StanLindsay1
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Welcome to my Let’s Play of Preston North End (PNE) – the first ever English League champions and original ‘Invincibles’. I am excited about this Let’s Play because Preston are the team I support. I can still remember the glory days of David Moyes leading us to that agonizing play-off final defeat against Bolton and the sheer ecstasy of the 2015 League One play off final win v Swindon Town. The club has produced some excellent players including Sir Tom Finney, Bill Shankly and Mark Lawrenson. Preston’s home ground is Deepdale and, although it only has a capacity of 23,404, it is the oldest continually used stadium in England by a professional club.
History:
Preston North End was a founder member of the Football League in 1888. They won the inaugural championship and the FA Cup, the latter without conceding a goal. They were the first team to achieve the “Double” and won the league again in 1989-90, but this would be their last top division title. Preston won the 1938 FA Cup by defeating Huddersfield Town and this remains the last major title won by the club.
Sir Tom Finney is the clubs most famous player. He made his debut in 1946 and is generally considered to be one of the best footballers of all time. He remains the clubs all time top goal scorer with 187 goals in 433 appearances. The year after Finney retired, Preston were relegated to the Second Division and have not played in the top division since.
Preston’s have many local rivalries being from the football hotbed of North West England. The fiercest of these is with Blackpool and Burnley, both West Lancashire derbies. Other geographic rivals include Wigan, Blackburn and Bolton (we still haven’t gotten over that play off defeat either).
Preston have faced serious financial issues and were twice in danger of closure. The club is now owned by Trevor Hemmings who saved the club from a winding up order.
Modern Day:
Having been promoted to the Championship in 2015 through that glorious play off defeat, Preston have stabilized well, finishing 11th, 7th and 7th place. The clubs financial pulling power is a tiny percentage of the likes of Leeds, Nottingham and Middlesborough, so the club has punched well above their weight in recent seasons. The challenge now is to push on and finally make the leap to the promised land of the Premier League.
Philosophy
My aim is, ultimately, to return the team to the top tier of English football and then win the League and FA Cup double, just like the original Invincibles. However, we need to walk before we can run and will start with trying to get promoted via the play offs. Keeping hold of our key players will be essential if we are to achieve this. I won’t be forcing any players to stay against their will, but will be driving a hard bargain to reinvest in my playing squad. I am keen to develop own players through our Youth Academy. Preston will have a small transfer budget to sign players, so I will use the loan market to secure top quality players. Preston has always had a reputation for signing a high number of players from Ireland and Northern Ireland such as Sean Maguire, Alan Browne and Daryl Horgan in recent times. I will aim to continue this trend and look to sign mostly British and Irish players. I also want to use the Youth Academy to try and finally unearth the next Tom Finney, a local Preston lad who will excite the crowd with brilliant runs and has an eye for goal.
Objectives
- Get Promoted to the Premier League
- Win the FA Cup
- Win the FA Cup and League Double
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