You know that scene in the film Shallow Grave when you finally realise Christopher Ecclecstone has gone mad?  He’s locked himself in the attic, drilling holes like a bastard so he can see the other two move around the flat, with a thousand-yard stare cemented on his face.  Well that moment happened at Meadow Lane earlier last month.
It was about the 81^st minute, and Notts had all four strikers on the pitch in a vain attempt to scramble a draw against a thoroughly bemused Bury.  We had five at the back, four up front and just Richard Butcher in the midfield, chasing the ball like the kid in the playground that the bad lads would torment by not letting him have his ball back.

That 5-1-4 formation was when we finally realised the manager, Steve Thompson, had gone nuts. By the Tuesday he was gone, and by the Thursday he was replaced by ex-Magpies favourite, the untried Ian ‘Charlie’ McParland.

Charlie’s pedigree looks good.  He’s worked at Forest’s successful youth academy, and along with Frank Barlow saved our friends from West Bridgford from relegation a couple of seasons back. And, of course, as any self-respecting Notts fan will tell you, he bleeds black and white blood.

The press conference that greeted his arrival was a great lesson in sticking your size 9s in it when acting Chairman, John Armstrong-Holmes, introduced Charlie to the media by comparing him immediately to the sainted Jimmy Sirrel. No pressure there then. You could see the look of anger in McParland’s face as he glanced over towards JAH clearly thinking “When this lot have gone, I’m chinning you.”

Still, since his appointment he’s added two other ex-Notts players to the backroom staff with the appointment of David Kevan and the ‘pale genius’ Sir Tommy of Johnson to help the struggling strike force. The noises coming out of the team seem promising, and the lads now appear to have an added bite of resilience which had so far been lacking this season.

On the pitch in October we lost four on the bounce -  to Hereford, Wycombe, Bury and our friendly local rivals Mansfield  - before Neil McKenzie’s last minute free kick against Wrexham at least ensured that we got one win out of the month. But since the beginning of November things have seen a sharp upturn. We won 2-0 against Accrington, drew 1-1 away to Barnet and beat non-league Histon 3-0 at home in the FA Cup. 

Spirits have also been risen by the loan signings of two talented Premiership youngsters - both England under-19 Internationals. Striker Craig Lindfield (hailed as the 'new Robbie Fowler' on the Liverpool FC website) scored on his league debut and Krystain Pearce (aged just 17) looked very composed at the back in his first game on loan from Birnmingham. The rest of November sees us play Macclesfield and Lincoln in the league, and a home tie with Havant & Waterlooville of the Conference South that should should see us into the Third Round of the FA Cup. A good cup run this year could net us some much-needed cash, and after falling at the first hurdle the last two seasons, the boys owe the fans something.

So as Thommo metaphorically disappears up to the attic armed with a drill and a suitcase full of cash another new era dawns on Notts. Lets just hope that the Notts old guard can bring some success back to Meadow Lane and keep clear of the shallow grave in which a succession of Notts managers have been buried the past few seasons...

Left Pie-On: October     Left 'Pie-On: September     Left 'Pie-On: August

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