Another new season, another new manager... not much change there then. This one came from abroad though, well Iceland to be exact and via Stoke and Barnsley ... Gudjon Thordarson. A man who achieved, a man who got results, a man who had actually done all the things Gary Mills promised us he was going to do. However, financial restrictions threaten to settle the newcomer's hash early on and he failed to hang onto a lot of erstwhile first teamers and had to bring in a few sundries on the cheap. Notwithstanding, things got immediately better with some impressive pre-season wins and a good start that saw Notts at the top of the league ! The new kit seemed to be working....... until one of those little quirks that always seem to happen to the Pies. Paragon, the sponsors, decided to take advantage of the higher profile the clubs exalted position brought them and asked for a little swirl to be added to their on-shirt advertising. This meant that at the end of September, the home kit was changed and the old kit turned up in the club shop for sale. The away shirt, although technically no different from the year before, already boasted the swirl, as did the fans' replicas.The team turned out with the new logos for the first time against Rushden on 24th September. Rather ironically, this month also saw the clubs first defeats of the season as their form plummetted. Perhaps then, this early kit was to be the only memory of the brave new world the Iceman had seemed to predict.
The Squad 2005-6.
1. Kevin Pilkington
2. David Pipe
3. Ian Richardson
4. Mike Edwards
5. Mike Whitlow
6. Brian O' Callaghan
7. Mathew Gill
7. Stef Frost
8. Julien Baudet
9. Gavin Gordon
10. Glynn Hurst
10. Nathan Doyle
11. Eugene Dadi
11. Tony Scully
12. Chris Palmer
14. Lee Crooks
15. Matthew Williams
16. Steve Scoffham
17. Robert Ullathorne
18. Adam Tann
18. David McGoldrick
18. Noe Sissoko
19. Emmet Friars
20. Kelvin Wilson
21. Chibuzor Chilaka
22. Stacy Long
23. Liam Needham
23. Shane McFaul
24. Lewis McMahon
25. Andy White
26. Daniel Martin
27. Jake Sheridan
28. Mark DeBolla
28. Tyrone Berry
29. Daniel Chillingworth
30. Shaun Marshall
The new kit, as chosen by the fans.The logo is the same as that on the replica shirts issued for the season - there's no swirl above the Paragon lettering. In the player issue after this one, there is.It's a sure way to tell whether you have a players issue or replica. The CocaCola epaulettes were amended after the previous season where they were badly made of a plastic that didn't stay attached to the shirt.The 2005 version is of felt although it looks identical. The epaulettes were sold in the shop so, unlike the previous season, their attachment to a shirt is no guarantee that its player issue.
The shirt of Rob Ullathorne, a defender who enjoyed some great years at Norwich during their unlikely European run. His experience and tenacity has proved invaluable to Notts. Note the new football league lettering enjoying its first run-out. A good way of continuing the traditional gold in the Pies kit as well !
the season continues
The First Team Kit - upto Sept 2005
The Second Kit
The Second Kit was 'unchanged' from the previous season - according to the club. However, the purists would all want a new one because for an unchanged kit, it was just so different. You just have to know what you are looking for. Well on the front there is the new Paragon logo. Right from the off the 'swirl' that later appeared on the player issue first team shirts makes its debut above the sponsors name. Just out of interest its also much larger than the one on the home as well. In addition you have the inclusion of the new-look league letters and numbers on the back. The new redesigned epaulettes were available to buy. Maybe the shade of the shirt is slightly different also. If you're one of those who was lucky enough to buy the replica of this shirt at the end of the season, you'll find that the club ran out of the transfers for the sponsors logo and sold them plain.I suspect that very late edition will become much sought after in the future.
Regarding the player issues, as this was such q busy season with ins and outs throughout, there was no mass sell-off of the away shirts. What happened was that as players left, the club, realising the potential of these items, put them on sale pretty much at once. By the end of the campaign, the existing squad fufilled their new duties to sponsors or kept the kit themselves and only a handful remained to be sold off in the club shop.
This insert shows you the swirl close-up and the new-look Paragon logo design.- much better fixed to the shirt and more hard-wearing.
The back of the away features the new design of league numbering which came in a choice of colours including gold which allowed the Pies to keep that traditional colour attached to their kit on the homes.
