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| First County Visit: | Tuesday 12th September 1995 |
| Competition: | Endsleigh League Division 2 – (Tier 3) |
| Result: | Notts County 1 – 0 Stockport County |
| Attendance: | 4,588 |
| Away Trip: | 70 |
| Away Day: | 306 |
| County Line-up | 1 Neil Edwards; 2 Sean Connelly; 3 Lee Todd; 4 Tom Bennett; 5 Mike Flynn; 6 Jim Gannon; 7 Chris Beaumont; 8 Paul Ware; 9 Ian Helliwell; 10 Alun Armstrong; 11 Marc Lloyd-Williams (14 Richard Landon) |
| Manager: | Dave Jones |
| County Visits: | 8 |
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REBUILDING WITH IMAGINATION NOT BREEZE BLOCK..
I’d never been to Meadow Lane before our visit in September 1995. And in many ways, I’m sad that I hadn’t.
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If the opportunity to go there had presented itself 3 years earlier I would have seen virtually a completely different ground, one that had seemingly, and according to the reference books, remained unchanged for 70 years. The one exception was that by 1991 it was three sided following the demolition of the Meadow Lane End in the late 70’s. On that site stood a sports centre and changing rooms. Photos of the old ground show it to be a pretty ramshackle affair, but one that looked as though it had lots of character.
Things changed in 1992. A brief skirmish with the top Division had ended in relegation in May 1992. But that one season had persuaded the Meadow Lane Board that big changes were needed. The old ground had struggled to cope with bigger crowds. A quite phenomenal development plan was launched as the season closed. The bulldozers moved in, and 17 weeks later, the three sides still in use had been completely redeveloped and were ready for action. And all for the small change of £3m!! Put it in perspective, the Cheadle End cost £1.5m, producing 4,800 seats. The three new stands at Meadow Lane, all built inside 4 months, provided accommodation for 13,400. It was quite a remarkable project.
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Meadow Lane
How things were – the old County Road Stand. It looked full of character
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The problem with many of these new constructions is that they provide minimal facilities and are all much of a muchness. Meadow Lane is based on the box like constructions elsewhere but in my view has retained a little bit of individuality. And when the 4th side, (the original Main Stand), was demolished and rebuilt in 1994, it completed a tidy ground, seating over 20,000. I liked it.
On our first two visits, we were located on the side, on the County Road Stand. The seats were a little low down for my liking, not giving much perspective across the pitch. For later trips we were in the Kop Stand, (which held well over 5,000), and gave a much more elevated view from behind the goal. What particularly attracted me was the car park across the road, on the site of the old Cattle Market. Long disused, but many of the old buildings still stood, providing space for a variety of small businesses. It was ideal, 20 yards from the exit gate from the Kop Stand, and if arrival was early enough, a spot near the gates provided for a speedy exit!!
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Meadow Lane
A speedy exit from the Kop Stand, (right), to the car park just through the gates on the left!!
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But speedy exits may well have been fine. I have recounted elsewhere on this site that the last 10 years or so of my working life led me to spending a lot of time in the Nottingham area. And my belief is, having had to navigate through the area, that the traffic management must be run by non-drivers. A city of countless traffic lights, none of which ever appeared to be in sequence, meant that it took almost as long to traverse the city and get back on the M1 north than the rest of the journey back home occupied.
Meadow Lane was never the happiest of hunting grounds. Eight visits, and only two wins. But one of those was one that really counted. It came at the back end of March 1997. It was our 7th game in 25 days, and of those there had been ‘on the road’ trips to Crewe; Middlesbrough; Carlisle and Peterborough. The players must have been exhausted. We stood 8th, and in danger of slipping back from the promotion race.
Whilst we had games in hand, consequent upon progress in the Coca-Cola Cup and LDV Vans Trophy, a win was essential. An early lead came courtesy of Mike Flynn, or so the record books tell us. The highlights link in the list below gives some credence to the suggestion that it was an own goal. Judge for yourself!! We conceded an equaliser just before the hour and the game seemed to be ebbing away. Two points dropped?
