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Me and my mate Andy used to spend every Saturday morning down at Beatties (anyone remember them?) spending our pocket money on a new team each for our regular Subbuteo sessions at his house. Ahhhh, the memories.

2026-27: September Preview

A short month this time out after the international break where we saw our very own Jack Harrison make his international bow for England.

We resume our league campaign a trip west to Anfield to face Liverpool. The team go into this game with a bit of confidence about them having remarkably beaten Manchester United in our last league game. Can we dethrone a second giant of the game? The Reds, under the tutelage of Christian Streitch, still have two of the famous triumvirate in the shape of Firmino and Salah but even those two have been eclipsed by newer blood coming through. They pushed United to the title last season, but lost their opening game this season heavily: a 4-0 defeat at newly promoted Leeds United.

Opponent Expected Finishing Position: 3rd
Player to watch: Edouard Venegas; the Mexican attacking midfielder has certainly helped fill the void created by the now-retired Sadio Mané. He's chipped in with 31 goals from 108 games since signing from Pachuca just before the start of the 2024-25 season, and usually plays in the hole behind the front man. He's going to be one that we're going to have to subdue if we want to come away with at least a point.

Eight days later, we have another big name to deal with. Visiting Deepdale are North London giants Arsenal and like Liverpool, they have not made the best start to the season so far. Former Sweden internationalist Mats Gren has been in charge since December 2024 but has yet to deliver any silverware. Gren came close in the 2025 UEFA Europa League Final but his side eventually lost 5-3 after extra time to Marseille. Despite losing England internationalists Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nkeitah in the summer to Liverpool and Manchester United, the Gunners seem to be content with him.

Opponent Expected Finishing Position: 6th
Player to watch: Wladimir; a young 21 year old Brazilian striker who is starting to make waves in North London. The youngster doubled his goal output last season and is now ahead of strikers such as Gabriel Jesus for the Seleção. He certainly has an eye for a goal, and if he continues in the form that he is at present then our defenders may have a tough afternoon ahead.

There's a midweek game sandwiching the afore mentioned Arsenal game and the final game of the month. That game is the Third Round tie at Craven Cottage when we bid for a place in the last sixteen against fellow Premier League side Fulham. How many changes will Mark make for this game? Victory in this game will ensure Mark has met his objective for this particular competition. However, Mark being Mark, will want to go further if at all possible.

We finish the month with an away trip to North-East and to St James Park to be hosted by Newcastle United. The Magpies are these days managed by much travelled German Roger Schmidt, who succeeded Chris Hughton after the latter's second spell ended with the sack after just 327 days at the end of 2023-24 season. The good thing is that Mike Ashley is no longer around after he sold the club midway through October 2019. Bar winning the Championship at the first attempt in 2021-22, the Toon Army still wait for continued success.

Opponent Expected Finishing Position: 13th
Player to watch: Federico De Zan; a lot is expected from the Argentinian striker and not because he wears the iconic number 9 jersey which has been worn by such legends such as Jackie Milburn, Malcolm Macdonald, Andrew Cole, Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer for example. Besides this, he's also the newly appointed team captain and principal goal threat. So there's a great deal on the 23 year old's shoulders, but with an astonishing 48 goals in just 92 games so far...he isn't doing too bad! Can he skipper the Toon Army to glory?

After the disappointment of the World Cup in the summer, new England Head Coach Mark Duell was wanting to put a smile back on the faces of Three Lions supporters as his reign began with games against Croatia and Turkey. That smile is definitely there as England showed great character to come from behind in the UEFA Nations League group game against the Croatians and two second half goals put pay to Turkey in our friendly played at Konya.

A sold out Wembley greeted Duell on Friday night as the new Head Coach oversaw his first ever game in charge. He surprised a few by handing a début to a face he knows well, Preston North End inside forward Jack Harrison. Whilst Harrison did pretty well on his first start for his country without blowing the visitors apart; it was the visitors themselves who made the perfect start and by half time were 2-0 ahead thanks to goals from Liverpool's Mateo Kovacic who scored with a thumping drive after just six minutes that gave Angus Gunn no chance whatsoever, and Marin Jakolis who netted the rebound from close range after heading against the crossbar on 31 minutes. Wembley was stunned as much as anything.

