Image: Wikipedia
Six teams currently playing in League Two have played in the top flight of English football – Division One/Premier League – over the years. Grimsby were up there from the 1930s for over a decade until they were relegated when football resumed after World War 2. Bradford was in there as early as 1907, Wimbledon had a straight stretch of 14 seasons in the 1980s and 90s, while Notts County, a founding member of the football league, competed in Division One until 1926, returned for brief spells in the 80s and 90s, and were relegated a year before the Premier League formed in 1992.
The other League Two clubs who have played top flight football, Carlisle and Swindon, played each other overnight. Carlisle played for the one season in 1974/75, and Swindon in 1993/94. Both clubs finished last in their one season in Division One/Premier League, both were relegated, and neither have returned to the highest level of English football.
Swindon have found some form in the first month of 2025 and easily accounted for Carlisle, 5-1 at Brunton Park, and with last-placed Morecombe’s surprise 4-2 win over Fleetwood, it’s Carlisle who find themselves back on the bottom of the table. With Tranmere’s and Accrington’s positions in League Two becoming more tenuous as the season continues, I thought Carlisle would be the team to lift themselves up out of the relegation zone. I had Tranmere and Morecombe pencilled in as the two teams relegated in May but, after last night’s result, Morecombe’s upcoming Tuesday night away clash against 17th placed Newport and their following home game against Accrington are games to keep an eye out for.
At the other end of the table, Notts, Doncaster and Wimbledon had wins they had to win if they want to continue to push for promotion, while top placed Walsall, who’d suffered successive losses at the end of January, drew overnight against Salford. They’re seven points clear on top of the table, a handy buffer, and are still odds-on to win the title, but their form is faltering. They lost badly to Bradford and Fleetwood before their draw with Salford, and it’s no coincidence the teams in the hunt for promotion below them are the most consistent teams in the league. In the last six rounds, Notts, Doncaster, Crewe, Port Vale, and Bradford have lost only once, while Wimbledon haven’t lost at all.
Colchester’s clash with Walsall next Saturday is one to watch out for to see if the Saddlers can get back on the winners list, while the following mid-week matches of Wimbledon against Crewe and Port Vale’s home match against Notts will determine who the more consistent teams at the top of the table are.
Lois Brough, membership secretary, Notts County Supporters Association.
My routine going to a match varies. If my son Patrick is not at work, he will drive me to Meadow Lane but, if he is working, I have a friend Martin who gives me a lift and another friend, Carole, takes me home. I am Membership Secretary for NCFCOSA and open up the office about 11am until 2-30pm when we lock up and enter the stadium. Members pop into the office; we have a Prize Draw, so they pop in for tickets. There’s always someone to wave to or have a chat to.
I live about 29 minutes away from the stadium. I sit with my son and behind me is Stephen – we have sat near each other over 30 years. There were 15 of us at one time but, sadly, all have them died except Stephen and his Mum but, due to health problems, she can no longer attend.
As Membership Secretary I am kept busy. We have Committee meetings at the ground once a month; we fundraise and have given the Academy A coach goalposts footballs, have supplied the physio with equipment, paid for the scoreboard above the Kop and paid for maintenance as well. There is quite a list of what we achieved a few years back raising money to pay staff when things were not so good.
After the game, if with my son, we go straight home but, if Carole takes me home, we go to Costas for a coffee and chat about the match. At least twice a year I meet friends and we go in the Executive Box. I love that usually one around December 27th for my Birthday. Sadly, this year, both matches are away so it’s at the end of January for the Executive Box.
When I was 8 years old, I asked my Dad If I could go to the football match with him. He was a Forest fan. For the first six matches they did not win so I asked him to take me to the other club. They won the first match and I have been going ever since. I don’t mention my age if I can avoid it but on December 25th, I will be 93 years of age. I am deeply honoured to be Membership Secretary of the NCFCOSA. It is my life. I can no longer go to away matches sadly though. On my 90th Birthday I was invited to have dinner with the team and they presented me with a signed shirt and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. It was a surprise and lovely occasion. It was in video too and can be seen on You Tube if you use my name and Notts County.
I love my club and will serve as Membership Secretary as long as I am wanted. I am looking forward to the match in January in the Executive Box and, the week after, an ABBA tribute night at Notts County with a meal provided too – lovely to meet fans and enjoy the entertainment.
I would love Notts County to get promotion; we have a good team and love the atmosphere. Some of our members taking the large flag, which is raised up as the team go on the pitch, is a fantastic feeling. I have supported my team through thick and thin and will continue to do so. It’s a lovely atmosphere with the crowd clapping as the team comes on the pitch.
