Stall: Great to be home

Last updated : 04 February 2005 By Rob Davies
Striker Stallard completed a shock return move to the Magpies this morning, signing on-loan from Barnsley until the end of the season.

And, speaking to the official site, Stall was clearly delighted to be back at the club he left just over a year ago.

He's back!
"I am absolutely delighted to be back," said the popular hitman. "It is amazing that is only a year ago I left, it seems like so long and I am chuffed to pieces to be back playing for Notts County.

"I have a lot of affection for the club and its supporter, and I am confident when I say I spent the best days of my career at the club."

The 30-year-old hitman spent five years at Meadow Lane, and managed to be top scorer for three of those seasons. In all, he netted an impressive tally of 77 goals for the Magpies - in 201 appearences.

In January of last year he made a shock move to Barnsley after then-manager Gary Mills opted to allow the former Derby forward to leave in order to get him off the over-inflated wage bill.

However, the move to Oakwell didn't really work out for Stallard and the arrival of former F*rest boss Paul Hart as manager, plus a number of injuries, saw him slip down the pecking order. He has already spent 3 months on-loan at Chesterfield this season, netting three times for the League One side.

But now Stallard is re-joining Notts County - where he is held in such high esteem - and the man who brought him back, former team-mate Ian Richardson, admitted he is delighted the move has come off.

"Mark's return is a massive boost for us," said Richardson, also talking to the official site. "We all know about Mark and what he is about, and I am sure his move has gone down well with the fans.

"We have been looking for a few weeks for a striker, and it is great that we have got something sorted after having made a few calls it is fantastic to have Mark back in a Notts County shirt.

"Hopefully he can grab us a goal or two tomorrow against Mansfield, which would be a great return for him," added the player/boss.

Stall will make his second Notts County debut against local rivals Mansfield Town tomorrow.