Category: Preston North End

Paul McKenna signed for Notts Forest today. He’s a PNE vet and was captain. Seems PNE got a good price, said to be £750,000, and Paul was pleased to get some cash in his pocket and said he was pleased to join Forest. Although I suppose he would say that. Hope he isn’t another vet who moves into the Premier League after leaving North End.

Simon Whaley left for Norwich. He was a player who seemed to have mixed performances.

Chris Neal, goalie, left for Shrewsbury. Alan Simpson land.

North End beat an Austrian team 11-0 although that was eclipsed by Villareal beating a team 27-0.  Not sure what to think as I thought there was a sort of gentlemens agreement about trouncing teams in friendlies. OK so you’re a fully trained and coached footballer. Well done, do you beat up small children as well.

Loads of money being sloshed about and yes I think it’s OK if the money is there and the player is an exceptional talent. Then there is the game of chess. A rich club put in a large bid with no intention of buying so another club with less money has to up its offer and spend all its got. That’s business, what a laugh for the poor fan paying a fortune to watch.

A bit late with this one although there is something on the website. Snippets are coming out since the decision on Tuesday morning that Alan Irvine has turned down the job at WBA.  

He wanted to listen to what they had to say but wanted to stay at Preston as he appreciated the opportunity he’d been given on his appointment and he felt there is a job to finish.

He said he had a 15 year apprenticeship before North End gave him the job. I can appreciate from that and his other comments what kind of person he might be.  He is obviously not one for rocking the boat and looking round for the next best chance.  He’s a stable type who lives not too far away, he’s 50. Why should he go to WBA when the chance of the sack in 12 months is high. WBA won’t appreciate that he keeps them in the Championship whereas at Preston he has that tick in the box and now he’s got another tick by staying.  At Preston he’s only likely to get the sack if they look like going down or have too long in the doldrums.

Vice versa if he does another nearly promoted job next year he’ll be seen as a real hot ticket as it won’t be a flash in the pan and a premier league club might look at him. Whereas would he take WBA go up next year, not necessarily, and if not it’s a blot. Add to that there’s Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Sheff U, Reading, Preston and the surprise teams waiting to bite. Ipswich, Notts F anybody?

Also Prestons a decent place, nice ground and facilities, not too bustling, nice surrounding areas, friendly. If you were to have a managerial development placing on your CV  and wanted to hit the top places Preston would look like a great posting.

Alan Irvine is being linked with the vacant West Brom manager post.  A bit flattering for North End, but unwelcome.

Papers in the midlands have a list of likely candidates.  Former WBA captain Derek McInnes is a favourite of the fans I read, then again I’m not sure the fans are good judges, look at Newcastle.  Other people on the list are from Peterborough: Darren Ferguson, Cardiff: Dave Jones, Bristol City: Gary Johnson,  ex-Reading : Steve Coppell, ex-Charlton and West Ham manager Alan Curbishley and ex-Blackburn boss Paul Ince, ex-Watford: Andy Boothroyd.

Personally I’d go for Steve Coppell he has the additional advantage of being unemployed.  Dave Jones of Cardiff has also got a lot of experience although I’d not wish Cardiff’s loss unless it came to the crunch.

August 8, Morecambe in the Carling Cup at Deepdale. Morecambe havn’t reached the status of deadly local rivals and maybe they’ll bring some shrimps so take some butter to the game. They beat PNE last time so don’t get cocky.  They should be given a welcome as no-one would have said they’d get in the league or stay in. To add insult the BBC has put an Ebbsfleet crest as the major part of the Morecambe page based on a rumoured transfer. Would they put a large Madrid crest on Man U’s page – I think I need to get a life but it’s raining.

August 11, Bristol City at Deepdale in the Championship. Fairly close rival by league position so could be a key game.  Not a bad place Bristol, Brunels SS Great Britain, the first propellor driven iron ship is docked there. The home of Jenner the creator (though no man works in isolation) of the smallpox vaccine is near, awesome feat.  Remember that on August 11th the game is in Preston.

Watched the Deepdale game in full on TV while on holiday overseas. Do the players know how far their fame is spread.

Overall PNE put on a decent display and looked threatening but without showing any real flair.  Sheffields goal in the 46th minute came from what looked like the best play of the match, they came out with real fire in their bellies and put PNE on the back foot from the kick off.

Also watched Reading v Burnley in full while on holiday. Unfortunately ex-PNE Grahame Alexander looks like he’s playing a great fatherly role and it might not be too much of a surprise if they beat Sheffield.

One has to say,  jolly good result. Against a team that could still get an automatic promotion spot.  Sealed at least 8th for PNE and 4th still possible although only Burnley have a worse goal difference.  A good season, doing a lot better than most expected.

Todays roll of honour:

Mellor 17
Mellor 41
Parkin 51
Kennedy o.g. 54
Brown 75
Williamson 86

Lonergan for saving a penalty at 2-0 in the 45th minute.