Could the new man at the helm change the fortunes at half time or would we go down to a loss to a very impressive visiting nation? Well whatever Duell said in those 15 minutes he had with the team, it certainly should be bottled and sold as the Three Lions turned the UEFA Nations League encounter on its head with a much improved second half showing that had the Croatians rocked. Just before the hour we were awarded a penalty when Marcus Rashford was tripped in the area by Tin Jedvaj as the Manchester United man charged through, Harry Kane stepped up and drilled home his 91st goal for the Three Lions with a perfect penalty in the bottom corner. He never looked like missing.

Given fresh hope, England poured forward but the visitors were still looking dangerous in possession and with chances of their own: Gunn being called on a few occasions to deny them a third. With 16 minutes to go, Wembley erupted as England equalised. Rashford latched onto a defensive header out by Filip Benkovic, surged into the area, and crashed a shot against the post. The ball looked like it might crossed the line but Jedvaj thought he would make sure it didn't. However for the luckless full back, he miscued his clearance into his own net to make it 2-2. The Three Lions really started to believe again, and so they did to complete an amazing turn around five minutes later when skipper Trent Alexander-Arnold crossed from the right and Rashford gleefully tucked it away at the far post.

The Three Lions then withstood some concerted Croatian pressure after that and the UEFA Nations League campaign got off to a winning start.

We lined up as follows:
Gunn; Alexander-Arnold ©, Holding, Laycock, Chilwell; Armstrong, Ward-Prowse; Harrison, Delé, Rashford; Kane. Substitutes: Sancho (for Harrison 54), Foden (for Delé 67), Dier (for Armstrong 78)

Four days later, the Three Lions travelled to Turkey and were successful in a nice 2-0 away friendly win. The goals came in a four minute spell either side of the hour, and both were scored by Tottenham Hotspur players. Despite having to soak up loads of possession from the host nation, the Three Lions were always the most creative force throughout and a clean sheet will definitely please the new man in charge.

That opening goal came in the 57th minute when a corner taken by Rashford was met with a bullet header from defensive midfielder Ricky Armstrong. It was Ricky's third international goal on his 57th appearance. The second and decisive goal came four minutes later, AFC Bournemouth's Steveroy Byers was baulked in the area, and like his club mate four nights before, Delé coolly slotted away the perfect spot kick right into the bottom corner.

For this game, we had this line up:
Gunn; Alexander-Arnold ©, Laycock, Maguire, Shaw; Dier; Armstrong, Delé; Byers, Rashford; Kane. Substitutes: Laird (for Alexander-Arnold HT), Chilwell (for Shaw HT), Holding (for Maguire 70), Solanke (for Kane 70), Chalobah (for Delé 80), Sancho (for Byers 80)

Congratulations to both Ethan Laird and Jack Harrison on winning their first caps in these two games.

The Three Lions will be back in action again on Friday 9 October 2026 when we travel to the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam to face the Netherlands in our second UEFA Nations League group game. Then three days later we're off to the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb to play Croatia in another UEFA Nations League fixture.

When you win every single league game that month then you're going to be well in contention. Guess this is standard I hope I can achieve in seasons to come.

A great start to his City career for their new French striker whom they splashed an astonishing £96 million on. He even captured the Young Player of the Month award too so it's fair to admit, well played lad.

And the winner of the Goal of the Month is none than our very own Kasey Palmer for that superb free kick against the Hammers. I always believed it had a chance but it's even sweeter for Kasey and the Club that it was recognised. A special goal indeed, hope it's not the last..

2026-27: End of August Summary

Two more games played to conclude the opening month, how would these turn out.



