Football Season Review

Notts County will feel they came close to achieving a replica of the similarly bizarre up-and-down 2009/10 season. Starting the campaign with high expectations, Notts County were hovering just above the drop zone early on after a sequence of matches in which they performed well but failed to get the results they deserved. The board showed a lack of patience remarkable even for standards of today's boards and opted to sack Craig Short, replacing him with Paul Ince in early November. The former MK Dons and Blackburn manager used his reputation to secure several high profile loan signings for the Magpies, including his son Thomas, and his first three months in charge were very successful. The Magpies performed well in the league, beating Sunderland away in the FA Cup, and forced a replay against eventual winners Manchester City with a 1-1 home draw only to be crushed at the Eastlands by a 5-0 scoreline. Unfortunately for Ince, his side's impressive cup run was as good as it got for him at Notts County. They entered a huge crisis in form following their cup exit, with their problems admittedly having most to do with the injuries they had and the departures of the on loan players, as well as key midfielder Ben Davies, who joined Derby County after putting in a transfer request on deadline day. However, the Magpies still managed to get positive results here and there, and looked good value to escape the drop, only to enter a horrid run of form in mid-March which saw Ince lose his job in early April, with the side finding themselves just above the bottom four. The losing run continued after Ince's departure, ending at nine games, and only in the second game in charge of his permanent successor, Martin Allen, did Notts County manage to get back to winning ways. The arrival of Allen had a positive effect on the squad who won his first two games in charge, only to concede a 95th minute equaliser at home to Brentford, and the 2-1 away defeat at MK Dons in the penultimate game of the season left the Magpies entering the final game of the season fearing for their lives, dreading the thought that the goal conceded against the Bees could end up relegating them. However, the other results in the final round went their way, and the Magpies were able to celebrate survival in a season where they probably would've had nothing to do with the drop zone had they been managed in a better manner.

Player of the Season: Neal Bishop