Tied
up in Notts
Notts County v Darlington
Coca-Cola League Two
Tuesday 12th February
2008, 7.45pm
Another struggling season for
Notts County - England's oldest club, who may not yet be out of the relegation
battle.
The
topsy-turvy world of Meadow Lane saw another managerial casualty, with Steve
Thompson getting the bullet after a dreadful start in October.
Man
to watch Richard Butcher Ex-Peterboro and Lincoln midfielder, who has got his fair share of goals since joining the Magpies in the summer.
Full match previews on the
D@rlo Uncovered website.

Meadow Lane has been developed into
a decent all-seater ground, with plenty of room in the modern away end behind
the goal in the Kop end. There's a good view, with plenty of toilets and
catering facilities. The programme (£2.50) is very well designed and produced,
certainly one of the best at this level. Admission: Normally
prices are: Adults £16, Over 60's £10, Under 16s £5 - pegged to last season's
prices.
Notts
County FC:
Meadow Lane, Nottingham NG2 3HJ
Tel: (0115) 952 2000
History: Formed in 1862, the world's oldest club; founder members
of Football League 1888, although early years spent playing at cricket
grounds, including Trent Bridge. Won FA Cup while in Div 2 in 1894.
Crowds of 30,000-40,000 in WWII post-war years, with Tommy Lawton,
but relegations to Div 4 in mid 50s. Good times again in 1970s under
Jimmy Sirrel, with promotions and club returning to Div 1 in 1981/82
for first time in 56 years. Financial problems in mid 80s but promotions
again under Neil Warnock and one more season in Div 1. Sam Allardyce
stopped the slide but decline again when he left in 1999 and more
financial problems. Saved from near extinction last season.
Record Attendance: 47,310 v York, FA Cup, 12 March 1955
Capacity: 20,000
Last season: 13th
Honours: FA Cup winners 1894, beating Bolton at Goodison Park;
Div 2 champions 1896/1897, 1913/1914, 1922/1923; Div 3S champions
1930/1931, 1949/1950; Div 4 champions 1970/1971, 1997/1998; Div 3
play-off winners 1990 and Div 2 play-off winners 1991.
Record victory: 11-1 v Newport Co, Div 3S, 15 Jan 1949
Defeat: 1-9 v Blackburn Rovers, Div 1, 16 Nov 1889
Nickname: The Magpies.
Colours: Black and white stripes.
Manager: Ian McParland
Chairman: Jeff Moore
Players in: Felix Bastians (Nott Forest, loan), Ali Gibb (Hartlepool,
loan), Ryan Jarvis (Norwich, loan), Guy Branston, Lee Canoville (Boston),
Paul Mayo (Lincoln), Neil McKenzie (Scunthorpe), Hector Sam (Walsall),
Tim Sandercombe (Plymouth), Adam Tann (Leyton O), Spencer Weir-Daley
(Nott Forest)
Players out: Paul Mayo (Darlington, loan), Saul Deeney, Dan
Gleeson (Cambridge), Dan Martin (Mansfield), Jake Sheridan, Tcham
N'Toya, Alan White (Darlington), David Pipe (Bristol Rovers, £50,000)
.
Famous fans/players/connections: Tommy Lawton, Don Masson,
Brian Kilcline, Rachid Harkouk, John Chiedozie, Gary Birtles, Andy
Gray, Jermaine Pennant (players), Jimmy Sirrel, Howard Wilkinson,
Neil Warnock (managers), Sam Allardyce (player and manager).
Click for Streetmap
of ground
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Exit Junction 24 of the M1. Follow
the signs for Nottingham on the A453, through Clifton, passing Trent University
on your left. At the next set of traffic lights, continue straight over
and follow the signs for West Bridgford (B679). Continue for two miles,
at the junction turn left onto the A60. Continue over Trent Bridge and take
the first right turn at the lights into Cattle Market Road, with Meadow
Lane stadium on the right-hand side. Parking in the Cattle Market carpark,
opposite the away end, or on surrounding streets.

Trains: Good news
is that Nottingham station is less than 10 minutes walk from Meadow
Lane. Turn left and left again onto Queens Road and follow this road to a
T-Junction with London Road. Turn right here and follow the road until the
first left turn onto County Road. The stadium is on the right. If travelling
from the city centre, as for buses, there are bus
services including the L1, L2 and L3, and nos 90 and 91 to Trent Bridge.
There is a tram service linking the station with the city
centre (and beyond)- it costs £1 single or £2.45 for an all-day ticket.
Suggested trains (UPDATED JAN 08): Darlington (no
train back); London St Pancras (last train 21.30)
Birmingham New Street: 17.09 arr 18.37, rtn: Last train is 21.54
(Leicester 22.23) 22.49 arr 23.43. Cheapday return £11.90; saver retun
£17.
Sheffield: 17.41-arr 18.29. Rtn: 21.42-arr 22.38 or 22.58-00.41.
Cheapday return, £10.60.

