Ending on a whimper

Instead of blogging about Preston's poor 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth, the final blogpost of the season will be a review of the team and how they've performed over the season (so expect a lot of low marks)

Thorsten Stuckmann - 9
The signing of the season without a doubt, Stuckmann has been a shining light in an otherwise awful season and we would no doubt be in league two now if it hadn't been for the big German, 10 clean sheets this season despite only signing in January which is more than we managed in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons combined which shows how much of an impact he has had

David Gray - 5
Only made 18 starts so hard to make a considerable comment on his performances but he has been distinctly mixed, very good going forward but poor defensively which for a right back is not a good quality to have, seems to have fallen out with Westley so doubtful that he will be at the club next season, won't be greatly missed


Chris Robertson - 6.5
Certainly Westleys best permanent signing of the January market, solid and dependable and a very good replacement for Carlisle, not made any major errors in the time he's been here and weighed in with a winning goal against Huddersfield in April, formed a good partnership with Craig Morgan at the back

Craig Morgan - 6.5
After a nightmare performance against Colchester, Brown dropped him and he disappeared (apart from cup games) until late autumn and he has been our best defender this season. Like Gray he fell short of 20 appearances because of a red card against Yeovil followed by an injury which kept him out until April, on a multi year contract so he should be at the team next season and his shortcomings which were shown up in the Championship are less so in League One.

Iain Hume - 7
A season of two halves, like the team he started the season on fire and was one of the top scorers early on but injuries against Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday derailed his season, returned in February but has blown hot and cold with good performances like Exeter and Stevenage tempered with poor performances like Brentford and Tranmere, but this matches the team. Ended up as the team's top scorer with 10 goals.

Paul Coutts - 5
Started the season with a bang with a goal against Colchester which was shortlisted for goal of the season, but fell away horribly in the autumn and never got the form back, partly because he spent a lot of time on the wing, and the fall out with Westley in January was well publicised. Got the potential to be one of our best players but if he doesnt sort his attitude out he can go back to Peterborough in the summer


Jamie Proctor - 5
Billed as the next big thing in August, ended the season on a whimper, but not through fault of his own, looked sharp early on and scored a few times, but an injury combined with unsuccessful surgery and then being rushed back too soon has wrecked his season, turned into a scapegoat for fans in the latter part of the season and a good break off in the summer will do him the world of good.

Barry Nicholson - 4
Apparently he made 22 appearances this season, apart from his goals against Chesterfield and Yeovil I really can't remember what else he did for the team, won't be surprised to see him leave although he expressed a desire to stay, only time will tell.

Juhvel Tsoumou - 4.5
Looked very poor when first signed but hit a purple patch in October with a fair few goals and was a leading light when Preston lost form, strangely dropped soon after and then sent on loan to Plymouth, probably will be sold and we will never see if he did have any potential but that miss against MK Dons will live long in the memory

Brian McLean - 4
Brought in on a free and started the season pretty well, but fell away horribly and the first half performance against Charlton away was the final straw and Brown didn't play him again. He played in Westleys first game against Leyton Orient but another poor performance saw him dropped until the end of the season, he is contracted for another season but I can't see him staying.

Steven Smith - 3
Too slow, can't tackle, 5 yellow cards and 1 red in 13 appearances speaks volumes and it says a lot that winger Parry did a better job than him at left back, released in March and wasn't missed by anyone

Adam Barton - 5
Until Westley came he was weak, uninterested, never won the ball or got stuck in and his only performances of note came in the cup games against Southampton and Rochdale. But looked a completely different person after January and was one of our best midfielders until an unfortunate broken leg against Walsall, hopefully he comes back stronger int he summer

Danny Mayor - 6
On his day he is a lightning winger who can scare opposition teams to death and has a rocket of a right foot, however he is very frustrating and inconsistent but this was down to injury more than anything else, another player who looked stronger after Westley came in. He'll be a valuable asset next season


Paul Parry - 8
The most consistent outfield player of the season, finally showing what he is capable of, nearly had an injury free season but limped off against Huddersfield in April but made 39 starts, his third highest in a season in his career and considering most of them were at left back shows his versatility and performed credibly, weighed in with a few goals too including the match winner at MK Dons in December, needs to be kept on next season.

Danny Devine - 5.5
Some people really rate him, personally I can't see where the hype is, performed well in August until a broken jaw in a nightclub, been mostly poor since then, had to be substituted after half an hour against Carlisle and Brentford. Supporting an IRA member on twitter won't have helped him as well and I don't think he will be here next season.

Keammar Daley - 1
Who?

Iain Turner - 3
All three came for the goal against Notts County, rest of his appearances were full of embarrassing mistakes and dreadful howler with Huddersfield away and Bournemouth at home being the worst and it is unbelievable that Brown chose him over Stuckmann in the summer, thankfully he'll be off in the summer

Graham Alexander - 6
Should never have been sold, but once the sentiment of him coming back was over, it was clear his legs wouldn't survive 46 league games, nominated for League One player of the month in August as he was a midfield rock but the run of games took their toll and a hamstring injury against Stevenage was basically it, did well as caretaker manager before signing off in the best way possible with a 91st minute free kick against Charlton. Should be kept on as a coach.

