Open Day a huge success

Last updated : 28 July 2008 By Dane Vincent

Fans flocked to Meadow Lane yesterday for Notts County's annual Open Day, which proved to be a great success.

Great signing: Players sign autographs for fans...
The event allowed fans to get behind the scenes to witness areas of the club that they would not normally see, as well as interact with the players and staff on a one-to-one basis.


Tom Loakes
, the club's Media Manager hailed the event as a huge success. He said: "The support that we had down here yesterday was superb.


"The amount of people that came down with smiles on their faces and wearing the new shirts - it was definitely a really good day.


"And, from what's been on the messageboards and things like that, everyone seemed to really enjoy it, which was obviously the main thing.


"A lot of the players and the management staff were blown away by the amount of people coming up for autographs - they couldn't believe it.


"Little things like that makes them realise what the club can be.


"It was a good team effort by everybody and a big thanks goes to Cheryl from the conferencing team, the Supporters' Trust and all the volunteers - without them, it wouldn't have been what it was."


Kick-starting the day with a training session on the pitch, visitors were given a

The Gaffer: McParland signs an autograph...
chance to see what the players had been working on throughout pre-season.


From there, the day continued to be just as insightful and entertaining.


Arguably the most popular event was the autograph signing, where hundreds of fans queued up to fill out their autograph books, footballs and brand new shirts.


Greeting supporters with open arms, the players and staff were a credit to the club, taking time to speak to those attending, even stopping in the hallways for a chat, and posing for photographs.


Telling it straight: Notts' Chairman speaks to the fans...
John Armstrong-Holmes' open forum in the boardroom was also a big hit, with constant gathering firing endless questions at him.


The chairman demonstrated the club's transparency, returning all questions in a confident and honest manner, which fans reacted to really well.


Many will know that when the club was in administration, the club was bare - stripped of its memories.


Now, there is classic merchandise, including large framed photographs, signed shirts, trophies, programmes and the finely presented Jimmy Sirrell painting.


The faces of the stands also have a new look about them, with brand new

New look: New signs have been put on the stands...
signage put in place.


It is great to see the newly named Haydn Green Family Stand recognised, as well as the Victoria Centre sponsorship above the Kop, which earned the club £10,000 alone.


Also bellowing around the arena was the new song, Two 'Pies on the Shirt, which was being greeted warmly by everyone - shown by the number of people registering their interest in its forthcoming release.


The new shirts - despite a somewhat negative initial response - were selling very well, with scores of County fans proudly sporting them.


Good sale: The new shirts were selling really well...
These were placed into a competition alongside the rest of Notts' past kits - of which a number were on display - for a vote to decide what the best ever strip was.


Other familiar faces were Colin Slater in his press box, and Ian Richardson with the Football in the Community staff, hosting a number of shooting activities, all contributing to a fantastic day.


Rounding off were the Centre of Excellence final trials, which the club will be vastly encouraged by.


A number of the youngsters looked very promising, in particular the number

Promising: The final trials were held at the Open Day...
 seven for the side wearing the home attire, who demonstrated great confidence and brilliant passing abilities.


There is an upbeat mood surrounding the club at the moment for the first time in a long while, and this Open Day helped to build upon this.


Everyone who helped to make the day what it was should be congratulated.
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Readers will be pleased to hear that NCM has secured a number of interviews that will take place over the coming months. Keep posted to find out when you can submit your own questions.