MATCHDAY 4 - Saturday 22 August 2026


After coming unstuck against Southampton, we changed our formation for the trip to Molineux. It was an entertaining game as we defended like our lives depended on it whilst trying to prise open the home side. Midway through the first half, they broke our resistance when Jack Grealish's corner was headed in by Ethan Ampadu. The very same defender we had on loan and were quoted over £40 million to sign him in the summer from Chelsea; he signed for Wolves for less than £8 million! Double standards there Mr Abramovich, trying to price out the lesser club so they go into financial difficulties but sell to a more established one. Well two can play at that game in the future, mark my words now!

The advantage was doubled in the early stages of the second half when Grealish went down in the area (some say quite easily) and Moussa Sylla emphatically converted the spot kick. Yet we pulled one back in the 69th minute when some patient play saw Moise Kean tee up Ongjen Stijepovic and the midfielder smashed it in for his first North End goal despite Alban Lafont getting a hand to it. Alas the French stopped denied us time and time again after that and we slipped to a second successive Premier League loss.

MATCHDAY 5 - Saturday 29 August 2026
LIVE ON


Quite simply the best result achieved in this career so far, and I'm not joking. Manchester United, winners of the Premier League for the last five seasons, rolled into a sold out Deepdale (again) and the pundits were all saying one thing: away win and convincingly so! Well for them and United, we didn't read the same script. After just eight minutes we went in front as Jack Harrison marked his England call up with a pass into Pantanelli and the Italian kid from Novara blasted the ball into the roof of the net with David De Gea rooted to the spot. Yet six minutes later United were level thanks to a low drive from Paul Pogba that simply fizzed into our net.

The game ebbed and flowed as both teams put on a real spectacle in the first half. Four minutes from half time, we regained the lead when a free-kick from Cristiàn Cuevas evaded everyone but an unmarked Nikola Vukcevic who accepted the freedom given to him by the United defence to sweep the ball past De Gea. United roared back and were level again in first half injury time, Diogo Dalot's cross and a header from Marcus Rashford past Jasper Schendelaar. Yet Rashford was subbed at half time by Diego Simeone. The action continued unabated in the second half and with seven minutes left, substitute Ollie Watkins' hopeful shot clipped the shoulder of United centre half Maximillian Wöber and into the net. Deepdale went absolutely nuts!

Could we hold on? Yes we could as despite United, with all their stars, throwing everything bar the proverbial kitchen sink at us failed to breach us for a third time. Deepdale went crazy, I'd never experienced anything like it. Simeone shook my hand at the end but you could tell that this result really hurt him but for me: I felt like I had won the lottery!

So this is how the Premier League stands at the end of August:



If you had said to me that we would be 9th after the opening month; then I would have probably laughed in your face and told you to stop being silly. But that's where we are, and we're there on merit. That said, there's just one point between us and 17th although the goal difference is better for us. We just have to keep eking out the points and we're going to be OK. Surprised to see Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea below us though. Can't see that still being the case come May 2027...


SECOND ROUND - Wednesday 26 August 2026


Before the game, Colchester's manager was trying a bit of mind games with me saying that there was nothing between the two sides. We made seven changes from the side that lost at Wolves and reverted back to 4-1-4-1. We took the lead just after the half hour when a right wing cross from Vincent Morel was headed in off the bar by on loan Juventus midfielder Corrado Pantanelli: his first for the club. Yet we went in level at half time when Martin Williams equalised for the U's in the 43rd minute.

I could hear Campbell (Colchester's boss) saying they had us rattled as I started to deliver my half time team talk so I urged the team to shut him up. We got the response we wanted. Three minutes after the restart, Watkins netted with a low shot from just inside the area then seven minutes after that we were 3-1 ahead thanks to some trickery by Morel (who deserved a goal) and saw U's defender Jones turn the ball into his own net. We completed the scoring in the 68th minute when Connor Roberts thumped home a header from a corner by Cuevas. A job done well, but Campbell was still telling the press there was nothing between the sides post game. What a terrible loser, he's certainly not on any Xmas card lists for sure if he wants to act like that.

