It’s no wonder a well known North End wag said to me “Thank God that’s all over” as we walked back to the coach at Ashton Gate last weekend. For 2007-8 really was the season of hell for North End fans and one that I suspect won’t stay in the memory very long.
We perhaps should have known all was not right with the performances in last few months of the previous season plus the ill fated trip to America. Add to this a poor set of results and performances in the friendlies and as the opening game against Norwich arrived we were all wondering what to expect.
The opener was a poor game finishing 0-0 followed by a very ignominious exit from the League Cup at the hands of mighty Morecambe. The season was just two games old and the pressure was building already on Paul Simpson. A 2-0 defeat away at West Brom followed by a shocking 3-0 reverse at home to Colchester lit the blue touch paper and Simpson out was echoing around Deepdale – it was only the 25th of August. A narrow 2-1 defeat at Coventry in front of the watching nation and already the visit of Sheffield Wednesday to Deepdale had become a must win game. We did just scrape through 1-0 thanks to a Paul Gallagher goal but immediately suffered a 2-1 reverse at Scunthorpe on the following Tuesday.
Four points from six league games and it wasn’t looking good for Simpson. The visit to Cardiff looked a tough one and with North End 2-1 down into injury time it looked like Simpson was about to fall. Enter Callum Davidson who blasted home an unstoppable equaliser and Simmo was saved.
Two home games then saw us pick up four points with a home draw against Bristol City in a game we should have won and then a 5-1 thrashing of Southampton the following Tuesday to give the Deepdale faithful some hope. However a narrow defeat at Ipswich and an unfortunate draw at Sheffield United saw us back in the bottom three. Two more home games followed with a draw against QPR and a good 2-0 home win against Plymouth.
It looked like we might be turning the corner but a 1-0 defeat at Barnsley with a late penalty miss from Mellor set us back again. A sluggish 1-1 draw at home to the later relegated Leicester did nothing to enhance the manager’s reputation. The storm clouds were brewing and North End were facing a difficult trip to the KC Stadium to face Hull City.
I remember coming back from Brighton in August 2004 after a totally clueless performance under Craig Brown. As we drove back up the motorway I was weighing up the pros and cons of sacking Brown. We got to Leyland and after 4 hours of thinking it over I decided that in my opinion it would be better if Craig was relieved of his duties. Sure enough the following morning the deed had been done by the North End board.
That decision took quite a few hours to think over, however as the final whistle went at Hull that Saturday I hadn’t even got back to the coach when I was totally convinced that in the long term interest of Preston North End the manager should be removed at once.
It was quite frankly a disgraceful performance by North End just nine months on from another shocker in the same stadium where the Simpson rot started to set in.
The players tried but it was so obvious for all to see that the spirit was gone and the ability to change course during a game was not in the capacity of the ex manager.
Monday came and Derek Shaw had made the very brave move of sacking Paul Simpson with immediate effect. I say brave because if the Chairman had got the next appointment wrong it would have been his head the fans were after.
Recent history has told us that he got it right but more of that later.
Alan Irvine was the man to lead Preston to a new dawn but was an appointment not without some risk. Irvine was a hugely experienced coach but had never managed in his own right.
He said we needed 38 points from the remaining 30 games and set about the task of getting them. Things didn’t happen straight away and Irvine lost four of his first five games (Charlton, Crystal Palace, Wolves and, painfully, a home defeat to the old enemy Blackpool) with, ironically, a 3-0 win against Hull being his only victory.
Suddenly a little light appeared in the distance and a 3-2 win in a five goal thriller at Burnley lifted everyone’s hopes. A second away win in a week at Southampton saw the Turkey arrive with North End fans in better spirits.
Disaster was to follow in the next three games with home defeats to Scunthorpe, Cardiff and a New Years day shocker at Hillsborough. We were rock bottom and had to wait eleven days for the chance to put it right with a home game against Watford. It was a tight affair but Neil Mellor prodded home after just coming on as sub to give us a priceless victory. Stoke away followed and a game best remembered for Andy Lonergans clanger dropping the ball at the feet of the grateful Richard Cresswell. We lost 3-1 and poor Lonners got all the blame. No matter because ten days later he was the hero in a fantastic 2-1 home win against West Brom. We seemed to be going through a win one lose one period and sure enough the following Saturday at Norwich a late Russell goal sent us to a 1-0 defeat. A home win 1-0 against Coventry kept up this crazy sequence but a make or break game at Colchester was on the horizon.
A Tuesday night at Layer Road saw North End fight hard but it was always going to be difficult playing eleven plus the referee. I made Paul Taylor the man of the match for Colchester even though they were in Blue and White stripes and he was in all Black. We went down 2-1 with Ledge sent off and I have to say I started to fear the worst.
A battling draw at Watford on the Saturday was some encouragement and a 2-0 home win against Stoke gave the frantic fans some hope. The hope was again short lived as Palace beat us 1-0 at home and the trap door once again opened.
Then came the moment on which the season turned.
