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Meet the 2026-27 newcomers (Part Two)

Meet now new signings 5-8 that have arrived in East Lancashire this summer so far.

Julio Pleguezuelo (D C) - £900,000 from Racing Santander


A former Arsenal trainee whom I had tried to sign, albeit unsuccessfully, when I was at Edinburgh City no less. Guess I finally succeeded at last. Julio is a no nonsense central defender who brings added experience into the back line. With Ethan Ampadu going back to Chelsea, and just Ezri Konsa available to possibly partner skipper Jules Koundé: we needed one or two central defenders to help us. He's packed almost 200 appearances in his career since swapping the famous Barcelona La Masia academy for North London. I'm not really expecting much from him but he's going to be a great option should the other new signing (see next) fail to deliver. Sometimes these lesser signings turn out to be the best ones...

Helmer Andersson (D C) - £3.5 million from AIK


A four times capped Swedish internationalist who just loves to...DEFEND! Helmer is the second most expensive purchase we have made so far this summer and I'm looking at him to fill the Ampadu void ahead of anyone else. Helmer does not give strikers peace and quiet as he likes to stick to them like glue which can be a good thing but I hope it doesn't mean that he will give away loads of unnecessary penalties in his own box with his style of defending. He's improved season by season since making his Allsvenskan début for Örebro in 2018 as a 17 year old. At just 24 year old now, Helmer has plenty of time to improve even more and one of his heroes is the current Swedish national team manager: a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic!

Ognjen Stijepovic (M/AM C) - Free Transfer from Pro Vercelli


Our third central midfield signing this summer from the Italian leagues, Ognjen joins his Montengrin national team colleague Nikola Vukcevic here in East Lancashire, so at least he will have a familiar face here to help him settle in and communicate with whilst he learns English at night school in the town. He's another very technically gifted player, just like Nikola, but then again aren't all these East Europeans very technically good anyway? Ognjen has spent the majority of his professional career in Italy, intially with Serie A side Sampdoria but he was far from a first teamer during his time in Genoa. He moved to the side we have signed him from in 2023, and could be the dark horse of a signing which goes under the radar. He could surprise a few...

Kamil Pietras (M C) - £3.6 million from Zaglebie Lubin


The most expensive purchase of the summer we have made so far, and one that was recommended to our youth set up. Kamil is only 19 years old but he's got 15 Under-21 caps for his nation already, which shows what they think of him. The Polish press have dubbed him the new Kazimierz Deyna which is a high accolade indeed considering how gifted the latter was. I'm not really expecting him to burst onto the scene immediately and make an impact, but he should be a class act for our Under 23 side under the managerial tutelage of Dean Keates. His ginger hair makes him easily to notice on the pitch, and I'll be looking to give a few games here and there in Cup games. I just hope he can adapt to life here, where many a foreign talent has failed in the past.


So we bade farewell to five players at the end of their contracts. The biggest name out of the five was Swiss midfielder Remo Freuler (see why we brought in the Italians?) who was really becoming a fourth choice central midfielder behind Uribe, Palmer and Vukcevic. He was also on a large salary of over £40,000 a week which has been a big weight off the wage bill. We also ran the risk of paying Atalanta over £2 million extra if we fielded him in just one more league game. That's money we have invested wisely elsewhere as you can see. Also released like Freuler were James Smith (who has since joined Fleetwood Town), Kirk Choat and Jon Hassan who were in the Under 23's last season as well as Anthony Raby from the Under 18's.

Of the unhappy players, Connor Roberts is interesting Leeds and Southampton (I'd sell him to the Saints if I can get a replacement in), Lazio apparently have an interest in Ronaldo Vieira, Guiilo Maggiore (who turned down a move to Nice after we'd agreed a fee) is on the radar of Sheffield United and Derby County here as well as Salernitana and Frosinone back home in Italy. Veton Berisha interests Granada (no, not the TV channel) and St. Etienne (no, not that band either) whilst nobody is interested in Moise Kean whatsoever.

There's a lot of interest generally around the squad which makes this window important indeed. If we can come out of it again unscathed, I'll be happy. Although this could be interesting...

Meet the 2026-27 newcomers (Part One)

With a nice transfer budget of over £27 million to spend on new players, we have been shopping around for new players. Granted we can't compete with the likes of Manchester United who have spent £104 million on one player alone, we've bought players that we think will do us a job in the Premier League. The oldest is 29, and we have also invested in young prospects for the future.

In the next couple of posts, we will meet the eight newcomers signed so far...and there's still £17 million available if we want to acquire more. All have been listed in date signed order.

Thomas Eaton (D L/ WB L) - £150,000 from Crystal Palace


With Richard Tipple looking to spend a full season on loan we needed some experienced cover for Chilean internationalist Cristiàn Cuevas and Thomas fits that bill perfectly. Predominantly a stay at home full back, Thomas can get forward if needed and showed that in our games against Aston Villa to whom he was on loan to last season from the South East London side. He possesses great pace, and solid marking abilities. A great decision maker on the pitch, I'm convinced he will be pushing Cuevas for the starting berth come 8 August 2026 when the league campaign starts. Bit of a concern is that one of his traits is that he likes to be a wee bit vocal with the officials. Curbing that could be an interesting challenge ahead.

Jasper Schendelaar (GK) - £1.3 million, rising to a possible £1.8 million from AZ Alkmaar


We knew we needed a new number one for the Premier League season with current starter Alireza Beiranvand not getting any younger, he's 34 in September, and Will Jääskeläinen probably a Championship level keeper at best. So after searching around Europe and almost bringing in a Russian, the name Jasper Schendelaar dropped into our inbox. He's the third choice keeper for the Netherlands behind Rody de Boer and Jesper Zweegers who both ply their trade in the Bundesliga, and we think we have got him on a bargain fee of less than £2 million. Some might think he's a bit injury prone but if we can keep him fit then we could have a starting goalie for seasons to come.

Corrado Pantanelli (M C) - season long loan from Juventus


With Mateus Uribe announcing his retirement from the game in July, and with another central midfielder being released (see a later post) we knew we would be short in this position. Our scouting network, which the board have kindly improved no end to cover anywhere in the world, led us to Pantanelli. He is a very technical player and to have him on loan from Juventus is a massive coup as far as I am concerned. With Kasey Palmer probably a shoe in for one of the two central midfield spots, this guy could easily take the other one. He's not afraid to shoot and I'm sure La Vecchia Signora will be keen to see how he adapts to the game here. He's a gamble but on low wages, it's not a massive risk.

Maurizio Casarini (M C) - £500,000 from Milan


Another young Italian central midfielder who is very technically good and could be one to watch for the future. Signed for the bargain price of half a million from Milan, we might have found ourselves a central midfielder that could break into the Azzurri side if he plays his proverbial cards right. Possesses impressive vision and a good work rate which means he is a playmaker in the making, and at just 20 years old time is definitely on his side. Made nine appearances for the Rossoneri during his time there, scoring twice, after being spotted as hot prospect at just 15. He's already a FIFA Under 20 World Cup winner despite his tender years, having being part of the Italian side that took this honour in 2023.

The Fixtures are OUT!

The wait is now OVER, as the Premier League schedule for 2026-27 is released. Fans of the 20 clubs can now start planning their away trips which will see them clock thousands of miles up and down the motorways of England.

Last season's champions Manchester United face a long trip to the South Coast to face AFC Bournemouth at the Bournemouth Stadium. The Cherries are now in their 12th season in the top division since winning promotion from the Championship in 2014-15. Red Devils manager Diego Simeone has spent big this summer so far with Italian striker Mario Ricci swapping Juventus for Old Trafford for a £104 million fee. Simeone has also signed Arsenal and England internationalist Eddie Nkeitah for an initial fee of £46 million; raising to £64 million with various add-ons. Liverpool, who pushed them close last season, are also away from home on opening day. The Reds go to one of the newly promoted sides in Leeds United who defeated Reading in a thrilling Championship Play-Off Final at Wembley last month.

Talking about newcomers to the Premier League, there are interesting games for the other two promoted sides who both begin with home games. Runaway Champions Preston North End host West Ham United at Deepdale whilst Derby County entertain Southampton at Pride Park.

For lovers of local derbies, there's the first Manchester derby of the season at Old Trafford on Saturday 12 September, Liverpool host Everton on 26 September 2026, Arsenal entertain Tottenham on 17 October 2026 whilst Leeds go to Old Trafford on Boxing Day for a mouth watering War of the Roses. Tottenham this season will be under the management of Dutch legend Frank de Boer after Unai Emery was dismissed two days after the conclusion of the 2025-26 campaign following just 350 days in charge.

The season begins on Saturday 8 August 2026, are you ready?

