Category: Preston North End

As the season changed to spring so Preston North Ends season became autumn.  The draw with Sheffield Wednesday put an end to hopes of a play-off place.  After being ahead 2-0 a mad couple of minutes threw away 2 points that should have been in the bag.

Most supporters are now saying the playing has improved and there is some optimism about. Getting 8 more points doesn’t sound too difficult. Yet at Middlesbrough last night the impression was that PNE threw away points. The Championship has no guaranteed results there are a lot of decent teams who can turn it on given an opportunity.  Getting those last points can’t be taken for granted although it would be a shock if it didn’t happen.

It was a surprise to read that clubs keep all their home gate receipts. If that is the case then PNE have definitely exceeded expectations and Trevor Hemmings is to be thanked even more.  Yet Burnley and now Blackpool are above PNE and their gates are worse. It used to seem best if PNE went into the Premier League only if they had a team that looked like it might not get thrashed every week. That view seems a bit out of place with clubs like Hull and Burnley always looking for the taking but winning bragging rights. Best to have your day in the spotlight. Billy Davies was North Ends most recent best chance and another season for him would have been a very strong bet, but for whatever reason he went. So now all hangs on Darren Ferguson and he knows he also hangs on his results as PNE are on a pivot point in this phase of their existance.

Preston are seeking a consistent formation since the arrival of Darren Ferguson. The result against Derby was disappointing after a good start.  

Tuesday 16th: Derby 5 PNE 3. From 1-0 up to 5-2 down.

Darren and the teams record in the league is:

Bpl h.0-0, Sheff U h. 2-1, Swansea a. 0-2, Barnsley h.1-4, Ipswich h. 2-1, Peterborough a. 1-0, Bristol C a.2-4.

Played 8, W3, D1, L4, F11, A17, pts 10 out of 24. With 15 games to go, the trend takes them to about 18 more points which will give them 57. Enough. Phew! 

In the past a struggle in January and such a forecast has resulted in a lot more points. Sometimes your luck runs out though.

Saturday PNE are at Newcastle who won 4-1 tonight. Forecast 1-1.  Defence sorted.  Good result. Well done to the team and Darren.

North End well beaten with a mixed display at Bristol with Mr Ferguson in charge for the first time. There’s time, but with Chelsea scoring 7 and playing PNE in the cup next week the defence are no doubt practicing blocking the goal line. Although Darren F says attack and entertainment is his philosophy so lets hope he gets it right.

Preston’s plight is similar to a number of north-west teams this season. Even the mighty Man.U. are looking out of sorts but still high in the table.  Some glimmers of light,  last weekend on TV, Everton and Wigan looked like they’d turned a corner and maybe they’ll move up the table.

Some common themes are management disruption. Preston, Bolton, Burnley, Wigan, Man.C. have had changes to their managers. Man U, Liverpool have tensions between the fans and board. Man.U. and Liverpool have also had injuries to some key players.  The recession is also increasing the damage and, although denied, this and the fall of the pound against the Euro makes overseas clubs able to make bids that those with the UK£ will find more difficult to turn away and more difficult to buy replacement.

Another feature is that Chelsea and Arsenal are playing great football this season.

The north-west has been very successful in football terms in the last decade and even places like Morecambe and Fleetwood are having their best time.  Can’t really account for this but hope that things aren’t changing just yet.

Certainly adds spice to the managerial roundabout when PNE get a new man and Sheff W, a rival Championship club, take on the old one.

On Wednesday at 4pm Darren Ferguson and Derek Shaw had a press conference to introduce the new manager. Didn’t seem like it was rehearsed as neither made inspirational listening. From it I took that Darren Ferguson likes to see entertaining football, he doesn’t know how much money he has and I’d think he must tire of people asking if his dad agrees.  Derek Shaw referred to Darrens father being a good contact and saying the money would be shown if the target looked right. 

Darren has brought his assistant, Kevin Russell, and a trainer, Scott Taylor, from Peterborough so Rob Kelly is probably looking for a job after his great result last Saturday. Having read the Peterborough local newspaper these are people who have been with him for some time and the assistant is someone close.

The match on Saturday is postponed which will help familiarisation.

Alan Irvine must be happy to walk into a new job so quickly and probably still getting his compensation from PNE.  An interesting position with Sheff Wed almost at the bottom and having the potential to be a very big club although never achieving it. It would be decent for him to do well although not too well, making PNE look bad isn’t what is wanted, so it’s mixed feelings.