Colin Sisson Notts supporter.
How long have you followed Notts County for?
My ever first match was at Meadow Lane against Plymouth in ’85/’86. Couldn’t tell you anything about the game but distinctly remember being on a segregated Kop and seeing a green and white teddy bear being disembowelled on the perimeter fencing. The beautiful game.
Do you live in Notts area?
I do! Recently looked into my ancestry and realised that, on the Sisson side, we’ve moved a grand total of five miles in about 500 years. Progress.
Does your family follow them as well?
They do. My boys are third generation Notts fans and are very aware of dad’s “sleep in the shed” policy for fans of other clubs.* We’ve had season tickets as a family for the last three seasons. It’s obviously a challenge to promote supporting a League Two side (National League when we started as a family) when they are in playgrounds full of Premier League shirts, but they’ve been to more live games than most their age. They get it now.
*Not legally binding or real – but don’t tell them!
Who do you go to the games with? Your matchday routine?
Notts is normally game 3 of a weekend after both lads have played, so it can be a hectic rush. That said, there’s always time to high-five the Jimmy Sirrel statue outside Meadow Lane for luck…or bad things will happen. The club have recently opened a doughnut stall under the Family Stand, so that is fast becoming routine, too.
Favourite match?
You’d expect me to say the playoff final vs Chesterfield at Wembley (2023) but, in reality, I hated every second until Cedwyn Scott’s penalty went in! Beating Forest at Meadow Lane in ’94 – Sir Charlie Palmer Day – was fantastic, topped only by the following Monday at school.
Best season?
You’d be hard-pressed to beat the Munto season (2009-10). It started with rumoured Qatari backers, Sven-Goren Eriksson and Sol Campbell. Ended with a fraud investigation, a squad of fifteen players stretched to breaking point and fighting for the title with bankruptcy threatening in the background. Ben Robinson’s The Trillion Dollar Conman is a great read on it all.
Worst match?
I’m torn between Notts relegation to the National League in 2019 at Swindon and the game vs Bury in 2006 at Meadow Lane where a last-minute Julien Baudet penalty prevented the same fate. Ultimately, both are related. Notts had struggled to establish an identity for a long time and lurched from one crisis to another. Thankfully, things are a little calmer now!
Worst season?
2018-19 takes some beating. The season started with high expectations under Kevin Nolan following play-off disappointment the previous season. It ended with relegation to the National League under our third manager and an owner who announced the sale of the club following a very public display on social media.
Favourite Notts player? Why?
There’s been plenty down the years, but I’ve only followed one round Sainsbury’s in the state of a giddy child, despite being 29 at the time, and that is Steve Cherry. Not only did I get to see him perform heroics in goal for Notts, but I was also lucky enough to be coached by him as a teenage goalkeeper myself. Steve was great with me and probably represents the last generation of ‘accessible’ professional players who live in the same community as you and shop in the same shops.
Best manager?
I missed the Jimmy Sirrel era but was lucky enough to be front-and-centre for Neil Warnock’s reign at Meadow Lane. When you look at Meadow Lane, still one of the best in L2, it is due to the progress made under Neil and the money brought in as he developed players like Tommy Johnson, Mark Draper, Dean Yates and Craig Short into talents worth millions. It was brilliant to see his show this year at Nottingham’s Playhouse and share superb memories.
Thoughts/prospects for the current season?
We’ve successfully addressed the defensive frailties that plagued last year’s campaign (and was often tested by the stronger National League sides, too). But losing Langstaff (transfer) and the likes of Dan Crowley and Jodi Jones (injuries) has limited our attacking output. Jatta has been a dominant threat, but we need fresh faces in January to recover our early momentum.
Read more of Paul Harman’s series HERE.
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About Paul Harman
Paul's earliest memories of sport is listening to the 1973 grand final between Richmond and Carlton and watching with his father the VFA grand final between Port Melbourne and Oakleigh a year later. His first football book was '100 great marks,' a birthday present given to him from his parents when he was six. Now in his sixth decade of life, he writes short stories and novels, and pens a regular column on English Football for the Footy Almanac
Great stuff Paul, must be something for Magpie fans watching Nottingham Forest be back to near their best in the Premier League across the Trent. Those big money backings from shady businessmen in the lower divisions never really do seem to work out well. The cycle will continue with these charlatans taking over clubs it seems.
The Doncaster story of old is apparently interesting when it comes to finding.
But they’re on fire at the moment.
Love the yarns about lower division clubs and their stints in Div1/Premier. Going way back.