French giants head pre-season schedule

Preston North End's pre-season schedule for the 2026-27 Premier League has been confirmed.

Heading the five game schedule, with a sixth to be announced, is a prestigious home friendly against eight-time French League champions AS Monaco. Monaco, who last won the Ligue 1 title in 2017, have had many famous names in their 102 year history. These include former England internationalist and manager Glenn Hoddle, legendary French internationalist striker Thierry Henry and former legendary Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. This game will open the pre-season schedule for North End on Saturday 4 July 2026 with a 3:00pm kick-off and French television will be broadcasting the game live.

After the Monaco friendly, the squad head for the sunny climes of Sevilla, Southern Spain for an eleven day training camp which was chosen specifically by manager Mark Duell. Whilst there the team will face La Liga side Real Betis Balompié in their second friendly on Tuesday 14 July 2026. Betis are managed these days by former Arsenal, Rangers and Netherlands internationalist Giovanni Van Bronckhorst. Two days after arriving back in the UK, the team play their third friendly when they make the short trip to Mill Farm, Kirkham to face AFC Fylde. This friendly could see a number of the Lilywhites prospects given game time to impress the manager.

The following Tuesday sees another glamorous friendly here at Deepdale as we host Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. Since being formed as recently as 2009, the German side have enjoyed a meteoric rise and were losing finalists in the 2020 UEFA Europa League Final played in Gdansk as they were defeated 3-0 by fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. The schedule, as it stands, ends three days later with a game in Germany at 2.Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg.

Negotiations are still on going for a final friendly to be played on the Saturday before the new season commences with Belgian giants RSC Anderlecht being touted by some as potential opponents on that day.

The team will find out their Premier League fixture list on Thursday 18 June 2026 at 9:00am

Manager agrees new deal

Just as the prospect of playing back in the Premier League was fabulous news for Lilywhites fans, there's even more celebration today!

The latest good news to come out of Deepdale? Manager Mark Duell has penned a new contract that will keep him in East Lancashire until the summer of 2028 after joining us on an initial single season contract from Tranmere Rovers last summer.

Mark, who has won at least one trophy in his managerial career which began at Edinburgh City in 2018, is hard at work lining up new arrivals before jetting out to the United States soon to watch the FIFA World Cup Finals.

The players will return back to pre-season training on Monday 28 June 2026, with the pre-season fixture schedule to be confirmed by the Club in the next couple of days.

So this how the season actually concluded, first of all the league table before the play-offs began:



So it's Derby County who grabbed the other promotion spot on offer behind us. At the end of February, they were 6th and still in danger of actually missing due to the closeness of how things were. But they hit form at the right, others slipped up so James Beattie (in his first full season in charge at Pride Park) celebrated promotion and also as you saw in the previous post: nabbed my Manager of the Year gong strangely enough.

This meant that the semi-finals would be, Leeds United v Middlesbrough and Reading v West Bromwich Albion. Both facing over two legs and the winners at Wembley Stadium on 24 May 2026. It turned out like this, semi-final first legs first:

The first leg of the opening semi final saw this result:


Advantage to the Royals with goals from Eduard Sobol, with a penalty, and Brazillian Pedro Rocha adding to an early strike from Shane Zambra. Former Napoli and Parma winger Francesco Mezzoni had equalised for the Albion but could they pull back the deficit in the Black Country second leg? Meanwhile the night after saw Leeds and Middlesbrough, the latter the meanest defence in the division, play their first leg at Elland Road and this was the outcome:


So much for that mean defence, eh? A brace from Oli McBurnie plus two in the space of three minutes from Emmanuel Boateng and Nedim Bajrami has seemingly given Leeds what seems to be a place in the Final already barring 'Boro staging a remarkable resurgence at the Riverside. Former Manchester City youngster Lorenzo Gonzalez, yet another one that they "signed" for the future but didn't make the first team (a solitary Cup appearance in five years), scored what appears to be just consolation. Midweek saw both second legs be played on the same night and they turned out like this:


So the Final will be between Leeds United and Reading! Pulling back a three goal deficit was always going to be hard for Middlesbrough, even on home turf. A first ever 'Boro goal for Christian Mba reduced the deficit in the early stages of the second half but the Whites had enough about them to shut them out after that and look at regaining their Premier League place via the Play-Off Final. Reading booked their place to face them with the help of a late goal at the Hawthorns though. Mezzoni's early 19th minute strike got the Baggies within one but Pedro Rocha scored also his second goal of the play-offs with eight minutes left to play to restore the two goal advantage and Albion couldn't find any way back after that.

So how did the Final end up? Who would join us and Derby next season in the Premier League, and replace relegated Brighton, Burnley and Sheffield United?


It's Leeds, and the hero of the day was none other than Oli McBurnie for Graham Potter's side. Maxime Lopez had given the West Yorkshire side the lead just after the half hour but three minutes later Polish attacking midfielder Michal Rakoczy drew the Berkshire side level and that's how it stayed to half time. Five minutes after the restart former Rangers and Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour diverted a low Lopez cross into his own net with his heel to make it 2-1 Leeds. McBurnie then proceeded to add a third Leeds goal on the hour with a low shot that squeaked under the Royals keeper to give his side some breathing space. Yet Reading weren't done as Zambra reduced the arrears in time added-on to set up a tense finale but it's Leeds who will be back playing Premier League football in 2026-27.

Here are the winners of the Sky Bet Championship annual awards:

Manager of the Year:

What the actual! I win the league by 24 points, bag four Manager of the Month awards and they give it to the manager of the runner-up? Seriously something fishy about this, it does not make any sense whatsoever.

Player of the Year:

Never in any doubt, the best player by a country mile in the Championship this season. Be interesting to see how he adapts to life in the Premier League now.

Young Player of the Year:

Third Middlesbrough player in the last four seasons to win this award, a striker on loan from Manchester United.

Goal of the Season:

Winner of this was Adrian Funes of Aston Villa against Bristol City, we scored a few crackers ourselves but not good enough to take this award.

Team of the Season:

Three of the four defenders and all of the midfield, should have had also included Albanian Brian (Brijan Ibrahimi) as he was constantly a threat up front in our promotion winning season and he scored twice as many goals as Matic plus outshone Idah in the games we had against Norwich..

End of Season 2025-26

My first season at Preston North End is completed. Here's the season summarised.

End of Season Club Awards:


Predictably Jack Harrison took the Fans Player of the Year award, he was the creative spark that made the Championship title win possible. From game one to game forty-six, bar times when he was out injured, Harrison was always creative. He finished the season with 20 assists in 43 games, shattering the previous Club record of 12 held by team-mate Ollie Watkins in 2019-20. It also was a new Championship record, beating the 17 again in 2019-20 by Southampton's James Ward-Prowse.

Mateus Uribe got the award for the goal of the season, for his thunderbolt that helped secure a 3-0 home win against Portsmouth on 28 December 2025. It was one of many great goals we netted this season so I guess it was very hard to pick one that stood out. Unfortunately, the league never gave it the recognition it surely deserve. As of the signing of the season, we made very few new signings into the club, congratulations to Nikola Vukcevic for this award but I really was impressed personally how well Ethan Ampadu slotted into alongside skipper Jules Koundé. If it's possible to bring him in again then I'll try to do so but I'm sure my managerial counterpart Pàl Dàrdai at Stamford Bridge might have other plans. Albanian Brian, despite being 24, took the Young Player of the Season award. For a breakout season in front of goal, it was richly deserved.

I had no complaints about the team of the season though:



The individual club statistics were as follows:



And the finally the commercial summary was as follows:

April and May 2026 Review (Part Three)

Analysis:

So we finished the season with four wins and two draws in those last six games, which could have been a great deal worse if we had not done two comebacks against Aston Villa and QPR respectively. Those four wins took us to 31 wins over the campaign, a new club record. Another club record was 106 points which smashed the previous record of 95 set in the 1999-2000 title winning season. It also equalled the record held by Reading for this division in 2005-06.

There were so many stand out performances in the season, from routing local rivals Wigan Athletic 6-1 on their own patch in December to a superb 4-1 home win over Queens Park Rangers which was just as important considering they were in second place at that time and closing in on us. We had some stellar performers on the pitch, Brijan Ibrahimi (or Albanian Brian as the fans call him) enjoyed a breakout of a season as he top scored with 21 goals: all of which came in the league. There were double figure hauls from the wing wizard that is Jack Harrison, Italian Moise Kean as well as midfielder Kasey Palmer. Ibrahimi, Harrison and Palmer all agreed new deals during the season which should make it hard for them to depart for pastures new but we know full well that we might have to brace ourselves for big money bids for them as well as skipper Jules Koundé and Belgian star Charly Musonda.

