16
On The Road
‘WE HAD HIT
ROCK BOTTOM.
NOW WE’RE JUST
GLAD TO BE HERE’
FROM THE ASHES
NATIONAL LEAGUE
1
1
Redmond 74WREXHAM
Dennis 69NOTTS COUNTY
NATHAN
SALT
at Meadow LaneO
NLY weeks ago, Les
Bradd prepared
himself to say good-
bye to Notts County
as he knew it. In his
mind, that was it.
As County’s all-time leading
goalscorer — 137 goals in 441
games — he will always be part of
the club. But with a winding-up
petition from the High Court over
unpaid tax bills seemingly
signalling the end of their
157-year existence, Bradd, 71,
was ready to close the book. The
club was dying.
‘The depression of last season
was so bad,’ he says, a lump in his
throat as he reflects on falling out
of the Football League. ‘I was of
the belief that Notts County was
not going to carry on as Notts
County Football Club, it was
going to have to liquidate and
re-form — that was how bad I
thought it was.’
The phones kept ringing in
the offices, chasing up proof
of payment for HMRC, and
resignation set in.
But there was life left
in the club.
At the end of July,
Danish brothers Alex-
ander and Christoffer
Reedtz stepped for-
ward to buy County
from Alan Hardy. Debts
were paid up, season
ticket sales soared and,
for the first time in a
long time, Bradd could
raise a smile.
‘It was the biggest relief in my
mind,’ he says. ‘I just wanted to
meet the guys and give them a
big hug.’
A decade ago a study
concluded that Notts County
was the most stressful club to
support in the country. The club’s
exasperated fan-base would likely
expect to still be top of that
particular table.
Twenty-one managers in the
last decade and hordes of play-
ers, there has been more anarchy
than stability. Fans still wince at
reminders of the five-year deal
signed by Sol Campbell in 2009,
only for him to walk out and tearthat up three days after his debut
against Morecambe, and of Sven
Goran Eriksson’s stint as director
of football.
The troubles never stopped and
last season saw them pay the
price — the oldest Football
League club became non-League’s
new kid on the block.
Yesterday’s opponents Wrex-
ham last made the trip to Meadow
Lane for a League fixture in 2007.They have faced their own finan-
cial difficulties after dropping
into the fifth tier and are still try-
ing to fight their way back into
the 92 club.
The crowd of 6,263 was bettered
by no team in the National
League and in League Two only
by Bradford City. The game came
to life in the second half when
Kristian Dennis headed County
in front, dropping to his knees in
celebration. Wrexham, urged onby 1,593 travelling fans,
equalised in spectacular
fashion five minutes later
when former Salford
City ace Devonte
Redmond found the
top corner.
Honours even. County
more than held their own
but any talk of an imme-
diate return for the club
was quickly dismissed.
Given all the heartache and
misery County fans have had
to endure, only realism — and
pessimism — remain.
‘The fans are not expecting
much, we are just glad to be
here,’ Dane Vincent, a 31-year-old
supporter who edits fan site
Gerrit Forward, says. ‘We have hit
rock bottom now so hopefully we
can build our way back up and
do something like Luton have
done and Lincoln. They came
down and bounced back stronger.
‘You think for a club who has
never been in non-League before
you would want to go straight
back up but we are accepting it is
going to be difficult.’FANS FLOCK TO SEE
NOTTS COUNTY RISE
Opener: Kristian Dennis REXPICTURE:
GRAHAM
CHADWICKSleeping
giants:
County and
Wrexham
brought
6,263 fans