It stayed that way until deep into added time, when a long ball into the Notts area from Sean Connelly was headed on by Brett Angell. It looped towards the 6-yard box and as the keeper came out Graeme Hogg, (erstwhile of Old Trafford), intercepted it, and nudged it into the back of the net. That one was undoubtedly an own goal!! And a precious one too. As the travelling support celebrated wildly, it meant that it pushed us up a place, and within 3 points of leaders Luton. A key match, and moment, in the run-in to what was eventual promotion.
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Meadow Lane
The view from the Kop Stand, and the goal in which Graeme Hogg’s misdirected header ended up in March 1997
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A game just prior to Christmas 2005 was a singularly dispiriting affair. We had won 2 out the 21 league games prior to going to Meadow Lane. I’d seen all bar one of them, (missing out on Mansfield on the opening day courtesy of a family holiday in Lanzarote – bad planning I know!!). Many times over the years travel has been more in hope than expectation. This time there wasn’t even hope, but Jeff; Rob, Mark and I went over anyway.
It was a hopeless display, capped by a sending off for Ashley Williams. Watching them that day was like seeing 11 men who had only just met each other and there was no leadership from the management. Chris Turner was to have another 10 days in the job. If the display at Meadow Lane was hopeless the one at the Moss Rose on Boxing Day was beyond any description. It was of course the turning point. Who could have imagined that a team which headed for the M1 that day in Nottingham, well adrift at the bottom of the table, would survive the drop into the Conference? Well we did – and Jim Gannon was the man who turned things round.
He turned us round sufficiently for the last trip, (for me anyway), to Meadow Lane to be important at the other end of the table. In early January 2008 we witnessed the 3rd win in a row, and with 13 to come in the next 17 games, it launched us into the play-offs and eventual promotion.
Our paths didn’t cross again until the 2019/20 season. Our second game, (after an opening day defeat at the hands of Maidenhead), was at Notts. They had been relegated from League 2, and manager Neil Ardley had been forced to cobble a side together in only a couple of weeks, following all sorts of financial uncertainty. I got up that day with every intention of going. But as recounted elsewhere on this site, energy levels haven’t been too good over the last couple of years. It got to around 4.15, (the latest for a departure), and the thought of driving up Woodhead; down the M1 at rush hour, and then circumventing the Nottingham traffic lights felt just too much like hard work.
So, I haven’t seen Notts in action for 12 years now, never mind going back to a ground which I like. As I write this, (16th June 2020), there’s still some debate about whether the Conference play-offs will be held, but I note that Notts are hopeful that they will. It would provide an opportunity for an instant return to League football. They would be one of the few who have down that. Think about how long it took Luton and Grimsby, and then think about how many fellow travellers from our league days, (Wrexham; Boston and York for example), haven’t managed it. Maybe 2020/21 will be our year – if the season ever starts that is!
June 2020
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VISITS
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| Day | Date | Competition | Tier / Round | Opponents | Res | F | A | Crowd | Away Day |
| Tues | 12/09/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Notts County | L | 0 | 1 | 4,588 | 306 |
| Tues | 07/11/95 | Auto Windscreens Trophy | Group Round | Notts County | L | 0 | 1 | 2,015 | 313 |
| Sat | 22/03/97 (Highlights) | Nationwide Football League – Division 2 | Tier 3 | Notts County | W | 2 | 1 | 4,238 | 354 |
| Tues | 21/01/03 | Nationwide Football League – Division 2 | Tier 3 | Notts County | L | 2 | 3 | 4,392 | 476 |
| Sat | 21/02/04 | Nationwide Football League – Division 2 | Tier 3 | Notts County | L | 1 | 4 | 5,618 | 502 |
| Sat | 17/12/05 | Coca-Cola Football League – League 2 | Tier 4 | Notts County | L | 0 | 2 | 4,261 | 544 |
| Tues | 26/09/06 | Coca-Cola Football League – League 2 | Tier 4 | Notts County | L | 0 | 1 | 4,021 | 560 |
| Sat | 05/01/08 | Coca-Cola Football League – League 2 | Tier 4 | Notts County | W | 2 | 1 | 4,120 | 595 |
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ON MY JOURNEY WITH COUNTY AROUND 180 GROUNDS
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Previously – ADAMS PARK Next stop – PORTMAN ROAD
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