Notts
Honours
Best League Finish
Notts have twice finished 3rd in what would now
be called the Premier League:- 1890/91
(This was only the 3rd season of League Football) and 1900/01.
The highest finish in living memory was 15th in the top flight for
two seasons running, the better points tally came in 1982/83.
Top of the top flight
Notts were last seen at the very top of the English
pyramid after two games of season 1983/84.
Longest spell in the top flight
County enjoyed 16 consecutive seasons in the
top flight from 1897/98 to the end
of 1912/13.
Since then, Notts have twice managed 3 season
stints at the very top, 1923/24 to
1925/26
and 1981/82 to 1983/84.
There was also an odd season at the highest level in 1991/92.
Longest spell in the top two tiers
Notts spent the first 38 seasons of the Football
League in the top two tiers before relegation to the 3rd tier came in 1930.
Since then, the club's longest spell in the top two divisions was 12 seasons
(mostly under manager Jimmy Sirrel) from 1973/74
to 1984/85.
Promotion
Notts have been promoted 13 times in all.....
From the 2nd tier
As Champions
County have been crowned champions of the 2nd tier three times; 1896/97*,
1913/14
& 1922/23.
*Even though Notts won the league
in 1896/97, they still had to take part in what were then called end of
season "Test Matches" in which promotion and relegation issues were decided,
Notts came top of a 4 team group to secure promotion to the top flight.
Automatic Promotion
Notts finished runners-up to gain promotion to the top flight during
Jimmy Sirrel's 2nd spell as Manager in 1980/81.
Play Offs
County won their 2nd successive Play Off final
at Wembley Stadium in 1990/91
under manager Neil Warnock to earn an incredible double promotion to the
Top Flight.
Notts were unsuccessful in an
end of season "Test Match" in both 1893/94 and 1894/95, but - as mentioned
earlier - County won promotion via a "Test Match" group in 1896/97. Test
matches were abolished for 1898/99 and it was not until 1986/87 that the
Play Offs were introduced.
From the 3rd tier
As Champions
Notts were twice crowned champions of the 3rd Division South; 1930/31
& 1949/50, the latter being the
highlight of the Tommy Lawton era with Meadow Lane crowds averaging over
35,000.
Automatic Promotion
Jimmy Sirrel's first spell in charge at Notts saw the Magpies secure
promotion on the final day of season 1972/73.
Play Offs
County won promotion in 1989/90
by winning their first ever Wembley final.
There have also been two unsuccessful
play off campaigns at this level; Notts lost in a 3rd tier semi-final in
1987/88
and were losing 3rd tier finalists at Wembley in 1995/96.
From the 4th tier
As Champions
Notts have been champions of the 4th tier on three occasions and all
in record breaking style;
County were unbeaten at home and won 30 of their 46 matches under Jimmy
Sirrel in 1970/71.
Notts won 10 consecutive league games (29 wins
in 46 overall) during 1997/98
under Sam Allardyce.
The Magpies notched up a goal difference of +65 and kept 26 clean sheets
with Kasper Schmeichel in goal in 2009/10.
Automatic Promotion
Notts were promoted from the League's basement division in 1959/60
as runners up.
Play Offs
Notts have not been promoted via the play-offs from the 4th tier.
County have only once competed
in the 4th tier play-offs, losing in the semi-finals to Coventry City in
2017/18.
The FA Cup
Notts County won
the FA Cup in 1893/94, County
were the first League club below the top flight to lift the trophy (having
been relegated to the 2nd tier the previous season) and they won it by
beating Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at Goodison Park, Jimmy Logan scored a hat-trick.
This was also the first time the FA Cup had been won by a professional
club outside of the North West or West Midlands.
Notts had also reached the final in 1890/91
but lost 3-1 to Blackburn Rovers.
County last reached the Semi-Finals in 1921/22,
since then Notts have reached the Quarter-Finals three times; 1954/55,
1983/84
and 1990/91.
Notts last reached the 5th Round (last 16) in 2009/10.
For a list of all Notts' FA Cup results see here.
The
League Cup
Notts have never got further than the Quarter
Finals which have been reached three times; 1963/64,
1972/73
and 1975/76.
Click on the League Cup for a list of all of Notts' games played in
this competition.
Other Cup Competitions
Notts lifted the Anglo-Italian Cup at
Wembley after beating Ascoli 2-1 in season 1994/95
having been runners-up the previous
season.
A list of all Notts' Anglo-Italian Cup results can be viewed here.
The Anglo-Scottish Cup final was reached
in 1980/81, this was a two leg home
and away affair in which Notts met Chesterfield, but County lost 2-1 on
aggregate.