As the season concludes, we have four players unhappy. Right-back Connor Roberts wants to play at a higher level which he's not going to get in this league structure. If he wants to go higher then he'll need to be courted by teams in Spain, France and Germany and to be honest that's not going to happen to be realistic. Nobody came in for either Ronaldo Vieira or Moise Kean after our relegation so it'll be interesting to see what happens to those two as well. Giuilo Maggiore was on the brink of leaving in the second transfer window but an injury just two days before the window closed scuppered that. I'll be looking to hopefully move him on before the new Premier League season begins in August 2026.

It's been a great season for me personally, four Manager of the Month awards. This latest title win now goes along the trophies won at Edinburgh City, Ilves, Le Mans and Tranmere Rovers. I've won at least one trophy at each of the club I've been at so far. Surely this latest win will increase my stock further. I'm just slightly disappointed in my current board's confidence in me even though I delivered what they wanted predominantly..it seldom went above 70 per cent. Normally at each of the other clubs I would have been in the high 90s, maybe 100 per cent, for a title win. Maybe Preston is not going to be the final stop on this journey, maybe a bigger club might want to take a chance on me?

But it's been a good start so far, question remains how will I fare in the Premier League? This is going to be the real acid test for the career.

April and May 2026 Review (Part Two)

Here is the review of the final three matches which ends season 2025-26, how did we fare considering there was nothing really to play for?

Saturday 18 April 2026

Our penultimate home game of the season saw us entertain relegation threatened Charlton Athletic here at Deepdale. I made a ballsy call at training the day before, I confirmed that Finnish keeper Will Jääskeläinen would start each of the last three games. Will has been on the bench for the majority of the matches since his move from Sunderland but not once has he come into my office and demanded game time so this was his reward. He's probably going to be third choice with the signing of Schendelaar next season so we might move him on whilst trying to find a decent young keeper to back the newcomer up. Anyway this was a strange game, another which we dominated, but it really came to life in the final six minutes of the first half as we had THREE goals in that short space of time.

We took the lead in the 39th minute, thanks to a thunderbolt from Kasey Palmer which rocketed into the net from the edge of the box. It was the culmination of another sweet but patient build up. Kasey's 11th of the season. Three minutes later, Charlton stunned us with an equaliser from left back Liam Green. That was certainly not in the script for sure. However we regained the lead in the second minute of three added on at the end of the first half. Mateus Uribe was upended by Jake Forster-Caskey 25 yards out, and Palmer stepped up to curl it home with a dink from the post. Sensational stuff, and a 12th goal of the season for the attack minded midfielder. We wrapped up another win in the 72nd minute with our third, Cristiàn Cuevas delivered from the left and Palmer flicked it onto Brijan Ibrahimi to volley home his 20th of the season. Job done, but it also pushed Charlton nearer to the drop. Oh, and Ezri Konsa had a 21st minute "goal" mysteriously chalked off for offside when every man, woman and their dog knew that it wasn't.

Team: Jääskeläinen; Roberts, Koundé ©, Konsa, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Watkins, Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Crompton (for Roberts 55), Kean (for Watkins 69), Bächle (for Palmer 83), Grant, Beiranvand, Ferguson, Vukcevic.
Goalscorers: Palmer (39, 45+2), Ibrahimi (72)
Man of the Match:Kasey Palmer (Preston North End)
Attendance: 16,867 (688 away)

Saturday 25 April 2026

The final away day of the season, and league game number 45 of 46. We made the long trek down to East Anglia to face Ipswich Town at Portman Road, and once more the pitch was looking absolutely like a bowling green. One goal decided it, and it came in the most freaky circumstances too. It happened in the 58th minute, and one that Ipswich keeper Dan Bentley will want to forget in a hurry. A shot from Ronaldo Vieira cannoned off the post but then ricocheted into the net via the backside of the former Southend United and Brentford custodian. Not that we were complaining though. Win number 30 and just one match left to go now before we can head on our summer holidays.

Team: Jääskeläinen; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Watkins; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Kean (for Watkins 63), Vukcevic (for Ronaldo Vieira 73), Ferguson (for Ibrahimi 81), Beiranvand, Konsa, Compton, Bächle.
Goalscorer: Bentley (og 58)
Booked: Kean (77)
Man of the Match: Cristiàn Cuevas (Preston North End)
Attendance: 16,360 (744 Preston)

Sunday 3 May 2026

So onto the final game of the season, a visit to a sold out Deepdale from Bolton Wanderers. Wanderers knew if they lost then they would be playing League One football next season whilst we were hoping to sign off with another win and leave the Championship in style. It was a special day too for the Jääskeläinen clan as Will started against the team from which he was born and one that his father Jussi was a modern day legend for. Young Will had started his career at Wanderers but they released him in 2017 so he was keen to prove a point in front of his Mam and Dad. And so he did, picking up another win and a clean sheet to boot as a goal in each half secured the win for us.

The opener came six minutes before the break, a cross from the left from Cristiàn Cuevas was headed in the net with aplomb by Brijan Ibrahimi. It was Albanian Brian's 21st goal of the season, and one now wonders how he adapt to life in the Premier League. Let's hope he is not just a one trick pony as the saying goes. The game was sealed and Bolton's relegation confirmed ten minutes into the second half. After seeing his first effort blocked, and Mateus Uribe having a header cleared off the line, Jack Harrison lashed his second attempt into the roof of the net to have the North End fans dancing with delight and some actually doing the conga. What a way to finish a memorable season!

Team: Jääskeläinen; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Watkins; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Kean (for Watkins 63), Bächle (for Palmer 70), Crompton (for Ampadu 78), Konsa, Beiranvand, Ferguson, Vukcevic.
Goalscorers: Ibrahimi (39), Harrison (55)
Booked: Cuevas (59)
Man of the Match: Cristiàn Cuevas (Preston North End)
Attendance: 20,830 (1041 away) - SOLD OUT

Lilywhites make double swoop

Mark Duell today announced the first two new signings made by the Club as they get ready for a return to the Premier League next season.

Joining North End are Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Schendelaar, and English left back Thomas Eaton. Both players are the same age, 25, and have been on Duell's radar for a while. Schendelaar will be joining us for a initial fee of £1.3 million (rising to £1.8 million with appearance add-ons) from Dutch Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar where he has been first choice this season, whilst Eaton has been signed for just £150,000 from Crystal Palace. The manager had this to say about his new signings:

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Schendelaar has penned a five year contract, whilst Eaton has penned a three year deal. Show your support for our new signings by contacting us here at the Club using the hashtags #WelcomeSchendelaar and #WelcomeEaton. Both players will officially join North End on 9 June 2026 and we will bring you exclusive interviews that day with them.

April and May 2026 Review (Part One)

Here is the review of the first three matches which conclude another season, can we finish it on a winning note to go along with the newly won title?

Saturday 4 April 2026

Middlesbrough hosted us on the first Saturday in April, with their proud mean defence and still harbouring dreams of getting back into the Premier League. A 30000 plus crowd packed itself into the Riverside Stadium to see if they could upset the newly crowned Champions, and they were dancing with delight when top scorer David Smith (on loan from Manchester United) fired them into a third minute lead with his 22nd goal of the season. But despite having 64% possession, that was about as good as it got for the Smoggies. We levelled seven minutes later, when a free kick to the back post from Kasey Palmer was volleyed home by unmarked skipper Jules Koundé for his 6th of the season. Then that mean defence was completely blown away with three goals in just eight minutes to put us in a commanding 4-1 lead at half time which they never recovered from.

The lead was taken on the half hour. Jack Harrison sent our own top scorer Brijan Ibrahimi away down the right, and Albanian Brian then showed that there's more to his game than scoring goals as he weighted a low cross into Ollie Watkins who side footed home his fourth of the season from six yards out. Two minutes later, we were 3-1 to the good. Watkins returning the favour for Ibrahimi whose low shot found the net with a wee bit of help from the post, goal number 19 for Albanian Brian in his best ever season as a professional. But the best was yet to come, and it arrived seven minutes before the interval. Some patient build up play from the team saw the ball land at the feet of Watkins who scored the goal of the game with a superb dipping effort that gave Connor Ripley in the 'Boro goal no chance whatsoever. A second of the game for the former Brentford man and fifth of the season. Game done with, and we saw the second half out without any further alarms.

