Book Review: Notts County On This Day

Notts County FC is the world’s oldest professional football club. Now, the club’s history has been chronicled in Notts County On This Day. We took a look.

Nottingham is something of an understated sporting mecca. As the rowers stroke down the Trent, above them cricket fans cross the river to watch leather clash with willow at the famous Trent Bridge test and county ground. Walking from town, those fans will pass both Notts County FC and two-time European Champion, Nottingham Forest.

But it’s the Magpies of County – who famously gave Juventus its black and white stripes – that are the subject of a new book from Nottinghamshire-based journalist Tim Evershed.

Evershed’s Notts County On This Day is a meticulously researched journey through the year of Notts County from its inception in 1862 right up to 2015.

Did you know that both County and Forest shared Trent Bridge cricket ground for a while or that some early County players doubled up as England cricketers?

Also, the club was the launch pad for managers like Howard Wilkinson (the last Englishman to win the league), Neil Warnock, Howard Kendall and Sam Allardyce.

The story behind Notts County On This Day

OW caught up with Evershed to get the story behind the book. Why did he write it?

“… to borrow from Mallory ‘because it was there’,” Evershed told OW. “I was aware of the ‘on this Day’ series and knew that Notts County, which is on my doorstep hadn’t been covered. I knew that it was a very old club and there were a lot of interesting stories and characters related to it. I have to say I wasn’t disappointed and researching and writing it was a genuinely enjoyable experience.”

Fans of Notts County – as well as general football history nerds – will enjoy this book. I was unaware that the club had such a rollercoaster past.