A list of all Notts' Anglo-Scottish Cup results can be viewed here.
County were one step away from reaching the Associate
Members Cup* final at Wembley in seasons
1987/88
and 1989/90.
Notts had also reached the semi-finals of the largely ignored 3rd Division
South Cup in 1936/37 which required
a replay not played until the following season and watched by a mere 500,
which Notts lost 8-3!
The Magpies qualified for the pre-season Watney Cup in 1972.
A list of all Notts' results in minor domestic Football League competitions
can be viewed here.
*The Associate Members Cup is
now referred to as The Football League Trophy but more commonly known by
whoever happens to be sponsoring it.
For a list of results in the Nottinghamshire F.A.
County Cup see here.
Notts' Record Result
15-0 v Rotherham in
a 1st Round FA Cup tie at Trent Bridge on 24th
October 1885.
Notts record league victory is
11-1
v Newport County at Meadow Lane in a 3rd tier fixture on 15th
January 1949 whilst the best away league
win is 8-1 at
Accrington on 12th October 1889.
The record victory in England
is held by Preston North End who beat Hyde Utd 26-0 in an FA Cup tie in
1887, the record English League victory is 13-0 which has occurred twice,
most recently in 1946 when Newcastle United beat Newport County. Arbroath
beat Bon Accord 36-0 in a Scottish Cup match in 1885.
Notts biggest victory in a friendly match appears
to be 17-0 against
a Rolls Royce Leisure Select XI on 7th July 2018, prior to that Notts had
recorded a 15-1
victory at Newquay on 26th July 2002.
Notts' Most Surprising Victories
Notts most startling win has to be the 1-0
victory at Aston Villa on the opening day of season
1981/82,
Villa were the reigning English league champions who would go on to win
the European Cup that season, whilst for Notts it was their first top flight
fixture in 55 years. County also won the return match by the same score
at Meadow Lane.
In the FA Cup. as
a 2nd tier club in 1955 the Magpies
knocked
out Chelsea who went on to be top flight champions that season. As
a 4th tier club Notts knocked out top flight Wigan Athletic in 2010 in
an away replay.
In the League Cup,
in the days when cup competitions were taken far more seriously, 3rd tier
Notts knocked out the holders Stoke City
in 1972/73 to reach the Quarter-finals (City's line-up included England's
1966 World Cup final hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst). 2nd tier County beat
Leeds United, who had contested the most recent European Cup Final, at
Elland Road in 1975/76.
Notts Shame
Notts' Lowest League Finish
Notts finished in 5th place in the 5th tier
for the 2nd successive season 2021/22,
losing in the 'Eliminator Round' of the play offs having lost in the final
and semi-final in the previous two campaigns.
Lowest ever league position on the night after
a match
Notts were 23rd in the 5th tier under manager Neal Ardley after game
3 of season 2019/20.
Longest spell in the lower divisions (below the
2nd tier)
2022/23 will be Notts' 28th consecutive season
out of the top two divisions, this being easily County's longest spell
in lower league football which began with season 1995/96,
dropping into non-league for season 2019/20.
Relegation
Notts have been relegated 17 times in all.....
From the Top flight
County have surrendered their place amongst the elite on 6 occasions;
1892/93*,
1912/13,
1919/20,
1925/26,
1983/84
and 1991/92
*In 1892/93 (the first season
in which clubs would be relegated to the newly created 2nd tier) Notts
lost their top flight status after losing an end of season "Test Match".
Notts (and Bury) won a reprieve
from relegation on 30/May/1905 in a vote after it was decided to increase
the 1st and 2nd tiers from 18 to 20 clubs, Notts received 10 more votes
than Manchester United who remained in tier 2.
From the 2nd tier
Notts have dropped into the lower leagues on 5 occasions; 1929/30,
1934/35,
1957/58,
1984/85
and 1994/95.
From the 3rd tier
Notts have been relegated to the basement division 5 times; 1958/59,
1963/64,
1996/97,
2003/04
and 2014/15.
From the 4th tier
Notts were relegated to the 5th tier (non-league) in season 2018/19.
Heaviest Notts defeat
Notts have lost 9-1
on three occasions:- At Aston Villa in only Notts' 3rd ever Football League
fixture on 29th September 1888, then
at Blackburn Rovers (also in a league match) on 16th
November 1889 and at Portsmouth in the 2nd tier on 9th
April 1927.
The worst ever home defeat
is 7-0 to Preston
North End in an early Football League fixture on 3rd
November 1888.
