Notts County

Here is something you probably didn’t know: Notts County is the oldest professional soccer club in the world. There is an older amateur club—Sheffield FC was founded in 1857—but County goes back to 1862. Yet you may not have even known they exist because they have been below the second tier of English football for 30 seasons.

County helped found the Football League in 1888, won the FA Cup in 1894, got relegated in 1926, and then vanished from the top division for more than 50 years. That FA Cup and a few lower-division trophies are all that sit in their very old trophy cabinet.

It was right after World War II that they hit a golden era, but even that was in the Third Division. In the 1949-50 season, home crowds averaged 35,000 as they won the division by seven points—nine over Nottingham Forest. But by the end of the 1950s, they were relegated again, and Forest were FA Cup champions. It would be 15 years before County even got back to the second tier.

Notts County almost went out of business in 2003, and in 2006 they stayed in the league only on the last day, finishing 21st in League Two. Since then it’s been a seemingly constant stream of new owners, chairmen, financial problems, and managers, with the team never getting above seventh in League One.

Bottom was finally hit in 2019, when they were relegated from League Two and thus out of the Football League for the first time in their history. The BBC said they are arguably the biggest club ever to drop out of the league. In 2020, to add to the heartache, they got back into the playoffs and made the final, but lost, 3-1, to Harrogate Town. In 2021, they lost again in the semifinals. And in 2022 they lost in the quarterfinals!

In 2023, they had what have been a record-setting year, collecting 107 points, had they not been competing with the “movie star money” of Wrexham, who won the league with 111. Notts did set the National League record with 117 goals scored (Wrexham got 116). In the playoff semifinal, it took a 97th-minute equalizer and a 120th-minute winner to knock out Bromley at home. In the Final at Wembley, against Chesterfield, they leveled in the 87th minute, went behind in extra time, leveled again in the 108th minute, then prevailed in penalties. Whew — back in the Football League again!

They made the League Two playoffs last season but lost to eventual winners Wimbledon.

And finally, something else you almost certainly didn’t know: Juventus, the Italian giants, got their black-and-white shirts from Notts County. They were looking for new colors in 1903, and an Englishman on their staff reached out to a friend in Nottingham, who sent some samples. Juve have worn them ever since. In 2011 Juventus had County over for a friendly to open their new 41,000-seat stadium.

2024–25 SEASON: 6th in League Two (lost playoff semifinals), 2nd Round FA Cup, 1st Round FA Cup

2025–26 SEASON: League Two (promoted in 2023)

Forest, of course, is a rival, but with County in lower leagues, the Nottingham derby hasn’t happened since 2012. Lately they’ve developed hostilities with nearby neighbors Mansfield Town (15 miles away), Lincoln City (45 miles), and Chesterfield (26 miles). Wrexham is also not well liked due to the intense promotion battles they shared, but they are two leagues up and in a different world.

Reborn in 2018 after folding the year before, Notts County Women are in the East Midlands Regional Women’s Football League at tier 6. They play their home games at Coronation Park, home of Eastwood FC.

It seems that in 1988, County were playing at Shrewsbury Town, whose team was up 2-0 and whose fans were singing “On Top of Old Smokey.” County fans—either making fun of the locals’ accent and country life or celebrating when their team scored two quick goals to get a draw—changed the words to:

I had a wheelbarrow

But the wheels fell off.

I had a wheelbarrow

But the wheels fell off.

County! County! County!

They made it to Wembley that year, winning promotion and singing that song all the way. It’s been with them ever since.

Meadow Lane has been their home since 1910, and it must be the biggest in the history of the fourth (much less fifth) tier. Capacity is 19,841 in four separate stands, all built in the 1990s. Away fans get better than usual seats in the Jimmy Sirrel Stand on the side, and home rowdies are in the Kop stand behind a goal. Behind the other goal is the Family Stand. As you will see if you go to either one, Forest’s City Ground is just across the River Trent from Meadow Lane, a straight-line distance of some 300 yards, making them the two closest grounds in all of England.

TOURS: Stadium tours are offered each Wednesday for £10. Check their website for updates.

GETTING THERE: It’s a very simple 10-minute walk from the Nottingham rail station.

PUBS: There is a supporters club at the ground that lets in everybody who’s not an away fan. If you go past the stadium just a bit, you’ll find three modern pubs with good food: the Trent Navigation Inn, The Embankment, and Brewhouse and Kitchen.

For more on food and attractions in town, check the Nottingham Forest profile.

Seeing a Game at Notts County FC

Sometimes seeing English soccer games feels like watching Single-A baseball. Such was the case when Paul visited Notts County (then) of League Two in December, 2015. After catching a Boxing Day game at Brentford in London, I rolled into Nottingham...

Continue Reading →