Football Season Review

Notts County were never going to have an easy ride this season, as they started the campaign with inexperienced manager Chris Kiwomya at the helm and following a summer during which they lost several key players without replacing them. Their start to the season was dreadful, as they won only two and lost ten of their opening fourteen games, and Kiwomya was relieved of his duties in the last week of October. The club took a huge gamble when naming his successor, as they opted to appoint Shaun Derry, still an active player, who had no previous managerial experience. The rookie manager got the Magpies to start playing some eye-catching football, but needed five games in charge to record his first win. Notts County turned into a rather respectable home side under Derry, and it was that which was the eventual reason they stayed up, but their away form was dreadful throughout the campaign, as they ended the season with the worst form on their travels in the division. After enjoying some decent results in December and January, the Magpies entered a crisis in mid February, as they had a run of six games from which they collected only a point. Things looked rather hopeless following this run, as they found themselves eight points below safety at one point, but they went on to win six of their final nine games and finish three points above Tranmere, therefore avoiding relegation. Derry deserves a lot of praise for steering the Magpies to safety and doing so playing some attractive football, but it is clear that demands will be higher next season, and the young manager will need to play his cards right during the summer in order to avoid another season of struggle.

Player of the Season: Alan Sheehan