After the complaints last year and Derek Shaw giving and retracting notice, the sense of PNE’s conservative financial policy is looking clearer (I’d add that the Made in Preston site has always supported this policy, ref 29/8/07  ).  This seasons financials weren’t too good at Deepdale but thanks to Derek Shaw and Trevor Hemmings they seem a way off the problems of other clubs.

Southampton are in trouble as their parent company has gone into administration and they have large debts for their new ground.  Luton have gone out of the league today thanks to a 30 point penalty for financial irregularities. Manchester United have massive debts although I noticed today the paper referred to their parent company as holding the debts.

Can’t say I understand this parent company arrangement. PNE plc have a subsidiary PNE FC – is that a parent arrangement?

So if your parent company goes into administration you’re OK,  a rule that seems open to interpretation. It seems tough on Luton to be docked so many points in the bottom league. They might as well have kicked them out.  I feel a lot of sympathy for Luton and don’t feel it’s right. It seems that, like the banks, the people who cause the problems aren’t too affected but those innocents, the fans, are made to suffer.

What is a football club?  It isn’t the management or the players, they are bought in and in most cases are playing for their own glory and pockets.  As a fan would you imagine threatening to leave if you didn’t get an obscenely large payment, although as a player it’s a merciless life so I can see that side as well.  A club is it’s fans and some directors.  Finally hats off to those who dipped into their pocket like Trevor Hemmings or set up funds like Derek Shaw.

Doncaster 0 – PNE 2.  Good result but the play-off boat is moving away.

Sounds like PNE should have won but didn’t really do the stuff. Over 21,000 there as well.

Even if PNE get max points they’ll be struggling to get near the top 6. Stranger things have happened at sea though.

Blackpool could overtake PNE. Things that strange don’t happen at sea though.

6 games to go, 3 at home. It will be a miracle if PNE get into the play-offs, they’ll need to win at least 4 games as they’re 5 points adrift assuming Cardiff make some use of their games in hand.  PNE play Cardiff at Deepdale so that’s a small help.

Whatever happens Alan Irvine has done a good job although a little bit better would have made quite a difference.   I’m sure Bristol C,  Swansea and Ipswich are saying the same. Will anyone above falter? You can only hope and do your best. Preston expects……….

Bristol C v PNE
PNE v Blackpool
Doncaster v PNE
PNE v Cardiff
Birmingham v PNE
PNE v QPR

Saturday 7th March – Crystal Palace 2 PNE 1.  Tuesday 10th March – PNE 1 Sheff Wed 1. Not exactly promotion form. Neither opponent had been doing well. Add in Notts Forest last week and the story isn’t too great. 1-0 up at Crystal Palace in the 29th minute then 2-1 down in the 34th. 1-0 down against Sheff Wed until the 92nd minute, then 1-1. Can’t comment much but the papers seem to think PNE were the poorer team in all the games.

This may read a bit negative when normally I’m positive but I don’t have the feeling that there are the players that other clubs want at Deepdale at the moment. That worry of poachers  is often a good guide to the quality of the squad. Then again a team of players just under that threshold playing well for each other under a good manager can do well. That is how I see PNE. Since Alan Irvine said they are safe from relegation they havn’t done too well but the whole division is inconsistent.

Tuesday 3rd March. Billy Davies strikes back, I’m a fan of his.   The Lancashire Evening Post gave the impression PNE could have won, they’re still well placed.

PNE are sitting in a great position after 35 games. Todays game against Ipswich was a ‘six pointer’ and Ipswich were on a run so the 3-2 win kept them in the play-off position. Only Sheffield United can move them out by winning games in hand so it is largely in North Ends hands.

At the moment there is little consistency in the whole division so anyone in the top half could go up. You might think that a club who can only get 12,000 on a game that could keep them in the running in the division isn’t going to do much in the Premier League.  They are doing well enough in the Championship and the money in Premier League should allow strengthening.  I’d have little confidence of enough strengthening though. So savour the moment.

Been some debate about moving the Football Museum to Wembley. Don’t see why. Wembley gets big crowds for the few games it holds but is miles out of the centre. I only see it when travelling at 100mph on a train and it takes ages to get into Euston even at that speed.

They say people can’t be bothered to travel a couple of miles off the motorway to Deepdale on fairly straight roads but they are expected to rattle about in a tube for an hour taking most of a day out of a 3 day London break to see it. When I go to London it’s very rare I travel out of the main tourist areas.

They say Wembley has history and catchment, so has Preston – 8 premier league grounds within an hours travel of the museum door, the oldest ground in the country.

Finally it’s part of the old story that many think only London can have national showpieces. Yet I’ve found that as I’ve got older I prefer to travel to quieter places and want to be able to drive in and park my car easily and safely. That’s where Deepdale can win easily as the car park is big, free, outside the door and well away from areas where you might worry about your safety.