19-04-2018, 15:53
The penultimate home game of the season or is it? Norwich City are our visitors, what do we know about them, it's miles away, their owner cooks food and has made a fortune and occasionally rocks up bladdered on the pitch, did she ever find them that question was never answered.
Our manager was their last manager and they play in yellow they also won at Deepdale last season 3-1 and Maddison has scored in the last two games against us although methinks he won't be at Carrow Road longer as the bigger clubs are hovering with 25 million being quoted.
Been a season of change for the Canaries with German head coach Daniel Farke given the responsibility of trying to get them back to the Premiership however it has not quite worked for them this season as at the moment they lie mid table with 56 points. We drew 1 all at Carrow Road in a match we should probably have won denied a cast iron penalty when Hugill was brought down in the box.
Given the stage of the season this is a must win game for us although the opponents have nothing to play for depends on how much they want it on the day. Keep Maddison quiet and we have a chance although Murphy can be a handful as well.
Memo to the lads given we have no gripper up front these days play it on the floor much more sensible.
Maguire only doubt possible hamstring after Leeds game.
Must win game although all eyes will be on Fulham v Millwall on Friday.
Playing cricket so won't be there cut and paste match report this week.
Stat Attack: Norwich City
We welcome Alex Neil’s former employers to Deepdale this weekend on what might seem like a rare Saturday fixture for the travelling Canaries fans.
Six of the last 12 occasions we have met each other here have involved them making the 525 mile round trip in midweek, whilst we have only had to do the reverse trip twice during the same period.
Despite winning on both their previous two visits, Norwich have only five victories to date from the 20 occasions this fixture has been played, set against ten North End wins and five draws.
The biggest of our wins came in 2001, when Graham Alexander’s second minute penalty set us on the way to a 4-0 scoreline by half-time on the only occasion we have faced each other on a Wednesday night. We must have taken pity on our visitors as we failed to add to our goals in the second period, despite continuing to dominate the game.
Norwich first experienced Deepdale in a league game in 1962 and after ten games in 11 seasons, we didn’t meet again for 29 years, with a further ten games since 2000. In the interim, the theme of long distance midweek trips was established in the League Cup as we were drawn together over two legs in 1984, 1985 and 1988. After scoring twice against us in our 6-1 defeat at Carrow Road in the second leg of our 1984/85 tie, Asa Hartford scrounged a lift back to the north west on the North End team coach. Hopefully he was not left to sit on his own for the long journey back!
David Healy has featured several times this season as someone who has played for both PNE and our opponents and Norwich are no exception, having spent two loan spells with the Canaries whilst on our books.
Chris Brown, Stephen Elliott and Simon Whaley also scored goals for both clubs, whilst the most recent player to follow Chris from East Anglia is of course Declan Rudd. Academy coach Andy Fensome began his career as a trainee with Norwich whilst former centre half Mike Flynn also joined us from the Canaries, although neither player featured in their first team.
Mike made a memorable debut for North End in December 1989, having signed from Norwich earlier in the week. He was named on the bench for our second round FA Cup tie at Northern League Whitley Bay and when we found ourselves trailing 2-0, Flynny was sent on to play up front. He somehow contrived to hit the post from two yards out and any chance of a comeback had gone. Fortunately for him, he recovered from featuring in one of most embarrassing defeats in our long history to become a firm favourite as he made over 150 appearances before leaving for Stockport in 1993.
On This Date
The last time we played at home on this date, we came out on top of a seven goal encounter with Shrewsbury Town in 2014. Goals from Lee Holmes and Bailey Wright gave us a two goal advantage that was halved by Shaun Miller just before half-time, but a second half hat-trick from Paul Gallagher saw us comfortably home by 5-2.
That was Gally’s second treble of the season, after his hat-trick against Barnet in the FA Cup five months earlier. That was the first time a loan player had scored a hat-trick for North end and Paul remains the only loanee to achieve the feat twice.
A key member of our 1986 promotion side reaches the milestone of his 60th birthday today. Oshor Williams was one of a number of signings made by manager John McGrath to add experience to the squad he rebuilt after the disastrous re-election campaign of the previous season. Despite persistent knee injuries, Oshor managed 49 games in his two seasons with North End before retiring to take up a role with the PFA’s player education programme in Manchester, where he still works.