Most Embarrassing Defeat
Notts have been knocked
out of the FA Cup by non-league clubs on more
occasions than anybody should care to remember. The most embarrassing of
these would have to be the 3-1 home defeat to Cheshire County League outfit
Rhyl on 5th January 1957 as Notts
were a 2nd tier club at the time. Manager George Poyser, who'd taken County
all the way to the Quarter-finals two years earlier, was sacked a few days
later.
In the league on 17th
September 2022, Notts lost 3-1 at part-time Dorking Wanderers who had
just been promoted to tier 5 having only previously spent two seasons in
tier 6 following their formation 23 years earlier.
Points deduction
Notts were the first club ever to be deducted a league point on 4th
December 1889 after fielding an unregistered player borrowed from non-league
Nottingham Forest - Tinsley Lindley - when Notts were a man short for the
visit of Aston Villa at Trent Bridge on 9th
November 1889. Ironically Lindley had studied law and was to become
a barrister and he took charge of the appeal heard on 27th December, the
deduction was wiped out but the fine was increased from £5 to £25.
Notts' Record Goal Scorers
Les Bradd scored 124 league goals (or 125 depending on which book you choose to refer to!) and a further 12 Cup goals for Notts having joined from Rotherham United in October 1967. Bradd eventually left for Stockport County in the summer of 1978.
Tom Keetley is Notts'
highest league scorer in a single season scoring 39 league goals in 1930/31.
In terms of appearances, Keetley is also Notts most prolific scorer averaging
0.91 goals a game and holds the Notts record for the most hat-tricks, 10.
Season 2009/10 saw
Lee
Hughes become the first Notts player to score
30 league goals in one league campaign since Tommy
Lawton bagged 31 in season 1949/50.
The all time record number of
goals in a season is 60 set by Dixie Dean for Everton in 1927/28, Dean
later had a short spell at Notts.
Harry Cursham notched up 48 (or is it 49?!) FA Cup goals in the 1880s, an all time record for any player regardless of club. He scored 6 times in the 11-1 replay at Wednesbury Strollers on 10th December 1881.
Three different players have managed to score 5 goals for Notts in a single league match, but this hasn't happened since 1927 when Bertie Mills netted 5 times in a 9-0 victory over Barnsley. The most recent player to score 4 goals for Notts in a competitive match was Paul Heffernan on 21st February 2004 in a 4-1 win over Stockport County.
Special mentions for Barrie
Jones who scored the fastest
Notts goal on record; just 6 seconds after
kick-off in a 2-0 win at home to Torquay United on March 31st 1962....
Ian
Scanlon who scored a hat-trick in the space
of 2 minutes and 45 seconds at home to Sheffield Wednesday in a 3-3 draw
on 16th November 1974 (the first
goal was a penalty scored on 57 minutes 15 seconds, followed by the 2nd
on 59 minutes 10 seconds, whilst the 3rd was scored on exactly 60 minutes)
.... and Tommy Johnson
who scored in both of Notts' successful Wembley play off finals on 27th
May 1990 and 2nd June 1991, Johnson
netted twice in the latter to become the hero of a double promotion to
the top flight.
Attendance's
Best
At Meadow Lane, 47,310
saw
Notts lose 1-0 to York City in an FA Cup Quarter Final on 12th
March 1955.
The highest league crowd at
the Lane was 46,000
for the visit of Nottingham Forest on April
22nd 1950 - Jackie Sewell and Tommy Lawton were the scorers in a 2-0
win for Notts that secured promotion to the 2nd tier.
The best ever home average attendance is
35,176
for the 3rd tier championship season of 1949/50.
The biggest crowd Notts have played in front
of is 61,003
at Liverpool in an FA Cup 4th Round tie on 29th
January 1949, County lost 1-0. The biggest crowd for a regular Notts
league fixture is 49,604 at
Everton on 20th October 1951, which
County won 5-1. The 2nd tier Play Off final at Wembley on 2nd
June 1991 was watched by 59,940.
At Trent Bridge
twice there was an estimated attendance of 25,000:-
on 23rd February 1907 n the FA Cup
3rd Round v Tottenham Hotspur and for a 1st tier league clash v Everton
on 26th December 1908.
Worst
The lowest Meadow Lane league crowd
is
1,927 for
Notts v Chesterfield in the 4th tier on Saturday 2nd
April 1966 (this was due to heavy snow which caused many other games
in the Football League to be called off that day)*.
In cup competitions at Meadow Lane just
900
witnessed a FL Trophy cup tie at home to Leyton Orient on 3rd September
2007.
