Superb write-up Joe Jones

[Tarkers]

I am copying and pasting @Joe Jones write-up here (I never go on the home page....sorry)......superb read.

Joe Jones: "I want Notts County's abomination of a season to be over"

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By Joe Jones

• Saturday at 14:01

Being a Notts County fan is never an easy role. We’ve had more ups and downs at Meadow Lane than a rollercoaster for the majority of our history. But it’s safe to say that, like many fellow supporters, I’ve reached the end of my tether here.

Just this week, a Facebook “memory” from four years ago appeared in my feed where I’m proudly declaring that the Magpies had “played four, won four, scored five goals, conceded zero, and will take on Charlton Athletic (top of League One), Sheffield Wednesday (third) and Sheffield United (second) in the next 11 days.” The post ends with “challenge accepted”.

Fast-forward four years and we’re in League Two, losing against the likes of Oxford United, Morecambe, Accrington Stanley, and Cambridge United, failing to beat Dagenham & Redbridge, and perhaps worst of all, being brought down by SALFORD CITY in front of a national audience.

Oasis once sang “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, but how can we not see where we were just a few years ago and not feel anger, resentment and bitterness at where we are now? 

It should have never come to this. At the end of the 2011-12 season, we finished seventh in League One, missing out on the playoffs by goal difference.

Then it all went pear-shaped. Despite having a squad well equipped to push for the playoffs, Ray Trew abruptly decided to decrease funding, and was quoted by BBC Sport on 9 January 2013 as saying: "I am not prepared to increase that sum (said to be £12m since taking over in 2010)."

He added: “The only way I will inject further monies is in the form of loans. If I am being totally honest I am not motivated to even do that currently because I am not being supported by you, the fan base."

Keith Curle left and was replaced by Chris Kiwomya, the first of four consecutive managerial appointments with no English league experience. The likes of Lee Hughes, Alan Judge, Neal Bishop and Jeff Hughes would all be out of the door by the summer, and most of the replacements – save for loanees Jack Grealish and Callum McGregor – were simply not up to the same standard.

We went from fighting for promotion to fighting against relegation, and even though we survived at the end of the 2013-14 season on the final day, the following season was just as much of a slog, though lightning did not strike twice as relegation to the bottom tier was finally confirmed – the marvellous achievements of the 2009-10 season and subsequent hard work were all undone in the space of two seasons.

Although Ricardo Moniz was a decent enough proposition on paper, he simply was not cut for the slog of the English fourth division. The start of the season was difficult enough, and Moniz was rightly, in my opinion, dismissed. 

Now comes the point in this sorry tale which just defies all logic. A team scrapping in the bottom tier of English professional football, and not having a particularly good time of things at that, should be looking to hire a manager with knowledge of the English lower leagues – it’s not like there aren’t many knocking about – to drag this club back up the pyramid, in the words of former Manchester City defender Andy Morrison, “kicking and screaming”.

Instead, what do we get? An Under-21 manager with no experience of the English leagues.

Like many other fans, that was the final straw for me. No amount of PR could sell Jamie Fullarton as a good choice of manager to a group of fans that have seen their club endure a deterioration of health since 2013 to the point that it’s now on its last legs, with three equally unqualified and inexperienced managerial choices preceding it.

Much talk is made of “fair-weather” fans that only turn up for the good times and stay away during the bad times. This is a discussion that takes place among fans every matchday at the pubs and bars in and around Meadow Lane, in the stands, on forums and on social media.

“If you were a proper fan, you’d carry on supporting your club,” an ever-decreasing amount of people will say.

However, it has now reached the point where many fans have just had enough. The decline from League One playoff contenders to League Two relegation threats. The illogical managerial appointments. The public fallouts between fans and boardroom, fans and manager, manager and boardroom, and player and club. The revolving door of players through the Meadow Lane doors. Boardroom members resigning. And of course, the culmination of all this turmoil on the pitch – football that the likes of Mark Stallard have described as ‘not suitable for League Two’ live on air.

I admit I cannot wait for this season to be over and put Notts to the back of my mind for a few months. The club is in a perilous state of affairs, and no amount of emotional blackmailing from anybody over “supporting the club” will convince me otherwise.