A Tuesday night game at Leicester had seen Craig Beattie last just 35 minutes on his debut. The game had been tense but in all honesty it had been a shocker. With 89 minutes showing on the clock Darren Carter picked the ball up deep in the Inside Right position. He gingerly went forward and with the defenders backing off he looked to put Mellor through. Carter was smart though and saw that Mellor was offside so he cut inside and unleashed a left footer from twenty yards that almost broke the net. The 400 or so North End fans went wild with delight and I have to say it was easily my most celebrated goal of the season.
Preston was back and the following Saturday at Charlton we did the away double with a fantastic performance and two great goals from the excellent Chris Brown in a 2-1 victory. A dull 0-0 local Derby at Gloomfield Road was followed by two great home wins against Burnley and Sheffield United.
North End had 53 points and we were all but there. A 2-2 draw at QPR, when we were two up with three minutes to go saw us snatch a draw from the jaws of victory. No matter the job had been done and so much so that we lost at home on the Saturday to Barnsley of all teams.
A weekend in Plymouth beckoned for our intrepid reporter and a point from a 2-2 draw saw us mathematically safe in a game best remembered for the standard of stewarding and not the standard of the football.
A 2-2 draw against Ipswich saw the season end at Deepdale and a bit of a horror show at Bristol in the last game wrapped it all up.
7,524 miles on the road in the league campaign and 23 visits to Deepdale had resulted in 56 points and Championship football again next season.
We did have a run in the cup, beating Scunthorpe at home in round 3 before thrashing Premiership Derby 4-1 in a real game to remember at Pride Park. Portsmouth at home in round 5 saw Simon Whaley miss a penalty and Pompey snatch it in the last minute. It was a real blessing in disguise because we started our winning run soon after.
Off the field support deteriorated slightly in terms of average attendance but that’s only to be expected as every club has fans who only want to watch a winning team. Some will say that they stayed away due to certain squad members not giving 100% every game but overall the effort was there from Irvine’s arrival, if not the beautiful football we all craved for. The generally poor atmosphere on Deepdale did improve somewhat towards the end of the season and away from home the traveling support was outstanding in my opinion with the manager commenting to this effect several times towards the end of the season.
As for the players themselves well some will say that they got us into the mess we were in so they should have got us out of it. However working for a manager who had poor motivational skills certainly didn’t help our cause.
No doubt that Chris Brown was an excellent signing and from what I have seen of Trotman and Hart they look very good as well. I would have to say that Chaplow has been slightly disappointing but the lad has been plagued by injury and I’m sure we will get the best out of him next year.
So that’s it for another season and we can look forward to our ninth consecutive season of Championship football which is no mean achievement looking at our finances and our relatively poor gates.
A final message to Trevor Hemmings and Owen McLaughlin – Gentlemen, now could well be the hour for Preston North End; we have seen what a very average division the Championship is. With your further help a lifetime’s ambition for me and thousands of others may be just nine short months away.
Do your best, we are the One and Only North End.
A decent enough game to draw this season to a close at Deepdale with a well earned point against play-off chasing Ipswich. The Tractor Boys played some entertaining football and we responded with a less defensive display than of late although the late equaliser was disappointing to concede after Neil Mellor had put us in the lead.
In the first half North End looked fairly comfortable with both Michael Hart and Neil Trotman doing well on their full debuts. I have to say that I like the look of them both. Hart looked hugely experienced once he found his Champioship feet although he did go a little tired at the end. Trotman carried on where he left off at Plymouth last week and apart from one or two minor positional errors he looked very good.
Unfortunately Tommy Miller scored his eight goal against Preston to give the visitors the lead but a deflected Chris Brown shot saw us level at the break.
For the first twenty minutes of the second half we were under quite a bit of pressure and Ipswich could have easily taken the lead. We held firm however and gradually forced our way back into the game and started to look strong. When Mellor made it 2-1 I thought we were going to hang on but once again we conceded a late goal to deny us all three points. So 2-2 it finished and for me Trotman was the man of the match with Mells a close second, but the midfield was a litte lightweight again and I`m sure a solid defensive midfielder is high on the managers list for next season.
I sensed a feeling of relief at the end that this tortuous season was finally coming to an end and that the summer cannot come quick enough.
LONERGAN 7
HART 7
MAWENE 6
TROTMAN 8
DAVIDSON 7
SEDGWICK 7
MCKENNA 7
CHAPLOW 6
NEAL 6
MELLOR 8
BROWN 7
Subs
WHALEY 7
Mission accomplished for North End with a fantastic fightback at English footballs furthest flung outpost. The 500 North End fans on Home Park were absolutely delerious as the final whistle blew in a game which we felt like we had won being 2 down with fifteen minutes to go. I suppose in someways it makes up for the huge disappointment at QPR just two weeks ago and I suppose whoever said football is a funny old game wasn`t kidding.
