Top 5 Favourite Ex Notts Players

[Chris]

Name your top 5 favourite ex Notts players, and why?

[liampie]

alan judge, just a great player who had a knack for scoring brilliant goals.
gary liddle, steady and reliable.
bartoz, brilliant goal keeper!
ben davies, set pieces and general skill always amazed me.
neal bishop, just a very solid midfielder who made working hard seem very natural.

[Fan of Big Tone]

1. Tony Hateley (of course) a great header of the ball, started his career with Notts, scored a lot of goals and helped us to win the 4th Division Championship when Sir Jimmy brought him back.

2. Don Masson (the king). A master midfield player who could put his foot on the ball and make an intelligent pass.

3. Lee Hughes, happy memories of him scoring some fantastic goals during the Munto era, he always gave 100%

4. Brian Stubbs, a no nonsense centre back how we could do with the likes of Stubbsy now.

5. A toss up between two goalies George Smith from the 60's or more recently Kasper Schmichel, on balance I have to give it to Kasper, it was a privilege to see a goalkeeper of his class at Meadow Lane.

[DangerousSausage]

This is difficult, but I'll try. In no particular order:

Mark Stallard - simply oozed quality, had a knack for scoring important goals and genuinely cared about the club.

Lee Hughes - the best all-round striker I've seen play for Notts, played with a smile on his face.

Neal Bishop - he and Ravenhill were the grafters that made the success of 09-10 possible, Bishop in particular had no little talent. We badly need a player like him now.

Darren Ward - people forget what a good keeper he was. Shame he tainted himself by going to the dark side.

Mike Edwards - tidy, unfussy and long-serving player. Ian Richardson offered more blood and thunder but Edwards was/is the more intelligent player.

[Chris]

Phil Turner - Just an iconic player from my childhood, he always seemed to be the driving force of our squad in those days.

Alan Judge - Always liked him, as my brother has a soft spot for Blackburn and both of us kept tabs on him from their youth system.

Lee Hughes - It's hard not to appreciate what he did for us, his character really shined and we won't see another striker like him for some time.

Gary Liddle - Another player I had noticed as a youth, when we signed him I was over the moon and although his last season with us wasn't the 'best' - he always helped us.

Bartoz Bialkowski - Not just a great keeper, but the way he treated our fans was of the highest standard. Also used to enjoy speaking to him before games, as he would always come say hello to @super_pie.

[Riverleeno]

Five that I have seen playing for Notts -
 (in no particular order)

Lee Hughes - a 'proper' centre forward always looking to get a goal or create an opportunity.

Alan Judge - good to watch, skilful in midfield and scored some great goals.

Alan Sheehan - hopefully he'll be back.

Neil Bishop - no nonsense midfielder and for that goal against Man City.

Callum McGregor - a young player who made a big impact.

 

[Elite_pie]

In no particular order:

Don Masson - quite simply the best player I've ever seen in the black and white stripes.  His range of passing was sublime.  Started in Division 4, went on to star with Scotland in a World Cup!!!

Les Bradd - a real centre forward, put a cross in the box and Big Les would get on the end of it.  The cross he got on the end of at the City Ground in the 89th minute (0-1) remains one of my all-time favourite Notts goals.

Brian Stubbs - the type of no-nonsense, hard as nails centre back we so badly need now.  Stubbsy would run through a brick wall to win the ball.  

Stevie Carter - an old fashioned winger with amazing dribbling skills, it was as if the ball was tied to his bootlaces.  Would regularly leave 3 defenders flat on their backs!

Lee Hughes - a blast of sheer quality after a decade of dross.  Hughesy had the class to be playing two divisions higher when he signed, and became the focal point in our table topping season.

 

[Countyman]

Don Masson - Very classy player who could change a game with a simple pass, yet nobody could quite do the same as him.

Mark Stallard - A proper footballer who gave just as much as he got from the opposition, two decent feet and a cracking shot on him.

Jack Grealish - When he ran with the ball you just remained on the edge of your seat with anticipation.

Alan Sheehan - Just get him back! He's a solid and reliable asset.

Pedro - What a joy to watch him bursting towards the opposition, one of the best technical players I have had the pleasure of watching live.

[ncfcog]

To pick 5 from my time watching Notts is not easy but here's my 5 (this might change though!).

Raddy Avramovic - Just a great keeper.

Iain McCulloch - Good old fashioned centre forward. I was so distraught when he broke his leg.

Alan Judge - Best of the bunch in recent years although Lee Hughes comes a close second.

Mike Edwards - Nothing special just a great professional and servant to the club.

(Ooh!) Tommy Johnson - To see him and Drapes develop as they did under Warnock was great.

[Mightymagpie]

Steve Cherry ...I always felt confident when Steve was in goal

Iain McCulloch. .100% every game !

Sir Charlie Palmer ..oh to live that goal again !

Lee Hughes ..will we ever have a goal scorer like Hughsey again ?

Don Masson ...real class ..he was probably too good for Notts,  where were in his first spell

[Piety]

Whilst I can see the reason for choosing all the players named here, I am not sure that looking back at what we had is a healthy thing to do.

Any one who saw Don Mason play would pick him, but if such a player were at Notts now he would have been encouraged by his agent to move, and  join the 30 or 40 squad players at a premier club.  In looking back to find good players, we are acknowledging that we may never see this calibre of player in a Notts shirt again.

The club needs to keep moving forward, and as supporters we must do the same.