year anything but promotion was seen as failure. This year is all about avoiding relegation. The lack of readiness at this point may not be so critical.

The playoffs reduced the time available to rebuild the squad. The Jatta and Jodi sagas will have caused uncertainty. Competition for signings is strong (looks like York might have beat us to Boyes). Season ticket sales, although up, aren't spectacular.

I think they were as ready as they could be. They did make three good signings very quickly suggesting they had some plans in place. But it would be great to have some announcements asap!

Edited 16 hours ago16 hr by Sheffield Pie

There seems to be a lot of negativity around at the moment which is a real shame, we should be confident and relishing a new season in a higher league, instead some folk are questioning the direction the club are taking.

If I remember right it was the same at the beginning of last season and after a poor start look how that turned out.

I for one trust the brothers and their team to get it right and help the club to consolidate in league one.

https://www.swanseacity.com/news/ollie-cooper-makes-notts-county-loan-move

Of course the Brothers were prepared!

2 promotions in 4 years!

From total disarray to planned progress in 7.

And yes, August will be a nightmare start but it will all end well.

I suppose you could argue that promotion came too soon for us - ideally you should already have a squad capable of being competitive in the division above and be able to add extra quality and depth on top of that. This time, only seven members of our promotion-winning team are still with us, a couple of those are injured or possibly on the way out, and we don't have a proven goalscorer, so it feels like MP has a job on to make us competitive.

I felt more confident in our ability to compete after our last two promotions into L1 than I am now. However, squad fluctuation is generally greater now so maybe this is just the way of things. I like the sound of most of our signings individually, but we'll just have to wait and see whether they can cope with what is for most of them a step up.

I think the owners and RM are largely sticking with their guns this summer. They've been proven successful so far, but I have the feeling that they're plugging gaps rather than complementing what we've already got.