Andreas Arestidou - 5.5
Competent stand in but possibly not the long term option. Played badly against Charlton both home and away but in the other league games he played he played alright, for the time being he is an okay number 2 but Westley might want to bring someone in over the summer particularly with Comrie leaving

Bailey Wright - 6
Didn't appear consistently in the team until spring but performed admirably and a last minute equaliser against MK Dons gained instant popularity, however there are rumours that he has been released which due to his height and pace might not be surprising although I think he deserves at least next season to show what he is capable of.

Neil Mellor - 6
For the games he was in he was worth an 8, tore the league to peices early on and looked like he would go on to score 30 goals and be up there with the Madines and Rhodes' of League One, but injures against Walsall and eventually MK Dons would prove to be his season over and his 5 minute appearance against Bury in March would prove to be his last in a PNE shirt and he has since retired which is a shame as he has Championship level talent but his injury record proved to be too much for him

Chris Holroyd - 6
Tireless performer who never stops running and going for the ball, unlucky to only have 1 goal to his name after managing to hit the woodwork a fair few times, for a striker one goal in fifteen isn't good enough but I think he is a competent squad player and with a good pre season he can get the best part of 10 goals next season and provide good foil for the other striker whoever that will be.

Andy Procter - 4
He's a trier, but that's about it, looks out of his depth, can't win the ball, can't pass the ball and only looks remotely like a league one player on poor, narrow pitches like Exeter and Stevenage, apparently he is off to Rochdale in the summer, for his sake I hope so or else he'll need a very big improvement on the summer to keep the fans off his back.

Graham Cummins - 5
The big jump from Irish football to English football has left it's mark as defences were quick to bully him around but weighed in with goals against Sheffield United and Tranmere, has the potential to be a quality player next season if pre season can build his strength and awareness.

Nicky Hunt - 5.5
The opposite of Gray, competent defender but poor going forward apart from the occasional game, personally I think he is worth a one year deal in the summer as he is a useful squad player, got a good shot on him as shown against Charlton in April.

The team - 4.5/10 
Started off like a train and it looked like we would be fighting for the table but fell to pieces after October and ended up lonely in midtable, very big changes are needed in the summer if Preston are to be fighting it at the right end of the table next season, it remains to be seen if Westley is the right person for the job, the list of players released will certainly make interesting reading as there will no doubt be a lot of players on it and the Preston team that lines up for the first game of next season will be a lot different from the one that finished the season just ended, and that isn't a bad thing at all.

The perfect end

Football is one of the most unpredictable sports in the world, but the events of stoppage time at Deepdale had everyone wondering whether if it was actually scripted. With Preston 2-1 down and 4 minutes of stoppage time announced, Preston won a free kick just over 20 yards out. Graham Alexander stepped up and with his last kick in professional football curled the ball over the wall and into the back off the net sparking wild scenes of hysteria both on and off the pitch as Grezza had the fairytale ending to a quite remarkable career spanning over 1,000 appearances for club and country from the bottom division up to the Premier League with roughly half of his appearances coming for Preston.

The game itself was the exact definition of a game of two halves, more so than the 2-1 defeat at Tranmere last month. In the first half Preston were average at best (and that is being kind). Two defensive howlers from Arestidou and Gray gifted Charlton a 2-0 lead where they didn't have to work at all for the goals. The only time Preston threatened in the first half was a long range shot from Paul Coutts which was nearly spilled into the net by Charlton keeper John Sullivan. There was no other real action in a tepid half where Charlton were content just to knock it around with the home team not looking bad, but rarely threatening a goal and more likely to shoot themselves in the foot which was shown in the goals for Haynes and N'Guessan

The second half was completely different with a vast improvement in performances as Preston dominated the league champions and it wasn't long until Preston pulled a goal back with Nicky Hunt grabbing his first goal for the club after he volleyed home from 25 yards after a set piece was only partially cleared and a slight deflection took the ball past Sullivan and Preston were back in the game with over half an hour to go. The home team created several chances after this with the key one being Craig Morgans close range shot which was brilliantly stopped by Sullivan from near point blank range and it seemed that once again Preston's luck in front of goal would desert them until the moment of magic from Alexander in stoppage time. Once again Kevin Friend was the enemy of the Preston fans after inexplicably booking Alexander for over zealous celebrating which is ridiculous given the circumstances and you have to wonder whether the letter of the law has to be applied so strictly in this case.

Around this time last month Preston had lost 2-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in a game that has been dubbed as 'leakgate' by Preston fans and it seemed possible that we could have been dragged into a relegation battle given the run in that we had and everyone thought we would do badly in April. However Preston have actually gone April unbeaten even though we have only won just the 1 game which was the home game with Huddersfield a few weeks ago, but considering we were playing the likes of Charlton, Huddersfield, Stevenage and MK Dons and deservedly get results from all of them show that things are starting to improve and gives some optimism for next season which can't be any worse than this season. At least we are starting to find the net on a regular basis now as we have scored in 7 of the last 8 games with the Hillsborough defeat being the only time we have failed to score which also shows that things are slowly starting to improve although there is still a long time to go before Preston are anything like a team that can challenge for promotion in this league, but at least things are pointing in the right direction again.

