[themaclad]

A first visit in quite a while for City to the pristine turf of Deepdale, also for those who can't be there the game is being shown live on the Leeds United Sky football channel at 5.30pm.
Newly relegated City have spent an absolute fortune this summer in the hope of bouncing back to the rich league. They managed to waste 10 million on the one footed show pony aka Tom Ince, Shelled out 5 million for James McClean, 8 million for a Nigerian lad with an unpronounceable name and borrowed Benik Afobe from Wolves, they have also borrowed Ashley Williams from Everton obviously Rowett's judgement is getting worse..
Started of the season getting hammered at Leeds but picked up a point against Brentford last week. Reading the posts on the Oatcake forum it is not all happiness in the Potteries.
New manager Gary Rowett will need a bit of time to get them playing how he wants them to play so it is probably a good time to play them.



Rowett now onto a fourth club in his tour of the Midlands jumped ship from Direby to take the manager's job at whatever the Brittania is called these days.
Probably 11 changes for us again and Neil will more than likely revert to last Saturday's side which started against Swansea.
Not sure whether will be there if it's slashing down there will be every chance I will be.

[themaclad]

Andy Madley with the whistle tomorrow obviously not worried about videos unlike his brother

[St Charles Owl]

Gallagher was lucky not to get a red for that, you can’t go in with a forearm like that!!

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Definite penalty, you will be disappointed you couldn’t hold onto the lead longer!!

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Ok, late first half goal gives you the lead back, now you need to keep hold of it. Probably just deserve the lead at HT.

[themaclad]

Only managed to see about 20 minutes we seemed to be the most attacking of the two sides, your right Gally could have gone but the amount of cash they have shelled out compared to us makes me optimistic for the season, still need to be more clinical up front but a points a point on to Norwich on Wednesday. Pearson key for us this season.

Club report here

Preston North End 2 Stoke City 2

Preston North End and Stoke City shared the points at Deepdale in a pulsating encounter where a Paul Gallagher penalty and a first league goal from Graham Burke had given them the lead twice, only for Erik Pieters and substitute Peter Crouch to level matters for the Potters.

Gallagher opened the scoring from the spot five minutes before half-time, an unstoppable shot into the top right hand corner, after Tom Edwards was penalised for handball, but the Potters were level 90 seconds later with a left-footed half volley from full back Pieters. However, the third of three goals in the last five minutes of the half, on the volley from Burke, sent North End ahead at the interval.

The game swung back to forth and the Gary Rowett’s side drew level for a second time 16 minutes into the second half, when substitute Crouch headed home Joe Allen’s free kick from the left.

The first half was a wonderful advert for Championship football, played at a high tempo, with both sides looking to attack at every opportunity and it was almost a perfect start for Lukas Nmecha on his first start at Deepdale, reaching a left-wing cross from Callum Robinson, but his header was saved by England stopper Jack Butland low to his right-hand side.

Declan Rudd was also at his best, denying Saido Berahino at point-blank range, after the striker got a header onto James McClean’s left-wing cross into the near post area.

A quarter of an hour still hadn’t past as the changes continued to flow. On 13 minutes, Ben Davies switched play 60 yards to Burke who broke down the right, cut back onto his left delivering deep for Robinson to head across goal well, but inches wide of the right-hand post,

At the opening period’s mid-way point Alan Browne was denied twice by the excellence of Butland, firstly a from a header, then a volley after Robinson’s cross from the left, a fine double save from the Potters’ No.1.

But with six minutes to go before the break referee Andy Madley was in no doubt of the need to point to the spot when a cross came in from Burke, was flicked on by Robinson and hit the outstretched arm of Stoke right back Tom Edwards.

Gallagher, with his usual routine, faced away from goal, spun and powered a vicious shot into the top right-hand corner of the goal – two goalkeepers would not have stopped the effort.

The lead though lasted less than two minutes, Tom Ince laid the ball back on the right for former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher to cross, which was flicked on by Berahino and Pieters smashed a left-footed effort on the half volley back across goal into the top right-hand corner of the goal.

North End might have thought their chance to go in ahead at the break was over, but in the fifth minute of first half stoppage time a Gallagher free kick from the right was headed up in the air by Davies, falling to Robinson, who fired from 12 yards a miss hit shot that looped perfectly for Burke, who timed his volley brilliantly into the top left-hand corner of the goal.

But a minute after the hour mark Stoke substitute Crouch levelled matters with his first touch of the game. A foul was awarded on the left and Welsh international Allen crossed and Crouch rose highest in the penalty area to head into the top left-hand corner from ten yards out.