The third round draw brought us this:



Not the easiest draw possible, and it's against a fellow Premier League side too which was always on the cards. However, if we play as good as we did in the second half at Selhurst then there's no reason whatsoever why we can't send them tumbling out and make the Fourth Round stage. One thing for certain, there won't be as many wholesale changes for this tie..maybe two or three at a push!

England Head Coach Mark Duell has announced a few surprises in his first ever England squad announcement. There are first time call ups for three players in the shape of Southampton's Ethan Laird, Olympiacos goalkeeper Dean Henderson and Preston North End winger Jack Harrison.

Duell had this to say:


The squad is as follows:

GOALKEEPERS:
Jordan Pickford (Everton, 61 caps/0 goals)
Angus Gunn (Southampton, 11 caps/0 goals)
Dean Henderson (Olympiacos, 0 caps/0 goals)

DEFENDERS:
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, 91 caps/6 goals)
Ethan Laird (Southampton, 0 caps/0 goals)
Ben Chilwell (Arsenal, 66 caps/3 goals)
Luke Shaw (Newcastle United, 41 caps/1 goal)
Harry Maguire (Leicester City, 24 caps/2 goals)
Craig Laycock (Southampton, 3 caps/0 goals)
Rob Holding (Arsenal, 40 caps/0 goals)
Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur, 127 caps/14 goals)

MIDFIELDERS:
Nathaniel Chalobah (Watford, 3 caps/0 goals)
Ricky Armstrong (Tottenham Hotspur, 55 caps/2 goals)
James Ward-Prowse (Southampton, 9 caps/0 goals)
Phil Foden (RB Leipzig, 20 caps/1 goal)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, 120 caps/18 goals)
Steveroy Byers (AFC Bournemouth, 23 caps/6 goals)
Jadon Sancho (Chelsea, 52 caps/11 goals)
Jack Harrison (Preston North End, 0 caps/0 goals)

FORWARDS:
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur (134 caps/90 goals)
Marcus Rashford (Manchester United, 128 caps/56 caps)
Eddie Nketiah (Manchester United, 21 caps/7 goals)
Dominic Solanke (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 2 caps/0 goals)

2026-27: Mid-August Summary

As usual, since the opening month has a few games in it, we have summarised it in a couple of parts. This is how we fared.



MATCHDAY 1 - Sunday 9 August 2026
LIVE ON


Twice we had to come back to salvage a point on the opening day in front of a sell-out Deepdale. The Hammers took the lead in the 18th minute when Simon Matthews fooled Connor Roberts and beat Jasper Schendelaar at his near post. Yet we levelled three before the interval thanks to a thumping long range free-kick beautifully executed by Kasey Palmer. They regained the lead in the 71st minute when Matthews crossed for Julien Ngoy to head in from close range/ But we got our reward for a battling display when substitute Moise Kean produced his own bit of magic to make it 2-2 in injury time with a superb rising drive into the roof of net leaving the Hammers keeper helpless.

MATCHDAY 2 - Wednesday 12 August 2026


A stirring second performance gave us our first win of the season at Selhurst Park and leave Steven Gerrard seething. Palace took the lead when Ged Turnbull headed in and that was how it stayed until half time. A few encouraging words to the Lads followed and the response was perfect. Charly Musonda equalised in the 69th minute with a low drive from the edge of the area that skidded off the wet turf and into the corner. With eight minutes left, Jack Harrison volleyed home from twelve yards to give us the lead which caused Palace to go for broke. Eagles' left-back Matt Targett looked to have stopped a breakaway for us injury time with a last ditch tackle but the ball found its way to Vincent Morel who lashed the ball into the net and seal the points.

MATCHDAY 3 - Monday 17 August 2026
LIVE ON


Unfortunately we couldn't build on the midweek win at Selhurst and slipped to a loss against Southampton despite having the better of the play. It was a case we didn't take our chances to be honest. Saints winner came from the head of Portuguese striker José Portela, the third time we had conceded a goal from this fashion. Perhaps the right back spot is need of an upgrade... The positive? Well we had a second home sold out crowd which might be a pleasing sight for the prospective new owners...whoever they are!