Team: Beiranvand; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Uribe, Palmer; Harrison, Watkins, Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Vukcevic (for Ronaldo Vieira 63), Kean (for Ibrahimi 69), Konsa, Jääskeläinen, Grant, Ferguson, Bächle.
Goalscorers: Koundé (10), Watkins (30, 38), Ibrahimi (32)
Man of the Match: Ollie Watkins (Preston North End)
Attendance: 30,122 (1700 Preston)

Tuesday 7 April 2026

Our final midweek game of the season saw us host an improved Aston Villa at Deepdale, having shared a 2-2 draw in the Second City back in November. They like, Middlesbrough a few days beforehand, still fancied their chances of getting back into the Premier League and were in no mood to bow down to us. This was typified when goals from Conor Hourihane in the 11th minute and impressive loan winger Niall Adams in the 39th had then 2-0 ahead at the break, and deservedly so. They had completely owned us in those first 45. Once more I let rip in the dressing room with the hairdryer treatment, and questioned the team's passion. Once more they responded, none more than right-back Ezri Konsa who took it up on himself to drive the team on.

It was Konsa who created both of our goals. In the 56th minute, he whipped in a low ball that looked like it would be going into the net but Moise Kean being the typical striker, took the goal away from the defender with a tap in from almost on the goal line. 16th of the season for the Italian. The comeback was completed in the 72nd minute thanks to another superb cross by Konsa, this time converted by young Delroy Leogal. The youngster's first ever senior goal and what a proud moment for him. I was so made up for the young kid, and it was only his fourth appearance for the first team. Neither side could break through after that, and we shared a second 2-2 draw of the campaign with Paul Coutts' men.

Team: Beiranvand; Konsa, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira, Palmer, Uribe, Harrison, Watkins, Kean. Substitutes: Leogal (for Harrison 70), Bächle (for Uribe 72), Roberts, Jääskeläinen, Grant, Vukcevic, Ibrahimi.
Goalscorers: Kean (56), Leogal (72)
Man of the Match: Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa)
Attendance: 16,880 (1041 away)

Saturday 11 April 2026

Once more we had to come from two goals behind to take a point in this trip to West London against the R's. We made an horrendous start, and were 2-0 behind after just quarter of an hour thanks to a brace of goals from Eberechi Eze. I questioned the character of the team, and from the side line demanded more passion from them to show their hosts really what they are made of. We found a way back into the game and made it 2-1 in the 37th minute with a superb free-kick curled home by Palmer after Ibrahimi (on for an injured Kean) had been fouled by Read 20 odd yards out. It was Kasey's 10th of the season, and it was just the lift we needed. Then just as the fourth official was going to appear with their board, we were level in the final minute of a tremendous first half. Harrison whipped in a dangerous free kick from wide on the right, and Rangers couldn't clear their lines so much so that when the ball came to Watkins: the inside forward curled in a beautifully placed effort out of the reach of former North End keeper Declan Rudd. Ollie's 6th of the season, and fourth in his last seven appearances.

Both sides pushed for a winner after that but couldn't breach the other's defence. I suppose a draw was about fair though even though we created twice as many chances as our hosts, now if we had not had the goddamn awful opening 15 minutes....

Team: Beiranvand; Konsa, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Watkins, Kean. Substitutes: Ibrahimi (for Kean 36), Roberts (for Cuevas 55), Vukcevic (for Ronaldo Vieira 75), Jääskeläinen, Grant, Ferguson, Bächle.
Goalscorers: Palmer (37), Watkins (45)
Booked: Ampadu (90+4)
Man of the Match: Eberechi Eze (Queens Park Rangers)
Attendance: 16,869 (795 Preston)

Experienced Italian who had an ill fated spell at Watford in 2017, has managed clubs such as Inter Milan and Napoli in his homeland. By the way, I finished third this month. Hopefully I'll get the Manager of the Year to crown the season off.

Well done Kasey! He's been sensational since grabbing his place back in the side and has chipped in with double figures for goals as well so really deserves the new contract we've offered him. Hopefully he will sign it. Our own Ollie Watkins finished second in the same award.

Second successive award for the Villain on loan from the Red Devils. Tormented us in our league game, and scored too. Could be one to keep an eye on.

Winner was Bolton's left winger Charlie Dowling with a long range free-kick which beat Ollie's dipping effort against the 'Boro to the award. Surprised Kasey's curling free-kicks didn't get a mention though.

2025-26: April and May Preview

So we have the final six games of the season before we move up to the Premier League.

We begin this spell with a trip to the Riverside Stadium on the banks of the Tees to face a Middlesbrough side that still harbours hope that they can take the second promotion. They have the meanest defence in the Championship this season but we stuck three past them in a second half showing back in November. Something similar will be just as nice on Easter Saturday afternoon. Easter Tuesday sees us back on home turf as we host Aston Villa who are trying to force their way in the play off picture as we speak, we shared an entertaining 2-2 draw in the Second City so this will be equally as hard as the game at Middlesbrough. If we are not careful, we could easily lose one if not both.

A trip to West London and the compact confines of Loftus Road follows the Villa game. QPR have been one of the biggest surprises this season, having being tipped by the pundits to finish just outside the relegation zone. They were second in the table when we played them earlier on in the season, but we produced a superb performance that day to trounce them 4-1, helped no end by three first half goals in 12 minutes! It won't be an easy place to get a result but we can do it if we put our collective minds to it again. Charlton Athletic then follow in Deepdale's penultimate league game of the season and they're still in the relegation spots as we begin April. A home win will be expected by all and sundry.

The final away game of the season sees us travel to East Anglia and Portman Road to face Ipswich Town whose pitch always seems to look immaculate whatever time of the year it is. It's a winnable game for us but equally one that could see us come unstuck in as well. We need to turn in a performance. The season concludes with a visit from Bolton Wanderers in our only game in May, we have to maintain those bragging rights.

Can we create more history? You can be guaranteed we will be giving it our best shot as always.

Congratulations to "Harry" Potter on winning this award, a 100 per cent record in March as Leeds make a late charge to get that second automatic promotion slot.

Once a highly rated youngster signed by Manchester City but only made 4 appearances in nine seasons at the Etihad. Joined Leeds on a free in the summer after impressing on loan at Rangers in 2024-25 and has continued in the same vein but we kept him quiet!

A young winger on loan from Manchester United, joined the Villa in February until the end of the season. This is his second spell on loan at Villa Park, having made 13 appearances (scoring 4 times) in a similar spell last season and ironically at around the same time in the season too.

The winner for March is Leeds' Nedim Bajrami who is finally wowing the Elland Road faithful with performances that caused Lyon to pay £10.75 million for him in 2019. Is a current Macedonian internationalist despite coming through the ranks of Grasshoppers Zurich, Swiss being his second nationality.

March 2026 Review (Part Two)

So this is how the table stands at the end of March:

Analysis:
Not the best month for us results wise, even if we did remain unbeaten throughout. The huge news is that we are now promoted and we did it without kicking a ball in anger. Safe to say, at the moment Famara Diédhiou is the most popular Senegalese person in East Lancashire after his 12th goal of this current campaign. We have been consistent all season and soon as we hit the front then I had the belief that we would be able to stay there or thereabouts in the promotion mix. The squad seems to have an understanding very remiscent of some of my previous sides, and there are goals everywhere. The only outfield players not to score this season so far are defenders Connor Roberts and Ezri Konsa, but they've played an important part in our success nevertheless.

Now we can enjoy the last 6 games with the pressure and expectation firmly turned off, but I'm a manager that doesn't want to stand still and rest of my proverbial laurels so to speak. We're just eight points shy of 100 points which is always a great achievement to have, but four points will be create a new club record for points created. Two more wins will be another record in what is proving to be a memorable campaign. However the hard work now begins in assembling a squad good enough to survive in the Premier League which means I might have to sell a few and bring in players who can help us achieve that objective, I'm hoping for a larger transfer budget to do this, so the scouts are certainly going to be busy for sure.

My first taste of the Premier League is around the corner. But who's gonna join us in that promised land?

March 2026 Review (Part One)

Here is the review of March's matches, will this be the month when champagne corks will be popping in Preston?

7 March 2026

We began the penultimate full month with our destiny still firmly in our own hands, with potentially one win away from securing a return to the Premier League and the big teams. The first game of that month saw us head to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland. As promised I decided to give Ollie Watkins a run on the left wing with Charly Musonda given a well needed rest and Moise Kean was given the job of leading the line as Albanian Brian was feeling a bit jaded. The move to push Kean into the central striker's role had an early effect as the Italian put us ahead after just four minutes as he latched onto a Connor Roberts ball forward and confidently finished with a shot into the far corner beyond Lumley for his 14th of the season. The home side levelled just before half time when Roberts turned villain this time, conceding a penalty for a robust challenge on Bowler. Lynden Gooch stepped up to place his kick from twelve yards right in the bottom corner despite Will Jääskeläinen, given another chance to show what he can do, going the right way.

We regained the lead eight minutes after the restart. A deep cross to the back post from the creative genius that is Jack Harrison; saw Watkins pull away from his marker and then plant a header into the roof of the net for his third of a stop-start season. Could we kick on and put away our plucky hosts now? Alas not, as Sunderland equalised for a second time with twenty minutes to go. They fooled us with a free kick routine as we were expecting Gooch to deliver it into the area. Instead Gooch played it across to Connor Hards who then switched it to right-back Josh Emmanuel, and the one time Ipswich Town trainee drilled in a shot from the edge of the area: Jääskeläinen had no chance. Neither side could get a winner after that, and we shook hands on a draw. With results elsewhere taking advantage of this slight stutter, we knew promotion now would be a minimum of four points away now.

Team: Jääskeläinen; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Watkins; Kean. Substitutes: Konsa (for Cuevas 52), Musonda (for Palmer 62), Ibrahimi (for Harrison 73), Beiranvand, Crompton, Vukcevic, Ferguson.
Goalscorers: Kean (4), Watkins (54)
Booked: Kean (17), Ampadu (32)
Man of the Match: Josh Emmanuel (Sunderland)
Attendance: 31,837 (1767 Preston)

Tuesday 10 March 2026

Our second game in March was a home game against a Bristol City side that have really underachieved this season, and in need of a few points to confirm their place in Championship for another season. They obviously came north with a point to prove and stunned us when stalwart central defender Zak Vyner headed them into a 14th minute lead. That was certainly not in the script for sure. Were we to have a late season wobble? Well, half time came and we were still 1-0 down so out came the hairdryer treatment once more. It did the trick though as the team went about their business in that second half with the attitude of a team wanting to get promoted. The equalising goal came in the 53rd minute when once more Harrison created the chance with a low cross that the restored Brijan Ibrahimi steered into the far corner despite Vyner's close attentions. It was the 17th goal of the season for Albanian Brian.

Two goals in a minute put the game to bed and as a result secured our 27th win of the season despite not playing at our best. The first came in the 73rd minute, Kean scoring for the second successive game at the second attempt after his initial shot following a Cristiàn Cuevas corner had been blocked. Then almost straight from the restart, we netted our third and decisive goal in this game. Cuevas escaping down the left wing and then sweeping in a cross that Nikola Vukcevic headed in from six yards out for his fifth of the campaign. One more point needed!

Team: Beiranvand; Roberts, Koundé ©, Konsa, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Watkins; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Kean (for Watkins 63), Vukcevic (for Uribe 70), Ampadu (for Ronaldo Vieira 78), Jääskeläinen, Crompton, Musonda, Ferguson.
Goalscorers: Ibrahimi (53), Kean (73), Vukcevic (74)
Booked: Ronaldo Vieira (60)
Man of the Match: Zak Vyner (Bristol City)
Attendance: 15,204 (647 away)

Saturday 21 March 2026

After yet another international break which saw Vukcevic gain his 100th cap for Montenegro we headed across the Pennines and to the John Smith's Stadium knowing full well that one point would secure our place in the Premier League for next season. Well it certainly again didn't look that way when the Terriers took the lead in the 17th minute, Campos skinning two of our players down the left before delivering in a cross which was met by an unstoppable volley right into the top corner from Croatian Antonio Marin that no keeper, never mind Alireza Beiranvand, would have saved.

We were creating the majority of the chances despite Huddersfield having the better of the possession. Eventually we would have to get back on terms, and that we did three minutes after half time. Ibrahimi hoisted a high ball into the penalty area from just inside the Terriers half, and Harrison went down under the challenge of Ryan Corrigan. Referee Stuart Attwell had no doubts in awarding the spot kick. Ibrahimi stepped up forth, and confidently sent the keeper the wrong way for his 18th of the season which have all ironically come in the league. Neither side could break through after that but at 4:51pm the final shrill of the whistle sounded and it meant for 1227 visiting fans, the players and myself:



Team:Beiranvand; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Vukcevic; Harrison, Watkins; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Kean (for Watkins 59), Musonda (for Cuevas 70), Uribe (for Palmer 84), Jääskeläinen, Konsa, Crompton, Ferguson.
Goalscorer: Ibrahimi (pen 48)
Man of the Match: Antonio Marin (Huddersfield Town)
Attendance: 20,871 (1227 Preston)

The implication? Because Reading lost, it meant we were now just promoted but also as the CHAMPIONS of the Sky Bet Championship for 2025-26! Yet another Championship to add to my haul of title wins.

Saturday 28 March 2026

After the euphoria of Tuesday night when we were crowned as Champions without kicking a ball, winning it on St. Patrick's Day made it more sweeter for me and ensured the Guinness certainly did flow no end, we entertained Nottingham Forest at Deepdale. However, the crowd was well under the sell out figure that the chairman had been hoping for once the title had been clinched. Forest came into the match well in form but to be honest, they were a damb squib as they created just three chances in ninety minutes despite controlling the possession. The game itself was nothing much to report about either, which summed up this month, as we struggled to penetrate their goal. As it was, we endured a goalless draw for the second time this season (Millwall away being the other) and a fourth league game this season where our prolific firepower failed to net a single strike,

Team:Beiranvand; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Vukcevic; Harrison, Watkins; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Uribe (for Vukcevic 55), Kean (for Watkins 69), Ferguson (for Ibrahimi 90), Jääskeläinen, Konsa, Grant, Bächle.
Goalscorers: None
Man of the Match: Jukes Koundé (Preston North End)
Attendance: 17,235 (4143 away)

2025-26: March Preview

Just a short four game span for March as we hone in on the end of the season.

We begin March, knowing that we could clinch the title and promotion this month, with a trip to the Stadium of Light to face my boyhood club Sunderland. They've improved since the turn of the year and are now almost safe in the Championship for another season. Not without disposing of another manager though. Former Manchester United, Arsenal and England striker Danny Welbeck was recruited from my old club Tranmere (where they're struggling to avoid an instant relegation) to replace Paul Doswell who had been in charge for just 336 days! Look what you could have had if you had taken my application seriously when you got rid of Derek McInnes, aye right! We crushed them 4-0 at Deepdale this season, live on television, so even though it won't please the family: I'll take something similar but if we win 1-0 with a goal in the last minute then that'll be all good as well.

One midweek game again, and this sees Bristol City make the long journey north. Like Sunderland, three days previous, they appear to be safe from the drop but we need more points to ensure we inch closer towards the Premier League which is going to happen sooner rather than later. A War of the Roses then follows as we head over the Pennines to the John Smith's Stadium to ensure we have more bite than those Terriers. If we have won our last two games then we could easily be celebrating the title and promotion if we take maximum points in West Yorkshire. They're on the fringes of the promotion race so will be right up for it. This could be a really tough game for us, probably the toughest of the four.

After no game in the third week, we finish the month with a home game against Nottingham Forest. Forest are hoping to finish their season with a flourish and with a bit of luck going their way, could make the play-offs but this will be dependent on those above messing up as well. We sneaked a 2-2 at the City Ground in October thanks to a late equaliser which goes to show how much they have to be respected. They will represent yet another tough encounter, and we will have to be on our best form to take the points off them even though it is on home ground.

Will this be the month? Let's wait and see...

No manager had a great record in February, everyone seemed to be out to beat the other. But who's complaining at a fourth monthly award, certainly not me.

The former AC Milan talent is certainly lighting up The Hawthorns with some stellar performances. A free transfer signing as well..bargain!

Looked decent when we played the 'Boro earlier in the season, likes to get forward and support his attack. Is on loan from Southampton.

The winner is Jon Allen from Birmingham City for a strike against Ipswich, that said he was kept very quiet from shooting against us when we played the Blues.

February 2026 Review

Welcome to the review of February's five game span.


Least said the better about this game, it was absolute duller than any ditchwater: a total snoozefest for the 14,000 odd fans inside the New Den on a wet Saturday afternoon. Both sides had chances but both sides equally couldn't finish their dinner never mind chances in front of goal. It was that bad that I felt bad, and offered to reimburse the visiting fans their monies back for the showing they had seen but the chairman told me not to be too daft. If we continue to play like this then we're going to pick more defeats than wins, and collapse worse than dear old Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National.

Team: Beiranvand; Konsa, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Kean; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Bächle (for Uribe 71), Vukcevic (for Ronaldo Vieira 71), Grant, Jääskeläinen, Crompton, Ferguson, Leogal.
Goalscorers: None
Booked: Koundé (11)
Man of the Match: James Newell (Millwall)
Attendance: 14,357 (954 Preston)

10 February 2026

After the dull game in South East London, the team flexed their muscles to recover from an early shock to put the Canaries well and truly to flight in a first half goal blitz that lasted just eight minutes and completely turned this game right on its head. Norwich took the lead after just 10 minutes when we nodded off at a free-kick routine and winger Joe Bryan had the easiest tap in at the far post. We levelled after 23 minutes to start a collapse by Norwich that some wag after the game likened to watching the England cricket team in Australia when Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were in their pomp. That equaliser came when Jack Harrison was sent clear down the right and his low cross was turned in at the near post by Mateus Uribe for the Colombian's seventh of the season. We went ahead two minutes later, another Harrison low cross but this time finished by Kasey Palmer for his seventh of the season as well.

With the rain continuing to fall, the flood of goals into the Norwich net remained unabated as we scored a third in the 27th minute. Some great vision from Moise Kean spotted the run by Harrison through the heart of the visiting defence and he strode to finish with aplomb. We added our fourth in the 31st minute to really put the Canaries to the sword when a throw from Connor Roberts was flicked on by Brijan Ibrahimi for Uribe to nip in and poke home his eighth of the campaign; and second of the afternoon. It was only a matter of time that we would score a fifth and that came in the 70th minute when a deep cross from Cristiàn Cuevas was volleyed home by Harrison for his 11th of the season. Northern Irish Under-21 skipper Adam Hazard scored a second Norwich goal with nine minutes to go but that was just purely consolation for the away side whose top scorer Adam Idah was again subdued by our defence.

Team: Beiranvand; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Kean; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Vukcevic (for Ronaldo Vieira 67), Leogal (for Ibrahimi 71), Freuler (for Palmer 81), Konsa, Jääskeläinen, Crompton, Ferguson.
Goalscorers: Uribe (23, 31), Palmer (25), Harrison (31, 70)
Booked: Roberts (2), Cuevas (10)
Man of the Match: Jack Harrison (Preston North End)
Attendance: 15,939 (1768 away)

14 February 2026

There was to be no love shown by us on Valentine's Day as three goals in the second half destroyed bottom of the table Brentford to push them ever closer to the drop whilst boosting our own aspirations at the top of the table. The biggest surprise was that it took us 38 minutes to open the scoring, Ronaldo Vieira scoring his third of the season and first goal since August when he picked up a touch from Ibrahimi to cut inside and then blast a shot into the top corner. Two goals in a minute early in the second half drew the sting out of the Bees, the first in the 52nd minute when Andrew Ferguson (in for food poisoning victim Harrison) crossed from the right and Ibrahimi produced an exquisite volley into the far corner. It was Albanian Brian's 16th of the season.

A minute later, we had our third. A cross from the left this time from Cuevas, and although Ibrahimi rattled the crossbar with his header, Kean poached home his 11th of the season. The Italian would complete the demolition job with six minutes to go, another Cuevas cross and although he (Kean) headed against the bar initially, another poacher's finish secured him goal number 12 for the campaign and ensure a happy trip back from West London. Will Jääskeläinen had nothing to do really on his latest start and could have gone home for a s**t, shave and haircut such was the solid performance by those in front of him.

Team: Jääskeläinen; Roberts, Koundé ©. Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Ferguson, Kean; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Vukcevic (for Palmer 52), Freuler (for Uribe 62), Leogal (for Ibrahimi 69), Konsa, Beiranvand, Crompton, Watkins.
Goalscorers: Ronaldo Vieira (38), Ibrahimi (52), Kean (53, 84)
Booked: Roberts (12)
Man of the Match: Moise Kean (Preston North End)
Attendance: 13,161 (954 Preston)

21 February 2026

Blackburn Rovers came into this local derby at a sold out Deepdale as our nearest challengers, OK they were 19 points adrift, but they were left floundering as we produced the kind of performance that you would associate with a team that are champions elect. The opener came on the half hour and what a peach of a strike it was from Palmer who arrowed in a direct free kick into the top corner for his eighth of the season; leaving Rovers keeper Christian Walton grasping thin air, With 19 minutes to go, we doubled our advantage. Persistence was the key here, and it was finished by a superb strike into the roof of the net by the returning Harrison. Goal number 12 for the season for the right inside forward. Ben Brereton scored his league leading 20th of the season with a scruffy finish to ensure a nail-biting final 12 minutes but any hope they had went with our third goal.

That came two minutes after Brereton's strike when a slide rule pass from Palmer was straight into the path of Harrison who netted his second of the match and 13th of the campaign with yet another cool and composed finish.

Team: Beiranvand; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Kean; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Freuler (for Ronaldo Vieira 16), Musonda (for Kean 73), Crompton (for Koundé 78), Konsa, Jääskeläinen, Vukcevic, Ferguson.
Goalscorers: Palmer (30), Harrison (71, 80)
Man of the Match: Kasey Palmer (Preston North End)
Attendance: 20,830 (1041 away) - SOLD OUT

28 February 2026

We finished February with a six goal thriller against Reading, but it was a game we threw away to be honest as we conceded twice in the final 19 minutes to hand the Royals a point which to be honest they did deserve in all essence. They opened the scoring ten minutes from half time when full back Eduard Sobol was the first onto a loose ball to lash it beyond Alireza Beiranvand and stun the home crowd. The hairdryer came out again at the interval and we responded remarkably with three goals in five minutes. The first came three minutes after the restart, Harrison teeing up Kean who marked his 26th birthday with his 14th of the season. Three minutes later, a dangerous low cross from Charly Musonda was poked into the net by Harrison for his 14th of the season.

We extended it further in the 53rd minute when Roberts crossed for Palmer to stab in his ninth of the season from close range, and you would have thought that there was going to be no way back for Reading after that. Erm, wrong! They absolutely battered us after that and made things interesting when Balkenende headed in his first ever Royals goal in the 71st minute. They continued to push us back in a way we had not experienced before, and the dam broke with the final kick of the game in the fifth minute of time added on. We failed to clear our lines which led to former Celtic striker and current Republic of Ireland internationalist Shane Zambra poaching in their equaliser. A thrilling end to a thrilling game.

Team: Beiranvand; Roberts, Koundé ©, Konsa, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Musonda; Kean. Substitutes: Vukcevic (for Uribe 69), Watkins (for Musonda 80), Ferguson (for Kean 85), Grant, Jääskeläinen, Freuler, Crompton.
Goalscorers: Kean (48), Harrison (51), Palmer (53)
Man of the Match: Jack Harrison (Preston North End)
Attendance: 19,056 (707 away)

An unbeaten month although we could have suffered a defeat from either Millwall or Reading, Reading have been the best we have faced this season and it's no surprise that they have moved into the second automatic promotion spot. That said, there seems to be a bit of a dogfight for that spot with just three points separating Reading in that second spot to seventh placed Leeds United. It's possibly going to go right down to the wire to see who gets into the Premier League automatically and which sides are going to have to face the drama of the play offs. Mathematically we need just one win to be assured a play off spot, and eight points to win the title if everything goes right. March is going to be an important month.

We came out of the transfer window unscathed, not losing any of our star players. Ollie Watkins is the latest to drop his wanting to leave demands but he wants a run in the side so I might just do this in the next few games and have Musonda ready to throw on when we need him. That said, apparently Messers. Roberts, Kean and Vieira still want away and are going to try and force a move each out of Deepdale. They might change that once Jules Koundé lifts that trophy though, but we'll plan for replacements anyway. No use in standing still, eh? Third choice keeper James Montgomery finally got his wish in the end, I managed to get him a loan move to National League Solihull Moors with a nominal fee to sign him permanently should they so wish.

All in all, things are still looking good for us.

2025-26 Transfer Activity (Window 2)

Well the second window is now closed,and this is a summary of our dealings since the closing of that first window.

In:

We only made one signing since the closing of the first window, and that was the free transfer signing of German midfielder Jonas Bächle. However, we did try to sign others once the window was opened again but for some reason we were getting quoted what we felt was ridiclous fees for players, an example being West Brom's new Romanian goalkeeper Ionut Radu whom they signed for £1.8 million initially (£2.8 million with add-ons eventually) yet when we made an enquiry then they were asking for £5 million! Guess this is a consequence of us being so successful this season.

We also tried to bring a highly coveted young Czech striker to the club and even offered more money to his club than what Bournemouth (who did sign him) did. But they weren't interested in our offer despite offering better incentives for them and the player. We're going to have to strengthen in the summer for sure but that depends on how much we have to spend, one of the targets will be a new first choice keeper as Alireza Beiranvand is not getting any younger. I also have my eye on a new left-back and if possible, a second loan spell for Ethan Ampadu but we will have to wait and see what develops.

Out:

Four transfers out and all on loan deals. Promising Irish midfielder Jonny Hunt is the first up, he's on a season long loan to SPL side St Mirren and is doing okay. Depending how this goes then we will look at his position again in the summer, but he's still a way off the first team at the moment. Next to leave was Harrison Kirby who has joined League One side Notts County. However the Magpies have not used him at all since his signing, and if this doesn't improve then I'm going to think about recalling him back here. Some clubs don't understand the meaning of the loan market especially when they said they saw him as a key player.

