Season 2011-2012

Here's how it is. We went up.We stayed up, but only just. So what happens next ? Season 2011-12 started with no real intent. Fans were used to the delay in signing players - that was an economic reality of the close season but when Craig Westcarr vanished to neighbours Chesterfield and no sign of anyone to replace him, Notts looked seriously understaffed. Hughes was not the player he had been and Burgess and Hawley were hardly going to trouble the scorers. The makeshift squad didn't look like it was going to get promotion anytime soon. It just seemed Mr Trew's pockets had finally hit the lining. Of course, we were forgetting Martin 'Mad Dog' Allen. Like his press conferences, his teams always gave entertainment and against predictions, they began well. The big sides still caused problems but the lesser teams were rolled over and a steady campaign saw Notts in the unlikely position of chasing a play-off place. Then came the inevitable slump and the points drifted away. The fans, loyal to Allen, kept quiet and such was the feeling of inevitability about the drain off of early season enthusiasm that it genuinely was a shock when the club fired their manager. Moving quickly, the club already had a replacement in mind and Keith Curle was soon installed as successor. Although initially unpopular (following his earlier spell at Mansfield) the club began again picking up points. The new man also came with newly found funds to bring in much-needed additions to the playing staff with an army of loanees including Lloyd Sam and Daniel Bogdanovich, both of whom made an immediate impact. The result was a last day finale - not to avoid relegation for once but actually to make the play-offs. In the end, it came to nothing and indeed it would have been an irony if the grail of Championship football had been achieved with a bunch of hired guns after previous attempts had failed with much bigger budgets. As it was, the club entered its 150th year in 'League 1' and the first of the must-have items of memorabilia was introduced - an anniversary shirt. For more details...read on....

Notts County Squad 2011-2012

1. Rob Burch

2. Julian Kelly

3. Alan Sheehan

4. Mike Edwards

5. Krystian Pearce

6. Hamza Bencherif

7. Ishmel Demontagnac

8. Karl Hawley

9. Lee Hughes

10. Neal Bishop

11. Jeff Hughes

12. Jude Stirling

13. "You Pies"

14. Alan Judge

15. Ricky Ravenhill

15. Johnathan Forte

16. Stephen Hunt

17. Stuart Nelson

18. Sam Sodje

19. Charlie Allen

20. Craig Westcarr

20. Kieron Freeman

21. Liam Mitchell

22. Ben Burgess

23. Jon Harley

24. Liam Chilvers

25. John Spicer

26. Haydn Hollis

27. George Nicholas

28. Lewis Whiteley

28. Tyrell Waite

29. Curtis Thompson

30. Cristian Montano

30. Dele Adebola

31. Gavin Mahon

32. Lloyd Sam

33. Fabian Speiss

34. Mitchell Clarke

35. Damion Stewart

36. Louis Harris

37. Nicholas Yennaris

40. Daniel Bogdanovic

The Kits

When the new home shirt went on display, the applause wasn't exactly unanimous. Rumours were that the designers, in their attempt to get the names of season ticket holders printed in the white section (an idea for the 150th anniversary year) had made the black lines very thin - pin-striped in fact. When the names thing was moved to the third shirt, the kit remained unchanged and ready to go. Across the front was Fraser Brown, a firm of solicitors pulled out of a lucky-dip of interested sponsors all of whom had paid for a chance at a years exposure. They added no colour to the shirt at all. It was very white. The only relief came from the big 'F' epaulettes that advertised Fila's first year as Notts kit manufacturer. Those were on black sleeves. It was, as one fan said, all 'a bit Derby'.

So, not a success then huh ?

Well, we at this site know that whatever we all say about it not being a 'proper' Pies shirt, the reality is that white has always been a good second choice. Ten years previously, the 'Great Escape' season created a popular all white away strip with grey panels and that plain design has been used more than once as a second choice. It probably wasn't suprising then, that after the dust had settled, the kit sold pretty well as a replica and by March, there were no adult ones left to buy. There you see.Told you !