It must be hard for Notts County fans to believe how well their season started on their return to the EFL, with the Magpies now in free fall into the lower reaches of the League Two table.
The feeling was buoyant at Meadow Lane as County started their first season back in the Football League after five campaigns in the fifth tier of the football pyramid, but that mood wasn’t to last for long.
Everybody at the club would have recognised that Luke Williams was hot property, and it wasn’t long before clubs higher up the divisions took notice of what a stellar job he was doing with one of the world’s oldest football clubs.
After the Welsh team decided to let go of Michael Duff, Swansea City eventually acquired their man at the beginning of 2024, and things have never quite been the same on the banks of the River Trent since.
Notts County 23/24 League Two season
Stuart Maynard, the manager of Wealdstone, was given his first full-time managing position by the club shortly after Williams was fired. However, since Maynard’s appointment at the beginning of the season, the County team has only managed one victory, and they currently appear to be a shell of their former self.
With another team snatching a highly-regarded manager from non-league and reaping the benefits right away, County supporters must be looking with jealousy at the top of the League Two standings.
After winning just four of their first 13 games, MK Dons parted ways with Graham Alexander, the former Bradford City manager, rather soon at the beginning of the season. Alexander was fired by mid-October.
The Dons have tried to play a passing style of football ever since they were founded, and Mike Williamson was a standout candidate from the division below who was having significant success doing so.
Mike Williamson kickstarts MK Dons League Two promotion challenge
With a race for automatic promotion still in the works as the season comes to an end, MK has already seen a return on their investment in Williamson thanks to his commitment to playing football on the pitch and providing his strikers with plenty of opportunities to score goals.
Although the Red Dragons still have a game in hand, the Buckinghamshire team now sits in fourth place in the League Two standings, level with third-place Wrexham.
The Hatters have been pulled back into the race for the top three after leading the table for the majority of the season, but their form deserted them at the wrong time. They have only won one of their last seven league games, dropping them to only a point behind the leaders.
Notts were riding high at the moment, leading the table with County and Mansfield Town after Williams’ departure, and they were in the running for the playoffs even though the Dons were looking like also-rans in the current campaign.
However, one club’s actions can have a significant impact on many others, as is frequently the case in sport, and Swansea’s choice to fire Duff at such a critical juncture in the season has contributed to Notts’ demise.
With usual goal producers Macaulay Langstaff and Jodi Jones losing their touch in front of goal and an inability to keep opponents at bay, Notts’ record has collapsed, as evidenced by a recent 4-3 loss to Sutton.
If Williamson had been available, he would have definitely been considered for the position at Meadow Lane. On Easter Monday, when his promotion-chasing team travels to Nottinghamshire, they will find out just what they lost out on.
This year, April 1st is the Bank Holiday. Notts will be feeling foolish after witnessing their season collapse before their very eyes.
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