It’s no secret that North End haven’t enjoyed the best of seasons so far sitting at the wrong end the table, a long way off the pre-season hopes of the play-off spots. Former manager Paul Simpson was sacked following the 3-0 away defeat to Hull which left PNE with a poor record of just three wins from 17 games. In came the new gaffer Alan Irvine, another Scotsman who was former Preston manager David Moyes’ assistant at Everton. I think he’s done a terrific job. It took time, yes, with three defeats in three games but there’s a definite change in the way the team has been playing. The signs are there that the manager is starting to make his mark on the team with four wins in the last five games including a 4-1 victory against Premier League opposition in Derby County, and against two of the Championship’s top teams, Watford and West Brom. The Premier League is full of teams which play quick passing football and that’s what PNE are now trying to do. OK, it might not work at times and I’m not trying to kid you into thinking they’re playing Premier League standard football, because they’re not, but they’re certainly trying their hardest. Irvine stated after the FA Cup game at Pride Park that the team showed exactly what they have been working on: making the right decisions and making the right passes instead of just shooting whenever they see the goal.
One thing which I have noticed with Preston is that they create so many good chances throughout the game but just struggled to put the ball in the back of the net. With captain Paul McKenna in midfield pulling the strings with his quality passing ability on the ball, and Simon Whaley on the wing fearlessly running at defenders posing a real direct threat, all they needed to do was finish a move by scoring a goal. They have done all the hard work by beating the opposing 10 outfield players but failed to beat the single man between the posts. Recently they have look a lot more clinical and speaking of keepers, despite the odd error here and there (which have been costly), Andy Lonergan has been brilliant, especially when on a one-on-one situation.
I was expecting the gaffer to buy a quality finisher in the transfer window, someone who really could replace Dave Nugent and score goals. Instead he bought Chris Brown from Norwich, someone who doesn’t have a good scoring record, but fair play he’s been a fantastic signing. The big front man has only scored one goal in a few appearances but what he does leading the front line has been top quality, holding the ball up extremely well and bringing others into play, something which PNE haven’t had and for £400,000 he’s proved to be a bargain. You will hardly see his name appear on Soccer Saturday with a goal, but I am sure he will get the biggest cheer from the Deepdale faithful at the final whistle every game, as proved by his Man of the Match debut performance against Watford. Former Burnley midfielder Richard Chaplow has been brought in to add steel to the midfield and I think that his addition for a surprisingly substantial fee will prove a good one come the business end of the season in May. The Preston boss has added to his weakened back-line with the arrivals of Neal Trotman from Oldham and Michael Hart from Aberdeen. Despite Hart being injured and Trotman being just 20-years-old, competition for places is now looking healthy especially with Billy Jones making a return from a knee injury last week. In my opinion purchasing Hart is a great coup for the club as they have secured a player who has UEFA Cup experience.
In the final game before writing, PNE lost 1-0 away to Norwich thanks to a goal in the 91st minute. The results means Preston remain 22nd in the table, one point behind Sheffield Wednesday who have a game in a hand, and may even slip to second bottom depending on Colchester United’s result against Sheffield United.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment