Notts County vs Aldershot Town

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A THE MAG THE MAG THE MAG THE THE MAG THE MAG MAG THE MAG THE G THE MAG THE MAG E MAG THE MAG THE G THE MAG THE MA E MAG THE MAG TH G THE MAG THE MA HE MAG THE MAG TH AG THE MAG THE M HE MAG THE MAG T AG THE MAG THE M THE MAG THE MAG T G THE MAG THE M MAG NOTTS COUNTY v ALDERSHOT TOWN 18 PEEKS AT THE PAST This evening’s guest writer is Richard Smith (nhr.org.uk) who has voluntarily provided commentaries on Notts games for QMC and City Hospital patients since 1987. As a devoted fan, Richard fondly relives the Maggies’ first-ever visit to Wembley, where they beat Tranmere Rovers 2-0 in the 1990 Third Division play-off final. — I SUPPOSE MANY READERS will remember the ‘glory years’ under the stewardship of Neil Warnock and the recently departed Mick Jones. It’s a time I remember with great fondness. I’d been a fledgling broadcaster and commentator for Nottingham Hospitals Radio for about two years by 1990 and had already been to Wembley to cover the Littlewoods Cup final between Forest and Oldham earlier that year. But the ultimate aim was to see the Magpies at Wembley and, thanks to a surge up the table in that Third Division season, that dream was to become a reality. Memory Lane Honorary Club Historian, Mick Chappell reflects on times past with a little help from his friends... So, armed with all the kit we thought we’d need, and more besides, myself and NHR’s Sports Editor Nick Wilson set off for the ‘smoke’. I should point out that this was around 6am as we wanted to ‘get there early’. Anyway, we rolled into the car park at the national stadium, no shops or offices around it then, around 9am and had our pick of the parking spaces available. What seemed like 10 minutes later, the Notts team coach pulled up alongside and off got all the players I’d been interviewing throughout the ON THIS DAY season. We got out the car to say hello and spent some time asking how they were and what they were doing there at that time when kick-off was hours away? There were also many Notts fans already there, pointing and looking at us probably thinking ‘who are those two blokes the players are talking to?’ It soon seemed to be the time to collect our equipment and make our way to the press box (just behind the royal box) to set up and test the line back to our studios at the QMC. In the blink of eye 1994 — PLAYING ONLY HIS SECOND MATCH since he had arrived on loan from Derby County combative midfielder Martin Kuhl was sent off at Barnsley. Kuhl had made his debut three days earlier in a loss at Bristol City; but following the red card he was allowed to return to the Baseball Ground less than a week after arriving on a month's loan. The match at Oakwell ended in a 1-1 draw, Gary Lund scoring for the visitors. By Tim Evershed SEP 13
MAG THE MAG THE M MAG THE MAG THE THE MAG THE MAG MAG THE MAG THE G THE MAG THE MAG E MAG THE MAG THE G THE MAG THE MA E MAG THE MAG TH AG THE MAG THE MA HE MAG THE MAG TH AG THE MAG THE M HE MAG THE MAG T AG THE MAG THE M THE MAG THE MAG T THE MAG THE M it was time to start our live programme – something that Hospital Radio didn’t really do from such distances in those days. I’d managed to get lots of interviews and previous game highlights in the build-up to the match and at 2.45pm I had the honour of describing the scene as the players entered the hallowed turf. There’s no finer feeling than watching your team walk out to play in a big game and at that point in Notts’ history, they didn’t come much bigger. Needless to say those 90 minutes also went by in the blink of an eye and when the final whistle blew and Notts had gained promotion, to use a phrase coined by Mr Notts County, Colin Slater, the Notts’ fans joy knew no bounds. We watched the team collect the trophy and parade around the pitch, then my esteemed colleague thought it would be a good idea to send me to the tunnel area away to our left to get an interview or two before our line went ‘dead’ at 5.30pm. So off I ran with tape machine in hand to see who I could get. By the time I’d got to the tunnel, the players had disappeared into the dressing rooms and were heard celebrating - there was no way I was going to get an interview with anyone, they weren’t coming out of there for a while, so I headed back up to the press box for the final five NOTTS COUNTY v ALDERSHOT TOWN minutes of the programme. With that part of the ground empty, I thought I’d do the only thing I could - walk up the Wembley steps past the royal box and up to the press box. It would’ve been rude not to whilst you’re there and with no-one stopping you! I quickly began to regret that decision as those steps were fairly steep when you’ve just run half-way around the stadium and by the time I’d got back to our commentary point with two minutes to go, I was completely out of breath. Showing no mercy for my plight, Nick bombarded me with questions I simply couldn’t answer – I still need to get him back for that! After signing off, we concluded our day out with a look around an empty national stadium and came back up the M1 giggling like schoolchildren as Notts had won promotion at Wembley. What a day! Photo caption: Who was the lucky mascot who led out the Magpies at Wembley? Please contact nick.richardson@ nottscountyfc.co.uk if you are ‘in the know’. Team photo courtesy of Tony Brown AG19
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Notts County vs Aldershot Town

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