County just a sorry mess
Wrong type of history for oldest club...
NEAL ARDLEY was not inclined to dispense any palliative medicine in the moment of pain that came with Notts County losing their league status after 157 years in existence.
‘ It’s painful to say it but we deserved to go down,’ reflected the manager, knowing that the table does not lie after 46 games.
Yesterday’s 3-1 defeat was only the killer blow but the demise of this proud club, a founder member of the Football League in 1862, has been long in the making.
At the end some of the travelling support were vociferously pinning the blame on owner Alan Hardy.
‘I’m absolutely devastated,’ said the ashen-faced chairman, offering the prospect that what has become a long-awaited sale could happen as soon as this coming week.
Some form of clarity cannot come soon enough for Ardley, who watched his team give away the lead they secured after half- time to render the result at relegation rivals Macclesfield irrelevant.
‘This team hasn’t been able to see enough games out, today was the story of our season,’ he said, ruing the fact that they left themselves with too much to do, even if this final match offered a chance of salvation in the event of victory.
‘ I haven’t been able to turn it around, I always look in the mirror.
‘December and January were the key months. We didn’t have a good enough team, we lost lots of ground in that period.’
Ardley’s future is among the many things undecided, although with some assurances he would like to stay on. ‘There’s plenty of issues,’ he added. ‘There’s so much uncertainty, nobody knows who is taking over.’
If there is one cause to consider the enduring potential of the club it is in the fanbase, with nearly 2,300 faithful having made the journey.
‘It has been a mess and still that many of them turn out, I feel for them,’ said Ardley.
While some chanted abuse at Hardy, the local businessman who has unsuccessfully ploughed millions into the team he supports, there was some gallows humour too.
‘If you’re all going to Dover clap your hands,’ was one refrain after the final whistle.
County, among the promotion favourites in August after investing in the squad, now join the increasing roll call of familiar league names to have dropped down to the fifth tier. Clubs such as Luton and Oxford have bounced back from the National League but quite a few struggle.
For a few minutes, the Magpies looked like they might wriggle free of the ejector seat, technically ahead on points of their relegation rivals as the scores flipped in their favour.
The great escape looked on in the 52nd minute when, with Macclesfield trailing, Kane Hemmings curled home a penalty.
News of Macclesfield’s equaliser temporarily silenced the County end and it got worse in the 69th minute when Kaiyne Woolery equalised.
Five minutes later County’s fate was sealed when Theo Robinson drove home and he added another token blow before the end.