 Next weekend Preston play their final game of the season away to AFC Bournemouth and we look to end the season 6 games unbeaten and also climb into the top half of the table which is still likely as we currently are 2 points off 12th placed Bury. Ending the season unbeaten like that would definitely provide optimism for next season which will be the key test of whether Graham Westley is the person to bring success to Preston North End as so far the jury is out as at one point it looked dire, but the last month has showed that there are green shoots, but at the moment they are just that. I think every Preston fan can't wait for this season to end which has been dreadful and we all hope that next season can bring more cheer, but then it can't be any worse than the last two seasons. On a final note, I sincerely hope Alexander becomes a full time coach at the club, it is the least he deserves after a magnificent career and the reception he was given today both when he came on as a sub and after that goal which will go down in folklore as one of the best he has ever scored and the dedication he has shown for the club over the years is proof enough by itself that he needs to be kept on. It was almost a criminal act when he was sold by Simpson to Burnley in 2007, it would be wise by Westley to ensure he isn't released (although as a coach) for the second time, his experience and know how will be extremely valuable to any member of the Preston squad.

A point to prove

Preston's unbeaten run continued to 4 games after a 1-1 draw away to Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park. Robbie Simpson looked to have given the home side the three points after drilling a header past Stuckmann on 70 minutes, but a first goal from Chris Holroyd 10 minutes later ensured that the points were shared and it could have been three points for the visiting team but Chuks Aneke narrowly headed over from a 94th minute corner which proved to be the last action of the game.

It would be fair to say the game wasn't the greatest spectacle with the pitch proving a massive obstacle to both teams as the ball bobbled and bounced around thwarting any attempts at fluid football which negatively influenced players like Coutts and Mayor from having a big impact in the game. However this didn't stop Mayor who got his fourth assist in four games to lift the ball from the touchline for Holroyd to head home from two yards out with only 11 minutes left on the clock. The goal was no less than he deserved with his tireless work rate and commitment finally bearing fruit after hitting the woodwork three times in recent weeks and on Saturday he finally got what he deserved, he was unlucky not to score in the first half where a fine 20 yard shot was turned round the post by Dean Bouzanis in the Oldham goal. Craig Morgan almost gave Preston the lead moments later when his header from a corner narrowly missed the posts and perhaps he should have done better given that he was unmarked. These were the only notable moments from a first half where Preston were comfortable with Oldham rarely threatening apart from the occasional foray into the North End half with Thorsten Stuckmann rarely threatened in the North End goal.

The game had the end of season feel with neither team having much to play for even though at the start of the game neither side was mathematically safe, but it would have taken a miracle for either side to go down and at the end of the game it was confirmed that both Preston and Oldham would be playing League One football next season. The Oldham goal came from a free kick where Simpson rose highest with a bullet header into the corner of the net. This will raise questions about our set piece organisation but thankfully it was the only moment where the side's defence was breached, but both Westley and the fans will think that that was one time too many as far as we're concerned and it's something which will be improved for the future.

After the Brentford game many people were calling for Westley to be sacked and some were calling for Unsworth and Alexander to return as managers. However, since the 2-0 defeat at Hillsborough on 31st March, Preston have gone unbeaten in 4, scoring in every game (albeit only once) and the level of performance has risen. It's also the longest unbeaten run since the 8 game streak in August/September. These have been against decent teams as well, especially MK Dons and Huddersfield who have picked up form recently. While one swallow doesn't make a summer and there is still a lot of work to do ahead, it is good to see that performances have picked up and any relegation fears were well and truly banished. It is also obvious that Westley will be given time to sort things out which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned, we cannot keep sacking managers at the rate we have been doing and I think patience will pay off in the long term and I think some evidence of that has been in the last 4 games. Defensively we are still improving with Wright looked a strong player at left back despite not being in his natural position at such a young age while Morgan and Robertson are looking to be a strong partnership at centre back which is promising for next season as both are on multi year contracts as Morgan was signed on a 4 year deal back in 2010.

On Saturday Preston play host to Charlton Athletic who recently confirmed their promotion to the Championship and became champions of league one on Saturday (featuring loanee Darel Russell as well). This will be the biggest test of the recent upturn in form as the visitors are in formidable form and are by far and away the best team in the league and really they shouldn't have been in this league in the first place but for various reasons a few years ago. The fact that even Charlton didn't bounce back at the first time of asking either will provide encouragement to Preston that even big teams struggle early on, and Charlton manager Chris Powell also had a disastrous start to his time in charge at Charlton with 11 games without a win at one point with Charlton slipping from the play offs to mid table. But a massive summer clear out paid off with Charlton storming the league this season. With a summer clearout of a similar scale planned at Deepdale it shows that Westley can get it right with the right moves in the summer and I am confident that Preston can achieve similar results next season.

