PNE Online Community Blog

We are roughly at the mid-point of the season and whilst today’s league table is utterly irrelevant when compared to that of May’s, it is an excellent one to look at and take stock of the season so far.

If you cast your mind back to August and Preston’s first meeting with the 3rd tier of England’s beautiful game in 11 years, it is fair to say that the fan’s opinions of what the season would bring, were mixed. Some couldn’t see anything other than the top two, whilst others feared the two at the opposite end of the table, could be where Preston reside, come May 2012.

The first game of the season was a very strange affair, a pre-match enthusiasm seemed tangible in the Deepdale air prior to kick-off, a somewhat rejuvenated confidence resonated. Then sadly, the game [...]

I could not hide my anger after yet another appalling defeat at the hands of a very ordinary Bournemouth team the other day. Although I have fully endorsed up to now our cost cutting plan I really am beginning to question what our motives are.

Our chairman seems to have vanished, our owner does not speak, and the man with too many words and not enough action Mr Brown, needs to stop speaking and start delivering.

What concerned me the most at our last home game was not the performance, dreadful enough, but the lack of passion emanating from all sides of the ground. Indeed it was only after the last whistle that some fans began to display their anger with chants of ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’. I know some may disagree with that, but at least those fans are displaying a sense of anger [...]

I have it on good authority that the midwifery unit at our local hospital is taking in a number of pregnant women from Blackburn, no surprise there then, however the reason this is happening is because the midwifery unit has closed in Blackburn and their nearest midwifery unit is Burnley. Women and their partners do not want their off spring (potential Rovers fans) being born in Burnley! Now I am all for a bit of rival banter but surely this is taking things a bit far, or is it?

When I lived in Portsmouth I worked and played with Pompey fans and what staggered me was their hatred of all things Southampton, ‘Scummers’ they called them – everywhere you went, everyone you [...]

The recent clamour in the tabloids about Arsene Wengers position at Arsenal FC and the bringing back of David Dein has brought to the fore once again the power of the national press in this country and more importantly those tabloid journalist and editors who seem to be able to make or break (almost always break) football managers careers, irrespective of past achievements.

From the outset, may I stress I am all for the freedom of the press, it is a pivotal part of our democratic process but one thing that does disturb me greatly is the lack of any independent regulatory authority to bring them to bear (they regulate themselves) This lack of accountability and indeed transparency gives some of these ‘hacks’ the licence to write what they want, and these days, more importantly with Sky’s Sunday Supplement and [...]

As I was driving past a local school this week I noticed what must have been a summer soccer camp in full swing, lots of five a side games with both girls and boys playing.

I had a look at the kits that they were all wearing, it looked like the United Nations. Unfortunately there was the usual Manchester United and Liverpool shirts, a couple of Celtic and Everton shirts, and even a Man City top on display. I looked for the only shirt that they should have all been wearing, to my relief there was a smattering of the greatest shirt in the world, of course a North End one. I admit there were some England shirts and not a hint of tangerine but it got me thinking again of where your allegiances should lie [...]

I was standing in that ridiculous line waiting for my ticket on saturday and with time to kill began to think about our support and what as a club we can do about attracting more supporters through the gates.

I am aware that the catalysts for increased support is determined by two factors, cost and ultimately performance, and although the club has improved its marketing strategy, is it sufficient?

In my opinion we live in the hardest place in the world, yes the world in attracting supporters with two of the biggest clubs on the planet just over 25 miles away and a host of other clubs even closer. Therefore we have to be innovative and pro-active in our marketing strategy, the trouble is, we are not.

This prompted me to think of Ricky. When i was involved with PSG, Ricky Post of Post’s Ice Cream approached me and handed me a cheque for £150. A die hard north end fan, he does not get on the [...]