Preston North End

...here goes, an opinion on Preston North End, affectionately known as PNE. Beware this could be a long op!!

Brief History

PNE can be traced back as far as 1863, but at that time it was an amateur cricket club. They were named Preston North End for the simple fact that they were located at the North End of town (there is actually an amateur team called Preston West End). They actually formed a football club in May 1880 ...
...and became known as 'The Preston Plumber' as that was his day job - football was an amateur sport in those days. A couple of Cup Final appearances in the early 60's was as good as it got until in the early 1990's we finished bottom of the Football League and had to suffer the indignity of reapplying to be part of it - it's a good job that no-one was promoted from the Conference at that time.

Then our fortunes picked up. Division 3 ... more

'Sorry for the low rate but there is so much more info that you can give here.' This seems to be a comment that I have left quite a lot when reading recent ops from members about their favourite football clubs, although standards are improving. When I noticed that I thought it was about time to put my money where my mouth is so to speak and write an op about football the way that I would like to see one with short pieces about all apsects of the club. So, here goes, an opinion on Preston North End, affectionately known as PNE. Beware this could be a long op!!

Brief History

PNE can be traced back as far as 1863, but at that time it was an amateur cricket club. They were named Preston North End for the simple fact that they were located at the North End of town (there is actually an amateur team called Preston West End). They actually formed a football club in May 1880 and played their first game nearly a year later against Blackburn and promptly lost 10-0. Undeterred they carried on. After the acquisition of some Scottish players, their fortunes turned around, and in season 1885/6 they won 59 of their 64 matches scoring over 300 goals and became known as the Invincibles. In 1888/9 they became one of the founder members of the Football League, and in their first season won the League and Cup double - the first of many Championships and cup wins in the next decade. Interestingly enough, PNE are the only one of the founder members to have played at the same ground for all their league life. From 1900 to 1035 they were a yo-yo club suffering many relegations, but also winning many promotions back, and before WWII they appeared in back to back FA Cup Finals when in 1938 they were the first team to be awarded an FA up Final Penalty.

Post WWII, came the most well known player that PNE and perhaps English football has ever known - Tom Finney. Now knighted, he played for over 20 years for North End and became known as 'The Preston Plumber' as that was his day job - football was an amateur sport in those days. A couple of Cup Final appearances in the early 60's was as good as it got until in the early 1990's we finished bottom of the Football League and had to suffer the indignity of reapplying to be part of it - it's a good job that no-one was promoted from the Conference at that time.

Then our fortunes picked up. Division 3 champions in 1996 under Gary Peters. In 1997 I became a fan (see below) when we were in great danger of going straight back down. Gary Peters resigned, and David Moyes was appointed as player / manager. What has followed was a period of considered success at the club with a Division 2 Championship in 2000, and a trip to Cardiff for the Division 1 Play off Final against Bolton which we lost 3-0 - had we won we would have been in the Premiership. David Moyes resigned at the end of last season after narrowly missing out on the playoffs again, bringing us up to the present with Craig Brown as manager.

Famous Players

Perhaps the most famous player for PNE was Sir Tom Finney (described above)but we have had other greats. In the 1950's Howard Kendall played for us (later to become Everton manager amongst others), In the 1970's Sir Bobby Charlton played for us before finishing his career, and we also had the late great Bill Shankly at one stage of his career. Other famous names include Archie Gemmill and Mark Lawrenson of BBC Match of the Day fame. I met him a couple of times and he is a really nice bloke. For all you younger people out there for who these names mean nothing then prepare to be impressed. In 1994, we had 5 appearances and 3 goals from a certain David Beckham in a PNE shirt!!

How did I come to be a fan?

Originally I am from Barnsley, and have been a football fan for as long as I can remember, but for some reason I never felt an allegiance to my hometown club. I had friends who would go and I would go along to the occasional match, simply because I loved the atmosphere that the old style terraces had, and I would watch any football I could find. After the Hillsborough disaster, these were phased out and most of the clubs changed to all-seater stadiums (it is now a requirement for a Premier League club).

In 1997 I left Barnsley and went to Preston to become a student. Any of you who have been away to University will remember those first few weeks of desperately trying to find friends, and for me I seemed to drop on with a few lads who were big football fans too. They were all Manchester United fans except for one, who was a local, and had lived in Preston for over 15 years - he also happened to be a season ticket holder for PNE. He tried selling us all on the concept that football in Division 2 was much better and the atmosphere was brilliant. He tried so hard with me (a football nut with no clear ties to any club) that he finally persuaded me to go with him on the condition that we could stand in the terraces that they had as I missed the atmosphere from those from when I went to watch Barnsley. I remember that match like it was yesterday - it was against Fulham who had just been bought by Mohammed Al-Fayed (owner of Harrods) and was managed by Kevin Keegan, one of footballs all time great players. PNE won 2-0 and the atmosphere was electric - much better than any other football match that I had ever been to. After that I was hooked. I went to every home match that season and we just managed to avoid relegation to Division 3 by the skin of our teeth.

