Two hundred points combined, two strikers with a combined 75 goals, two teams worth the ultimate prize – but only one automatic promotion spot available.
It’s the biggest game in non-League history, and with it comes a culture war. Despite being a fifth tier club, the story of Wrexham has captivated many at home and across the Atlantic, with avid football nerds and even non-sports fans captivated by their Hollywood adventures.
But what about the other side of the story? Notts County, the leaders of the National League, don’t care about Disney – this is real life. They don’t care about Hollywood endings.
Apologies to Wrexham, but after 18 episodes on Disney+ and hundreds of thousands of words written, it’s time to put County in the spotlight.
Founding members of the Football League and the world’s oldest professional football club, the Magpies find themselves in the doldrums thanks to a decade of financial struggles. It’s a story worthy of its own docu-series.
Macaulay Langstaff will lead for Notts County on Monday as they travel to Wrexham
Both Wrexham and Notts County have a century of points in their pursuit of promotion
You may not know much about their team, but you will be aware of their striker, Macaulay Langstaff, or at least his astronomical goalscoring record. The football mad Teessider stood with his feet up watching Erling Haaland take his season total to 44, while being taunted by reports.
| Attacker | League goals |
|---|---|
| Macaulay Langstaff | 41 |
| Paul Mullin | 34 |
| Erling Haland | 30 |
| Chuba Akpom | 26 |
| Jonson Clarke-Harris | 23 |
| Harry Kane | 23 |
| Andy Cook | 23 |
With 41 to his name, the tag ‘non-League Haaland’ has stalked Langstaff all season. Not that he mind. “I embrace being called in the same sentence as these guys,” he says.
“Of course it’s a bit funny, but it’s good to see. You see your photo next to Haaland in an article, that gives confidence.
“Haaland is the best in the world. I don’t have his physical attributes – I can’t jump in the air and score a header from eight yards out, but I can try to imitate his movement of the ball and the positions he takes in the penalty area, shoot towards the back post and emerge. My favorite striker ever is Sergio Aguero. He looks like me as a boxer… likes those tap-ins. I watch as much football as possible because of every percentage of profit I can get.’
He may compare himself to Manchester City’s best-ever goalscorer and arguably the man who broke Agüero’s record, but Langstaff is an ardent Middlesbrough fan. He laughs that the only EFL experience he has is being a ball boy at the Riverside.
Langstaff, 26, worked his way up to National League level by working as a laborer at an earthworks company before working at Stockton Town, Billingham Synthonia on a maximum of £150 a week, and then Gateshead, where he scored 32 goals last season made.
He joined County for £50,000, which is a decent fee at this level, but a bargain in hindsight. Magpies manager Luke Williams jokes he owes Gateshead a bottle or two of wine.
“The figure now looks like a robbery! I’m sure a bottle of wine will go to Gateshead one day!’ he laughs, before talking about the only PhD position available.
Langstaff has been dubbed the ‘non-League Haaland’ but says Sergio Agüero is his striker of choice
Wrexham’s Hollywood links have seen their story followed at home and across the Atlantic
“We have to see the play-offs as a blessing, we have two chances to get out of this division. I don’t think a player has ever sulked on top of a trophy parade bus because they didn’t finish champions!
“When we played at Bromley a few weeks ago I got too animated and one of the players in my squad said, ‘Gaffer, relax. That was magic. It shows that we have confidence.
‘When you watch the Wrexham documentary it’s hard not to feel invested in it. Both teams are absolutely worth promotion and I want to see them rise – as long as we are successful too!’
Beyond the Haaland talk, Langstaff’s story from the pits of English football to a respectable level has sparked some comparisons to Jamie Vardy, who rose from non-League to England international, Premier League and FA Cup winner.
“How many Vardys have there been?” Langstaff says. “There aren’t many who do what he did, so I’d be stupid and naive to say I will. But I am a goalscorer. I can carry these attributes through the competitions.”
Notts County is determined to fight for the automatic promotion spot in honor of their late chief Jason Turner, who died suddenly two weeks ago at the age of 50.
“We all suffer,” says Williams. “If you came to work and something needed to be done…you went to Jason.
Notts County is fighting for automatic promotion in honor of their late chief Jason Turner
“We all know that we would be berated by Jason if we underperformed because of our emotions.”
Whatever happens today and throughout the rest of the season, there is no doubt that these are two teams in a promotion battle the likes of which we may never see again.
“It’s a strange season given the levels we’ve both set,” added Williams. “We may never see this again. It’s two incredible teams and top clubs going head to head.
“Life isn’t fair, we can’t both go up automatically. Once you realize that, it’s easier to function. My biggest concern is that I have a victim mentality.”