The Lord Mayor's Show

After things looked bleak after the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday and the fall out over leakgate, there are glimpses of hope again as Preston made it three games unbeaten with a well deserved 1-0 victory over promotion pushing Huddersfield Town. A well taken finish from Chris Robertson, his first for the club, just short of the hour mark sealed the points for the home team and not only was it a first win in 7 games but it finally meant that Preston got over the 50 point mark which is target achieved although it is something which pretty much every fan would have taken as a given at the start of the season.

After a 94th minute equaliser on Monday robbed Preston of the three points at Stevenage, Preston managed to hold on to a 1-0 win today despite intense Huddersfield pressure in 4 minutes of stoppage time and despite losing both Iain Hume and Paul Parry in quick succession just before half time Preston were not hampered by losing two key players and if anything we played better after they had to go off. The second half was one of the best performances I have seen from Preston this season as we made Huddersfield look very poor and could have got more than just the solitary goal with Chris Holroyd volleying against the post (first half) and a Danny Mayor shot well blocked when it was destined to hit the back of the net.

Danny Mayor had his best game in a Preston shirt today as he completely destroyed Jack Hunt on the wing and was unlucky not to get at least 2 goals to go with his assist for Robertson when he surged into the penalty area and laid the ball on a plate for Robertson to score his first for the club. Mayor has come on leaps and bounds since Westley has arrived as manager and is now one of our more important players in the team as he is not afraid of taking on players and getting a shot away which is something Preston have badly missed when he hasn't played and the fact that the last 3 Preston goals have all been Mayor assists shows how much he is now an integral part of the team and he is starting to weigh in with a few goals like the rocket against Hartlepool on Valentines Day which will no doubt be a contender for goal of the season. His workrate is second to none and he is improving game by game and I have no doubt he will be a key player for us next season as we aim at promotion at the second attempt.

In the last three games Preston have played the teams 4th, 5th and 9th and come out with a very respectable 5 points, and had it not been for a last gasp goal at the Lamex this could very easily have been 7 which would have been what Preston deserved given the improvement in performances since the horrendous Brentord and Sheffield Wednesday double header which was where I believed the club hit rock bottom. However in the fall out after the 2-0 defeat at Hillsborough it seems something significant happened as from then on performances have been on the up starting with the 1-1 draw against MK Dons last weekend. A few weeks ago when we were giving dismal performances against the likes of Chesterfield and Tranmere. While the three teams arent in the best of forms at the moment, MK easily won 3-0 at Scunthorpe today and Stevenage thrashed Yeovil 6-0 at Hulsh Park so the fact we got results against them two shows that progress is being made at the club, which when it seems Westley could have been sacked after the Brentford game, at least shows that he's starting to get the fans back on side again.

Next Saturday Preston make the short journey south-east to Greater Manchester to play Oldham Athletic. Oldham have had a poor season and lie only a few places outside the relegation zone but should be safe and will be a League One team again next season, this is Prestons penultimate away game of the season and it has been designated Thorsten Stuckmann day in tribute to the big German keeper who has made a massive impact since arriving in November, the fact that he has kept 11 clean sheets in 31 games which is a very impressive record considering Preston were conceding on average 2 goals a game before his arrival and you have to wonder where we would be had we not signed him, but then had we signed him in the summer instead of Turner we could easily be a top 10 team and chasing the play offs at the moment. But at the very least the Preston oil tanker is starting to turn around and hopefully a win on Saturday can get Preston into the top half and finishing in the top half at the end of the season wouldn't be a bad result considering the problems we have had this season and then we can build in the summer towards a promotion push next season.

Adding insult to injury time

Another injury time goal changed the course of a Preston game but this time it was the opposite as a Mark Roberts goal in the 94th minute gave Stevenage a share of the points in a game in which Preston deserved to come away with all three points. A 10th goal of the season for Iain Hume seemed to have given the away team the points until Roberts late intervention.

On Graham Westleys first return to his former club since leaving for Preston in January, Preston gave probably their most assured performance since he took charge of he club and dominated the game for long periods of the game with Stevenage rarely threatened apart from long range shots which often ended up high and wide in the stands, more often than not the ball had to be replaced because the old one ended up out of the ground, I counted 9 times that his happened and more often than not it was a Stevenage player who had kicked it out. It was also a first start for David Gray since the defeat to Yeovil in January and he had a very good game and linked up very well on the flank with Paul Coutts who also had his best game of 2012. For the first time he actually looked like he cared about wearing the shirt and despite being on the wing he played very well and caused their right back all sorts of problems throughout the game. It's about time we saw a good performance from Coutts and he showed yesterday that he is capable of good performances and hopefully he carries on this form between now and the end of the season

You could tell that Stevenage used to be managed by Westley. They were a physical side who tried their best to stop Preston from playing football by any means necessary, the high amount of fouls shows this. For most of their game their tactic was simply to hoof it up to former PNE star Patrick Agyemang who isn't the sort of player who would thrive under those sort of tactics. Typical Westley tactics like having everyone back for a set piece were also evident from the home team, however even Westley didn't use this which shows a willingness to be proactive and it almost paid off. Preston actually played attractive football at times with the wingers having a big part in the game with both Coutts and Mayor often skinning the wing back and laying the ball back from the touchline, the best example of this was when Coutts centred it but Max Ehmer couldn't stretch far enough and fired over from 6 yards. Chris Holroyd also nearly benefited from good wide play and nearly got in behind Chris Day but for smart goalkeeping.