A day after the Kirby transfer, I allowed Reo Griffiths to move to France and join Bordeaux until the end of the season. With Albanian Brian banging in the goals as first choice striker and me seeing Moise Kean as his back up, I couldn't guarantee Griffiths a regular place in the side at the moment. He probably might still have a future here when he comes back but I might just cash in if there are any interested parties. He's not a Premier League starter unfortunately. The final loanee out of the door was back up left-back Richard Tipple who moved to another League One side in Swansea City. "Tipps" loan deal has a recall clause in it though should our first choice Cristiàn Cuevas gets injured for a prolonged absence. We weren't looking to let him leave without it.

The good thing is Jules Koundé signed a new deal and dropped his wanting to leave demand as a result. We also gave new deals to Albanian Brian (Brijan Ibrahimi) and Charly Musonda (who accepted his without a release clause this time) and both were only willing to snatch the pen out of my hand and sign. Connor Roberts, Kean, Ronaldo Vieira and Ollie Watkins still want out but when we're in the Premier League I'm hoping these guys might have a rethink. I looked to try and get Giulio Maggiore a move back to Italy but he got injured a few days before the window closed so that put pay to that. Third choice goalkeeper James Montgomery also wanted a move but there were no takers, with him in contract until the summer of 2028 then he's either going to have accept he's going to become a bit part (and I mean a real bit part player) player whose first team chances will be few and far between or we agree on releasing him by mutual consent..

2025-26: February Preview

Here we have another five game span which will leave us with ten to play once it is over and done with.

We begin February with an away trip to South East London and the New Den to face Millwall. This is an uncompromising fixture for us to have on and off the pitch as it is not the easiest place to get results. Their fans make their stadium a ground that many a team fears, and we know that we have to be at our best to get a result. If we can come away with something then that will be a bonus indeed as we push on for promotion back to the Premier League.

The only midweek game in February sees mid-table Norwich at Deepdale. They're a team that I was personally expecting to be in the promotion mix even if the media thought they would be where they are at the moment. In Adam Idah, they have a striker who knows where the net (17 times so far this season) and we hope we can keep him quiet for a second time this season and he has another blank day at the office.

Bottom of the table Brentford host us after the Norwich game, a team that needs to really pick up points sooner rather than later otherwise they'll be playing League One football again next season. At the start of February, they have just one win this season to their name. Let's hope that we don't add to that statistic for sure. It's the proverbial banana skin in the road which we need to avoid.

The month finishes with back to back home games here at Deepdale. First up is a local derby against Blackburn Rovers, a team that is firmly in the promotion race. We grabbed a 2-2 draw at Ewood earlier this campaign thanks to a late equaliser from skipper Jules Koundé so hopefully we can turn that into a win this time out in front of what I expect will be a large crowd, maybe even a sell out. Then we finish February with Reading in town. They're one of only two teams to have handed us a defeat in the Championship this season when we failed to perform as well as I know we can at the Madejski Stadium. What made that worse, it was also live on television. I sense some retribution is in order.

If we can again do well in these five games, that's more steps to the title. But as ever, we're taking each game as it comes as we close in.

Oh looky here, we seem to have some kinda competition for the eventual big gong. Second Manager of the Month award this season for Mr Beattie..

Touted by some that he is the new Gunter Netzer, this guy was very much anonymous when we beat his side 2-1. At 23 years old, he could improve no end if he plays for a bigger club.

Did nothing when we beat the 'Boro in November, At the time of the award though, the on loan Manchester United striker has though hit 18 in 32 games. Could be one for the future...

And the winner is Neil Gibson of Queens Park Rangers. He's a 17 year old full back that has broken into their first team this season.

The second part of January's round up:


Prior to taking on Spurs in the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round, we had to play West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns just three days beforehand. This saw our unbeaten run come to a shuddering halt as we couldn't finish any of the chances we created on the home goal. It was that bad that I let rip at them in the changing room post game, it was more than a good enough reason to bring the hairdryer out of hiatus. Two goals just after the half hour from their top scorer Theo Waites and one time Milan prospect Luca Vido did the damage on a night when too many players just didn't fulfil their potential. In fact former Albion midfielder Kasey Palmer was the only one who came out of the game with at least some credit.

I maintain we wouldn't have even scored with a lady of the night, that's how bad it was.

Team: Beiranvand; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Uribe, Palmer; Harrison, Musonda; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Konsa (for Roberts HT), Ferguson (for Harrison 73), Bächle (for Uribe 86), Jääskeläinen, Crompton, Vukcevic, Watkins.
Goalscorers: None
Booked: Ronaldo Vieira (49)
Man of the Match: Luca Vido (West Bromwich Albion)
Attendance: 22,184 (1181 Preston)


After the Tottenham game was done, it was back to the bread and butter of the Championship seven days later when we hosted Barnsley at Deepdale. Our very own mascot Deepdale Duck and his counterpart Toby Tyke were in typical comic fashion, entertaining all and sundry pre-game and at half time with their histrionics. After the loss at Albion, we needed to get back onto the winning feeling and not let the good work come undone just as we enter the most crucial part of the season. Thankfully it was Toby and his team who were left in the doghouse come 4:52pm on the final Saturday in January as two first half goals did the damage.

Alireza Beiranvand was restored to the net after Will Jääskeläinen played against Spurs, Jääskeläinen will have a few more chances to impress before the season is out though. We were still without flu victims Ollie Watkins and Connor Roberts as well as Harrison but bar those three, everyone was healthy. We took the lead after just nine minutes when some good close interplay saw Charly Musonda cut inside then lash home a fierce shot that beat the Tykes keeper at his near post for his seventh goal of the season. The second followed in the 21st minute and it was down to Palmer who charged out of defence before weighting a pass to Brijan Ibrahimi who took a touch before smashing a superb left foot shot into the top corner. Totally unstoppable, and Albanian Brian's 15th of the season. Barnsley did have their chances but they couldn't convert any, and Beiranvand secured his 8th clean sheet of the campaign. Three more points closer to the Premier League.

It was also a special day for young striker Delroy Leogal who made his North End début in the 77th minute, a reward for some eye catching performances in the reserves by the kid from Dominica. Hopefully if he continues to improve, we might see more of him in the future. The rest is down to him.

Team: Beiranvand; Konsa, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Uribe, Palmer; Ferguson, Musonda; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Kean (for Ferguson 71), Leogal (for Ibrahimi 77), Bächle (for Uribe 81), Jääskeläinen, Crompton, Vukcevic, Grant.
Goalscorers: Musonda (9), Ibrahimi (21)
Man of the Match: Kasey Palmer (Preston North End)
Attendance: 16,677 (1041 away)


After disposing of Rochdale in Round Three, it was a trip to North London in Round Four to face Spurs. Not many people gave us much hope but for me it was an insight to what kind of standard we might face in the Premier League next season should we; as expected; gain promotion. Spurs boss Unai Emery named a strong squad to face us which showed how serious he was taking it, this included England trio Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Harry Kane as well as Danish superstar Christian Eriksen. The tie was put to bed in the first half as Spurs ripped us a brand new one indeed. Eriksen scored twice in the 29th minute and on the stroke of half time to add to Chilean forward Matias Venegas' ninth minute opener.

We did at least compete and could have scored ourselves if only the woodwork had not denied Musonda, and Andrew Ferguson had seen a goalbound effort brilliantly turned around the post by Pau Lòpez. On the other hand Jääskeläinen in our net could do nothing to prevent their goals but again I felt he acquitted himself well indeed. Spurs finished the game with ten men as England defensive midfielder Ricky Armstrong was dismissed on a straight red for a rash challenge on Nikola Vukcevic. I had chosen not to risk Roberts after he had picked up a knock in the league loss at West Brom.

Team: Jääskeläinen; Konsa, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Ronaldo Vieira; Uribe, Palmer; Ferguson, Musonda; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Kean (for Ibrahimi 51), Vukcevic (for Uribe 67), Crompton (for Koundé 71), Beiranvand, Roberts, Bächle, Watkins.
Goalscorers: None
Booked: Ezri Konsa (65)
Man of the Match: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur)
Attendance: 77,577 (3878 Preston)

However, this is how the league stands at the end of January:


Analysis:
Quite a competitive month with league and cup action for us. Overall I'm quite satisfied with how we came out of it, even though we lost our unbeaten record in fairly dismal circumstances in the Black Country. We're still heading towards the promised land for sure and I'm sure we will be able to wrap this up before we even hit April at the rate we're churning out the games. Just 15 games left to go in that respect to complete my maiden season at this level, and I think I've adapted pretty well to it.