Irvine decided to give Lewis Neal his chance and also brought in Chaplow for Carter in midfield. We certainly had plenty of the ball in the first half and I thought we were a shade unfortunate to go in one down after a deflection from a long range effort had put the Pilgrims in the lead. We just couldn`t create many clear cut chances in the first half and losing Sean St Ledger to a slight strain didn`t help. No matter because Neil Trottman came on to make his debut at centre back and I thought it was an excellent baptism for the former Oldham youngster.
After the break we did seem to push up a little and played some decent stuff however it looked grim when Youl Mawene conceded a penatly which Wotton duly converted to put Plymouth two up. Irvine then brought on Whaley and Carter and there seemed more energy in the midfield. North End started to push more forward and when Mellor made it 2-1 after excellent hold up play by Hawley it was game on.
We pushed Mawene forward and then Trottman at every opportunity but it seemed like the deserved equaliser would not come. Then with 15 seconds left on the watch at the end of added time a ball from the left found Chaplow in the box and the midfielder gleefully knocked it home to level the scores. The travelling support went potty and with results elsewhere it was soon apparent that we were mathematically safe.
The relief on fans faces was a real picture and Championship football will be at Deepdale for a ninth consecutive season.
Well done Alan Irvine and your staff and well done Derek Shaw - nothing more to say.
Job Done.
LONERGAN 7
JONES 7
ST LEDGER 7
MAWENE 7
DAVIDSON 7
SEDGWICK 7
CHAPLOW 8
MCKENNA 7
NEAL 7
MELLOR 8
HAWLEY 7
Subs
TROTTMAN 8
WHALEY 7
CARTER 7
Not the best day at the office for North End with a disappointing result that must be looked at in the context of what has happened over the last few months. I`m not making excuses for this defeat, just making the point that you can`t win `em all and sometimes you just have to take defeat on the chin. For my money Chris Brown was a big miss for North End and I believe Saturdays performance illustrated that the squad can be quite brittle when key players are missing.
We took a while to get into our stride but started dominating play without massively threatening the Barnsley goal but you have to give credit to the Tykes who fought hard and on the day maybe just wanted it a little more than we did. The goal which gave the visitors the lead was a superb strike with Lonergan well beaten and we trooped off at half frustratingly one down after having large chunks of the game.
In the second half North End looked more lively and took the game to the opposition. We were creating plenty of balls into the box but the visitors defending coupled with some poor finishing saw us beating the ground in anger particularly after a Whalley cross almost finished on Lowthorpe Road.
Amazingly we were two down after Jon Macken had slotted home a hotly disputed penalty. Campbell-Ryce went down far to easily for the home crowds liking but the merry whistle blower pointed straight at the spot.
We got back into the game following a bizarre own goal from a beautiful looping header and it looked like we were on for a grandstand finish. We huffed and puffed but never really looked like getting level and so the points went back to Yorkshire.
Can`t really argue with Sedgwick getting the man of the match and I thought Davidson had a very solid creative game at left back.
It was just one of those days when we were left thinking what might have been but for me it served to say that there is plenty work to be done to assemble a squad for next seasons assault and the sooner that work begins the better.
LONERGAN 7
JONES 7
MAWENE 6
ST LEDGER 7
DAVIDSON 7
WHALEY 6
MCKENNA 7
CARTER 7
SEDGWICK 8
MELLOR 7
HAWLEY 6
Subs
CHAPLOW 6
NEAL 7
Mad March ended with another home win and North End all but safe with five games still to go. Saturday was just a continuation of what had gone before in terms of North End working hard and grinding the opposition down before eventually scooping all thre points.
Neil Mellor was undoubtedly at the cutting edge of this victory against the Blades and who knows what this lad will do will a full pre-season behind him and a proper coach at the helm.
To be fair to the visitors they probably started the brighter and we had to be on our toes to compete in the early stages. Just before the half hour though, Mellor was fouled by Kilgallon in the box and Callum smashed North End into the lead with an thunderbolt of a spot kick. North End then had a good spell up to the break and were worthy of the half time lead.
The second half was again very competitive but when Mellor made it two, by cutting in beautifully from the inside left position, it looked to be all over. Kevin Blackwell threw on more attackers as United went 3-4-3 and North End held firm until the final five minutes when Mawene gave away a very silly penalty in my opinion and Beattie caused the home crowds hearts to flutter by tucking away the spot kick.
The goal seemed to galvanise North End and as Mellor broke down the right Morgan fouled and was given a second yellow and departed albeit not very gracefully.
With the clock showing ninety six minutes Mellor got the ball forty five yards from goal and set sail. He shrugged off the defender got into the box and as the net rattled the Deepdale faithful went berserk. It was a fitting end to a man of the match display by the Sheffield born striker and who has finally shown us want he can do given the chance.
A good performance and three more points that surely make Alan Irvine Championship manager of the month and a boost for the fans ahead of Gentry 2008 day at QPR next Saturday.
LONERGAN 7
JONES 7
ST LEDGER 8
MAWENE 7
DAVIDSON 7
SEDGWICK 8
MCKENNA 8
CARTER 7
WHALEY 6
BROWN 8
MELLOR 9
Subs
HILL 7
CHAPLOW 7