The lowest average home attendance recorded
since accurate figures were required from 1925 onwards is
4,258
for season 1996/97 (this being a calamitous
relegation to the 4th tier in which Notts finished rock bottom and set
a club record of 20 league games without a win). In season 2020/21
Notts played all but one league home game behind closed doors due to Government
lockdown restrictions.
The lowest away attendance in
a league match (since accurate figures were recorded from 1925) was away
to Dover Athletic in the 5th tier on 26th
April 2022, no official figure was published but the gate was said
to be '600 odd'. The lowest in the Football League is 1,215
away to Accrington Stanley on Tuesday 23rd
February 2016, Stanley occupied a 4th tier play-off place at the time.
The lowest FA Cup attendance for a Notts match since the 1880's is 1,026,
also at Accrington Stanley on Tuesday 18th
November 2014 (Scotland v England was broadcast live on ITV that same
night).
*An all-time low attendance
for any normal scheduled League match at Trent Bridge was estimated as
200-300 for Notts County v. Crewe Alexandra in the 2nd tier on 17th February
1894, this being the only time a Trent Bridge fixture was believed to have
been watched by less than 1,000 (a typical Saturday attendance that season
was watched by 5,000-6,000), such a pitiful turn out was due to extremely
bad weather (It snowed heavily that weekend and the River Trent rose by
5 feet). Bad weather would also account for the low turn out for the top
flight fixture v Preston NE on Wednesday 27th March 1901 which was estimated
at 1,500.
Since the re-building of Meadow Lane
A list of the top 50 and lowest 50 gates at Notts
since August 1994 can be viewed here.
Appearances
6ft 5in goalkeeping legend Albert
Iremonger
made 564
League and 37
FA Cup appearances for Notts. Born in Yorkshire
in June 1884, Iremonger made his Notts debut at Sheffield Wednesday on
April fools day in 1905 having signed from local side Notts Jardines, he
spent 21 years with Notts setting an all time record of consecutive League
appearances (211) before making his last appearance at home to Huddersfield
Town at the age of 41, he then joined Lincoln City.
David Needham made
429
League and
42
Cup appearances (including those as substitute)
in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Oldest & Youngest
The oldest player to
turn out for the Maggies was
Albert Iremonger
who was 41 years and 320
days v Huddersfield Town on 1st May 1926. Next oldest is Bill
Corkhill - 41
years and 142 days v Barnsley on 12th September
1951.
The Youngest player to
play competitive first-team action for Notts is Jermaine
Pennant who was still 13
days short of his 16th birthday when he came
on as a substitute in the FA Cup tie at Sheffield United on 2nd
January 1999, Pennant had earlier come on as a sub in a FL Trophy cup
tie at home to Hull City on 22nd December
1998, sadly he was snapped up by Arsenal before he could make his League
debut.
Next youngest is Tony
Bircumshaw who made his debut v Brentford
on April 3rd 1961 at 16
years and 54 days.
Penalty Shoot-outs
Notts were first involved in a penalty shoot
out as early as 1st May 1975 in the local County Cup semi-final, winning
5-4 v Mansfield Town, this being before shoot outs had been introduced
to the World Cup. The first competitive match to involve Notts in a penalty
competition was on 21st February 1990 away to Hereford United in the Associate
Members Cup, Notts winning 4-3.
In the FA Cup, 2nd or multiple replays were scrapped
for season 1991/92 and Notts played their first shoot out in that competition
seven years later at Wigan Athletic on 15th December 1998, winning 4-2.
Notts also won their first League Cup shoot out
on 12th August 2003 at Preston and reached two successive Anglo-Italian
Cup finals in 1994 and 1995 via shoot outs deciding drawn semi-finals.
For a full list of all competitive Notts matches
that were decided by shoot outs, click here.
Abandoned Matches
01/Oct/2016 Notts
County v Morecambe [League], 10 mins (Rain) - drawing 0-0
05/Feb/2011 Tranmere
Rovers v Notts County [League], 53 mins (Rain) - Notts winning 1-0
(Gow)
02/Nov/2010 Hartlepool United
v Notts County [League], 3 mins (Rain) - drawing 0-0
02/Nov/2002 Bristol City
v Notts County [League], 49 mins (Rain) - winning 1-0 (Heffernan)
25/Apr/2001 Notts
County v Wycombe Wanderers, 6 mins (Rain) - drawing 0-0
17/Jan/2001 Notts
County v Wimbledon [FA Cup], 51 mins (Fog) - drawing 1-1 (Liburd)
11/Dec/1976 Notts County
v Burnley [League], 45 mins (Frost) - drawing 0-0
28/Dec/1965 Notts County
v Tranmere Rovers [League], 14 mins (Fog) - drawing 0-0
25/Mar/1965 Notts County
v Millwall [League], 45 mins (Rain) - losing 1-2 (Pace)
03/Dec/1960 Notts County
v Halifax Town [League], 45 mins (Rain) - losing 0-2
25/Dec/1937 Gillingham v
Notts County [League], 37 mins (Fog) - losing 0-1, a Christmas Day wasted.