Like many other fans, I will support my club in the lower reaches of the Conference if need be, playing derbies against Carlton Town and Alfreton Town. But all I ask for is a team with passion, a manager who knows what he’s doing, and a little bit of harmony behind the scenes. Not utopian perfection, but enough to give the fans reassurance that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet.

And at the moment, none of this seems to be the case at Meadow Lane. 

 

[Who r ya?? You Pies!!]

16 hours ago, tarquinbeech said:

I am copying and pasting @Joe Jones write-up here (I never go on the home page....sorry)......superb read.

Joe Jones: "I want Notts County's abomination of a season to be over"

---

By Joe Jones

• Saturday at 14:01

Being a Notts County fan is never an easy role. We’ve had more ups and downs at Meadow Lane than a rollercoaster for the majority of our history. But it’s safe to say that, like many fellow supporters, I’ve reached the end of my tether here.

Just this week, a Facebook “memory” from four years ago appeared in my feed where I’m proudly declaring that the Magpies had “played four, won four, scored five goals, conceded zero, and will take on Charlton Athletic (top of League One), Sheffield Wednesday (third) and Sheffield United (second) in the next 11 days.” The post ends with “challenge accepted”.

Fast-forward four years and we’re in League Two, losing against the likes of Oxford United, Morecambe, Accrington Stanley, and Cambridge United, failing to beat Dagenham & Redbridge, and perhaps worst of all, being brought down by SALFORD CITY in front of a national audience.

Oasis once sang “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, but how can we not see where we were just a few years ago and not feel anger, resentment and bitterness at where we are now? 

It should have never come to this. At the end of the 2011-12 season, we finished seventh in League One, missing out on the playoffs by goal difference.

Then it all went pear-shaped. Despite having a squad well equipped to push for the playoffs, Ray Trew abruptly decided to decrease funding, and was quoted by BBC Sport on 9 January 2013 as saying: "I am not prepared to increase that sum (said to be £12m since taking over in 2010)."

He added: “The only way I will inject further monies is in the form of loans. If I am being totally honest I am not motivated to even do that currently because I am not being supported by you, the fan base."

Keith Curle left and was replaced by Chris Kiwomya, the first of four consecutive managerial appointments with no English league experience. The likes of Lee Hughes, Alan Judge, Neal Bishop and Jeff Hughes would all be out of the door by the summer, and most of the replacements – save for loanees Jack Grealish and Callum McGregor – were simply not up to the same standard.

We went from fighting for promotion to fighting against relegation, and even though we survived at the end of the 2013-14 season on the final day, the following season was just as much of a slog, though lightning did not strike twice as relegation to the bottom tier was finally confirmed – the marvellous achievements of the 2009-10 season and subsequent hard work were all undone in the space of two seasons.

Although Ricardo Moniz was a decent enough proposition on paper, he simply was not cut for the slog of the English fourth division. The start of the season was difficult enough, and Moniz was rightly, in my opinion, dismissed. 

Now comes the point in this sorry tale which just defies all logic. A team scrapping in the bottom tier of English professional football, and not having a particularly good time of things at that, should be looking to hire a manager with knowledge of the English lower leagues – it’s not like there aren’t many knocking about – to drag this club back up the pyramid, in the words of former Manchester City defender Andy Morrison, “kicking and screaming”.

Instead, what do we get? An Under-21 manager with no experience of the English leagues.

Like many other fans, that was the final straw for me. No amount of PR could sell Jamie Fullarton as a good choice of manager to a group of fans that have seen their club endure a deterioration of health since 2013 to the point that it’s now on its last legs, with three equally unqualified and inexperienced managerial choices preceding it.

Much talk is made of “fair-weather” fans that only turn up for the good times and stay away during the bad times. This is a discussion that takes place among fans every matchday at the pubs and bars in and around Meadow Lane, in the stands, on forums and on social media.

“If you were a proper fan, you’d carry on supporting your club,” an ever-decreasing amount of people will say.

However, it has now reached the point where many fans have just had enough. The decline from League One playoff contenders to League Two relegation threats. The illogical managerial appointments. The public fallouts between fans and boardroom, fans and manager, manager and boardroom, and player and club. The revolving door of players through the Meadow Lane doors. Boardroom members resigning. And of course, the culmination of all this turmoil on the pitch – football that the likes of Mark Stallard have described as ‘not suitable for League Two’ live on air.