Sean Gregan made the last of his 251 appearances in a North End shirt on this date in 2002 in a 2-1 home win over Nottingham Forest. During the summer he moved to West Bromwich Albion who had just been promoted to the Premier League, having spent six seasons at Deepdale. Signed from Darlington in 1996, Greegs of course went on to captain our 2000 championship side and also led us out at Cardiff for the 2001 Play-Off final versus Bolton. His central midfield ‘Little and Large’ partnership with Mark Rankine is remembered fondly by fans from that time and he is always assured of a warm welcome when he returns to North End.
Last Five Games At Deepdale
Preston North End 1 (Spurr) Norwich City 3 (Dorrans, Murphy, Maddison), 17th April 2017
Preston North End 2 (Gallagher, 2) Norwich City 0, 3rd January 2015
Preston North End 0 Norwich City 1 (Holt), 18th September 2010
Preston North End 1 (Parkin) Norwich City 0, 14th February 2009
Preston North End 0 Norwich City 0, 11th August 2007
Ref watch: Norwich City
Taking charge of his fifth Lilywhites game of the season, Geoff Eltringham will be the referee for our Saturday afternoon clash with Daniel Farke’s Norwich City at Deepdale.
Having officiated our early season game at Derby County, Geoff also took charge of the Boxing Day trip to Barnsley and our January win at Nottingham Forest and then last month’s victory over Bristol City here at Deepdale.
He also refereed one North End game last season, the home clash with our Barnsley, having also done one the previous season, the 1-0 home win over Reading.
The year prior to that he took charge of three PNE games, including the 2-0 home win over Peterborough United in March. The previous season he also took charge of North End twice, both of those at Deepdale - the 1-1 draw with Tranmere Rovers back in November 2013 and then the goalless draw with Sheffield United in March.
Th experienced referee who had taken charge of North End a number of times in the past including the very first game after the departure of Graham Westley, when John Dreyer took the team against an in-form Bournemouth side and ran out 2-0 winners.
He also looked after a thriller back in 2010, when North End overcame Crystal Palace 4-3 at Deepdale.
This will be the match official’s second Canaries game of the season, having refereed their 3-2 EFL Cup first round victory over Swindon Town at Carrow Road back in August. In his 33 games so far, he has issued 119 cautions and three red cards.
For the game, the referee will be assisted by Billy Smallwood and Philip Dermott, whilst Ross Joyce will act as the fourth official.
Our manager was their last manager and they play in yellow they also won at Deepdale last season 3-1 and Maddison has scored in the last two games against us although methinks he won't be at Carrow Road longer as the bigger clubs are hovering with 25 million being quoted.
Been a season of change for the Canaries with German head coach Daniel Farke given the responsibility of trying to get them back to the Premiership however it has not quite worked for them this season as at the moment they lie mid table with 56 points. We drew 1 all at Carrow Road in a match we should probably have won denied a cast iron penalty when Hugill was brought down in the box.
Given the stage of the season this is a must win game for us although the opponents have nothing to play for depends on how much they want it on the day. Keep Maddison quiet and we have a chance although Murphy can be a handful as well.
Memo to the lads given we have no gripper up front these days play it on the floor much more sensible.
Maguire only doubt possible hamstring after Leeds game.
Must win game although all eyes will be on Fulham v Millwall on Friday.
Playing cricket so won't be there cut and paste match report this week.
Stat Attack: Norwich City
We welcome Alex Neil’s former employers to Deepdale this weekend on what might seem like a rare Saturday fixture for the travelling Canaries fans.
Six of the last 12 occasions we have met each other here have involved them making the 525 mile round trip in midweek, whilst we have only had to do the reverse trip twice during the same period.
Despite winning on both their previous two visits, Norwich have only five victories to date from the 20 occasions this fixture has been played, set against ten North End wins and five draws.
The biggest of our wins came in 2001, when Graham Alexander’s second minute penalty set us on the way to a 4-0 scoreline by half-time on the only occasion we have faced each other on a Wednesday night. We must have taken pity on our visitors as we failed to add to our goals in the second period, despite continuing to dominate the game.
Norwich first experienced Deepdale in a league game in 1962 and after ten games in 11 seasons, we didn’t meet again for 29 years, with a further ten games since 2000. In the interim, the theme of long distance midweek trips was established in the League Cup as we were drawn together over two legs in 1984, 1985 and 1988. After scoring twice against us in our 6-1 defeat at Carrow Road in the second leg of our 1984/85 tie, Asa Hartford scrounged a lift back to the north west on the North End team coach. Hopefully he was not left to sit on his own for the long journey back!