10/Mar/1934 Notts County
v Bradford Park Avenue [League], 16 mins (Rain) - drawing 0-0
12/Oct/1912 Tottenham Hotspur
v Notts County [League], 82 mins (Fog) - winning 3-1 (Cantrell, Cantrell,
Waterall)
06/Jan/1906 Bolton
Wanderers v Notts County [League], 45 mins (Rain) - losing 0-2
30/Mar/1903 Aston Villa v
Notts County [League], 45 mins (Rain) - losing 0-1
12/Jan/1901 Bolton Wanderers
v Notts County [League], 26 mins (Fog), drawing 0-0
19/Jan/1895 Grimsby Town
v Notts County [League], 44 mins (Rain), losing 2-3 (Allan, Logan)
13/Dec/1890 Notts County v Sunderland
[League], 62 mins (Fog), drawing 1-1 (own goal),. It was agreed to replay
the match two days later to save Sunderland another long journey.
23/Nov/1889 Stoke v Notts County
[League], ?? mins (Fog), drawing 2-2 (Daft, Walkerdine), this was called
off in the 2nd half and originally the result stood but on 07/Dec it was
decided it would have to be replayed.
Midweek Fixtures
Prior to floodlights being installed at Meadow
Lane in 1953, Notts had to play their
midweek fixtures in the afternoon.
'Half-day closing' - with
shops and businesses being shut from 1pm - was on a Thursday in the Nottingham
area and Notts naturally staged their midweek games on that day so that
working age supporters could attend. The midweek crowds however did tend
to be below average and were particularly poor towards the end of the season
if the team had nothing to play for. Post floodlights, County were able
to move the kick-off time to the evening, although they persisited with
Thursdays for another twelve years before it must have occurred to them
that it would be more practical to switch to Wednesday nights to aid player
recovery time. The last of the regular Thursday fixtures was at home to
Colchester United on 7th October 1965.
Since 1973/74 the club has favoured Tuesday nights with the standard Meadow
Lane evening kick-off time of 7:30pm being changed to 7:45pm in 1990.
Sunday Football
Up until the 1980s Sunday was still recognised
as a day of rest and worship with strict trading laws preventing professional
football from being staged. An exception was made during the 1973/74 season
due to an energy crisis and Notts played their first ever Sunday fixture
at home to Crystal Palace on 20th January
1974. With attitudes changing, two further Sunday home games
in 1981 and 1984
attracted decent crowds and Notts then took the decision to re-schedule
three of their 1984/85 home league Saturday fixtures to Sunday afternoon
- Following the first of these three matches the star player Justin Fashanu,
a practising Christian, refused to play on Sundays and made it his chief
ambition to get Sunday football abolished. By this time however ITV had
begun broadcasting regular live top flight matches on Sundays and Notts
would, thereafter, often play at least a couple of Sunday fixtures each
season, a home switch usually being a result of cup draws scheduling both
County and Forest at home on the same weekend with the police no longer
willing to co-ordinate operations for both clubs on the same day.*
*The last occasion both Notts
and Forest played first-team fixtures in front of home crowds at the same
time was on 7th March 1981.
New Football League ground locations
that Notts have yet to visit
As of May 2022.....
Arsenal - Moved to Ashburton
Grove in 2006
Bolton Wanderers - Moved to Burnden
Way, Horwich in 1997
Brentford - Moved to Lionel Road
in 2020
Brighton & Hove Albion - Moved
to Falmer Stadium in 2011
Cardiff City - Moved to Stadiwm
Dinas Caerdydd in 2009
Derby County - Moved to Pride Park
in 1997
Hull City - Moved to The Circle
in 2002
Leicester City ** - Moved to Filbert
Way in 2002
West Ham United - Moved to
London Stadium (formerly Olympic Stadium) in 2016
*Many of these grounds are currently
re-named under sponsorship deals
**Notts did play a friendly
at Leicester's new ground in 2007
***Notts have visited the former
league ground of all the above teams who have played at a different venue
whilst members of The Football League.
For league sequences, season
records and a results chart . . .
click HERE.
upthemaggies@hotmail.com
18.09.2022