The big thing that needs working on really for the rest of the season and over summer is lead retention, particularly in stoppage time, a few weeks ago Bury salvaged a point at Deepdale thanks to a 91st minute goal and a 94th minute goal got a point for Stevenage which has cost North End 4 points in the last few weeks which would have put Preston on 53 points and mid table mediocrity, however, we are on 49 points and still not safe, however with Wycombe's 4-0 defeat to Chesterfield means they are 7 points behind us and with Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday to come for them it is virtually impossible for them to catch us so at least a second relegation which has happened for teams before will not happen for us which means we can rebuild over the summer.

On Saturday Preston hold the penultimate home game of the season as Huddersfield make the short journey across the Pennines in a game where they seek to consolidate their play off position and try and put as much pressure as they can on the two Sheffield teams battling for automatic promotion although it seems like Huddersfield are destined for another play off push having been beaten in the final last season by Peterborough. With top scorer Jordan Rhodes playing with over 30 goals already (who scored a hat trick against Preston in October) he will provide a stern test for the young Preston defence as we carry on looking for the result that will take us over the 50 point mark. After strong performances against MK Dons and Stevenage not drawing as much as the performances merit, Preston will not be pushovers for the Yorkshire outfit and hopefully Preston can go 3 games unbeaten and finally banish any relegation fears.

A bit of the Wright stuff

After weeks of mediocrity it's nice to finally write a positive blog after Preston deservedly drew with promotion pushing MK Dons at Deepdale on a day where it was all about Sir Tom Finney who recently turned 90 and while Preston were not able to get all three points, a stoppage time equaliser from young Bailey Wright would have been the perfect birthday present to cap off a performance where Preston outplayed MK Dons for long periods of the game and were unlucky to only score the one goal.

There must be something about MK Dons that brings a good performance from Preston as once again we stepped up a long way from recent defeats to Brentford and Sheffield Wednesday to match a very good footballing side and the fact that they had to resort to hoofball to try and get the decisive goal. A draw was no less than Preston deserved as we started to look more threatening going forward but the final killer ball was still lacking and it seemed that it would be costly until a free kick in the 90th minute and a marauding run by none other than Thorsten Stuckmann caused havoc in the penalty area and Bailey Wright was on hand to put the ball in the net from close range to ensure the spoils were set. It could have got even better for the Lilywhites as Preston continued to push forward after the goal but in the end both teams settled for a point and something that will be a big morale boost to the team and Westley.

Danny Mayor made his first start for nearly a month and he was a player who Preston have missed in recent weeks, while he was a bit rusty having been out injured, his pace and creativity caused MK problems and they had to double up on him to try and nullify his effect. Danny has come on leaps and bounds in the last year and has gone from a bit part player to one of the more important players in the team and he and Parry linked up well on the left wing despite Danny being a right footed player. While he still needs to work on balls across the area when he's near the touchline, but he delivered some dangerous set pieces and it was his free kick that led to Preston's equalising goal. It is clear that despite an uncertain start, Mayor has a lot of talent and with the right teaching he could be a leading star in the Preston team in the future and certainly could be a Championship standard winger in the not too distant future.

I noticed a few things about Westley's tactics today which were a marked difference than what he has been using in recent weeks and I would say it was an improvement. The big difference was that when MK Dons had deep free kicks we actually kept 2 players forward on the halfway line, a lot of fans including myself have been screaming for this ever since Westley arrived as manager and it is a relief to finally see this being implemented, ironically it was MK who kept everyone back for set pieces and if ever there was proof that this doesnt work it was that our goal came from a set piece. Also there was almost no sign of any hoofball as Stuckmann would often roll the ball out to the defenders and playing the ball forward on the floor, it meant we kept hold of possession more efficiently and probed at the MK Dons defence and in fairness we caused them a lot of problems, it was only the quality of the final ball that let us down but that is something that can be worked on in training. It is also fair to say that Chris Holroyd had his best game since arriving at the club in January, in his favoured position of striker up front with Iain Hume he tirelessly worked away up front and was really unlucky not to score as a 20 yard shot was well saved and a header from a corner bounced back off the crossbar. I think with time (and a good pre season) he will be a solid striker next season and he looked like he was forming a strong partnership with Hume which I hope will be continued on Monday afternoon.

