Category: Championship Round-Up

Championship Round-Up: 1st March 2005

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Watch Out – Billy Tops Championship Tissot Table
North End boss Billy Davies may not get the manager of the month accolades that he so rightly deserves but the Scot is making a mark where it matters in the Tissot League Table of Managers’ Performances.

Davies has consistently been in the top ten of the most trusted and respected indicator of good football management. The league which is published each week on the League Managers’ Association website takes into consideration not only the outright results of matches but also aspects such as clean sheets, away wins and consecutive games without defeat.

Billy currently has plenty of ground to make up on the likes of Paul Jewell, Joe Royle and Mick McCarthy for the overall award, but then they have had a couple of month’s head start on Davies. But things are looking quite good for the North End boss in the third quarter of the season, he currently sits six points clear of his nearest Championship rival Mick McCarthy and is rated as the seventh best manager in the country for the period up to 1st March. Macclesfield’s Brian Horton is currently rated the best manager in the country following six wins and one draw form their last seven games.

McKenna, Lonergan And Sedgwick Are The Best
Paul McKenna is the 15th best player outside of the Premiership according to a survey conducted in 4-4-2 magazine. The North End midfielder is ahead of the likes of Ade Akinbiyi, Nicky Barmby and Tom Huddlestone in the list which is topped by Reading’s Steve Sidwell. Andy Lonergan is rated as the best goalkeeper outside of the Premiership coming ahead of Derby pair Lee Camp and Lee Grant in 19th place. But the list is being talked about more for the players who have not made the top 50 rather for the ones who have.

Two of Preston’s star performers for the 2004/05 campaign have not even got a mention on the list, although it will probably please North End fans that Eddie Lewis and Youl Mawene remain a closely guarded secret.

Elsewhere North End’s Chris Sedgwick was recognised last week for his performance against Burnley. The former Rotherham man was recognised by the club sponsors as the man of the match for the 1-0 win over our local rivals and that was followed up by a place in the Football League’s Championship team of the week.

It looks like people are slowly starting to take notice of PNE!

Reading Switch From Blind Date To Dads Army
After signing two players with a combined age of 76 in Les Ferdinand and Martin Keown many may be wondering what is going on at the Madejski Stadium, especially as the Royals have been on something of a slump in form in recent weeks.

But if former Preston winger David Eyres is anything to go by, Reading could still get four or five more years from their investments in Ferdinand and Keown. Deepdale legend Eyres is still earning rave reviews at Boundary Park and was recently quoted as saying that he wants a new contract at the end of the season. Eyres celebrated his 41st birthday last week and if Mr Eddie Lewis doesn’t sign a new deal with Preston could we be looking to tempt the flying winger back to Preston?

Championship Round-Up: 18th February 2005

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Cat In A Flap
North End’s visit to QPR a fortnight ago not only made headlines because of Preston’s 2-1 victory. Eagled eyed spectators will have noticed that Rangers’ furry mascot, Jude The Cat, was banished to the dressing rooms during the game as officials were confusing him with players!

Jude, a seven foot furry black cat, is perplexed by the decision from referee Lee Probert and he warns that other mascots are set to go on strike if the cat is banned from the touchline or forced to wear a different kit.

Preston North End’s Deepdale Duck has never had such problems although Burnley’s Bertie Bee was almost confused for a player a few years back when he ably tackled a streaker during a Clarets and Lilywhites game at Turf Moor.

Ticket Freeze
PNE may be offering their fans a great deal by freezing their season ticket prices for next season but the Deepdale outfit are actually bucking a Championship trend by offering the same deal next season as this season.

Teams at opposite ends of the Championship table have both announced significant price hikes for the 2005/06 campaign.

Ipswich Town have said that they will be increasing ticket prices for games whether they get promoted to the Premiership or not. Season tickets at Portman Road will go up by an average of five per cent although many fans will be hoping that they are watching the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United next season rather than Luton and Crewe.

Another team unsure of what division they will be playing in next season are Gillingham and their prices could increase by up to 10 per cent.

Transfer Scramble
The transfer window may have closed three weeks back but that hasn’t stopped Championship clubs recruiting for what is sure to be an intense last few months of the season.

Leeds United seem to the big movers once again with Ken Bates showing that he is prepared to back manager Kevin Blackwell. The Yorkshire side moved for Crystal Palace’s Shaun Derry late last week, the midfielder had only just completed a loan move at Nottingham Forest before making a permanent move to Elland Road.

Other transfer moves in the last fortnight have seen Stoke’s Ade Akinbiyi finally complete a move to Sheffield United, Coventry have completed a double swoop for Trevor Benjamin and Ian Bennett and Derby County have signed up Leicester’s Chris Makin on loan for the rest of the season.

Injury Woes
Andy Lonergan is not the only major Championship casualty to hit the headlines recently. The England Under-21 goalie will miss the rest of the 2004/05 campaign after damaging knee ligaments in training.

Brighton’s rookie keeper Ben Roberts also damaged knee ligaments this month and faces eight weeks on the sidelines.

And it wouldn’t be right if Leeds United weren’t mentioned in some capacity, Lucas Radebe and Eirik Bakke have both suffered recent setbacks on their comebacks from long-term injury problems.