Match Day Thread Preston North End v Blackpool Deepdale 5/4/2022

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lLAST TIME OUT

FORM GUIDE

PNE 7 BLACKPOOL 12

5/4/1922

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Sir Thomas Finney CBE (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of the sport's greatest-ever players. He was noted for his loyalty to Preston, for whom he made 433 Football League and 40 FA Cup appearances, scoring a total of 210 goals. He played for England 76 times, scoring 30 goals.
Finney was 17 when the Second World War began in September 1939. His elder brother Joe was playing for Netherfield A.F.C. and training with nearby Blackburn Rovers. Their father thought it would be sensible for both his sons to be at the same club. In January 1940, Finney was about to join Rovers when he received a letter from North End which resulted in him signing on as a professional. He later recalled that he was signed on wartime terms of ten shillings a match.[7]

First-class league and cup football had been suspended for the duration, but regional wartime competitions were organised as a boost to the people's morale. There were ten regional leagues in 1939–40 and Preston were in the North West League, finishing as runners-up to champions Bury.[8] Finney continued to play youth team football through the season.[5]

1940–41 season
The number of leagues were reduced to two in 1940 and Preston joined the North Regional League (NRL) for the 1940–41 season, which began on Saturday, 31 August 1940. They began their campaign with an away match against Liverpool at Anfield. Finney, now 18, made his first team debut playing on the right wing (wearing the no. 7 shirt). Five of his youth team colleagues, including Andy McLaren, also made their first team debuts. Played before an estimated 6,000 people, the result was a 3–3 draw after Preston led 2–3 at half-time. The Liverpool team included Bob Paisley, Billy Liddell and, playing as a guest, Stan Cullis. For military reasons, neither Matt Busby, of Liverpool, nor Bill Shankly, of Preston, were available. The Lancashire Evening Post praised Finney's performance as he was involved in creating two of the Preston goals and, but for a lucky save by Sam Bartram, would have scored the winning goal near the end of the match.[9][10]

With Finney in the team, Preston went on to enjoy a successful season and won the NRL with 18 wins in the 29 matches they played. They also won the Football League War Cup, defeating Arsenal 2–1 in a replay at Ewood Park after the final at Wembley Stadium ended 1–1.[11] There were 36 teams in the 1940–41 NRL – 34 in the South Regional League (SRL) – but, because of wartime demands limiting the availability of players and venues, fixtures were often unfulfilled. For example, Bury played the most matches (38) while their near neighbours Bolton Wanderers could only manage 16.[11]

1942–43 season
In December 1942, Finney made a guest appearance for Southampton in a 3–1 defeat by Arsenal at The Dell.[12][13]

Service in Egypt and Italy
Finney was called up in 1942 and joined the Royal Armoured Corps. He was sent to Egypt and served with Montgomery's Eighth Army.[citation needed] When on leave in North Africa, he was able to play for army football teams against local opposition.[citation needed] Many years later, he met the Egyptian film actor Omar Sharif who told him that he (Sharif, then a teenager) had been a substitute for one of the teams Finney played against, but he didn't take part in the match.[14]

In April 1945, Finney took part in the final offensive at the Battle of the Argenta Gap as a Stuart tank driver with the 9th Lancers.[citation needed]

First-class playing career
Preston North End
League debut
League football resumed on Saturday, 31 August 1946. Preston were in the First Division and began the new season with a home match against Leeds United.[15] Playing on the right wing, Finney made his debut in a team that included Bill Shankly and Andy Beattie. The crowd was over 25,000 and, on what Finney called "a carnival sort of afternoon", Preston won 3–2.[16] Finney said he was "lucky enough to score one of the goals" and his biographer Paul Agnew cites this as a typical example of Finney's modesty.[17] Newspapers of the day reported that Preston's win was a "one-man show"; that Finney created all their goals; that Leeds would have won but for Finney; and that Finney's goal, Preston's second, was "a brilliant solo effort".[18] Although this match was his league debut, Finney had played for Preston in wartime matches, so he wasn't a newcomer to the team. While the local supporters knew from his wartime appearances that Finney was an outstanding prospect, it was not until he played league football that his genius as a player was fully recognised.[19]

Finney went on to play for Preston in 14 English league seasons from 1946–47 to 1959–60, including twelve in the First Division.[20] He played in the Second Division for two seasons after Preston were relegated at the end of the 1948–49 season. In the Second Division, Preston finished sixth in 1949–50 and then won the division championship in 1950–51.[20] The club was thereby promoted back to the First Division where they remained for ten years until the end of the 1960–61 season, the one following Finney's retirement.[20] Preston's best league position during Finney's career was second in both the 1952–53 and 1957–58 seasons.[20]

