The future’s bright, the future’s black and white for County

This summer, hidden somewhere amongst the depths of inflated transfer fees, ‘will he won’t he?!’ transfer sagas and managerial changes, a football revolution is occurring.

Where? Well that’s simple. Meadow Lane, home of League 2 outfit Notts County.

‘The Magpies’ as they are nicknamed, have consistently had to live in the shadow of hated city rivals and two time European Cup winners, Nottingham Forest.

However, for fans of County, this could all be about to change. Since Middle Eastern Consortium Munto Finance completed their takeover of the club in June, the profile of The Magpies has rocketed.

Recently appointed chief executive, Nottingham-born Peter Trembling made the new owners’ intentions clear in an interview with BBC Nottingham, claiming that “Our plans are very straightforward. We want to bring success back to Notts County Football Club."

The club has set a 5-year plan for County to be playing at Championship level and the investors haven’t wasted any time in showing they mean business, appointing ex-England boss Sven-Göran Eriksson as director of football to assist manager Ian McParland.

And it’s not just off the pitch that the big names have been brought to the midlands-based club.

Eriksson has got to work quickly, playing a huge part in the signing of 73-cap England defender Sol Campbell, as well as highly-rated young goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, whom the Swede managed whilst at Manchester City.

In addition, County have made some smart signings from Football League clubs. Lee Hughes, who scored 18 league goals for Oldham last season was snapped up quickly and has already got four goals this campaign.

Ex-Spurs midfielder Johnnie Jackson has joined from League 1 side Colchester and looks to be another astute signing. The 27-year old has shown he is clearly capable of playing at a higher level than League 2 by winning Colchester’s player of the season award when the club were in the Championship. Along with Campbell, Hughes and Schmeichel, the Magpies’ number 21 could well form the backbone of a County side that look certain to push for promotion this season.

Despite demonstrating the club’s huge potential in the first month of the new season, it’s important that all of those involved with Notts County FC keep their feet on the ground and look to build the club up from the bottom.

The board have realised this and have subsequently given Eriksson the responsibility of expanding the club. He has been made responsible for the development of training facilities, creating a centre of excellence as well as establishing links with other clubs.

The new owners would have struggled to find a more suitable candidate for the director of football role.

Eriksson’s 5-year stint as England manager will have played a part in Sol Campbell’s decision to drop down three divisions to join the club. Signing a player of Campbell’s pedigree has considerably raised the profile of the League 2 club.

The appointment of the ex-England boss has seen other talented players arrive at County, which has in turn seen improved performances on the pitch. This has led to the big rise in attendances at Meadow Lane, generating a lot more revenue for the club in the process.

The Swede will no doubt have created contacts with several of the Premiership’s top managers in his time as England head coach, straight away opening up the possibility of County benefiting from loan deals involving some of the country’s best young prospects. The loan signing of Portsmouth’s Matty Ritchie, who scored 12 goals from midfield whilst at Dagenham last season, is a prime example of the sort of player that fans of the Magpies can expect from now on.

There can be no doubting that it is certainly a very exciting time to be a fan of Notts County FC at the moment. It is, however, crucial that board and fans alike don’t get carried away by the recent takeover.

The board need to remain sensible and not forget that County are still a side plying their trade in the 4th tier of English football. A big rise in ticket prices is not what is needed at the club, especially not with the current economic climate looking the way it is.

The fans need to remember that despite the signings that have been made, these players will take time to gel, and success may not come straight away.

Patience is required by the board, management, players and fans if County are to fulfil their newly-found potential and climb up the ladder that is the English football league.

Notts County sit comfortably in the play-offs at the end of August, racking up an impressive total of 13 goals from just 5 games along the way, showing just why many bookmakers have installed them as favourites for the League 2 title.

The future’s bright, the future’s black and white.