On Monday Preston travel to Stevenage where Graham Westley will return to the club where he achieved consecutive promotions from the Blue Square Premier to League One and had them in Play Off contention until he left to join Preston in January. Since Westley left the Hertfordshire club they have been in very poor form and have only won a handful of games since the change of management. However, it won't be just the management team which will be returning to old territory. On loan Chuks Aneke had a loan spell at Stevenage earlier this season (he actually came on as a sub for them at Deepdale in December) and Chris Holroyd had a loan spell with them not so long ago where he had a purple patch with 6 goals in 12 games. It will certainly be an interesting game and hopefully a good day out for myself as well, and a victory for Preston would see us get past the 50 point mark which would pretty much guarantee safety which would be a relief considering the poor results recently.

Leaks in the bucket

It's hard to say what's worse from Saturday, the performance (particularly in the second half) or the revelation after the game that 4 unnamed players had leaked sensitive team information and tactics to Sheffield Wednesday the night before the game. While Peter Ridsdale has drawn a line under this, it is disappointing that the players responsible haven't been named and shamed, as while there may not have been malice in their actions, they have let the club down, on Gentry Day of all days, and the 500 or so fans who were at the game deserved a far lot better than what they were shown at Saturday lunchtime.

The first half of the game was just about acceptable as Preston irritated the opposition with stiff defensive solidity and a game plan which was to frustrate the opposition for as long as possible and sneak a goal on the break or from a set piece. While we did get a fair few set pieces in the game, it was disappointing to see that the quality of them was very poor and none of them ever looked like threatening a goal for the visiting team. The very surprising inclusion of Aaron Brown as a centre forward failed as he had a terrible game before being substituted with an injury, however it would be unfair to lay the blame at his door as he was being asked to play completely out of position at one of the most formidable grounds in the league.

In the end, Prestons resistance was broken after 49 minutes as slack defending allowed Madine to run to the edge of the area and fire the ball past Thorsten Stuckmann from 20 yards to give Wednesday the lead. You could tell that the players heads had dropped from this point and Wednesday dominated from their onwards and soon after the lead was doubled as Madine got his second of the game after even more lax defending saw him able to easily steer a header into the corner from a long throw in and the game was killed there and then it was clear to see that the players heads had dropped and barely mustered a chance for the rest of the game as Wednesday comfortably saw the game out and could have got another two or three if they wanted to.

It's pretty clear that Westley has lost the support of the majority of the fans and it seems that I am in the majority that feel that he shouldn't be sacked. We have sacked Irvine, Ferguson and Brown in the last few years at great expense and this current trend has to stop somewhere and I don't think letting the players get their own way should be allowed as player power is a very dangerous thing. Quite a few of those players are not fit to wear the shirt and I do include the likes of Coutts in that. Despite his undoubted talent, he is squandering it by sulking and trying to undermine the regime and I have no doubt that he was one of the 4 players who leaked the squad details before the game. At the start of the season I put him as one of our main players, but right now I would happily see him sold in the summer as he is not putting any effort in on the pitch and his performance levels have dropped. At least Andy Procter puts the effort in, even though his performances haven't been much better, I have a lot more time for a poorer player who tries his best than a talented player who couldn't care less. This attitude needs to be stamped out of the club if we are to turn the club around and get facing in the right direction again

The run of games don't get any easier as Preston are at home to promotion chasing Milton Keynes Dons this Saturday in a game which will mark Sir Tom Finney's 90th birthday. Without a doubt he is the finest player ever to put on the Preston kit and he could probably still do better today than most of the starting line up if he was picked on the wing to play. I know there are planned protests for the game but personally I think it would be unfair on Sir Tom to ruin his day by protests against the team, while I am very disappointed with the level of performance shown at the moment, I will put that aside this Saturday in celebration of Sir Tom Finney as this Saturday is his day and not about a group of workshy overpaid players who couldn't care less about the badge. It's them who deserve the criticism more than Graham Westley.

Rock Bottom

Tuesday night was probably Graham Westleys lowest point as Preston North End manager as he saw his team probably put in the worst performance of the season as they slipped to a tame 3-1 defeat at home to Brentford.  Shaluem Logan put Brentford ahead early on and then a brace from Clayton Donaldson sealed the points for the visitors with Paul Parry slotting home a penalty just before half time to give the home team some hope but there was never any chance of North End taking anything from the game and the crowd made their feelings very clear at full time.

I've been watching Preston as a season ticket holder for almost 10 years now, and last nights performance has got to be up there as one of the worst I have ever seen (and it's got competition). From the first minute to the last, there was no passion, belief or even effort. The only players to come out of last night with any sort of credibility were Thorsten Stuckmann, Paul Parry and Chris Holroyd. Brentford weren't the best team to come to Deepdale this season, but we made them look like Brazil and they didn't have to work hard for their goals. The third goal in particular was one of the worst goals I have seen us concede, a simple set piece routine where our defence fell completely asleep to give Donaldson a free header from two yards. Danny Devine was lucky not to have been sent off when he brought down their player when through on goal to concede a penalty which put Brentford 2-0 up and pretty much killed the game after 20 minutes. While we reduced the score with a Paul Parry penalty and almost scored beforehand when Chris Holroyd fired past the keeper but bounced off the post and away to safety as his luck continues to be against him but at least him and Parry (along with Stuckmann) were the only players trying to take the game to the opposition. 