Second income
Post-war demand for plumbers ensured that Finney had a second income to supplement the £14 he received as a footballer.[citation needed] He became known as "The Preston Plumber" and ran his own successful plumbing business from the 1940s until the 1990s.[21]

Palermo approach
Along with Stanley Matthews, Finney was English football's most famous player in the decade after the war.[22] In 1952, Preston's chairman Nat Buck rejected an offer for Finney worth £10,000 over two years from Italian club Palermo, and Finney remained a one-club player.[23]

1950s
In the 1952–53 season, Preston were runners-up to Arsenal in the First Division. Preston won their last three games and this run took them two points clear of Arsenal at the top of the league table, but Arsenal still had a game in hand. This match, at home to Burnley, was the Championship decider and was played on the night before the 1953 FA Cup Final. Arsenal had to win to equal Preston's points total and overtake them on goal average.[note 1] They won 3–2 and claimed the title by the margin of 0.099 of a goal. It was the closest that Finney came to a major title in his career.[22]

He played for Preston in the 1954 FA Cup Final against West Bromwich Albion, his only cup final appearance. Preston lost 3–2 and Finney revealed in his autobiography that he was not fully match fit and did not give his best performance.[citation needed]

Finney formed an attacking partnership with Tommy Thompson in the 1950s. In the 1956–57 season they scored 57 goals together; in 1957–58 their combined tally was 60 goals.[citation needed] Preston were First Division runners-up again in 1957–58, five points behind champions Wolverhampton Wanderers.[22]

England
Finney made his international debut for England on 28 September 1946, only four weeks after his Football League debut. The match was at Windsor Park against Ireland in the 1946–47 British Home Championship. Finney scored once in England's 7–2 victory. He later said the match was his "proudest day as a footballer".[citation needed]

Finney won 76 caps and scored 30 goals in an England career that spanned twelve years and included 51 victories.[citation needed] He scored his 29th international goal in June 1958 against the Soviet Union to become joint England all-time top-scorer, sharing the record with Vivian Woodward and Nat Lofthouse.[citation needed] In October the same year, he netted his 30th goal, against Northern Ireland, to become the sole holder of the record.[citation needed] Two weeks later, Lofthouse equalled his tally. Both were surpassed by Bobby Charlton in October 1963. Finney made his final appearance for England in October 1958, in a 5–0 win over the Soviet Union at Wembley.

Style and technique
Finney was a versatile attacking player who could operate in any forward position on either side of the pitch or at centre-forward. In the 1950s, he was often compared with Stanley Matthews and football fans would debate who was the best player, given Matthews' dribbling skills and Finney’s all round ability.[21] Relatively small in stature, Finney could withstand hard tackling but his movement, speed and ball control invariably enabled him to avoid contact with defenders. While Finney was himself a frequent goal scorer, he was also a creator of goals and it was because of his assists that he was considered "the ideal team man".[21]

Finney was voted Footballer of the Year in 1953–54. He won the award again in 1956–57, becoming the first player to win it a second time.[21]

Finney respected the rules of football and believed in fair play and sportsmanship. He was never booked or sent off in his career.[23] Both on and off the field, he always had a reputation as a gentleman.[21] Dave Whelan supported this view when he said of Finney: "He was and still is a total gentleman".[24]

Retirement from Preston North End
Finney retired from competitive football in 1960 because of a persistent groin injury.[23] He had played his entire career for his local club, making 433 League appearances and scoring 187 goals. At the end of the 1960–61 season, the first one after Finney's retirement, Preston were relegated from the Football League First Division,[25] and in the years since then they have failed to regain a place in the top flight of English football.

Finney continued playing football after he left Preston, often appearing in charity and benefit matches. In 1962, he played in the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League with Toronto City, appearing in one match and recorded a goal.[26] In 1963, he played for Northern Irish club Distillery against Benfica in the European Cup.

 

PNE Team News

Ryan Lowe confirmed in his pre-match press conference that he will have the same squad available to him which took on Derby County at the weekend.

Bambo Diaby is also in contention to return to action after missing Saturday’s game through illness.

Tom Barkhuizen is unlikely to be available, while Ryan Ledson and Izzy Brown will miss out through injury.

The Opposition

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The Seasiders come in to this fixture on the back of a heavy defeat at home to Nottingham Forest, as Neil Critchley’s side went 4-0 behind before Callum Connolly scored a late consolation for the hosts.

Following that defeat, former Liverpool U23 boss Critchley conceded that reaching the Play-Offs would be a “big ask”, but he’s not writing them off while still mathematically possible.

