[themaclad]

FORM GUIDE

PNE  8 LIONS 9

LAST TIME OUT



HE PLAYED FOR THEM

Barry Raymond Kitchener (11 December 1947 – 30 March 2012) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre-back for Millwall between 1966 and 1982.

Born in Dagenham, Essex, Kitchener signed for Millwall in August 1965 and made his Millwall debut in February 1967 at left back, against Birmingham City replacing the injured Harry Cripps.[1] In his next game Kitchener scored against Sheffield United, hitting a 30-yard screamer past former England goalkeeper Alan Hodgkinson. On the return of Cripps to the side, he played in every game that season at centre half, retaining the number five shirt until his retirement in 1982. His total of 602 appearances remains a club record.[1][2] He released an autobiographical DVD titled 60 Minutes with Barry Kitchener, and in May 2007 was voted by fans to represent Millwall in the P.F.A. Centenary Hall of Fame.[3]

He played one summer in America on loan to the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League, wearing the number 22 shirt and making 20 appearances along the way. Tampa Bay went all the way through to league final, before losing to Vancouver, 2–1 in Soccer Bowl '79.[4]

Kitchener died on 30 March 2012. He had recently been diagnosed with cancer.[2] Before Millwall's home game on 7 April 2012 against Hull City, a minute's applause and a service were held. The home side wore a special white kit in memory of Kitchener.[5]

The west stand at The Den is named after him

PNE Team News


Ryan Lowe said striker Emil Riis is 50/50 for Friday's game, with the club awaiting results of the scan on an injury the Danish forward picked up last weekend.

Ched Evans has had a few days of training and should be available for selection after his own injury troubles, while Brad Potts and Josh Earl have both recovered from illness.

Liam Lindsay returns to contention after serving his two-match suspension.

The Opposition


The Lions arrive at Deepdale still within a shout of the Play-Off places, sitting four points outside of the top six with five games to go.

A remarkable run of five straight victories between February and the beginning of March pushed them right into the mix, but just two victories in their last seven has left them with work to do.

On the back of a 4-1 thrashing of Barnsley, Gary Rowett’s side will no doubt be confident upon their arrival in Lancashire, and know that they may need all three points in order to maintain their realistic Play-Off hopes.

Our Last Meeting


PNE last came out on top against Millwall in February 2019, when goals from Andrew Hughes, Tom Clarke and Sean Maguire inside the opening half hour of the game set North End on their way to victory in the capital.

Ben Thompson pulled a goal back for the hosts in the second half, but PNE came out 3-1 winners.

Key Stats

PNE are winless in their last five meetings with the Lions, with four of those games ending in defeat.

North End are looking to win four successive Championship home matches for the first time since September 2019, when Alex Neil was the man in charge.

Josh Earl, who was missing through illness last weekend, could return to make his 100th appearance in professional football.

Man In The Middle


Thomas Bramall will take charge of his second Preston North End fixture of the season on Friday.

Bramall refereed the home victory over Swansea City earlier in the campaign, while the only other previous PNE game which he has taken charge of was the defeat to Luton Town in March 2021.

He has officiated 28 games so far this term, showing 88 yellow cards and five reds.

MACS VIEW

The middle match in our trilogy of games against London clubs brings the Lions to Deepdale, still in with a shout of the play offs, they are extremely well organised and usually hard to break down, the kind of game Ched usually thrives in. Doubt whether this will be an end to end thriller given both sides lack of goals this season.
Attritional may be the word