With Preston the next visitors to Carrow Road and City desperate for that first win, I spoke to Dave Seddon, lifelong PNE fan and sports journalist with the Lancashire Evening Post…
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First, Dave, thanks for joining us. An obvious point of interest for Norwich fans is seeing Alex Neil in the opposition dugout. He made a flying start with us, leading us to the playoffs and a glorious Wembley day, then seemed to lose his mojo with setbacks in the Premier League. What do you and your fellow Preston fans make of him?
Dave: Neil is doing a very good job here and is well liked by the Preston supporters. He changed the mantra here early on from being glad to being in the Championship to wanting to do well in it and challenge at the upper end.
He’s straightforward in his talking and certainly seems a popular manager with the squad. He’s big on team spirit and to adding the ‘right sorts’ when it comes to players’ personalities.
Neil has the belief that Preston can get into the play-offs – and after last season’s seventh place finish when they finished only two points behind Derby, there’s no reason why they can’t challenge.
It seems Preston are going in the right direction – 7th last season, 11th the season before. Is that your sense, and what are you looking for this time?
They are looking at the play-offs, although seventh to sixth is a big step for just one position. He’s improved the depth of the squad over the summer although you might say the starting XI is similar to what it was. Since 2013, Preston have had a year-on-year improvement in position, bar successive 11th place finishes in 2016 and 2017. If that trend continues….
What are the keys to you succeeding this season?
Improving the goalscoring record will be a factor, as is learning to break down teams who sit deep at Deepdale. Last season, the away record was better than at home.
Injuries will also play their part – there was a spell last season when we had eight defenders out at the same time and lost four on the bounce. If they can avoid a mad spell like that, the squad has the depth to do well.
Which players should Norwich and their fans be watching out for on Wednesday? How’s Declan Rudd doing?
The key man is Ben Pearson, a midfielder who likes to put his foot in and drive North End forward. He likes a yellow card but very much makes them tick.
Lukas Nmecha has come on loan from Manchester City and while still raw at first-team level, has bags of pace and potential.
Alan Browne was last season’s supporters player of the year and players’ player of the year. An all-round midfielder, the Republic of Ireland international is a big figure.
Declan Rudd is doing fine. There was always a feeling he would come back to Preston after the loan spells of a few years ago. He was injured for the first few months of last season but returned to be first-choice keeper from the end of January onwards. He’s started this season as No.1, saving a penalty at Swansea the other week. Rudd has strong competition from Chris Maxwell.
What’s your score prediction? (We always ask)
2-1 PNE!
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Mystic MFW
Missed chances, defensive frailties and a last-minute winner, provided Chris Wilder with the opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as classless in victory as he is in defeat.
But Billy Sharp’s goal at least catapulted ‘Mystic Martin’ to the top of our prediction panel, above the random, score-generating, Siri and ‘The Oppo’; represented last time by the supposedly satirical, ‘Wilder-esque’, Blades fan, Sam.
While the league table doesn’t lie, it hides certain truths, but what do our panel make of it all?
Penney predicts: It’s time for our first win of the season and who better to achieve it against than money-wasting Alex? 2-1 City.
Andy assumes: A first-midweek experience under the Carrow Road lights for some of our lads will inspire them against a well-drilled but tepid-in-attack Preston. 2-0 City
Gaz (G) guesses: In the spirit of positivity, based on our improved attacking play while completely ignoring our defensive frailties, I’ll tentatively go 1-0 City (Declan Rudd OG).
Cookie concludes: Small margins, lady luck etc etc. Under the lights at Carrow Road, we’ll sing our way to a 2-0 City victory. Bring it on!
Stew suspects: It’s got to happen some time! A close-fought game, but City to edge this one. 2-1, including another for Rhodes.
The oppo’s opinion: 2-1 PNE! (or, as we like to call it 1-2).