Easy Cabs Tel: 0115 914 5555
Gold Cars 0115 965 6444
Trent Cars 0115 950 5050
Darlington
FC Supporters Club
Coach 3.30pm, £17.50.
Contact: 01325 243911. See Darlington
Supporters' Club for more details.

Real ale/near the ground and station
Vat
& Fiddle 12-14 Queens Bridge Road (100 yards from Nottingham
station) 0115-9850611
A DAFTS favourite
for Notts County or on the way to Mansfield. A pub close to the station
and an easy walk to Meadow Lane. Consistently good beer from a choice
of 10 hand-pulls, including a mild.This ex-Hoskin's pub is now run
by Tynemill and is situated next to the Castle Rock Brewery, from
where you will allways find two of their beers on. Also on offer are
70-plus malt whiskies.This single room pub is only two minute's walk
from the main railway station (turn left and over the road out of
the main entrance). Parking is very limited.
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Near
the ground
The Globe
London Road
Pub near the ground with good food and real ales, recommended by CAMRA
and with up to six beers on.
The Southbank.
Near Trent Bridge, this pub serves good food and has Sky Sports, real
ales including Mallard
Hooters,
Hicking Building, London Road, NG2 3AS
As the name suggests, its dolly-bird barstaff approach, aimed at stag
parties and passing football supporters, is the angle here. They also
do a Tex-Mex style menu. And no-one worries about the beer.
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Real ale/city centre
Old Moot Hall, 27
Carlton Road. This should be open after a refurbishment,
but still promising real ale. Worth the 10-15 minute walk from the
railway station, close to the ice house. This is a very hospitable
real ale bar in an old converted chapel, with an early morning service.
Open from 10.30am, so ideal for those who want to help the breakfast
digest. An excellent range of real ales and on a winter's morning/lunchtime
it was also warm inside. Not sure if they did food, as it was early,
but there as a large screen for sports fans.DAFTS recommended.
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In the ground, the catering facilities
are good - fine pies (Pukka, costing £2.30) and also coffee and chocolate.
They also sell alcohol - bottled Carlsberg. |
Thanks to Colin Fletcher, DAFTS Notts.
If
you'd like to be e-mailed a regular bulletin with the latest updates on
this site - including details of DAFTS members known to be travelling then
E-mail DAFTS
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Nottingham is a pretty lively city - plenty of nightlife of all
kinds. For those wishing to stay overnight, there numerous places
to stay are located around the station, from smaller hotels to chains.
The council
website has a visitors' guide, and there's also Visit
Nottingham. A tourist information centre is located
near the Market Square, 1-4 Smithy Row, Tel: (0115) 915 5330
and accommodation can be booked from there. The Information Centre
is a 10 minute walk from the Station forecourt.
Rail
timetables Virgin
Trains GNER
National
Express Online
map
Hotels/B&Bs
Evening
Post BBC
Notts County Nottingham
Council Notts
Pubs Nottingham CAMRA
Notts
Tourism
MAGPIES
IN BLACK AND WHITE: If you enjoy a decent football book,
especially about the '70s and the lower leagues, then can I recommend
"Steak..Diana Ross - Diary Of A Football Nobody?" It's the
account of a season and half in the life and lunchtime of young Notts
County midfielder David McVay. He's since become a sports writer with
The Times and you can see why. Diaries by players these days
are often crushingly bland and pointless. This, in the vein of Gary
Nelson's books about an ageing pro, is a sharply funny coming-of-age
account, despite the distance of time since it was written - presumably
with a hang-over. As well as long bouts of drinking around training,
there's the toilet humour of certain team-mates and the dry, if sometimes
incomprehensible, logic of one of football's "characters," manager
Jimmy Sirrell (pictured left). Ex-Darlo player Eric Probert
also makes a regular appearence. Available for £9.95 etc - or ask
nicely and you can borrow mine.
Surfing
there...
The
Official
Notts County website is pretty detailed and one of the better
efforts of this ilk. A new site, which is well laid out and neat-looking,
is YouPies - early days but
already lots of info and stats. Worth a peek is SuperNotts
is a site dedicated to nostalgia and Notts past. Don't also forget
Notts County Supporters'
Trust, who were supportive of the Darlo Trust in the past.
Next
away game: Bury (Saturday February
23rd, 3pm)

Anything
worth adding? Please e-mail
us any suggestions. Back to index page
No responsibility
is taken for accuracy, if in doubt check before travelling.
© DAFTS 2007
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