At the bottom Brentford look doomed, they're 12 points away from the safety margin. Stoke, Wigan, Barnsley, Bristol City and Sunderland may look safe at that moment but a terrible run of form for either of them could drag them into the drop zone. Whilst there's a right old battle taking place behind me for that second placed with just seven points between the current second placed incumbent, Derby, to ninth placed Huddersfield. The transfer deadline is also looming, will we come out of it unscathed? That's the next challenge we need to overcome as losing a star player or two might be hard to replace.

The first part of January's round up:


[justify]Seven days later it was back to the bread and butter of the league campaign, but a tough away trip over the Pennines to face Leeds United at Elland Road. Almost 30000 were in the famous old stadium to watch this War of the Roses with the teams having drawn 1-1 at Deepdale earlier in the season. It was a game of very few chances to be honest, but Leeds took the lead after just 12 minutes when Egyptian winger Zizo curled home a nice effort into the far corner of the goal. However, we equalised seven minutes before half time when Cristiàn Cuevas crossed from the left and Brijan Ibrahimi headed in from six yards out. It was Albanian Brian's 14th goal of the season.

Neither side could get another goal after that and we shared the spoils again with a 1-1 draw.

Team: Jääskeläinen; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Vukcevic; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Musonda, Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Freuler (for Palmer 58), Kean (for Harrison 71), Konsa (for Vukcevic 83), Crompton, Montgomery, Tipple, Watkins.
Goalscorer: Ibrahimi (38)
Booked: Koundé (2)
Man of the Match: Zizo (Leeds United)
Attendance: 29,297 (1889 Preston)

17 January 2025

The last game in this round up saw us take on Derby County at Deepdale, the Rams wearing a grey kit that was a grey as the clouds in the sky. Could we extend the unbeaten run further? Goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was restored in net after a two game rest. We took a 15th minute lead when Jack Harrison hared down the right, crossed and following on from Mateus Uribe's flick, Musonda tucked home unmarked at the back post for the Belgian's sixth of the season. Simple really. The game winner came seven minutes after half time when Derby gave skipper Jules Koundé so much room at a corner, and although Pigliacelli parried the first effort, Koundé placed the rebound into the gaping goal as the visitors looked at each other to try and find someone to blame. It was the captain's fifth of the season.

Matt Taylor pulled one back for the Rams midway through that second half but we did enough to ensure we're now 16 games in since our only league loss of the season.

Team: Beiranvand; Roberts, Koundé ©, Ampadu, Cuevas; Vukcevic; Palmer, Uribe; Harrison, Musonda; Ibrahimi. Substitutes: Konsa (for Cuevas 70), Ronaldo Vieira (for Vukcevic 85), Bächle, Jääskeläinen, Crompton. Ferguson, Watkins.
Goalscorers: Musonda (15), Koundé (52)
Booked: Palmer (35)
Man of the Match: Jules Koundé (Preston North End)
Attendance: 17,719 (1041 away)

3 January 2026

Before those league games we faced a potential banana skin when we hosted local rivals Rochdale in the Third Round of this season's Emirates FA Cup. It was also a chance for me to give some of the regular first teamers a rest, and start a number of back up players to show how much depth we have at the moment. This included starts for Will Jääskeläinen in goal, 19 year old central defender Ben Grant, full back Richard Tipple, midfielder Guilio Maggiore, winger Andrew Ferguson and inside forward Ollie Watkins; Ethan Ampadu captained the reshaped side. This much changed side took the lead after just six minutes, Ferguson with the right wing cross and a downward header from Maggiore that squirmed through Phillips in the Dale goal. It was the Italian midfielder's first goal in 56 games I was told after the game. They equalised after 27 minutes when Bakinson headed a Power corner, but he would turn from hero to villain for his side five minutes before half time.

It came about when he diverted a Watkins shot into his own goal after Nikola Vukcevic corner had landed at the feet of the former Exeter City and Brentford man. A bit of good fortune but you have to take goals however the way they come it has to be said. Yet they were proving a hard side to shift and it took us until the 84th minute to put the tie beyond our stubborn opponents. Substitute Charly Musonda played the ball forward, and as Rochdale dithered, fellow substitute Moise Kean nipped in to round the keeper and score his 10th of the season in his first game back since twisting his ankle just before Christmas. It earned us a Fourth Round tie at Premier League Tottenham as a reward.

Team: Jääskeläinen; Konsa, Grant, Ampadu ©, Tipple; Vukcevic; Palmer, Maggiore; Ferguson, Watkins; Griffiths. Substitutes: Kean (for Watkins 59), Harrison (for Ferguson 71), Musonda (for Griffiths 71), Cain, Montgomery, Cuevas, Freuler.
Goalscorers: Maggiore (6), Bakinson (og 40), Kean (84)
Booked: Ampadu (90+3)
Man of the Match: Giuilo Maggiore (Preston North End)
Attendance: 12,953 (3660 away)

Fourth Round Draw made

The Club discovered their opponents in the Fourth Round of this season's Emirates FA Cup.

The draw was again made live on the BBC's "The One Show", this time by former Liverpool and Germany internationalist Dietmar Hamann and famous Reds goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar.

Our reward for disposing of Rochdale in Round Three is an away trip to the Capital and to visit ten time winners Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tottenham last won this competition in 2023 when they defeated North London rivals Arsenal 2-0 at Wembley Stadium. The last encounter between the sides saw Tottenham edge home 2-1 with Jack Harrison being on target for the Lilywhites. This game will be played on Saturday 24 January 2026, and means that the West Bromwich Albion away game in the Championship has been moved to the Wednesday before, 21 January.

Tickets for the Spurs game will be on sale as of 9:00am on Wednesday morning to away season tickets holders first, then to home season ticket holders and if any remain after that: general sale to the public.

2025-26: January Preview

Here we go with the second half of this season, a season that we want to end with glory and a trophy.

We start January with the customary Third Round FA Cup tie. The draw has been rather favourable it has to be said as we have been awarded a very winnable home tie against Rochdale of League One which means that our objective of making the Fourth Round is very much achievable. However, we will not be taking the Dale lightly as nobody wants to be the victim of a giant killing do they? Naturally some of our fringe players such as Will Jääskeläinen might get a rare start amongst others. It'll be a strong squad which shows how much respect we will have for our visitors but we need to keep the squad fresh and if at all, free from injury which is important when you've got so much at stake in the league campaign.

League action resumes the week after with a testing encounter against Leeds United at Elland Road. They're in the promotion mix as expected, and if we can take something out of this game then it will be considered a success. A point will be a massive achievement for us in such a tough game, but three will be even better as we close in on what is proving to be a season to remember for all the right reasons.

Another promotion candidate are our next opponents as we host Derby County at Deepdale. We defeated them 2-1 at Pride Park earlier in the season, so they will be keen to avenge that and improve their promotion challengers whilst trying to derail our own. In Scott Hirons, they have a highly rated striker who is destined for the Premier League but we kept him rather quiet in game one against the Rams so same again please, right?

Providing we have seen off Rochdale in Round Three, the game on the 24th will be a Fourth Round FA Cup tie. This means that the scheduled game at the Hawthorns will be rescheduled for a new date, probably midweek, and they're just on the fringes of the play off spots so will be a tough opponent indeed especially on their home patch. If we can take them apart with the ruthlessness of what we did earlier in the season; then we will be well on the way to being back in the Premier League. We finish January as it stands with a home game against Barnsley, a team who could be drawn into the relegation dogfight if results don't go their way.


This will be the last update now for a number of days as I'm going away to my Mam's to see her on a surprise visit. I'll be back though as Arnie said....Comments always welcomed though, hope you're all still enjoying this as much as I am.

Make that back to back awards for yours truly, my third overall this season! This is bound to get some Premier League club bosses worried...

A well earned award for Joe, but second placed Theo Waites of West Brom must be baffled to wonder why he didn't take it after scoring nine in five games. Third placed was our very own "Matty" Uribe who has been exceptional since he got a run in the side so much so it's hard to drop him.

We have hardly any youngsters in this team so we won't be winning this one anytime soon.

And the winner is the left-back whose side prop up the division, a former Porto trainee to boot. Congratulations to you Rafa Soares, but I do think that Matty's howitzer against Portsmouth was world class anyway. Perhaps I'm being biased....

Uribe gets contract extension

Preston North End can today announce a new contract for midfielder Mateus Uribe.

The 34 year old, who joined the Lilywhites in the summer of 2024 from Mexican side CF America, was due to be out of contract this summer but his recent good form has seen him establish himself in the centre of midfield. Sunday's appearance against Portsmouth, his 15th this season, has exercised an option in that current contract.

This means that Uribe's stay at Deepdale will take him to the summer of next season. We look forward to seeing more magical performances from "Matty".