2006-07 Season

7th in the Championship
League Cup: 1st round: Port Vale a. 1-2
FA Cup: 5th round: Manchester City h. 1-3

Highlight:
4-1 hiding of Leeds United, 31/10/06

Low Spot:
2-3 home defeat to Southend United, 9/4/07

Good:
Graham Alexander
The North End right back surely fits the "model pro" bill better than anyone else in English football. Steady defensively, thoughtful and creative in possession and a cold blooded assassin from the penalty spot Grezza gets better with age.
The legs are going a little bit so it is uncertain how much longer he has left at this level but his performances not just here but for Scotland as well suggest he's good for another year or two yet.
Carlo Nash
Cast as the villain of the piece after wanting away in January but his form up to that point had once again been outstanding in the Preston goal.
In truth Paul Simpson's handling of the situation left a lot to be desired and although the request was initially turned down Nash would not feature again during the campaign, much to his clubs' detriment.

Bad:
Michael Ricketts
Yet another club were left to marvel at close quarters as to how this guy ever played for England.
Neil Mellor
Is this the unfittest footballer in England? Doesn't look as if he'd be much good even if he ever did get a run clear of injuries.

In Brief:
North End's season was nothing short of bizarre.
The close season saw their manager defect to Derby and all the backroom staff jack in, the sale of two top players and their best remaining defender get ruled out for the season before it even started. Taking this into account it was hard to see the club repeating their play off finishes of the two previous campaigns.
There was a slow start under new boss Paul Simpson but then back to back home wins against the early pacesetters, Cardiff City and West Bromwich Albion, saw the club produce their best form of the season.
Not only were results good but they were gained with a nice brand of passing, attractive football. A win at Leicester in November saw the club go joint top of the table and they were able to stay in and around the top three well into the New Year.
Unlike other clubs around them, however, Preston did not look to really bolster their squad in January and this eventually cost them. Form remained excellent through January and February and a pleasing local derby victory over Burnley in March left automatic promotion a real possibility.
Then everything went horribly wrong with six games out of seven being lost and a final day victory over Birmingham City was not enough to repair the damage as the club missed out on the play off place that had seemed a formality almost all season.
The loss of Paul McKenna to injury highlighted the clubs' poverty in central midfield and question marks have to be asked of Simpson's failure to address that situation in January.
The mystery of what happened to all the good football played before christmas also remains a matter of intrigue. For much of the second half of the season the long ball approach was almost a throwback to the dark days of John Beck.
With David Nugent almost certain to now leave next season will be a challenge for Simpson.

P.N.E. - Club History

Preston North End Football Club was formed in 1881. It was a product of the North End Cricket and Rugby Club although these other sports were quickly dropped as the popularity of the new sport became evident.

Preston North End were one of the biggest earliest influences on football, moving the game forward in many ways especially in forcing the sport away from its' amateur roots and towards the inevitability of professionalism.

Preston were one of the first clubs suspected of paying their players and were actually expelled from the 1885 FA Cup competition for that very reason.

Bolstering their squad with a large contingent of top Scottish players the club were feared but unpopular opponents.

In 1888 they reached their first FA Cup final and were huge favourites to defeat West Bromwich Albion. It is alleged the team asked to have their photograph taken with the cup before kick off so their jerseys would not be dirty.

In the event they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to general satisfaction.

The following season the Football League came into being and the club put this disappointment behind them to clinch the league and cup double in spectacular style.

The all conquering "Invincibles" claimed the league title without losing a game and took the FA Cup without conceding a goal.

In modern times it is common practise to dismiss the merits of this feat, citing the smaller number of games played as proof that the achievement does not compare with doubles won since.

If something is easier to achieve, however, surely it happens more frequently.

The dates in which the league and FA Cup double has been achieved are 1889, 1897, 1961, 1971, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2002.

These dates suggest, rather strongly, that it is nowadays that doubles are easiest to come by and certainly offer credance to North End's unique feat.

It is certain that Preston were unable to sustain their superiority. They claimed a second successive league title in 1890 but have not won another since and it would be 1922 before the club made it to another FA Cup final, only to lose to a single, disputed penalty goal to Huddersfield Town.

By this time the club was just as likely to be found in the second division as the first but there was a significant improvement in the Lilywhites fortunes in the mid 1930's.

Retaining a strong Scottish influence, which survives to this day, North End were promoted back to the first division in 1934, reached the FA Cup final in 1937 only to lose to Sunderland and returned to Wembley again the following year to face their conquerors of 1922, Huddersfield.

Again the game was settled by a contentious penalty, this time in North End's favour, George Mutch crashing home the kick off the underside of the bar in the very last minute of extra time.

Preston looked set fair to challenge for honours regularly at this time but would be denied the chance to do so by the onset of war.

An outstanding victory over Arsenal in one of the wartime cup finals highlighted the ability of this side as well as introducing a local youngster by the name of Tom Finney to a national audience.

After the war Preston, inspired chiefly by Finney, became regular and respected members of the first division.

They did suffer relegation in 1949, when Finney missed half the season through injury, but they returned two years later with a stronger side.

With Finney as its' undoubted focal point this talented side regularly threatened honours. They were runners up in the league in 1953 and 58 and finished third in 1957.

In 53 they lost out on the title to Arsenal only on goal average.

They also reached the FA Cup final in 1954 only to lose out to West Bromwich Albion by 3-2, falling to a last minute winner.

On a day when Finney had been expected to take all before him the great man had been unusually quiet, although careless defending was just as much to blame for the eventual defeat.

In 1960 Finney retired and the following year the club were relegated from the first division and have yet to return.

In 1964 North End finished third in division two, only two teams were promoted at the time. They also reached the 1964 FA cup final.

Again the club lost 3-2 to a last minute winner, this timeWest Ham United breaking Deepdale hearts, but they had given a stirring performance in defeat.

From here on decline set in. In 1970 the club was relegeted to the third division for the first time and although they bounced back immediately there was no sustained revival.

The 1980's were a desperate decade. In 1985 the club suffered relegation to the fourth division and then the indignity of having to apply for re-election the following season.

The appointment of John McGrath as manager at least saw North End improve dramatically and win promotion the following season but again this improvement could not be sustained.

A genuine upturn in fortunes would not occur until the appointment of David Moyes as manager in 1998.

Under the steely guidance of Moyes the club returned to the second tier of English football in 2000 and have twice been only a play off final away from making it to the Premiership, only to turn in abject performances against Bolton Wanderers in 2001 and West Ham United in 2005.

A club with a long and proud history, they hold the English record victory of 26-0 over Hyde United, one unfortunate statistic on their books is their own record defeat, a 7-0 home defeat to arch rivals Blackpool in 1948.

Surely the dreadful teams of the mid 1980's could have got that one scrubbed from the books.