It would be fair to say that out of the starting XI last night that Iain Hume and Paul Coutts were the most naturally gifted players in the team, however they actually had the worst performances. I can't remember any point where Hume had possesion and was often chasing thin air along with Cummins, but at least Cummins tried to make things happen but he really does need to improve on his strength if he is to make it at this level but a good pre season should improve that. Paul Coutts' form has dramatically dipped over the last few months and he is a shadow of the player that he can be and whether that's down to what's happened with Westley I do not know, but if he continues like this I would not be disappointed to see him sold in the summer. 

I think for the first time, Graham Westley lost the support of the fans last night as the full time reception was extremely hostile and the fans made their feelings clear about what they had just seen with many fans calling for him to be sacked, something which was reflected on sites such as Twitter and Facebook after the game. Personally I was extremely disappointed with what has happened in the last few months but I do not believe that another change of manager will help. It is obvious that Westley has to manage with effectively both hands tied behind is back as it is clear that the players don't want to play for him. (bad apples anyone?) I would still give him until Christmas as only over summer will we see if he can turn this club around as while we are only on 47 points, I think that even at the moment we have the capability to scrape a few points together and get over the 50 mark which would mean safety. It seems that Peter Ridsdale is prepared to give Westley time to turn things around and it is not a dissimilar comparison to Blackburn who persevered with Kean who was being hounded out by the fans, but he has slowly turned them around and they are now 6 points above the drop zone in the Premier League

On Saturday, Preston make the fairly short journey across the Pennines to play Sheffield Wednesday in the televised fixture which starts at 12:45. Wednesday recently sacked Gary Megson and brought in Dave Jones who has made a solid start and they have jumped Sheffield United to move into the automatic places despite being 7 points behind only a few weeks ago. Hillsborough is notorious for being a home banker, particularly this season and any smart money would be on a comfortable home win given the form that the two teams are in. However in the last Sky game Preston managed to win 1-0 at MK Dons in a game which everyone said the home time would win so anything can happen and a positive result for Preston on Gentry Day would release a lot of pressure on the beleaguered Westley.

Preston Chuks it away

A 92th minute equailiser gave Bury a share of the points at Deepdale in a 1-1 draw on a warm Saturday afternoon. Chuks Aneke scored on his debut to put the home side 1-0 up with 20 minutes to go, but a stoppage time goal from lateef Elford-Alliyu ensured that Bury didn't depart empty handed and it meant Preston drew at home for the 5th game in a row.

In the first half, Preston were average at best as Bury were unlucky not to be ahead at HT after spurning some decent chances while the closest Preston got to an early goal was from Aneke whose long range shot got a deflection and went over. It was a case of same old same old as the defence continued to be solid and reliable, but very little inroads were made with Trevor Carson being distinctly underworked in the first half

In the second half things improved as Preston started to go forward with more confidence and this pressure eventually paid off as Chucks Aneke fired hike from 20 yards to give Preston the lead and score the first goal at Deepdale since Danny Mayors winner against Hartlepool in February. However the second goal which would have killed the game off never arrived despite Paul Coutts and Neil Mellor going very close and in the end this wastefulness proved to be costly as Elford-Alliya was in the right place at the right time to poke home from two yards after a shot hit the crossbar and bounced perfectly for him to steer past Stuckmann and ensure a share of the points.

Preston are now unbeaten in 5 home games, however all 5 of these games have been draws and Preston have only scored once, so while it shows that we are now a tough team to break down and beat at Deepdale the fact that no wins isn't a great statistic but at the very least we are now accumulating points, albeit slowly but at the very least we have all but guaranteed our place in League One next season, although this is something we would have taken as a given at the start of the season. It was good to see Neil Mellor make his first appearance since the 1-0 win at MK Dons in December and even his presence gave the team a lift and he was unlucky not to score once or even twice during the last 10 minutes.

Tonight Preston have their second home game in a few days as Brentford make the long trip north. When Preston travelled to Griffin Park all the way back in September we were in the midst of the 7 game winning run and recorded an excellent 3-1 win with Neil Mellor scoring twice and Iain Hume getting his name on the scoresheet. A lot has changed since then and there is only a very small chance that Preston will record a similar score tonight, but with Hume almost fully fit and Mellor coming off the bench at least there is a chance we can get upto 50 points before travelling to Sheffield Wednesday for the televised fixture on Saturday lunchtime

Preston pinch point to provide welcome respite

A resolute defensive display saw Preston collect a priceless point against a Carlisle outfit unbeaten in 15 at home and almost eradicated any lingering thoughts of relegation which is at least one positive as there were sections of the fans who were getting nervous that there could be a late season squabble to stay up

