Notts County

Notts County to repay fans’ loyalty this weekend

are set to celebrate their existence on Saturday by slashing ticket prices as a thank you to the Nottinghamshire community for their support.
The proud club were on the brink of liquidation this summer following relegation from the League but were kept going by their loyal supporters and sponsors before being saved by the takeover of Danish businessmen Alexander and Christoffer Reedtz.
Notts have averaged crowds of over 5,000 at Meadow Lane, the highest in the this season, and are now offering admission for adults at £3, concessions for £2 and U18s for £1 for their clash with AFC on Saturday.
“The main thing for us is it's saying thank you to everybody who helped the club and by everybody we mean the city of Notthingham,” County's media and communications officer Nick Richardson told . “Forest helped us massively with some fundraising, split the gate receipts for the friendly that went to our staff who were unpaid, and just generally there was a huge swell of support over the summer from the local community in getting us through what was a really tough time.
“We see this as an opportunity to celebrate the fact Notts County is still here because everybody feared that we wouldn't be. It was becoming a real possibility.
“We're extending it to Fylde fans as well who have a massive trek across the country and are able to enjoy the offer with us.”
The club ran the offer twice before in the Football League and attracted crowds of over 17,000 and 15,000.
The record Conference attendance of 11,085 at Bristol Rovers against in 2015 could well be under threat as County aim to hit five figures.
“A game like this is giving back to all those who helped us,” said lifelong fan and supporter liaison officer Alice Kelk.
“This summer has been extremely difficult. As a member of staff, it was a very turbulent time and uneasy.
“You didn't know whether you were going to get paid, when it was coming in.
“Part of my role is fan engagement. I work closely with the supporter groups and your normal fan who pays match by match. The Football Supporters' Association were brilliant in rallying around, handing out food vouchers for full-time members of staff on a weekly basis and toiletries. I know the staff were incredibly appreciative.
“Lifeline, a donation membership scheme for supporters, also paid a percentage of one month of our wages, which was brilliant. We're back to normal business. The owners have been great with us.”
This weekend will draw a line underneath a torrid time, one that legendary BBC Radio Nottingham commentator Colin Slater has never experienced in 60 years of covering the club.
“It has been the bleakest year that I have known at Meadow Lane,” he said. “It was only at the 59th minute of the eleventh hour – I know that's an easy phrase but it's true – that the two young Danish businessmen stepped in.
“It's to their everlasting credit that, having taken over Notts County on the Friday, by the following Tuesday evening they had paid all the club's debts – HMRC, kit suppliers, every trader and supplier and all the staff and players brought their wages up to date.
“I know the staff and the players appreciate that we are in a new era and we're in an era where they have much more confidence in the future of the club as a  result of the actions taken by Alexander and Christoffer.”
Manager Neal Ardley has also played his part in stabilising the club and has his team sitting in mid-table despite little time to work with them in the summer months.
“I have seen a definite improvement in each match that I've watched,” said the club's record goalscorer Les Bradd.
“Neal Ardley is a fantastic, amenable man. He had players lined up but as it got nearer to the start of the season they found somewhere else to go for fear they weren't going to get a club.
“Then the takeover happened and he's got to try and get a squad together. Seven new players came in two days before the first match.
“He hasn't really had the chance to work with them as he wants to because there's been nine games in 31 days!
“There's still a lot more work to do but I'm just very grateful there's a Notts County Football Club still here.”

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