The arrival of the man with a tan was greeted well by the faithful considering some of the other names on the list. Sadly for Phil it took 13 matches to gain that elusive first win, however team spirit seemed to improve with his arrival at times it almost looked like the platers knew what they were doing. Brought in some decent loan signings and some not so good ones Johnson and Clarke. Bit by bit the expectations of the fans began to rise as late goals against Coventry and Swansea saw us creep closer. Sadly though it wasn't to be, another shocker in front of the TV camera at the New Den followed by a slightly unlucky defeat to Cardiff condemened us to the drop. Phil's got a tough job on his hands but after yesterday's result and performance things could be better. WELL THAT WAS THE CHAMPIONSHIP IT'S IN THE PAST, ONLY THE FUTURE TO LOOK FORWARD TO AND IT WILL BE WHITE.
Excellent set of posts re our life in the prem 5 stars from me Maclad I for one am nowhere near as disheatened at relegation as I thought I would be and to be perfectly honest I'm really looking forward to the next season. As long as we don't have a fire sale of all our experienced players I thihnk next season could well be a cracker. Onwards and upwards (hopefully)
I think that what PNE have in command now are a dynamic duo rather that a new manager. Brian Horton's role cannot be underestimated or ignored when Phil Brown is mentioned as the PNE manager, he has a wealth of football experience both as a player and manager and IS Brown's right hand man. Following on from my post on the DF era, I will again remind people of the very poor state of the playing squad when Brown came in. Since his arrival it has become even clearer as to how bad things were, with little snippets seeping out of Deepdale from the playing staff. Without going into detail the player's moral was at zero, and very unsure just what their role was when playing for the team. The situation was so bad that it unfortunately took Brown and Horton longer than they had probably hoped to turn things around, they did do this in the end but alas it was too late. Trying to bring the right people in during the loan window was always going to prove extremely difficult, due to the team's league position and financial limitations. I was delighted with the appointment of this duo of Brown and Horton which for me is a combination of experience and passion for the game. They are both very good motivators as well and will not accept second best nor will they accepts less that 100% from the playing staff. Brown is one of those managers who wears his heart on his sleeve and this has already made him popular with the fans, along with improved team performances and results. If we can keep hold of this duo I do think PNE can bounce back and return to the championship, if not next season the certainly the following one. They are not going to have much brass to spend so it will be a test of just how good this pair are, at building a team that can challenge on the cheap. I remain optimistic that they can do the business for PNE and the supporters..
An excellent series of "The Championship Years" posts maclad. Some stirring memories and now is the time to look forward with PB at the helm, and as TFP stated, BH at his aid. With the management team we have got, I feel we can make our presence felt in L1 and get the club on a sound footing again. We've just spent 11 years in the Championship and in that time we have had some big positives. None more than the completion of our wonderful stadium and the profile of the club rocketed. People are now aware of PNE and for us to be able to sign a high profile management team in PB and BH when we were stranded at the foot of the table shows just how far we have come in those 11 years
If you want Preston and Phil Brown to be prominent in L1 you'd better pray "Big Sam Allerdyce" stays unemployed for as long as possible because he pulls The Tan Man's strings as was evident at Hull , even in their promotion to the EPL. Once he took the Blackburn job HULL went to pieces and with only BH there as a yes man Phil Brown performed like an clueless idiot.
You guys really are split down the middle with your opinions of Brown aren't you? However, since he's been appointed at PNE, he seems to have got the players playing with belief, and also gave us supporters hope and belief that had sadly not been there for months. He's created a feel good factor and that was evident when we played our last game of the season and Brown addressed the fans at the end of the game. The reaction he got was astounding, more akin to a promoted team than a relegated one. Your point about BH being very important is not missed and is totally agreed with. It could be that any mistakes he made while he was with you guys, he may well have learned from them. I, along with most Northenders, feel that we have the right man at the helm, and until I'm proved otherwise, I'm happy with his appointment and the way he has managed our club in the last few months
I strongly suspect the Hull fan's opinion of Brown is split, on his appointment at PNE many Tiger fans posted glowing tributes on 606 with one or two agreeing with the Hull fan's comment above. New club ---- Fresh start is what I tend to think. I have been impressed with how Brown and Horton have settled in at Deepdale and fan's cant help but see how the playing staff have responded both on and off the field, the fans have also responded favourably seeing effort and commitment by the players and Brown's passion for the club. All the signs so far are very good and I look forward to seeing how Brown and Horton get to grips with life in Div 1.
