Don Masson

When a national poll was carried out during the 2007-08 season to decide who supporters regarded as the finest player ever to represent their club, Notts County fans voted in their masses for Don Masson.

And that came as no surprise to anyone who ever saw him gracing the black & white stripes because the slightly-built Scot really was a proverbial giant in midfield terms.

He had the ability to dominate play with his incredible vision and superb range of passing and had he not shown such loyalty to County, there’s no telling what he might have achieved in the game.

He was 28 years of age by the time he left Meadow Lane to make a £100,000 move to Queen’s Park Rangers and in a short space of time, he helped Rangers finish runners-up in the League - their highest-ever position – and also collected 17 Scotland caps.

He also appeared in the World Cup Finals as a member of Ally McLeod’s ill-fated team and briefly served Derby County before returning to complete the task that was surely his destiny.

Masson captained County to three promotions, from the Fourth Division right the way through to the top flight, and in that time, he made 402 League appearances and scored 92 goals.

When you look at those statistics, it was surely the best day’s work that any Notts County manager ever carried out when Billy Gray agreed a package deal in September 1968 to sign Masson and Bob Worthington from Middlesbrough for just £6,000.

It was a curious move on the part of Middlesbrough because Masson had made his League debut for them at the age of 18 and in 1966-67 had made 19 appearances as they won promotion from Division Three.

But Gray swooped when the midfielder suddenly found himself out of the first-team picture at Ayresome Park and Middlesbrough’s loss was certainly County’s gain.

Where is he now?

“I dabbled a bit with management at Kettering when I finished playing and then spent six months in America, promoting the game in Los Angeles, but decided after that to do something else with my life.

“I was involved in property development for three years and after that, I took over the lease for the sports centre at Meadow Lane for a couple of years.

“I met and married Brenda at that time and we decided to take over the Gallery Hotel on Radcliffe Road, just along from the Trent Bridge cricket ground We were there for nearly 15 years and although the hours were long and it was hard work, we enjoyed it.

“I thought we were going to retire when we sold up and took a smaller place at Elton-on-the-Hill near Grantham. But Brenda can’t leave it alone and has turned it into an AA-rated five-star guest house.

“To be fair, I don’t do too much. Most of my time when I’m not playing tennis is spent in the garden. Actually, clients think I am the gardener – and I don’t have a problem with that. Life is good for us here and we’re very happy.”