Thommo: Should he stay or should he go?

Thompson... Under fire

It would appear that the majority of fans are calling for his head at the moment, with the Magpies in a terrible run of form, which has left them without a win in the last five games. This is on top of the club's lacklustre home record, which has seen 'Thommo's Army' notch up a measly six wins out of the eighteen played.

With the game against local rivals Mansfield Town coming up this weekend, it could be the under-fire manager's last chance; as defeat would significantly increase the amount of pressure on the board to relieve the Notts boss of his duties.

Thompson is County's fourth manager, since Billy Dearden's departure in 2004, creating a constant lack of stability at the club. This frequent change in management has proven to be largely unsuccessful in reversing the team's fortunes on the pitch, with the likes of Gary Mills and Gudjon Thordarson failing miserably in their attempts.

Such failings have caused the club to stoop to the lower reaches of League Two in the two seasons prior to this one. This campaign has again proven to be another let down for the fans, with Notts only three-points better off than this time last year, despite another promising start.

A sensible option in most cases would be to provide the manager at a club with a suitable amount of time to assemble a team that would be capable of taking the club forward. No manager can be expected to assemble a squad, including 14 new players and provide instant rewards.

However, in this situation, the manager was not wanted in the first place by most supporters. This was because of his previous tenor at the club, alongside Colin Murphy, which proved to be one of the worst times in the club's history.

Crowds have fallen drastically this season, with the average attendance working out at 4,618 per game. This means a loss of over 800 fans compared to last season's average of 5,467. Most of those fans were thought to have stopped attending because of the appointment of Thompson, but many more have followed subsequent to the seasons decline.

Hunt... Big future

With such an opposition to the manager, the football club could see a large decrease in the number of season ticket holders and attendances come the beginning of the next campaign. If something does not happen on or off the pitch in the near future, the removal of Thompson will be the only logical decision in a financial sense.

If the fans could see past the current form and look at the larger picture, maybe the club would adopt some steadiness and push forward in a positive manner. The foundations are installed for a team that could prove to be a force next season, with the likes of Stephen Hunt, David Pipe, Mike Edwards and Jay Smith, among others in the squad. Allowing a manager more than one season to build upon these foundations could provide a positive outcome. Whether enough of the supporters will turn up to see it is another question.