League Table;



Middle of the table after three games which is not a bad start to be honest. City are scoring goals for fun at the top with new French striker Andrew Balstrue already with nine goals. Plenty of games to go but if we can stay out of that drop zone then we'll be alright.



That's a Second Round tie that we can fancy our chances in, it also goes a long way to achieving the objective we have set ourselves for this competition. Might give some players the night off, and use the squad we have at our disposal. Unlike teams such as Manchester City etc. we won't be changing the whole eleven; just a few minor tweaks to the line up here and there.

Oh, and there's been no takeover of the Club yet. Guess we will have to wait and see what happens with this.

2026-27: Seasonal Expectations

So what does Ira Gordon, Preston's current chairman, expect from me this season?

League: Avoid a relegation battle
Yeah, this seems to be rather reasonable to ask for. The pundits have us down for a 17th placed finish which if proven correct would mean we would retain our Premier League status for 2027-28. The squad we have, I feel, is more than good enough to hold their own in the Premier League as players such as Moise Kean, Jack Harrison and Jasper Schnendelaar are all good enough to play for anyone in the top division for sure. If we can garner at least seven home wins from 19 at home and get points away from places such as Crystal Palace then we will be OK. 34 points was enough to stay up last season, I'm looking at least 40 to secure it myself.

Last thing I need is a final day decider with us needing to get a result to stay up.

Emirates FA Cup: Reach the Fifth Round
As a Premier League club, you are expected to progress in the FA Cup but we all know that it's not as easy as that. There's always the distinct possibility that you can be drawn against a fellow Premier League side in the Third Round which makes this objective harder if that does happen. Give us a couple of favourable draws and then we can tick this one off as a success. No pressure, right?

Carabao Cup: Reach the Fourth Round
Like the more prestigious FA Cup, there is an expectation to progress. However, we will be probably taking both Cups seriously due to the squad depth we have or lack of it at the moment. We're gonna need, again like the FA Cup, a couple of favourable draws to tick this one as mission accomplished. Anything further, that is quarter-finals onwards, is going to be a bonus.

Now let's get started...

2026-27: August Preview

Here we have it, the preview for the first month of action. Less league games to play, 38 this time as opposed to 46 over the last three seasons, but each one of them a big test and for me a real marker on how I have developed as a manager. It's my ninth season in the game at my fifth club side and I think I've steadily improved each time.

So who do we face in August?

We begin our Premier League campaign at home to West Ham United. Managed these days by Scot Alex Neil, who was coaxed to the London Stadium from Celtic, they have a very cosmopolitan squad but then again who doesn't these days? The Hammers finished 9th in the Premier League last season, and are expected to have another mid-table finish this season too. They will present a good test for us for what this season is going to be like all season.

Opponent Expected Finishing Position: 10th
Player to watch: Simon Matthews; capped seven times by Scotland - the left wing back/winger scored 12 times last season and has improved every season since signing from Ayr United in the summer of 2020 for a bargain fee of £575,000.

After the West Ham game, which is ironically going to be live on TV, we travel down to South East London for our second league game of the season. It's a trip to Selhurst Park to face the Eagles of Crystal Palace who escaped relegation to the Championship purely on goal difference at the expense of their fierce rivals Brighton so no A23 derby this year. They're managed by Steven Gerrard who won 2 Betfred Cups with Rangers, before he left for Wolves. Could we heap a bit of misery on him?

Opponent Expected Finishing Position: 16th
Player to watch: Scott McKenna; came through the ranks at Aberdeen and really started to establish himself there before heading to England to Middlesbrough in July 2019. After three seasons at the Riverside, this experienced Scotland internationalist moved to Palace where he's been a mainstay in their defence. He's a barrier we will need to get past to win.

We have our first Monday night game for game three which means a second appearance on TV already. Making the lengthy trip North for this are Southampton, a team who seem to have settled back into life in the Premier League after a single season back in the Championship for 2020-21. The Saints are managed by Argentine goalscoring legend Hernan Crespo, but will his abilities be enough to keep the Saints afloat? They only just managed it last season...

