July 15 2006

The Football League

Preston are a team that consistently perform against the odds and have a fantastic habit of reaching the play-offs in recent seasons, just failing perhaps through that extra edge of quality, writes Danny Hayes.

There is no doubt who Preston's star performer is. In David Nugent they have an excellent forward who will always score goals at this level and more than likely in the Premiership. It’s been a massive boost to Preston to keep him so far this pre-season.

Where Preston have suffered however is through the loss of their manager Billy Davies and highly-regarded defender Claude Davis. Billy Davies worked wonders at Preston and you would have to think he has taken them as far as they can go, in leaving for Derby.

In Paul Simpson, they have a ready-made replacement who has led Carlisle to successive promotions and will feel he can follow suit at Deepdale.

Their Squad

As I stated Nugent is the talisman of the team but it would be unwise to underestimate the rest of the squad. The creativity will come from Paul McKenna in midfield, who has a canny knack of hypnotizing the opposition defence (sorry, it had to be done).

And with Brian O’Neil doing the dirty work in the middle of the park, the two compliment each other well.

Preston have prided themselves on being difficult to beat, only Reading lost fewer games last season and it is sure to be the same this season. In Youl Mawene they have one of the best defenders outside the Premiership, but the loss of Davis alongside him will be difficult to replace. Kevin Wilson and Sean St Ledger will try to fill his boots.

Carlo Nash is useful between the sticks, but until he gets rid of that German porn star haircut, he cannot be taken seriously.

Preston do have good cover up front, Brett Ormerod and Patrick Agyemang have both proven themselves at this level and both supplement Nugent well. However, any injuries throughout the team will hit Preston hard and could be their downfall this season.

Probable Starting XI

Previous Meetings

07/02/06 – Crystal Palace 1-2 Preston

31/01/06 – Preston 2-0 Crystal Palace

28/01/06 – Preston 1-1 Crystal Palace

24/09/05 – Crystal Palace 1-1 Preston

When We Meet This Season

25/11/06 – Away

07/04/07 – Home

Prediction for the Season

Preston look to have taken a step backward this close season, failing to consolidate on their impressive performance last year. Losing Billy Davies is a huge blow, and while Paul Simpson is very much respected, he is taking a huge rise in the leagues.

But you cannot underestimate Preston. While they make look weak on paper, they consistently prove their critics (like me) wrong. But even if they do make it to the play-offs they just lack that extra quality as they proved last year.