Out with the old and in with the new

There will forever be a place for Notts County in football’s history books, with the Magpies laying claim to being the oldest professional club in the world. Having been formed in November 1862, they are still going strong some 160 years later.

There have been plenty of highs and lows taken into this point, with enough tears shed – of both the happy and sad variety – to fill the River Trent that runs alongside the team’s famous Meadow Lane home. Having existed since Queen Victoria occupied the British throne, that is perhaps not all that surprising.

Epic

At 147 years old today
Possibly the oldest piece of Notts County Football Memorabilia still in existence!

Dated Tuesday 12th January 1875

13 years before the formation of the English football league
117 years before the premier league
Note: Club colours listed as Amber & Black pic.twitter.com/iPunUj0hTH

— Notts County History (@magpies_history) January 12, 2022

Any tale of such epic proportions is bound to throw in the odd verse of misery and woe alongside those of joy and delight. The next chapter to be written promises plenty, with promotion prices heading in the right direction at Paddy Power football betting and beyond.

Rarely has there been such cause for celebration in the Magpies’ nest, with Premier League relegation odds tipping neighbours Nottingham Forest to take a humbling tumble through one trapdoor as County threaten to push their way up through another.

The National League is loaded with talent in 2022-23 and remains as competitive as ever. Never have there been so many eyes on the fifth tier of English football. The presence of certain Hollywood superstars in North Wales has plenty to do with that, but those in the East Midlands are looking to deliver a blockbuster ending of their own.

While Wrexham can claim to dominate headlines from Leicester to Los Angeles, while gracing screens big and small, County has shown that ultimate success will always be measured by exploits where it matters most – on the pitch.

Recruitment business over the summer delivered a serious show of intent, with sizeable markers put down in what was always going to be an enthralling battle for top-two finishes. Macaulay Langstaff has been an undoubted star of the show, with a 17-goal return through his opening 16 games seeing him emulate the achievements of Erling Haaland at Manchester City.

No prizes are given out before the turn of any given calendar year, with there still a long way to go for all concerned, but positive starts make life considerably easier and deliver a nod towards what is to come. Momentum and consistency are, after all, commodities sought to be sides at every level of the league pyramid.

Future

Macaulay Langstaff has become the first player in history to win back-to-back @TheVanaramaNL Player of the Month awards! Huge congrats, @maccalangstaff 🤩

— Notts County FC (@Official_NCFC) October 10, 2022

Nobody within Luke Williams’ ranks will be getting carried away and allowing long-term goals to distract from the important business of collecting priceless points in the present. If eyes are taken off the ball, both figuratively and literally, then painful reminders of the need to maintain focus will be delivered by rivals ready to take full advantage of any supposed chinks in collective armour.

The county should need no reminding of that fact given where they have been, currently find themselves and intend to be again, with the last five years of their distinguished history having been as eventful as any other. Wings that were once clipped are being spread once more, with the oldest of English sporting institutions ready to usher in an exciting new dawn.