Paul Smith - Record Breakers: The Inside Story of Notts Countys Momentous 1997/98 Title Triumph

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2018

Pitch Publishing

A2 Yeoman Gate

Yeoman Way

Durrington

BN13 3QZ

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

Paul Smith, 2018

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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library

Print ISBN 978-1-78531-424-7

eBook ISBN 978-1-78531-461-2

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For Didi, for feeding my love
of books.

For Dad, for feeding my love
for Notts County.

For Pip, for everything.

F IRSTLY, to all involved with Notts County in 1997/98, thank you for providing the most wonderful story with your brilliant achievements. Your records may never be broken.

My heartfelt thanks to the players for giving up their time to share their stories. Im truly thankful for your time, memories and for being part of this project.

You are: Alex Dyer, Andy Hughes, Craig Dudley, Darren Ward, Dennis Pearce, Gary Jones, Gary Strodder, Ian Baraclough, Ian Hendon, Ian Richardson, Justin Jackson, Mark Robson and Shaun Derry, as well as physio Roger Cleary.

An extra thanks to Richardson for responding to several of my enquiries, pointing me in the direction of some of your ex-team-mates and for lending your medal for a photoshoot.

My additional thanks to the other main players from the 1997/98 side that I didnt get the chance to speak to, for the role you played on the field: Matthew Redmile, Phil Robinson and Sean Farrell. Plus the assistant manager Mark Smith, and the chairman, the late Derek Pavis.

The story wouldnt be complete without the thoughts of the manager who made it happen. A big thanks to Sam Allardyce for taking the time out of your extremely busy schedule. Interviewing Sam would not have been possible without the help of Lucie Rose and Richard Keys Ill forever be grateful.

The wisdom, experience and guidance of Colin Slater has provided me with inspiration, as well as my foreword thank you dearly, Colin.

The support of Notts County is integral to the success of this book. My gratitude must go to media and communications manager Nick Richardson, who has been on hand throughout to answer my questions and point me in the right direction when it has been needed. In particular for arranging one-to-one time with Kevin Nolan. That thanks is extended to Kevin, for a wonderful chat about your memories of working with Sam.

And to multimedia editor Matt Rowland for supporting with the pictures in this book thanks for your patience! I must credit Notts County Football Club with the majority of the images you have seen in the book.

Thank you to commercial operations manager Simon Fotheringham for agreeing to the idea of this book and supporting it as an official club product. Your words proved very kind at an important time.

To Lynn Lawson in the club shop for your helpful guidance, as ever, and agreeing to stock the book.

Stuart Brothers, in your previous role working for the club, thank you for the helpful memories you provided.

Thank you to Les Bradd from the Notts County Former Players Association, for providing many of the contact details I needed to get started.

The expert subbing skills of my friend Anthony Naughton in making sense of my words allowed me to get the book in shape thank you, in particular for a mad final week to meet my deadline. And to photographer Chris Vaughan for your kindness always a pleasure.

To the team at Pitch Publishing led by Paul and Jane Camillin for making a dream come true. Ill be eternally grateful. And to designer Duncan Olner.

My good friend Gary Moss for keeping me driven and encouraging me throughout.

Thank you to the fans who provided their own recollections of this brilliant season to add a wonderful final chapter.

I cannot thank my wife Pip Smith enough for her extra special support. For believing in me, for pushing me along, for having the most creative mind and ideas and for being my rock. Ive needed it more than I ever could realise. Your creativity runs from the cover and throughout this book.

And crucially the love to my family for all of their support, always to my three parents, Steve, Gill and Tina, and my siblings Clair, Amy, Phil, Terrie, Alex and Ashleigh. And Ditte, Colin and Colette.

Lastly to you, the reader I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I did writing it.

By Colin Slater MBE BBC Radio
Nottingham and honorary vice-president of
Notts County Football Club

N OT so very long ago there was a dearth of publications about Notts County, which was both surprising and disappointing, given the clubs unique status as the oldest professional league club in the world.

By comparison, there has been a relative glut of new books in the past few years. Some have been written (or, more accurately, ghosted) by former players, most recently by the Magpies all-time record scorer, Les Bradd. His story was well worth telling and is well worth reading under the clever title Far Post because that is where strikers spend most of their playing time.

The largest single volume was compiled by Paul Mace, a lifelong Notts fan (as was his father before him), founder and managing director of Macesport, a Nottingham-based sports public relations and marketing communications agency with an impressive list of national and international clients. Since Alan Hardy became owner and chairman of the club he has recruited Paul to the board of directors.

For his book, One Flew Over the Magpies Nest, Paul has painstakingly interviewed a large number of former directors, officials and players for their memories of their often turbulent times at Meadow Lane. It is a huge volume, full of fascinating disclosures.

Paul Smiths book, Record Breakers, is different than all the others, worthy of the accolade of being unique, for two reasons.

The first is that it has been researched and written by a pure fan.

The second is that it concentrates exclusively on one remarkable season in the clubs long history: 1997/98, when Notts created five new records. For those of us who saw most, if not all, of the 46 league matches it remains, 20 years on, an unforgettable memory.

The most remarkable of the five record-breaking achievements was winning the fourth-tier championship as early in the campaign as 28 March 1998 the earliest date a title had ever been secured in any division of the Football League.

The title was guaranteed by a 1-0 home win over Leyton Orient, the distinction of scoring such a vital even historic goal falling to Mark Robson, the former West Ham United and Charlton Athletic midfielder.

Given that it was one of just four goals he scored that season, in 28 league appearances, Ive sometimes wondered how centre-forward Gary Jones felt that the distinction didnt fall to him. He did, after all, find the back of the net 28 times in spearheading the promotion drive.