I’m sorry to start the season off with a state of the nation speech but I am going to anyway. Blackpool are in the Premiership and England are almost the laughing stock of world football after what can only be described as one of the most disgraceful world cup performances in living memory. There – I’ve got it off my chest but I have to say I don’t feel any better for doing so. It’s no real comfort to us that the Donkey Lashers are bigger certainties to come down than Jordan’s knickers and whatever happens we face a season of abuse from our friends at Gloomfield Road.

Closer to home it has been a close season of huge upheaval at Deepdale with the takeover of the club by DPNE almost complete and with new chairman Maurice Lindsay in place after the “stepping down” of long time incumbent Derek Shaw. It was interesting to hear chairman Mo, when he took the job, saying that there may be some blood letting but we wouldn’t bleed to death. I read this in simple terms as saying that we need to cut costs dramatically but we won’t let the club be relegated. Only time will tell of course how the new group plan to take the club forward but I can see the purse strings being tight in the early part of the season. Of course the key people at the club are still in a honeymoon position as a ball has not yet been kicked in anger this season but of course the mood of the fans may change very quickly if we get off to a poor start.

On the pitch, or more accurately within the squad, there have of course been changes already with players being sold, some going out on loan and some yet to be sold after Ferguson has openly said they are “not in my thoughts”. Now for me this is a high risk strategy particularly if we only have one or two points from the opening four games before the first international break. Chaplow, Carter and Elliott may be surplus to requirements but if the team start losing and they are still here then we may, unbelievably, hear chants of “There’s only one Richard Chaplow”…Ok then maybe not !!!

Whatever happens I feel there is still an air of uncertainty around Deepdale while at the same time a feeling of expectation, mainly due to the takeover and the possibilities for the future. If I’m being honest I think we may well start slowly and improve during September and October after the transfer window closes and the team becomes more settled. We wait with baited breath.

So the hugely disappointing 2009-10 season goes into the record books as our worse season in the Championship since our return to the second tier 10 years ago. In some respects there is mitigation from the fact that we changed managers half way through the campaign. The 54 points was a very poor return in my opinion from a league that was barely standard in terms of what the Championship has been over the last 10 years.

From Alan Irvine’s point of view some of the players had become comfortable and almost blasé about playing for the club. It led to a decline in performances on the pitch and an obvious statement, albeit stealthily, from the major shareholder that no more finance would be afforded Irvine while he at the club. So after the unlucky 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United on the 28^th December Irvine’s services were dispensed with albeit we had collected 29 points from 23 games and did not look in imminent danger of relegation. It was the declining trend at the club which caused Irvine’s demise and so the man who had led us to the play offs the previous season was gone.

Rob Kelly was put in temporary charge and his one game saw us beat Colchester 7-0 at Deepdale in a 3^rd round FA Cup tie. Three days later Darren Ferguson was appointed to a generally positive response from the North End faithful and a new era dawned at Deepdale. Ferguson didn’t waist time in making an assessment of his staff but results picked up very slowly and Ferguson locked horns with several squad members, mostly regarding issues of attitude. For my money Fergie tried to implement the change a little too quickly and his return of 25 points from 23 league games is not much better than relegation form.

There wasn’t much respite from the indifferent league form in either of the cups but quite amazingly we were drawn at home in all 5 ties during the season. Three in the league cup which saw Spurs come to Deepdale and give us a real hiding. In the FA Cup the Colchester result was followed by the Cup holders Chelsea comfortably beating us 2-0 in a Saturday lunchtime affair.

Off the field we barely got to 8,000 season ticket holders which was a drop of about 500 on the previous season but this has to be taken against a backdrop of a play off season in the previous campaign. Crowds held up fairly well though with a Deepdale average of 13,094 excluding cup games although this was 19^th of 24 in the Championship averages.

The future for North End looks slightly uncertain at the moment but this is always the case until the season starts and we can asses what sort of squad Fergie has put together and just how much backing he has received from the board and the major shareholders. Clearly some players need to be moved on as they are commanding salaries far in excess of their value to our football club and the soon we can get these players off the books the better.

In the mean time I’m sure that the break from the football will be short lived as the World Cup starts on June 11^th and once again our hopes sit with an England side that only have a habit of disappointing when it comes to the crunch. Maybe Mr Capello has different ideas this time around and 44 years of hurt may finally be over. One way or another we will soon know. So all that is left to say is to wish you all a great Summer and hope that when we come back in August that “Our time” has finally come.