YOU can almost hear the whir again. For too long it was silent at Meadow Lane, but now the conveyor belt carrying promising young players into the first team at Notts County has stirred from a standstill.

The Magpies once had a famous youth system, producing players like Tommy Johnson, Mark Draper and Dean Yates, who all went on to become legends at Meadow Lane, but it was controversially disbanded in 2006 because it was considered too expensive during an age of post-administration austerity for the club.

It was a costly mistake ironically, however, because homegrown talent was always the club's lifeblood.

Notts soon realised their error and just two years later a new youth setup, a Centre of Excellence, was created by ex-manager Ian McParland and former chairman John Armstrong-Holmes and it is now beginning to bear fruits, like Haydn Hollis, a 19-year-old defender, who became the first player to graduate from it and make a full league debut for Notts earlier this month, against Huddersfield Town at Meadow Lane.

There are others too. Liam Mitchell is the Magpies' second-choice goalkeeper and George Nicholas, a midfielder, has made one substitute league appearance. They are both 19, while Curtis Thompson, 18, made his first team bow as a substitute in a Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie in October.

The club's head of youth is Mick Leonard, a goalkeeper in his playing career, who played for Notts for ten years. He said: "I was told it would take me five years to get one player into the first team, but we've made a lot of progress amazingly quickly. It has exceeded all of my expectations."

Magpies boss Martin Allen amazingly only saw Nicholas play once in a youth team game against Nottingham Forest before giving him a professional deal, while Hollis was at Forest before joining Notts as a scholar.

"George is a boy I found through a contact of mine," said Leonard. "He was playing for Hemel Hempstead so I went to see him and liked the look of him so we gave him a scholarship. Martin gave him a professional contract after seeing him play in a youth game against Forest.

"Hollis was at Forest and he came here as a central midfielder, but I knew straightaway he was not a midfielder so we put him in central defence. He didn't like heading it at first because he was not used to playing in defence, but he worked on his heading and became a lot more dominant in the youth team. He's got a lovely left foot and a good range of passing. He's got potential.

"He made his debut against Huddersfield, who are one of the best teams in the league, and he was up against (Jordan) Rhodes, who is one of the best strikers.

"He was pitched in there and I thought he did quite well. It's going to take him time to adjust to that level of play, but I'm sure he will get there.

"There are other ones as well. Curtis Thompson did ever so well in pre-season. He's a tough little player with a good attitude. He's quick, he can pass the ball well and crosses the ball well.

"There will be a lot more come through, I've got no doubt about that."

The Centre of Excellence office at Meadow Lane was once the first-team boot room, which is rather ironic given youth players used to clean the boots of first-team players as a rite of passage.

It is just yards from Allen's office in one direction and the first-team dressing room in another.

Allen wanted to inspire greater togetherness at Meadow Lane and to make the young players feel closer to the first team they are aspiring towards and Leonard says he has achieved it.

"Martin has brought us closer to everyone at the club. There is a greater togetherness here now," he said. "It makes a huge difference to us being here now because we're among everything. He's made it inclusive.

"Having played for QPR and West Ham, who have always brought young players through, Martin wants young players.

"If he feels they are good enough he will give them a chance, which is hugely motivational for us and the young lads.

"The club should be based on its youth system and I'm convinced it will be. Since Martin has come in – and it's not even been a year yet – he's made a hell of a difference to what we do."

The Magpies' youth team, led by Hollis, finished in second place in the Youth Alliance North East Conference last season and the present youth team have just reached the northern section semi-finals of the Youth Alliance Cup.

While pleased with the enormous progress the Centre of Excellence has made, Leonard is even more excited about the future.

"From U9s to U15s we're one of the strongest at our level. We can compete favourably with the likes of Leicester, which is quite an achievement," he said.

"The youth team had a really good season last year too and it was only their second campaign. They played some cracking football, the best in our league, and finished runners-up to Chesterfield. We're doing well again now this season.

"I do believe we are going from strength to strength and that in two, possibly three years, we will have a number of players coming through the system.

"You can't guarantee it, but there are a number of players that I believe can play for the club or even higher. That is my gut feeling and I will be very proud if they do."