On the whole, with the odd exception, performances have been on the up and a deserved draw at Carlisle epitomises that. But although performances have been generally improving it is important not to get ahead of ourselves and think that we can go unbeaten until May or anything like that. On another day Carlisle could have won 1-0 had they taken their chances, but it could have also been 1-0 to Preston as the away team created some very good chances. Most notably Graham Cummins, who would have been really disappointed to have failed to score when but one on one with Adam Collin. Chris Holroyd also went close with a 25 yarder which was very well saved by the Carlisle stopper. Thorsten Stuckmann also had an excellent game in the Preston net to ensure that he kept his 10th clean sheet in only his 24th game for the club, considering Preston's defensive record in recent times that is a phenomenal record and over a season that works out at 19 clean sheets in a season. Considering the club record is 24 and we've only kept 15 clean sheets in 2009/10 and 2010/11 combined, this shows the massive influence the big German has had and if we had signed him in the summer we would certainly have been a top 6 now and pushing for promotion back into the Championship.

 The emergence of the second generation of youth players in recent weeks has been a massive success with yesterday night being no exception, apart from possibly Danny Devine who was subsituted after half an hour to ensure that he wouldn't be sent off which was a wise decision by Westley. Bailey Wright continues to be a revelation in defence as he was the stand out performer in a very solid and assured back 4, having started the game at left back, he moved into the centre after Ehmer came on for his debut to slot in in that position and he himself played solidly considering he hasn't played much in recent weeks. The defensive solidarity shown last night against a team where only 2 teams before the game had managed to stop Carlisle scoring shows that at least Westleys defensive improvements have worked as now we have only conceded 12 goals in the 12 games that he has been at the club and that includes 6 clean sheets which in itself works out as 23 over a season which would match the club record. If we can start hitting the net on a regular basis we would fire up the league.

Mad March continues on Saturday as local rivals Bury make the short trip north to Deepdale with the home side looking to avenge the tame 1-0 defeat at Gigg Lane in November where the doubts about Phil Browns ability started to creep in and he was sacked only a month or so after. Bury have been in very poor form in recent weeks with 0 wins in 12. With games like Sheffield Wednesday and MK Dons coming up in the next few wins this is the best chance to get a good solid home win to continue the gradual climb up the table and at least gain some respectability from this season with a top half finish which would provide some momentum going into a hopeful promotion push next season.

Hume at the double

After what has seemed like an eternity, Preston got their second victory under Graham Westley with a 2-1 victory over Exeter on Saturday afternoon. Two goals from Iain Hume either side of Leri Sercombe to give the visitors a badly needed three points and move the Lilywhites onto 45 points and just short of safety.

Iain Hume scored his first goals since returning from injury to show why Preston have badly missed him as it was the first time Preston have scored more than one goal in a game since the 3-2 victory over Wycombe back in January which was David Unsworth and Graham Alexanders last game in charge as caretaker managers. By all admissions however (including his) he was far from his best during the first half, despite giving the away team the lead with a close range finish to put Preston 1-0 up. After a rollocking from Westley at half time he came out a much better player and orchestrated the forward line which ended in a winning goal with just 6 minutes to go when he ran onto a flick on, rounded the keeper and fired home to give the away team the points. It was also our first away win since the 1-0 away win at MK Dons all the way back in December, a game which was also on the 17th.

It was a win which Preston deserved and in the first half we could easily have been multiple goals up and it was a shock to everybody when Exeter equalised after half time when Sercombe fired home from 25 yards. This took the wind out of Prestons sails but eventually we were able to put the game to bed thanks to some effective route one football that ended in Hume putting the ball into an empty net. It would be fair to say that our attacking movement is getting better week by week, but there is still a lot of improvement to come as there were several wasted chances that for a while looked as if they would cost us 2 points but thankfully this wasn't the case and hopefully this can be built on tomorrow night.

In recent weeks, players like George Miller, Bailey Wright and Danny Devine have been given their chance by Westley and they have taken this chance with both hands. Devine continues to look a rock in central defence and has only had one poor performance in the last few months which is understandable given how old he is and the lack of experience he has had, but he has a lot of potential and could be the next St.Ledger. Given that he is a centre back, it is very surprising how well young Bailey Wright has done at left back, looking at his performances you would have thought he was a natural who has played in the position for a while and this level of performance at such a young age is pleasing to see and with Wright performing so well at left back it means that Paul Parry can be able to play at left midfield were both he and the team are more effective as a result. With Steven Smith still recovering from injury, Wright has shown that he is more than capable of being a deputy at left back during this time.

Tomorrow night, the hectic March continues with a trip up to Brunton Park to play Carlisle United. Despite Carlisle being nearly 90 miles north of Preston, this is a game which is viewed by the home fans as their big derby fixture and one which in the past has had trouble with the fans and tomorrow night possibly won't be an exception. It wouldn't be wrong to say that this is definitely one of the biggest one sided rivalries in the Football League as most Preston fans don't view Carlisle in the way that they view us. But with Carlisle on the fringes of the Play Offs it will not be an easy game but one or three points tomorrow night would represent a job well done and would almost certainly put to bed any lingering relegation fears and would mean Graham Westley would have less pressure on him continuing the Preston revolution