But this football lark was a costly business so for the following season I needed a job to finance it a bit more, so I got a job as a Ground Safety Steward at PNE, looking after the home fans terraces that I stood on. This way I got to see all of the home matches, and missed very few goals, and I was a steward in a very good position with me being tall. I then used the cash to pay for away trips that my mate got me to go on. That is how I became a fan. Unfortunately, I am a non-driver exiled back in Yorkshire so can't get to that many home matches now, but with a glut of first division clubs in Yorkshire I can go to away games. My friend still gets his season ticket and he persuaded another friend to go along shortly after me and she is now a season ticket holder travelling from Manchester.

Current Team and Form

Last summer PNE appointed Craig Brown as their new manager after David Moyes left to become manager of Everton. Former Scotland national team manager he had the pedigree to take us forward and try to get us promoted to the Premiership. He inherited what was on paper and should have been a good team and made one addition buying Jamaican international Ricardo Fuller from a team in Denmark. Unfortunately we lost our captain and talisman Sean Gregan a few days before the start of this season as West Brom came in with an offer that was too good to refuse for both the club and the player in the current financial climate.

Up until the middle of December, PNE were mid table in Division 1. We should have been higher but the sheer brilliance of Ricardo Fuller (whose footwork was so tricky you would think the ball was glued to his foot) was overshadowed by normally reliable players making basic errors that cost us. We were the league's draw specialists with over half of our games ending up that way. Then disaster struck and Ricardo suffered a cruciate ligament injury that has threatened his career, and is the same one that both Gazza and Alan Shearer have both had. That coincided with a huge loss of form as we lost 6 games on the run including an embarrassing home defeat in the FA Cup to Rochdale who are 2 Divisions below us.

So presently we are 15 points above relegation and should be safe as we seem to be coming out of our bad run with a few wins on the bounce. Craig Brown has brought in some more of his desired players and moved a few on. On paper we should be pressing for the playoffs, but football rarely works out like it should. PNE have 7 current internationals in their squad who play for Scotland (Graham Alexander), Northern Ireland (David Healy & Colin Murdock), Wales (Rob Edwards), USA (Eddie Lewis), Jamaica (Ricardo Fuller), and George Koumantarakis (South Africa). Top scorer for the club at the moment is Richard Cresswell.

Stadium

PNE play at a ground called Deepdale, located off Blackpool Road about 2 miles North of Preston. The nearest train station is Preston and is in the town centre - it is advisable not to get a taxi up to the ground on match days as traffic is very heavy around the ground. The ground itself is being made into a 30,000 all-seater stadium, and 3 sides have been completed, but alas the demise of ITV Digital has hit PNE hard and therefore the fourth stand is on hold. In 1996, the Sir Tom Finney Stand opened and holds 8,100, and includes the McDonalds Family Stand. The 6,000 seater Bill Shankly Stand followed this in 1998 which now houses the away fans. Finally, the Alan Kelly Town End was completed in 2001, and replaced the terracing where I used to be a steward, and is the stand that I go and sit in when I venture up to PNE. The pitch is highly regarded as one of the best in the Nationwide, and is a far cry from the days of the 80'2 and early 90's when PNE were ones of the clubs to have an infamous plastic pitch - not good for football with uneven bounce amongst other problems. In the corner of the Sir Tom Finney and Bill Shankly stands is the National Football Museum which house much football memorabilia and is well worth a look. Apparently that is where the twin towers from Wembley are going to be permanently housed. Unfortunately, unlike other museums admission isn't free and will set you back about £7.

To get into PNE, the ticket prices are as follows:-

Alan Kelly Town End & Bill Shankly Kop - Adults £15 (£18), Junior £8 (£9), OAP £10 (£11), Student £10 (11)
Sir Tom Finney Stand - Adults £16 (£19), Junior £8 (£9), OAP £10 (£11), Student £10 (£11), Juniors in Family Section £3 (£4)
Pavilion Stand - Adult £16 (£19), Junior £8 (£9), OAP £10 (£11), Student £10 (11)

Future

The collapse of ITV Digital has left lots of Nationwide clubs in a bit of a hole with a few million quid to find. We have been relatively protected as before the collapse of the transfer market we sold 2 players for a combined total of £7.5 million and received a further £1 million when Everton poached David Moyes from us. Football is about to change and obscene transfer amounts from nationwide teams are a thing of the past, along with player contracts being so large. There are rumours that a few of the players who are out of contract at PNE will leave in the summer because of the reduced terms we are offering them, but thankfully we have an astute board who are well aware of the current financial climate. Craig Brown is a decent manager and he has a good squad of players who are capable of challenging for the First Division playoffs, and next season will be the big test for him - he will be expected to take us further up than we are now, especially as it is more like his team. The future really isn't dull for PNE.

Additional Information

For information about the club and how to purchase tickets, then their website address is www.pnefc.net
For further information about the National Football Museum, then the website for that is www.nationalfootballmuseum.com

I think that I have covered everything that I want to say, and hope that it is as comprehensive a review as I would like to see - if a tad long. Hopefully it has everything that is needed for a well-balanced review and you never know, it might generate some future fans!! If anyone out there goes to watch PNE, then I was the steward at the front of the Town End in a bright blue jacket whose hat kept being stolen by a 7ft tall duck (the mascot)!!
 

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