Notts County are an English professional football club based in Nottingham, England, playing in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 season. The club was founded in 1862,[1] and has played its home matches at Meadow Lane since 1910. Notts County first entered the FA Cup in 1877[2] and in 1888 became one of the 12 founding members of the Football League.[3] Notts County have been promoted 14 times, relegated 17 times and have played in each of the top 5 divisions of English football.[4] The club's highest overall league finish is third; conversely, the team were relegated to non-League football in 2019,[5] where it spent four years.[6]
The record for most games played for the club is held by goalkeeper Albert Iremonger, who made 601 appearances between 1904 and 1926. Les Bradd is the club's record goalscorer, scoring 137 goals during his Notts County career. Kevin Wilson holds the most international caps while a Notts County player, having made 15 appearances for Northern Ireland. The highest transfer fee ever reported to be paid by the club was £750,000 to Sheffield United for Tony Agana in 1991, and the highest fee received is the £2,500,000 paid by Derby County for Craig Short in 1992. The highest attendance recorded at Meadow Lane was 47,310 for the visit of York City in 1955. One of the club's players holds an FA Cup record, with Harry Cursham being the competition's leading goalscorer with 49 goals.
Honours and achievements
Notts County have won two cup competitions in their history; the FA Cup in the 1893–94 season (becoming the first Second Division club to win the FA Cup),[7] and the Anglo-Italian Cup in the 1994–95 season.[8] The club's highest overall league finish is third,[9] achieved in the 1890–91 and 1900–01 seasons.[10][11] Notts have won eight league titles in total; they have been second tier champions three times, third tier champions twice, and fourth tier champions three times. Their most recent championship was the League Two title won in the 2009–10 season. Notts have won six other promotions,[4] most recently by beating Chesterfield 4–3 on penalties in the 2023 National League play-off final following a 2–2 draw at Wembley Stadium.[6]
Most goals in the FA Cup in a season: 10, Harry Cursham, in the 1886–87 season. Cursham is the FA Cup's all-time leading goalscorer, with 49 goals in total.[31]
Most goals in a competitive match: 6, Harry Cursham (against Wednesbury Strollers, FA Cup, 10 December 1881).[31]
Fastest goal: six seconds, Barrie Jones (against Torquay United, Third Division, 31 March 1962). This also stood as the Football League record at the time.[31]
Betts, Graham (2006). England: Player by Player. Swindon: Green Umbrella Publishing. ISBN1-905009-63-1.
Brown, Tony (1995). Notts County F.C: The Official History, 1862–1995. Harefield: Yore Publications. ISBN1-874427-61-5.
McVay, David (1988). Notts County Football Club: The World's Oldest Football League Club. Manchester: Archive Publications. ISBN0-948946-37-7.
Warsop, Keith (1984). The Magpies: The Story of Notts County Football Club. Buckingham: Sporting and Leisure Press. ISBN0-86023-214-X.
Warsop, Keith; Brown, Tony (2007). The Definitive Notts County F.C.: The Oldest League Club in the World. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN978-1-899468-99-7.