Opponent Expected Finishing Position: 9th
Player to watch: Craig Laycock; a central defender that will interest me especially in my role as England Head Coach. He started his career at Lincoln City, had spells on loan at Rochdale and Crystal Palace, before establishing himself in the Saints defence. At 22, he has a promising career in front of him for sure.

Our fourth league game out of five in this opening month sees us go to the Black Country to face Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. Wolves actually were one of the few sides that actually got the better of us last season with a 2-0 Carabao Cup win at Deepdale. Spanish legend Xavi is their manager and he will be looking to improve on their 13th position last season for sure. He's certainly got a bit of a job on if he wants to make them the new Barcelona.

Opponent Expected Finishing Position: 12th
Player to watch: Alban Lafont; France's number one was signed by Wolves for a whopping £32 million from Fiorentina last summer after spending seven seasons with the Viola. He's a top class goalie that won the Nations League in 2023, and a Serie A title before departing for Wolves.

We don't know whom we will face in Round Two of the Carabao Cup, but I'm hoping the fates will be kind to us and give us a winnable tie. That said, we finish August with probably the toughest test of the five games scheduled...it's a home game (which is great) but against Manchester United! The Red Devils have won the last five Premier League titles and look as strong as ever with Diego Simeone in the hot seat these days. This is the ultimate benchmark of standards.

Opponent Expected Finishing Position: 1st
Player to watch: Leon Bailey; but it could be anyone as the first eleven are all internationalists in their own right. Bailey has certainly come a long way since being signed by Slovakian side Trencin in 2013, and he's not even 30 yet! A winger with blistering pace, our right back will have a job on to keep him subdued...

2026-27: Pre-Season Summary

We played six matches to prepare ourselves for the new Premier League season ahead of us, and chose quality opposition too. I mean who wants to play non-league sides all the time? Premier League sides play teams that will give them a test, and that's exactly what we are trying to achieve here in the long term.

The first of the matches was against French side AS Monaco and they actually inflicted our only defeat of the schedule to be honest, so we go into the Premier League opener unbeaten in five...not that it means anything (never has done so in my opinion) for the real thing. Goals either side of half time from Vincent Morel (see why I signed him) and Andrija Zivkovic gave Les Monégasques the win although we competed well.

Just the one game whilst on training camp in Seville, and looking back on it I wish I had organised another one now. That came against La Liga side Real Betis, and the new look side showed great resolve to overturn a first half deficit and turn out winners in the end. Things got off to a bad start when Brazilian striker Gabriel Barbosa, once of Inter Milan, poached them into a ninth minute lead. Yet things started to go sour six minutes later for the Spanish side when David Carmona was dismissed for a clear elbow to the head of Morel right in front of the referee. We had to make this numerical advantage count.

Seven minutes after the restart, we levelled. Charly Musonda whipped in a low cross from the left and it was italian newcomer Corrado Pantanelli arriving on cue to lash the ball home. Two goals in three minutes would secure the win for us and leave Betis ruing Carmona's stupidity. In the 73rd minute, Jack Harrison took advantage of a gap to beat the Betis keeper at his near post and then turned creator with a wonderful through ball that was picked up by Ollie Watkins to place a shot under the keeper for 3-1.

Days after arriving back in the country, we made a short trip to Wesham (it's 11 miles by road) to face AFC Fylde at the Mill Farm complex. We fielded a second string side but it enabled the 2543 away fans to have their first looks at keeper Jasper Schendelaar and defender Helmer Andersson since they had been still been away with their national sides at the World Cup when we faced Betis. All the goals came in the first half as we cruised to the expected win. The opener came after just 40 seconds, Morel with the pull back to Pantanelli to drive a low finish past the rooted keeper. It was 2-0 after seven minutes, Cristiàn Cuevas hammering in a penalty given for a foul on Morel. We added the third in the 27th minute thanks to a nice curling effort from Ongjen Stijepovic from twelve yards. A comfortable win indeed.