I admit I cannot wait for this season to be over and put Notts to the back of my mind for a few months. The club is in a perilous state of affairs, and no amount of emotional blackmailing from anybody over “supporting the club” will convince me otherwise.

Like many other fans, I will support my club in the lower reaches of the Conference if need be, playing derbies against Carlton Town and Alfreton Town. But all I ask for is a team with passion, a manager who knows what he’s doing, and a little bit of harmony behind the scenes. Not utopian perfection, but enough to give the fans reassurance that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet.

And at the moment, none of this seems to be the case at Meadow Lane. 

 

What a great piece of work totally enjoyed reading that and totally agree with its content 

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

On a side not - it would be good if these stories were copied into the forums, as like Tarkers, I don't often visit the homepage. 

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

51 minutes ago, Super_Danny_Allsopp said:

On a side not - it would be good if these stories were copied into the forums, as like Tarkers, I don't often visit the homepage. 

That's actually not very good for the site, however I used to link to the articles we submitted.

I personally recommend people browse the home page from time to time or toggle the activity stream(s) to cover the articles. By default 'all activity' should list them but copying the text directly duplicates the article and in turn can be bad for SEO.

[Tarkers]

4 hours ago, notts-joe said:

That's actually not very good for the site, however I used to link to the articles we submitted.

I personally recommend people browse the home page from time to time or toggle the activity stream(s) to cover the articles. By default 'all activity' should list them but copying the text directly duplicates the article and in turn can be bad for SEO.

@notts-joe.....I do occasionally visit the homepage....that is how I spotted this superb write-up?....however, this post had been up for 36 hours and not one single comment!!

That is why I copied and pasted it into the Forum....now it has 4 comments and 20+ views.

A lot of people, like me, come on here for a chat and to read the latest comments.....if JF has left the club then I assume someone is talking about it?.......if it was only on the homepage, then I might miss it.....sorry.

ps @Joe Jones....post more of the same into forums....superb read

 

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

1 minute ago, tarquinbeech said:

@notts-joe.....I do occasionally visit the homepage....that is how I spotted this superb write-up....however, this post had been up for 36 hours and not one single comment!!

That is why I copied and pasted it into the Forum....now it has 4 comments and 20+ views.

A lot of people, like me, come on here for a chat and to read the latest comments.....if JF has left the club then I assume someone is talking about it?.......if it was on the homepage then i might miss it.....sorry.

ps @Joe Jones....post more of the same into forums....superb read

The purpose of articles is different than topics, there's no need to be sorry but the views of the article are actually very respectable.

Problem is when things are like they are right now, comments do disappear or they are made via social media. It's not a problem but discussions are different, I keep nagging JJ to post more within the community though. You should be making use of the dashboard view buddy!

[Tarkers]

@notts-joe.........I always go straight to the Dashboard.................I live on the Dashboard!

Why not expand the forum topics if they disappear too quickly.............it's now 5?.......expand it to 10 or 15?

This site is getting busier......I like to read more than 5 topics?

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

6 minutes ago, tarquinbeech said:

@notts-joe.........I always go straight to the Dashboard.................I live on the Dashboard!

Why not expand the forum topics if they disappear too quickly.............it's now 5?.......expand it to 10 or 15?

This site is getting busier......I like to read more than 5 topics?

The dashboard lists quite a few, I will look into the sidebar topics/posts and consider increasing it.

[Tarkers]

13 minutes ago, notts-joe said:

The dashboard lists quite a few, I will look into the sidebar topics/posts and consider increasing it.

My apologies......the "topic list" has quite a few.....it was the "topics/replies" list on the right-hand side that has only 5

 

[Tarkers]

16 minutes ago, notts-joe said:

The dashboard lists quite a few, I will look into the sidebar topics/posts and consider increasing it.

Maybe if you can list the articles and topics together as one big list.....I'm not sure......I was just a bit surprised that the @Joe Jones didn't have one single comment....I just assumed that many like me didn't see it!

Just trying to help.