Halfway through the season.  23 games to go and 45-50 more points needed.   14 wins,  8 draws, 1 defeat although 3 defeats might be enough.  In reality the play-offs seem unlikely but possible.

Around 9pm news organisations started announcing they ‘understood’ Darren Ferguson is to be the new PNE manager.  Started on the BBC, then Sky, then LEP.  LEP comments pages still on the daily 200 inputs.  Most supportive of the new appointment.

Await the official announcement.  Nothing settled till it’s settled.

After a week of events with the sacking of Alan Irvine and the speculation and controversy surrounding it the team answered back.

Some say Colchester are in a league lower than PNE but they are 4th and it would have been easy for it to be a difficult game.  So you can’t win with some.

The Evening Post website letters section has been red hot all week with over a 1000 inputs. Many wanting the board sacking and Derek Shaw out.  They haven’t asked for the ground to be knocked down but they might as well.

A continuing rumour is that there is something big to be announced perhaps on Monday when the stock exchange opens. Then again rumours take a life of their own as fragments are drawn into the evidence and there are many who like to feed them.

Whether this match is Rob Kelly’s interview and he did well time will tell. There is a lot going on with Bolton sacking their manager and seeming to be intent on getting Burnley’s manager despite him having recently turned down Celtic. Blackburn are having a bad run as well but big Sam hasn’t been there that long. So PNE haven’t got an open field.

Parkin got a hat-trick today and it seems PNE made Colchester look like a non-league team. Don’t like teams being thrashed but PNE need this.

Big surprise news today – PNE have sacked their popular manager Alan Irvine. It was thought he’d have more time.  Not long ago everyone was sweating on whether he’d go to WBA and even if he’d manage Scotland.  There was gratitude he stayed and it seemed a loyal decision.

When writing this it has to be considered that someone we like has been hurt today. Although going into sport makes winning and losing,  apparent justice and injustice seem part of all the jobs, and there is good compensation in many cases.

What can have brought the board to this decision now? Could it be any combination of the following:

Going down? A string of poor results pointing PNE more towards the bottom than the top.

Not scoring?  That the team are looking poor at the front and maybe that stretches into other areas of creativity.

Lack of money?  The possibility that there is no-one to sell without damaging the team and no-one to bring in cheaply who might become valuable.

Timing?  That the board believe that to bring in a new manager after the transfer window would not set him off in the best position.

Negotiating?  That changing managers later when in desperation isn’t a good position to be in.

Opportunities?  That the board have someone else in mind who is available now.

Looking at the list of potential managers in the Evening Post isn’t encouraging. I’d put Alan Irvine above many of those.

Rob Kelly is stepping in as temporary manager. Is there a possibility he has matured to be the man? Sometimes people in their mid-forties get a blast of realisation and it all comes together to make the real thing.  I know a few who did that, but it didn’t happen in my case.

On the boards decision and Derek Shaw. Stepping above the fray and making wise, if harsh, decisions is what a board has to do. Perhaps they could have waited till the new man was known, Man City announced their new manager immediately, PNE haven’t.  Perhaps they could have waited a few more games.

Interesting to see what will happen in the next few weeks and decide then if it was the right decision. Football isn’t like that though, it’s about venting immediate emotion more than logic most of the time and it wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t.

Alan Irvine did a great job last year and at the beginning of this year.  Everyone on the terraces has great regard for him.  Best wishes to Alan. Let’s hope the team plays better though and it has undiverted support.

Middlesbrough announced that they are returning all 4 of their loan players and that means Sean St Ledger back at Deepdale. He played 15 games and scored once for Boro. Since he left both teams have had poor results and as said before this might be coincidence.  PNE received £1.5m up front and a transfer fee of £4.5m was to be completed in January.  As Boro sank in the division it seemed less likely it would go through and Gordon Strachan, their new manager, must have other ideas.

It is said Sean didn’t want to leave North End and most fans will welcome him back.  Where that leaves the cash situation will need to be addressed but the way the team were going it might have been a lesser worry.

If the strikers have got new shooting boots for Christmas maybe things will look up.

Notts Forest 3 PNE 0.  With died in the wool North Ender Paul McKenna scoring the opener for Forest.  Forest are on a roll at the moment under Billy Davies. Can he get 3 clubs into the play-offs?  So from that point of view maybe there wasn’t going to be much today for PNE whatever.