He looks likely to be without right back Dujon Sterling, who picked up an injury in the Forest defeat, while Jordan Gabriel could feature for the first time since the end of February after returning to training following injury.

Key Stats

Josh Bowler has been arguably the biggest threat for his side in recent games especially, with the former Everton winger having scored five in his last ten games.

PNE boast the better record of the two sides since the first meeting back in 1901, with North End having won 45 of the 95 fixtures, compared to Blackpool’s 31 wins.

Sir Tom Finney – who would have celebrated his 100th birthday on Tuesday – played 17 times against the Seasiders, winning ten of the meetings and scoring five goals himself.

Our Last Victory



North End last beat their Lancashire rivals the last time the Seasiders came to Deepdale, with Simon Grayson’s side earning a late win in the first round of the EFL Cup.

It was skipper Tom Clarke who scored the winner in the 87th minute, heading home Lee Holmes’ free-kick to secure passage into the next round.

Man In The Middle

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David Webb will referee Tuesday’s Lancashire derby, which will be his third PNE match of the season.

He was the man in charge when North End beat the previously undefeated league leaders AFC Bournemouth in November, while he had the whistle when the Lilywhites drew with Sheffield United at Deepdale in January, with Andrew Hughes being shown a first-half red card in that game.

Webb has refereed 30 games so far this season, showing 103 yellow cards and three reds.

 

Preston North End 1 Archer Blackpool 0

PNE line-up: Iversen; van den Berg, Bauer, Hughes; Potts, Whiteman, Browne, Johnson, Cunningham (McCann, 73); Riis, Archer. Subs not used: Ripley, Diaby, Earl, Murphy, Maguire, Sinclair.

Blackpool line-up: Grimshaw (Maxwell, 20); Connolly, Ekpiteta, Keogh, Husband; Dougall (Virtue, 82), Robson; Bowler, Anderson, Hamilton (Lavery, 64); Madine (Yates, 77). Subs not used: James, Dale, Thorniley.

Attendance: 18,740 (2,153 away fans).

Referee: Mr D Webb.

For the first time since David Eyres scored a goal direct from a free kick have North End gained a home victory over the side from the Tower end of the M55 the date was 18/12/1999 we won 3-0.
For those of us that live at the other end of the M55 a defeat would have meant enduring a miserable time working with the Tangerines but thanks to Archer's goal parity has now been restored and bragging rights are ours until sometime next season. One of the bridges over the M55 had a couple of welcoming banners for the visiting fans. Decent atmosphere, as for the match not a classic by any stretch of the imagination especially the second period.
They probably started the better but we began to look like we might get through the centre of their defence, twice Archer was played through the second time he collided with Grimshaw who was knocked out causing a lengthy delay. Good to know he was conscious .
Ex Nobber Maxwell took his place in the goal and was roundly booed everytime he touched the ball.
Hughes headed against the bar, the same piece of woodwork was also hit when a Potts cross hit a defender, the ball bounced down Browne lost his footing and the chance was lost.
Getting towards the break they were slightly on top Bowler denied by a great defensive tackle and then came the goal, Riis down the right , inch perfect pass to Archer, a couple of touches left foot shot may have taken a slight deflection, past Maxwell bottom right corner. Delirium, one fan decided to celebrate on the pitch until majestically hacked down by a steward(best tackle of the night).

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The second period was low key we defended in depth allowing them plenty of the ball which in truth they did actually sod all with, any sight of the goal white shirts swarmed around the opposition, Whiteman was unlucky not to make it two although Potts probably had a better angle on the shot and Archer was rather too greedy and should have fed the ball to Riis, in the end he shot tamely wide.
Iversen didn't have a shot to save all night, only real danger came from an Anderson free kick late on which cleared the bar by a few inches.

Job done

Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"I'm pleased with the result, I'm pleased for the fans. I thought our first half was excellent.

"In the second half it was a little bit different, they changed shape a couple of times and we had to make sure we dealt with it.

"Overall I'm pleased with the performance and pleased with the win.

"I told the players this [crowd] is what I want to achieve. We want to make Deepdale packed out to the rafters every other week, but it's down to us. If we're playing well they will come and support us."

Blackpool head coach Neil Critchley told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"I thought generally, again, we were the better team. The game's been decided by a moment of quality that they produced and we didn't. Unfortunately I've said that too many times this season and I'm saying it again tonight.

"Between both boxes we had control of the game, particularly in the second half, but we've not done enough with our play, and when we did get around the box we failed. Poor choice, poor quality.

"It was a horrible situation to see Grimmy (Dan Grimshaw) come off so early. When's he's down for so long you're trying to get some information - I almost walked onto the pitch myself because I was really concerned about him. But he's awake at hospital and responsive so that's positive news so far."