Football Season Review

Notts County enjoyed a successful 2017/18 season albeit one which ended in double disappointment after missing out on automatic promotion and a trip to Wembley in the play-offs. The Magpies were flirting with relegation when Alan Hardy completed his takeover in January 2017. His appointment of Kevin Nolan as manager proved a shrewd one as they comfortably avoided a relegation battle and went into last summer looking to strengthen the squad with the aim of challenging for the play-offs. He cleared out the dead wood whilst keeping hold of the experienced strike-duo in Jon Stead and Shola Ameobi. The capture of midfield playmaker Jorge Grant on a season-long loan from neighbours Notrtingham Forest was his biggest coup however and they made a great start to the campaign, losing just two of their opening dozen league matches. They looked a good bet for automatic promotion but a poor January transfer window ultimately proved costly. They lost influential midfielder Ryan Yates, who was recalled from his loan by parent club Nottingham Forest, and the loan signing of striker Mason Bennett failed to pay off after he suffered a serious hamstring injury. A run of just two victories in nine games saw them overtaken by Wycombe Wanderers in the top three and they eventually finished in 5th place in the table. They were on the wrong end of referring decisions in both legs of their play-off semi-final with Coventry City, which ended in a 5-2 aggregate defeat. It was a painful end to an otherwise successful season but they face a challenging summer with leading goalscorer and player of the season Grant returning to the City Ground. Jon Stead and Shola Ameobi are both in the twilight of their careers and Nolan has plenty of work to do in the transfer market.

Player of the Season: Jorge Grant