Siri says: ‘The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’. 3-2 City.
| Martin | 3 |
| Siri | 2 |
| The Oppo | 2 |
| Gary | 1 |
| Andy | 0 |
| Steve | 0 |
| Stewart | 0 |
Join the ‘fun’ by adding your predictions in the comments below. We’re keeping track and will publish a regular monthly update with the ‘full league table’.
Hi Stewart
Living up here in the North all the local think it will be a win for Preston and that is due to city start to the season,
My prediction 2 – 1 for city
Rhodes and Hernandez to score
I just hope North End win, need to be more clinical in front of goal, listening Robbo? 16 draws killed us last season, shd have hammered Derby at home 3-1 at least! Should have finished 3/4th no problem, it’s as though they don’t want PL football!!
Hi Max
Your point about “not wanting PL football” is something we can equally lay at the door of our major shareholders.
Your club and mine are pretty much on the same level I would say.
As for tonight, I wish you what you would wish me!
have to agree Martin, although I believe that their owner has rather deeper pockets than ours, but is just as reticent to use what’s in them (or not).
Has to be a 2-1 to us tonight…..hopefully.
O T B C
Hopefully we will select Godfrey and play a fullback at right back. 2 _ 1 to city
Well I had an enjoyable game of golf in Preston last week, well Penwortham to be precise. My hosts were fairly pleased with Neil, but don’t think there’s the strength in depth in the squad to make a serious challenge. I took the chance to tell them that Wes’s dinked penalty miss v PNE a few years back (which they witnessed, and gave me much stick over) is not longer the feeblest attempt from 12 yards I’ve ever seen. Thanks Jordan.
I predict that tonight we will again play well for large parts of the game, certainly showing more invention and attacking intent than we were 12 months ago. Predicting whether we can finally turn that into a positive result is a little tougher, however with heart probably ruling head I’ll go 3-1 to City.
Martin, I also live very close to Preston, and can’t accept that PNE are on the same level as us. Even in the good times, and they’ve been in the Playoffs many times over the past 15 years or so, they rarely get more than 17-18,000 on the gate. In League One, they were down to 10,000 or so – nearly as few as Wigan! We’ve pretty much sold out at home for 10 years or longer now haven’t we? I fully accept the geographical factors at play here, but still in my lifetime we’re a much ‘Bigger Club’ than PNE.
Hi Dan
I think I meant my comment to relate to recent achievement (or lack of it) really.
Part of my job entailed going to a massive distribution centre at Bamber Bridge and I always enjoyed the banter with the guys on the shop floor, but of course PNE were in the doldrums then and we were doing well – early 1990s of course.
Very nice people and if a club ever had a history it’s them!
Martin
Preston were the first club ever to do the League and cup double and along time before spurs did it.
They also had great players in Bill Shankly and Tommy Doc, Tom Finney and were also a founder member of the league, they also had the FA museum till the FA decided to move it to Manchester City thst must have be money talking.
Dan: I’m never sure it’s helpful to get into “who’s the bigger club?” Generally, the league table will tell us that!
Maybe Stewart. But growing up in the 70s, Leeds, Derby, Forest, Sunderland, West Brom, Villa, Wednesday, even Stoke and Baggies will always be Big Clubs. Whereas, Watford, Bournemouth, Brighton, Cardiff, Hudds, Fulham, Palace, will never be. Sorry!!
I know what you mean. But the sense of entitlement revealed by many of those Big Clubs is a major reason they’re no longer in the top flight (and in some cases have gone down to League 1).
Norwich fans occasionally show something of that sense of entitlement. I shudder when I hear it.
Sorry Huddersfield won the old First Division under Herbert Chapman 3 years on the run before leaving to do the same at Arsenal so there history makes them a big club the same as Blackburn the only club to win the FA cup in 3 consecutive years and won the cup out right then donate the cup back to the FA with the provision that no club can ever own the cup.
Gaz F grunts – Carrow Road under lights, overdue a home win, 4-1 City, Rhodes 2, Pukki and Hernandez.
Blimey Gary – pass me a bottle of what you’re drinking!
T’would be wonderful if you were right though.