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

8 minutes ago, tarquinbeech said:

Maybe if you can list the articles and topics together as one big list.....I'm not sure......I was just a bit surprised that the @Joe Jones didn't have one single comment....I just assumed that many like me didn't see it!

Just trying to help.

I might drop the slider, replace it with it's own block for the dashboard view.

Sadly, more people commented via social media than on the site but it all goes towards helping overall. No, it was a very successful article - within the first hour via FB alone it had been seen by 3,000. I know your trying to help.

[DangerousSausage]

I'm dragging this waaaaaaay off topic now, I know ...

The "Recently discussed forum topics" section seems to have been expanded, which is good, but it doesn't actually provide any more information than "Topics" beneath it. So maybe it'd be a good idea to replace "Recently discussed forum topics" with a list of recently posted articles and blogs (the blogs are kind of hidden down in the corner). If you remove the Community Message you could move everything up slightly, which would mean that Topics would be visible at the bottom of the screen and would entice people to scroll down. Or alternatively just list blogs and articles under Topics.

On a side note, if you use the All Activity page, blogs and articles are listed there just the same as forum entries. But obviously it isn't for everyone.

Good article BTW

[Tarkers]

3 hours ago, DangerousSausage said:

I'm dragging this waaaaaaay off topic now, I know ...

The "Recently discussed forum topics" section seems to have been expanded, which is good, but it doesn't actually provide any more information than "Topics" beneath it. So maybe it'd be a good idea to replace "Recently discussed forum topics" with a list of recently posted articles and blogs (the blogs are kind of hidden down in the corner). If you remove the Community Message you could move everything up slightly, which would mean that Topics would be visible at the bottom of the screen and would entice people to scroll down. Or alternatively just list blogs and articles under Topics.

On a side note, if you use the All Activity page, blogs and articles are listed there just the same as forum entries. But obviously it isn't for everyone.

Good article BTW

There you go, I didn't even spot all those extra buttons....."All Activity"....wow

Is it just me, or are all "old" people loath to try all this new-fangled gadgetry?

Does anyone on here remember their first colour tv (a rental from the Reddifusion shop), their Dad's first car (Ford Anglia).......... and...........their first "computer game", two opposing paddles and a tennis ball?

blip...blip...blip...blip-blip....blip........................burrrrrrr (1-0)

[Elite_pie]

I must admit I only really use the dashboard.  I've bookmarked it and when I click the tab it opens with all the posts that have something new since the last time I looked in bold, which makes it easy to catch up on the relevant stuff.  I'll have to try and search around a bit more to see what I'm missing.

[Tarkers]

5 minutes ago, Elite_pie said:

I must admit I only really use the dashboard.  I've bookmarked it and when I click the tab it opens with all the posts that have something new since the last time I looked in bold, which makes it easy to catch up on the relevant stuff.  I'll have to try and search around a bit more to see what I'm missing.

Me too.....and on the flip-side, there are probably people who visit the homepage to check recent news articles but don't use the forum

[Who r ya?? You Pies!!]

4 hours ago, tarquinbeech said:

There you go, I didn't even spot all those extra buttons....."All Activity"....wow

Is it just me, or are all "old" people loath to try all this new-fangled gadgetry?

Does anyone on here remember their first colour tv (a rental from the Reddifusion shop), their Dad's first car (Ford Anglia).......... and...........their first "computer game", two opposing paddles and a tennis ball?

blip...blip...blip...blip-blip....blip........................burrrrrrr (1-0)

Hahaha that's brilliant , and so so true , only just started using social media myself at 56 , so not fully conversant with it , a little techno fobic I'm afraid 

[Elite_pie]

45 minutes ago, Who r ya?? You Pies!! said:

Hahaha that's brilliant , and so so true , only just started using social media myself at 56 , so not fully conversant with it , a little techno fobic I'm afraid 

You bloody youngsters are always moaning!  There is however one advantage to be gained from getting on a bit - last year I qualified for my 'old fart' season ticket (I think it's officially described as a Senior season ticket) which means I only pay £10.22 per game over the season for a prime seat in the Main Stand including match programme.  Some pay more than double that to be bored and frustrated, at least I get it cheap!