As there's only been two league games it's difficult to make a judgement,
but two wins from two games without conceding a goal is not bad going.
The manager, Dave Penney, made a lot of signings in the summer and the bulk of them were aimed at strengthening the defence and the improvement has been immediate as the back four have looked very sound.
Penney's key signing was centre-back Steve Foster who has been arguably our best player so far, but more of him in a minute. His central defensive
partner is a certain Alan White who I know not all Notts County fans were a
fan of but, speak as you find and all that, he's not done anything wrong
since signing for his hometown team so no complaints from me. Darlington may have won two in two games but I wouldn't say they have been
in top gear for ether match (verus Wrexham and Accrington). Instead, they've capitlised on their good spells by scoring when they've been on top and then been able to defend very well when the opposition has had a productive spell. Fair to say we've done well but could do even better.
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Defensively it's Steve Foster, a rock at the back in each of the three games
so far. He was captain last season when Scunthorpe United won the League One title last season so it was a major surprise and coup for Dave Penney when he joined us. He was also captain, under Penney, when Doncaster won
back-to-back promotions from the Conference so he's clearly a natural leader and also a winner.
Expect him to win the vast majority of his aerial challenges, as will his
centre-back partner White.
Who else should we look out for?
Striker Pawel Abbott. Scored twice last week at Accrington Stanley, one was
a penalty. Had a minor injury in pre-season but just about match-fit now and
looking as though he can cause problems for the opposition, and so he should
as he cost £100,000 from Swansea City in the summer.
Early impressions are that he could come close to the 27-goals he managed
while in League One with Huddersfield Town in 2004/05.
Ex-Notts County winger Chris Palmer has signed on loan too so no doubt,
given the unwritten rule about players scoring against their former club,
he'll have a big role to play on Saturday.
What is the first thing you think of when you think of Notts County?
Honestly? Might not be the answer you want to hear but it's that huge, huge
stand that you've got for away fans! Do you think it's big enough! Almost as
ridiculously large as Darlington's ground, but that's another story.
Anything else? Well I remember North-East lad Tommy Johnson playing for you when you got promoted to Division One all those years ago and that you beat Middlesbrough in the League Cup last season.
Other thing that sticks in the mind is the fact that Meadow Lane is the only
stadium in the division that has a dress code for the Press. I might
understand such a policy if I were covering, say, the FA Cup Final, or even
a League Two play-off final at Wembley - but a run-of-the-mill League Two
match? Second from last game of last season between Notts County and
Darlington was a complete non-event, yet still I had to turn up in my best
Asda shirt and tie!
Who do you see as the Notts danger men?
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I liked that David Pipe, seemed to be a threat, but as he's gone to Bristol
Rovers I'll say Jason Lee. He's dangerous still, although probably more so
because of his elbows rather than his feet.
How do you rate Notts boss Steve Thompson?
Can't say I know much about his track record at Notts County, but I've
noticed he does look very German. Needs to grow the 'tache back that he had when he was at Lincoln City, then he'd have the proper Bavarian look. How's that for incisive comment?
Where do you think you will finish this season?
Top seven...but I've been saying that for years. After signing 12 players in
the summer, some fans believe that if Darlington don't get promotion this
season then we never will. Been in this division since 1992, only Rochdale
have had a longer stay, and sometimes it feels as though we're destined to
stay forever. As said earlier, it's too early for any predictions to hold much credibility but if I had to put money on it I'd say Darlington will
reach the play-offs.
Where do you think Notts will finish this season?
Think I'm right in saying Notts County signed a lot of players this summer
but sorry to say I can't pretend to know an awful lot about them so
predicting where you'll finish would only be a stab in the dark.
League Two is much of a muchness though, any team can beat any other and you don't have to be THAT good to do well. We've been, on the whole, poor for the last three seasons but have finished 8th, 8th, and 11th - simply because most teams are so inconsistent.
So, if you've got a half-decent team you may well have a chance of success.
But I bet there's supporters of 23 other teams at this level thinking the
same thing.
What is your starting line-up likely to be?
Penney may want to stick with the same XI that beat Accrington last week,
but he has an injury doubt over midfielder Ricky Ravenhill. If, as appears
likely, he fails to recover from a hamstring injury then expect Micky Cummins to come into contention.
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to return after an ankle knock.
GK Stockdale
RB Austin
CB White
CB Foster
LB Ryan
RM Joachim
CM Cummins
CM McBride
LM Palmer
F Abbott
F Wright
What sort of encounter are you expecting?
A seven-goal thriller featuring nine yellow cards, three sendings-off, a
mass brawl and two streakers before the game is won at the death by Chris
Palmer with an overhead kick from 25 yards. Failing that, I will spend most
of my time reading the programme as I normally do at the Arena because most of our home most games are dull.
Should Darlington score first, expect them to stay tight at the back before
scoring another goal late on.
Prediction?
Two wins so far, Darlington could well be make it a third on Saturday. 2-0