David Healy has featured several times this season as someone who has played for both PNE and our opponents and Norwich are no exception, having spent two loan spells with the Canaries whilst on our books.
Chris Brown, Stephen Elliott and Simon Whaley also scored goals for both clubs, whilst the most recent player to follow Chris from East Anglia is of course Declan Rudd. Academy coach Andy Fensome began his career as a trainee with Norwich whilst former centre half Mike Flynn also joined us from the Canaries, although neither player featured in their first team.
Mike made a memorable debut for North End in December 1989, having signed from Norwich earlier in the week. He was named on the bench for our second round FA Cup tie at Northern League Whitley Bay and when we found ourselves trailing 2-0, Flynny was sent on to play up front. He somehow contrived to hit the post from two yards out and any chance of a comeback had gone. Fortunately for him, he recovered from featuring in one of most embarrassing defeats in our long history to become a firm favourite as he made over 150 appearances before leaving for Stockport in 1993.
On This Date
The last time we played at home on this date, we came out on top of a seven goal encounter with Shrewsbury Town in 2014. Goals from Lee Holmes and Bailey Wright gave us a two goal advantage that was halved by Shaun Miller just before half-time, but a second half hat-trick from Paul Gallagher saw us comfortably home by 5-2.
That was Gally’s second treble of the season, after his hat-trick against Barnet in the FA Cup five months earlier. That was the first time a loan player had scored a hat-trick for North end and Paul remains the only loanee to achieve the feat twice.
A key member of our 1986 promotion side reaches the milestone of his 60th birthday today. Oshor Williams was one of a number of signings made by manager John McGrath to add experience to the squad he rebuilt after the disastrous re-election campaign of the previous season. Despite persistent knee injuries, Oshor managed 49 games in his two seasons with North End before retiring to take up a role with the PFA’s player education programme in Manchester, where he still works.
Sean Gregan made the last of his 251 appearances in a North End shirt on this date in 2002 in a 2-1 home win over Nottingham Forest. During the summer he moved to West Bromwich Albion who had just been promoted to the Premier League, having spent six seasons at Deepdale. Signed from Darlington in 1996, Greegs of course went on to captain our 2000 championship side and also led us out at Cardiff for the 2001 Play-Off final versus Bolton. His central midfield ‘Little and Large’ partnership with Mark Rankine is remembered fondly by fans from that time and he is always assured of a warm welcome when he returns to North End.
Last Five Games At Deepdale
Preston North End 1 (Spurr) Norwich City 3 (Dorrans, Murphy, Maddison), 17th April 2017
Preston North End 2 (Gallagher, 2) Norwich City 0, 3rd January 2015
Preston North End 0 Norwich City 1 (Holt), 18th September 2010
Preston North End 1 (Parkin) Norwich City 0, 14th February 2009
Preston North End 0 Norwich City 0, 11th August 2007
Ref watch: Norwich City
Taking charge of his fifth Lilywhites game of the season, Geoff Eltringham will be the referee for our Saturday afternoon clash with Daniel Farke’s Norwich City at Deepdale.
Having officiated our early season game at Derby County, Geoff also took charge of the Boxing Day trip to Barnsley and our January win at Nottingham Forest and then last month’s victory over Bristol City here at Deepdale.
He also refereed one North End game last season, the home clash with our Barnsley, having also done one the previous season, the 1-0 home win over Reading.
The year prior to that he took charge of three PNE games, including the 2-0 home win over Peterborough United in March. The previous season he also took charge of North End twice, both of those at Deepdale - the 1-1 draw with Tranmere Rovers back in November 2013 and then the goalless draw with Sheffield United in March.
Th experienced referee who had taken charge of North End a number of times in the past including the very first game after the departure of Graham Westley, when John Dreyer took the team against an in-form Bournemouth side and ran out 2-0 winners.
He also looked after a thriller back in 2010, when North End overcame Crystal Palace 4-3 at Deepdale.
This will be the match official’s second Canaries game of the season, having refereed their 3-2 EFL Cup first round victory over Swindon Town at Carrow Road back in August. In his 33 games so far, he has issued 119 cautions and three red cards.
For the game, the referee will be assisted by Billy Smallwood and Philip Dermott, whilst Ross Joyce will act as the fourth official.
Why should a man go to work, if he has the health and strength to stay in bed?