It's been an encouraging start to the season for the (at the time of writing unbeaten in the League) Notts County FC. To celebrate our columnist Julian McDougall has gone all Zen Buddhist on us...
Eastern philosophy foregrounds perpetual change and encourages not only acceptance but embracing of impermanence. Related, it discourages attachment.
In NG2, as September arrives, this is no time for Upādāna. Instead, we are all about the Annica. The first is the pain we feel when things change, when things we are attached to are gone. The latter is the ‘radical acceptance’ of a constant state of flux.
I last cited The Buddha in this column when we beat Bristol Rovers away. Matty Dennis scored the winner. Dennis, along with Jatta, Jodi Jones, Tom Iorpenda, Ollie Norburn, have all drifted away on the flow of change. Notts have 14 new players, including the returning Cal Roberts. Several have been, according to our recruitment guru Richard Montague, “in our sights for a long time”, so this doesn’t feel like knee jerk panic buying or a scattergun squad assemblage.
Trusting the process is the vibe. Our progress under Chris and Alex Reedzt has been incremental and sustainable. Two promotions in seven years. With all of the crises County have endured (see the recent piece on Lifeline for a refresher), the owners’ start of the season address, reminding supporters of the approach – balancing ambition with stability – was well received. Perhaps there is less of a consensus among supporters with regards to the ‘data led recruitment model’, but more so in terms of ‘radical acceptance’ that the likes of Jatta and Jones wanted away and met their value. If anything, at this moment, both seem like worse outcomes for the player, but time will tell, as always.
So it was that we headed to the sold out home of league football for Leicester’s visit with survival, maybe a mid-table consolidation in our sights. This, at the time of writing, has also changed. Notts County are unbeaten in five League One games and it is perfectly fair to suggest that the four draws could have been wins. Against Doncaster, on the night the transfer window was closing, three clear chances were not converted and the goal conceded was a defensive error. Eradicate the mistakes, take the chances – these things seem far more fixable than ‘setting up wrong’, being ‘too nice’ or missing players in key places through suspension or dubious absence.
Talking of key players, the deadline brought In Daniel Kanu from Charlton, as Jodi Jones was heading to Bromley. Kanu arrives with high hopes. A real life, actual number 9, to thrive on the faster, more physical, pressing personnel we have assembled for League One. Then Rosaire Longelo appears from Salford (remember them?), after the final whistle at Doncaster, looking ‘like for like’ for Jodi.
So, looping back to August. The cup exit at Burnley was, according to Pato, a “beautiful defeat’. Fair comment, as we matched the highest ranked team in the cup in the game itself and only lost to a Kyle Walker penalty at the end of the shoot out. Leicester were poor, but had dangerous talent, and we felt like the one point should have been 3. Luton away was more ebb and flow but we were ahead in the game, and then the Burton home game was quintessential Pato. Hard to beat, aggressive in the press and game-changer subs. A brace for Luka Smyth, who retained his place for Doncaster, with Kanu on the bench, along with Cal Roberts. Notts have suffered their usual blight of key injuries – is it how we train? But the squad depth and dynamic recruitment give us these options all over the pitch – well, maybe not in the nets, which might be significant, over a long season.
Finally, something else that has changed, more uncertainty to sit with, more Dukkha to move through, is our projection for this campaign. Not only is this in flux, as we have maybe looked more comfortable in every game at this level than anticipated, but also in the broader sense that in every season since the Football Radar acquisition, we have expected to be promoted or in contention. Not this time, not really. If we accept the brothers’ strategy reset - and we have no reason not to - then we would hope to see steady progress, nothing more. But the endorphins are still there from Wembley, where the wheel stayed on. Pato is a spiritual healer. This season can be Nirvana if we traverse the Middle Way, the freedom of not knowing where it will take us.
Says I, who will be scrolling the ‘as it stands’ league table within minutes of sending in this piece.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