The Lilywhites made a double change mid-way through the second half and Tom Barkhuizen and Louis Moult combined to help create an opening for Gallagher with 17 minutes to go, the No.12 dragging a low driven shot from 25 yards just past the left hand upright.

Into the final few minutes PNE pressed for a winner, Andrew Hughes going close with a close range header, as Clarke headed Robinson’s corner across the six yard box, but the No.16 was unable to keep the ball down.

Five minutes of time was added onto the end and another substitute Ryan Ledson drove a shot across goal in the closing seconds, but the sides had to settle for a point in an entertaining encounter.

PNE line-up: Rudd, Fisher, Hughes, Pearson, Clarke ©, Davies, Burke (Barkhuizen, 67), Gallagher (Ledson, 84), Nmecha (Moult, 66), Browne, Robinson. Subs not used: Maxwell, Harrop, Barker, Huntington.

Stoke City line-up: Butland, Pieters, Allen, Williams, Ince, Afobe (Etebo, 84), McClean (Diouf, 59), Shawcross ©, Berahino (Crouch, 59), Fletcher, Edwards. Subs not used: Federici, Bauer, Bojan, Souttar.

Attendance: 13,996 (3,076 Stoke City fans)

Referee: Mr A Madley

[Imre varadi]

so stoke fans are dogshit glory hunters ? 3 thou ??? wankers they deserve the pub league

[themaclad]

Imre , remember they are going to walk this tinpot league apparently

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Alex Neil felt his Preston North End side were unfortunate not to take all three points from the visit of Stoke City to Deepdale.

The Lilywhites ultimately had to settle for a point, drawing 2-2 against the recently relegated side, despite having taken the lead through Paul Gallagher’s penalty and again late in the first half when Graham Burke volleyed home from close range.

Peter Crouch scored a second half header to earn the visitors a point, but the North End boss thought there was more than a touch of good fortune about that leveller, believing his side deserved more from the game than the draw.
They didn’t [create many chances] and I thought we were the better side,”

“Our frustration is the fact that we took the lead and gave a really cheap [first] goal away from our point of view, we didn’t clear the header properly and didn’t match the run and unfortunately that cost us. But the response from the lads after that was obviously great to get a quick goal right after it and before half-time.

“In the second half, I thought the goal against us was a bit unfortunate, Crouch goes up, turns his back and it hits his back and it ends up in the back of the net when it could really have gone anywhere.

“We’ve got to defend that a little bit better, probably the biggest player in the league has come on the pitch and we’ve not got enough round him to make sure we’re going to deal with him. I think after that he [Crouch] barely won a header. But that’s the one that matters, that’s where the frustration comes in.

“As always, though, the lads gave everything they’ve got and I can’t be critical of them in terms of their effort and endeavour and what they tried to do. Based on the performance over the 90 minutes, if anyone was going to win it, I thought it was going to be us.”
Another talking point from the game centred around refereeing decisions, Paul Gallagher’s first half challenge on Joe Allen leading to plenty of discussion which the boss felt was perhaps unwarranted, the gaffer suggesting other incidents against his team had gone under the radar.

“The worst one for me is when Tom Barkhuizen is over on the far side, he takes the ball on his chest and the Stoke boy has just come right through the back of him.
“Anywhere else on the pitch, that’s a free-kick, so why they don’t then have the courage to give it [as a foul] in the box, I’m not sure.

“Both teams and both managers are desperate to get the third decisions. I know they will bring up Gally catching Joe Allen in the face, which is fine, but I would argue about the one with Barkhuizen getting fouled in the box.

“It’s horses for courses, you get decisions sometimes and sometimes not. What I’m not going to do is listen to people saying they were hard done by when I don’t believe that was the case.”
PNE made a strong start to the game, Lukas Nmecha having an early header saved by Stoke ‘keeper Jack Butland, and Neil said that kickstarted an encouraging first half display from his team, which culminated in Burke’s emphatic strike deep into stoppage time.

“It was a good opportunity for us and it probably came too early in the game for him [Nmecha] but he gets himself in between people and probably should do better.

“To be honest, I think that set the tone for the first half. I thought we moved the ball really well and created some good chances first half.

“In terms of crosses, we put a number of good ones in and Lukas’ [chance] comes from a cross as well. But when you’re playing against good sides, you need to make sure you make those count and if we want to be at the top end of the league, we need to be clinical and from the opportunities six yards out with a header, you need to hit the target.
“He’s [Graham Burke] got great technique and great quality, we just want to try to get him an understanding of his position, because generally, he’s played as a number ten.

“He can still do that role, I just felt today we needed Alan [Browne’s] legs in there to try and stretch them with Lukas. Graham was dropping into the pockets in between the lines and causing them problems; I thought that worked really well for us.”