samwatto2008

Our signings so far! Who are they? Where do they come from? Why are they the chosen ones? With Notts County being considerably active in the transfer window, I thought I would shine a light on the players we have signed so far and see what they have on their CV and what they can offer to our setup. Having signed 5 players so far it seems promising down at Meadow Lane and with a lack of squad depth at the moment it seems the transfers wont stop there. So first up… Tom Crawford – Tom Crawford is a central midfielder who was acquired from the recently relegated Chester FC for an undisclosed fee. He is currently 19 years old with 17 apps in the National League. In those 17 apps he has 1 goal and 1 assist. With only National League experience it is making Notts fans wonder where his future lies within the Notts County setup. He has made 1 appearance for England C which is a promising sign for the youngster. I think he can slot in quite well into a CM or RM role if needed. I fully expect to see these sorts of signings starting in the Carabao Cup and the Checkatrade Trophy fixtures as a minimum. Kristian Dennis – Kristian is a central striker who has most experience in the 4-4-2 formation. He was acquired from recently relegated Chesterfield for an undisclosed fee. Having back to back relegations with Chesterfield does raise eyebrows however scoring 21 goals in all competitions last year is a massive achievement and goals is something we have been lacking. Dennis is 28 years of age with 82 games played in the football league. He can play with both feet and will be a key player to the squad for next season. Andy Kellett – Andy Kellett is labelled as a midfielder, in particular the LM spot on the pitch. He can also slot into LB if needs be as he told the Notts County media upon arrival at Meadow Lane. Kellett is 24 years of age being 5ft 7 he is known for his quick feet and pace ability. He has just over 60 appearances in the football league and has scored 7 goals in that time. Again he was relegated with Chesterfield following a loan spell from Wigan, but upon his return he found his name on the released list following Wigan’s promotion. He could be vital to our line up next year maybe filling in for Grant who has returned to his parent club. Kellet is also a young talented player which Notts County have been reluctant to gamble on in the last couple of years. Will Patching – Patching who is also 19 years old was signed from Manchester City and agreed a 2 year deal with the Magpies. He never made a first team appearance but was a regular in the U18’s and just recently made a few starts for the U23’s at City. He is known for playing in the No. 8 / No. 10 role for City and is highly rated for his passing ability. He has represented England U18’s with 2 appearances and also gaining 16 appearances for the U17’s. He prefers his right foot with a eye for goal on the edge of the box. Kane Hemmings – An unexpected signing by Notts County fans but my word it was a joy to behold upon announcement. Kane Hemmings was bought from Oxford United for an undisclosed fee. Previously on loan at Mansfield Town he has had plenty of league experience and goals to go along with it. His CV consists of Scottish Premier League experience and League One. Hemmings has played 84 times in the EFL scoring 17 goals. He is quick and strong player that is favoured to start along side Dennis. He has most of his experience in the Scottish Leagues however has proved himself in England too. He is 26 years of age and quite frankly fancies to score from anywhere on the field. So far I think Notts have done a fantastic job with the signings, I thought I would break each player down a little and give an insight to what they are capable of and what type of player they are. We certainly have brought the average age of squad down by a lot which is heading in the right direction. Also I have noticed we are offering players contracts longer than 1 year which gives us an option to sell if they are performing well. I can’t remember when we last made money off a player, so it is good news we are tying these players down. Ideally I think we need 2/3 more quality signings then maybe a few players just to fill out squad depth or promote some youth players to come through the system. Let us know your thoughts below. Share your thoughts on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

So after what seemed like a good Christmas period, it seems that Notts County have gone into switch off mode ever since. We set off the year with a positive result against Port Vale winning 1-0 at home. We then went on to proceed to the 4th round of the FA Cup against Swansea City after a sublime strike from Jon Stead against Brentford put us into the pot for the next round. With morale seeming to be at an all time high at Meadow Lane and coming into the new year with bags of confidence, it didn’t seem like anything could stop Notts. So where did it start to go wrong? Well, we ended our unbeaten home record against Exeter City who quite frankly couldn’t buy an away win at the time of beating us. That put a real gloom over Meadow Lane and I think it hit the players hard that we are still beatable at home and we should not let standards drop. However that message clearly didn’t get through. Outrageous behaviour from Ross Fitzsimons 3 days later, to put it straight, cost us two points. Crawley were a good side in form and having a point from that match looked like a good result. So after 2 consecutive defeats at Meadow Lane and sickness from Matt Tootle I think the players and manager were knocked down a few pegs. We then won 4-1 in front of a record home crowd against Crewe Alexandra, which was such a positive performance I think everyone left that game with a smile on their faces. Then... an embarrassing display of football saw us lose 8-1 to Swansea and then lose to Barnet who are bottom of the league 1-0. This was the confirmation fans needed to know that County were officially in a slump. Although Tuesday brought about a 2-1 win over Carlisle United, the performance nonetheless left question marks and doubts remain going forward. How do we fix it? So our next 3 fixtures are as follows: Newport County vs Notts County Cambridge United vs Notts County Notts County vs Stevenage So out of these next three games, if we are still serious about promotion we need to be looking at 6 points out of a possible 9. In my opinion we should be looking at wins across the board, excluding Newport which look a real unit at the moment, especially at home. Cambridge are currently without a manager and by the time we play them I think it will still take time for their players and manager to gel. As for Stevenage, well they are a bang average mid-table team. We need to pick up points now, as we enter a vital period for a promotion push. Who can we rely on? This is bound to spark a debate in the comments but this is my personal opinion of who I think is going to be crucial in the run up the end of the season. Mason Bennett – I know he got injured at Barnet but I would hope we could see him back fit for the start of March even for the Stevenage game if we’re lucky. His pace is frightening for League Two defenders top cope with and I think him and Jorge Grant could be a real threat and kill off games early which is what we need to do. Matt Tootle – He can defend and attack and can always mark a striker with pace. He puts in 100% effort and can really change a game and flip it on its head. His quality in defence in attack can help link up play in areas we could maybe use to our advantage. Noor Husin – Well this lad is superb, his passing ability is amazing in my opinion and his work rate is fantastic. I think Husin, Grant and Bennett could really work well together and for a young prospect he has some real talent and could possibly go on to be a class midfielder. His cutting edge passes and long shots could be something Nolan looks to take advantage of. After being away from the site for a while due to work I am keen to get back in touch with PON members and create more content to get a response from fans and see what they think. The question I want to ask you PON members is, Who do you think can turn this slump around? Let me know in the comments below and I hope to be writing another piece soon. Share your thoughts about this feature article on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.