Since Sean St Ledger left for Middlesbrough both teams have moved down the table, with PNE now 15th and Middlesbrough just above. Is this coincidence?   Will Sean be returning when the payment is due or the payment be less? North End’s main problem seems to be an inability to score goals. I’ve long thought Neil Mellor was going to be the man but it seems I was wrong.  He’s been available most of the season and hasn’t scored much and from what I’ve read isn’t looking like he will.

In reality the results havn’t been that bad but have been going from inconsistent to poor. Losing at home to Reading who were almost bottom, then winning away. More recently drawing at home and away or losing by the odd goal without replying which is becoming ominous.

Naturally Alan Irvine will come under pressure if it continues over the next 3 games. PNE have reached a point in the table where they can still easily get into the play-offs or slip into the relegation zone.   Alan’s name has been mentioned for higher places and all the supporters were glad he stayed. Now he’s got a test and we hope he get’s through it.

Next three league games against Yorkshire teams and at least 6 points are expected although 4 might be more realistic.

The National Football Museum trustees announced on their website that the museum will move to the Urbis in central Manchester opening in 2011 with some items remaining in Preston if funding can be found. Newspaper reports say Manchester is paying an £8m transfer fee plus £2m a year subsidy for the museum.  Cheap by Cristiano Ronaldo standards but quite a lot if you’re looking for a job in what was said to be Britains poorest area when the casino was located there (from Blackpool).

If longer term funding can be found a display will remain at Preston. Although my own opinion is that it won’t be viable. Some other use of the facility will need to be found. It is easily accessible by road with plenty of free parking and is a modern building.

Disappointing news for Preston, once more fuelling the opinion that Manchester gets priority in the North West from both the government and regional bodies.  Although it can be seen as a difficult call as I’d rather the museum and any other facility was in Manchester than in London or Birmingham in our centralised state.  Even so, it isn’t clear that this museum has any natural home as football is built on loyalty, to the supporters at least. Yet it seems difficult to factor the pride and loyalty into the displays.

Also the choice of the Urbis isn’t an obvious one. I’m a keen art gallery and museum attender and havn’t been as there are too many better things in the area and I doubt the NFM will change that. The appeal of the NFM is to those interested in football so it isn’t a particularly female or family outing.  The Urbis is close to Victoria Station, recently named the worst station in Britain, car parking in central Manchester costs a fortune and in general people who go there are more interested in the shops.  The Science Museum and the revamped Peoples History Museums aren’t too far away. The Science Museum being one of the best museums of its type in the country and of educational value. The other well known museums and galleries being quite a distance away.  On the other hand it is another item to the list of Manchester attractions that as a minimum add to its appeal as a destination worth more than a day and a good option if you’re looking to fill an hour in the centre. 

It isn’t known if the funding offered by Lancashire and Preston councils will still be there for a reduced football museum or for a different type of museum. I’d guess not as times are hard and nationally we’ve yet to start repaying. How much councils should fund a museum for a sport with such riches is questionable.

If an alternative in Preston was to be founded I’d prefer a museum and a futurama. Perhaps with a broader theme using football as focus to take advantage of the location. The Football Museum’s view over the Deepdale pitch making it come alive.  Maybe it could be an office and  / or cafe as it would be an attractive working environment.

Overall it’s a loss to Preston as the museum has a national and international awareness and advertising like that can’t be replaced.

As forecast Sean St Ledger, the PNE and Irish international defender, has left for Middlesbrough. The LEP is reporting a fee of £4.5m expected in January.  As usual mixed feelings about losing a good player and getting a good fee.  The Premier League is littered with ex-PNE players although PNE keep up the good performances.

I often think there is a risk about a loan. What if he doesn’t get on or found not to be worth that much?   Then again he’s OK here, so PNE get their better player back.

We need to tell ourselves there are about 60 Coca-Cola league clubs out of 68 who’d swap places with PNE anyday.

The Prime Ministers website has a petition for you to sign. It supports keeping the Football Museum in Preston and was raised by the Lancashire Evening Post.

Sign it on the website linked below by 23rd September.  Up to today 945 have signed.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/FootballMuseum/

Alan Irvine bought Paul Parry from Cardiff and Veliche Shumulikoski from Ipswich in the last 2 days. Both players are 28.

Parry is a winger, Shumulikoski a midfielder.

Irvine had been saying the midfield must be strengthened so Shumulikoski fits that. He  was wanted on loan last year but Ipswich didn’t want him to come to Preston, maybe it was because of their proximity in the league.

During the week Alan Irvine starred on Sky Sports with a demonstration of flicking balls into a bag during a public training day.