Game number four was supposed to be another real test as we took on highly rated German side RB Leipzig at Deepdale. It was an entertaining game with chances a plenty for both sides for the 12000 odd crowd to enjoy. We took the lead in the 19th minute when Scepanovic pushed a Pantanelli header onto the post but then watched Kasey Palmer snaffle away the rebound. In the 39th minute we doubled the lead when Palmer clipped in a free-kick that was headed into the net by Moise Kean. Then in time added-on, Kean was the architect with a through ball that split Leipzig wide open and Morel finished empathically. Timo Werner pulled one back in the 48th minute but we were just too good on the day.

The reserves were back in action for the penultimate friendly, a 1-1 draw with 2.Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg. We should have been behind after 28 minutes when they were awarded a penalty for a foul by Ezri Konsa on Ahmet Engin which was only just inside the penalty area. However Lukas Nmecha's effort was weak and straight at Alireza Beiranvand. They took the lead eventually in the 64th minute when a swift counter attack ended with Michael Fürthaler scoring with a low finish into the corner. However, we were only behind for just five minutes when young striker Andy Derbyshire hooked in a well taken equaliser. Honours remained equal after that.

We concluded our preparations with a goalless draw at home against 39 time Belgian League winners RSC Anderlecht. It was a game which we controlled from start to finish, limiting our more well known opponents to just four shots in ninety minutes, However, we couldn't make any of our chances count and now move forwards to the new season beginning in the second weekend of August.

Meet the 2026-27 newcomers (Part Three)

Vincent Morel (S C) - On a season long loan from AS Monaco


We made only one further signing before the winter transfer window slammed shut at 5:00pm on 7 August, and that was because the board placed an embargo on transfers in. They did this because of an impending takeover of the Club which will either be good or bad for us. Having experienced this at Tranmere, it proved to be good but will it be the same here at Preston? The ninth new face this summer is French striker Vincent Morel who impressed me in our pre-season friendly against his parent club with his eye for a goal, and general movement. He's only 22 years old so fits my criteria for bringing new but younger talent to the Club. Vincent will provide excellent competition to Moise Kean and Albanian Brian (Brijan Ibrahimi) who led the line for the majority of last season.


We bade farewell for now to four more players, all who departed for pastures new on season long loans. First one to leave was young left back Stuart Carroll who will continue his development at Championship side Barnsley. The day after, Harrison Kirby (who suffered a hip injury days after joining Notts County on loan last January) joined another Championship team: this time in the shape of Millwall. At the start of August, German midfielder Jonas Bächle joined Rapid Vienna and on the day before the deadline Veton Berisha joined Middlesbrough with 'Boro agreeing to pay us £4 million at any point during the loan if they want it to make the deal permanent.

Onto our unhappy players, Ronaldo Vieira has officially handed in a transfer request: still citing relegation in 2024-25 as his reason (what a douche!). That said, Lazio are still looking at him but have yet to come in with an official bid for us to consider. He's valued at £28 million by us and is under contract until the summer of 2028, so they either put up or stop unsettling Ronaldo further. The interest in Connor Roberts has gone away, and I'm hoping I can agree a new deal with him soon as I don't want to lose him for nothing next summer. And still nobody wants to take Moise Kean away....

We did turn down a bid from Everton on deadline day for Charly Musonda which I found derisory, I won't sell my first team players to anyone on the cheap for sure! I'm hoping to do some dealing in the next window however when the boardroom battle will hopefully be resolved one way or the other..

2026-27 Squad Numbers

England have today confirmed the appointment of Mark Duell as their new Head Coach.

The 44 year old, who also manages at Club level with Premier League newcomers Preston North End, was the popular choice of the FA board members after the resignation of Eddie Howe. Howe resigned after the Three Lions dismal performance in the World Cup where they suffered a shock Second Round exit on penalties to joint hosts United States.

Duell's first game will be a home UEFA Nations League Group A3 fixture at Wembley against Croatia on 4 September 2026. The Three Lions then face Turkey in Konya four days later in a friendly encounter.