Magpies director urges City Council to support club

A local businessman and director of Notts County Football Club has told TheBusinessDesk.com that Nottingham City Council could do more to help promote the club.

Ian Roberts, who runs SLR Consulting, and is a Magpies director also said the deal to sell the club “could take longer than most people are expecting.”

Speaking at the April lunch of the Nottingha, City Business Club, Roberts said: “Our ground is owned by the Council, and I meet them regularly to talk about the infrastructure of the ground and how we can improve our training facilities.

“When we talk they’re very supportive – but if we look at what they actually do for the Club, then it’s not a lot. They seem to have an attitude of ‘football can look after itself’.

“In reality, the City Council should be working a lot more closely with us – they’re not great at it.”

Speaking about chairman Ray Trew’s plans to sell Notts County, Roberts said: “There remain a number of parties interested, but I don’t think any deal is going to be done as quickly as it was suggested at the outset of the sale.”

Notts County lie 17th in League Two after being hammered 5-0 at local rivals Mansfield Town on Saturday.