Preston North End Deepdale

Ground 5

Match 5

Preston North End 1 - 3 Wigan Athletic

Attendance 4,547

Pre -season Friendly

Bill shankly Kop

Admission £10 in the Alan Kelly stand


Paid cash at the gate. Normally more than double .

Sir Tom Finney stand



A visit to the 'home ' of football is a must for every ground hopper . Founder members of the Football League ,Preston North Ends Deepdale has staged football games continuously longer than anywhere. The same pitch/area hs been used since 1875 . A plastic pitch was used in the 80's but this was more a financial solution and compromise with the local council .

I know some supporters prefer tickets but cash at the gate is ideal for neutrals and ground hoppers who may decide to turn up as an after thought although there is the away support/segregation to consider .

Programme Obtained Yes £1 Thinner version but good quality and fair price .
Cheeseburger £3.50 Pie & a beer £5
Bottle of beer £3 tea £2

' Invincibles ' (old pavillion)

Arrived just before kick off and couldn't find any programmes available inside the ground .
As i sat down Wigan were on the attack and scored after about 20 seconds or so .
You could tell North End were up against it and Wigan were too quick , first to the ball,rapid interchange play and it was 2-0 .

Should have been 4 0r 5-0 before Preston pulled one back; Gomez missing two gilt -edged chances within a couple of minutes. Wigan made it 3-1 and half-time . Seemed like Wigan were capable of stepping up an extra gear at will but it stayed 3-1 until the final whistle . North End got away with a narrow defeat when it should have been a lot worse , possibly 6 or 7 by the time the ref blew for full-time and thats from me - a PNE fan . Even the most hardened One and Only's had to admit Wigan were far too superior . Can see why Roberto Martinez is in demand , Wigan pass the ball swiftly and with accuracy.

Great stadium ,Premier League standard based on the Stadio Luigi Ferraris , Genoa cricket and football club Italy (founded by Englishmen.)
 Plenty of car parks nearby ranging from £2 and side roads .
I parked near the Deepdale social club , 2 minutes from the Alan Kelly stand and 3 minutes from the club shop .

Had a look in the club shop after the game ; staff were very helpful and managed to get me a few programmes ; i helped myself to a dozen complimentary fixture list cards . Club shop was open a few hours before the game and just after so it may be a good idea to get there asap and browse round .
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A few away friendly pubs nearby , the Sumners and the Garrison .
Train station is about 1-2 miles from the ground (20-30mins walk or a bus ride/short taxi-fare .)The local constabulary may help you along lol, probably away from the Town Centre , past the University and through Moor Park .

Looking towards Alan Kelly Stand

Photo Taken against Norwich 2010 .

The Splash Statue - signifies Finney controlling a pass from team-mate Tommy Docherty in sodden conditions at Stamford Bridge in 195o's

Preston home and away programmes always wanted .

 

 

Southport Haig Avenue

Ground 4

Match 4

Pre Season Friendly

Nickname Sandgrounders

Southport 2-3 Morecambe

Attendance 405

Admission £7

Ground Haig Avenue

Capacity 6008

Dstance Travelled 14 miles

Separate teamsheets for each match have been issued .

Also obtained 3 autographs Billy Roche, Gary McDonald & Will Henning , all Morecambe , who sat on the terrace and watched the second half with the fans .One of them was injured against Preston in the previous game so i didn't mention i'm a North End fan. Roche (ex Chesterfield) is the goalkeeper and was in holiday mood making the most of the sunshine ; very polite and joking with the other players and myself . Met some great fans from Morecambe , very fiendly . staff were good too .

Excellent clubshop . Sandgrounders .

Programme covers 4 pre season games v Everton 11 Liverpool Senior Cup, Rochdale Morecambe and Accrington Stanley .
Tricky ground to find for away fans so don't forget your sat nav or you may regret it . Pointer - ground is approx 1 mile or so from Lord Street the main shopping area in the Town centre .

The game got off to a slow start and i felt like it was going to be a dour affair . The right winger for Morecambe looked lively and sure enough he scored and another was added before the interval .

Home Fans Jack Carr Stand

Southport started the second half like an express train and scored to make it 1-2 . They scored again only to see the 'goal' chalked off for offside .
Drummond scored for Morecambe with a half volley guided chip into the top corner showing coolness personified . southport pulled another one back with a penalty kick and the game finished 3-2 to Morecambe . turned out to be an entertaining encounter and a thoroghly enjoyable day .

View towards The Away End

Leyland Lancashire FA HQ The County Ground

Ground 3

Match 3

Ground County Ground

LFA HQ

Admission £6

Programme £2

Attendance 1288

Main 500 Seater Grandstand

Clark Carlisle attended one of the locals schools as a youngster - about 5 mins walk from the ground .

Preston North End Team Photo

Neutral venue County Ground Leyland Lancashire FA Senior Cup Final .

Blackburn rovers 1-1 Preston North End . Fairly even game in the first half but Preston should have taken the lead when Neil Mellor found himself clear in acres of space only to fire tamely wide . Rovers youngsters were well drilled and discipilined and created a couple of decent opportunities . The teams went in 0-0 at half-time .Rovers opened the scoring in the second half but the more experienced Preston team applied more pressure and eventually the impressive Hulme got the equaliser . With less than ten minutes to go Mellor fired wide from two yards and seconds later fired a thunderbolt against the underside of the bar : the ball appeared to cross the line and the players appealed for a goal ; not given . Final whistle , no extra time , straight to penalties . Clark Carlisle fired his spot kick against the post in one of his first games for his home town club . Both teams are appalling at taking penalties but Blackburn step it up and take the trophy .


Blackburn won 3-1 on pens  Reasonable price and plenty of interesting articles . Plenty of parking nearby .

Bolton Wanderers play their reserve matches here and many Cup Final are hosted by Lancashire FA . The pitch is Premier League standard and a tremendous credit to the groundsmen . Pity there's no Leyland team as my Grandad was the club secretary for many years up to 1971 and i have many friends and ex school friends who've played for Leyland Motors/Daf/SGL/Athletic .
 Highest Attendance just below 5,000 v Manchester City in November 1981 for the opening of the floodlights - a game i attended .
Programmes Wanted  -  bought and sold ephemeraworld.co.uk
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Kendal Town Wednesday 20th July 2011

Ground 2

Match 2

Ground Lakeland Radio Stadium

Capacity 2,400

Founded 1919

Sir Tom Finney Presidents Cup

Admission £8

Attendance 643

Kendal Town 1 V 7 Preston North End

Distance Travelled 50 Miles

Kendal Town formerly known as Netherfield and Netherfield Kendal


Kendal Town F.C. is based in Kendal Cumbria .. The club are currently members of the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League and play at Parkside.
The club was established in in 1919  by employees of the K Shoes factory

Clubhouse Goal View

View Towards The Clubhouse

Drove past the exit for Kendal south after coming off the M6 at Junction 36 . Cost me a good 30 minutes but at least the view was scenic and i saw some of the Town . When i eventually found the stadium i parked near Netherfield cricket club and walked for ten minutes , i couldn't find the energy to run , entered the stadium ,  picked up several programmes and headed straight for the club lounge . It was cosy in there and i almost retreated into my more familiar armchair fan role . The 'Heavens' opened so i watched the first 10 minutes through the clubhouse window . I decided to get off my backside and go and take some photos/film. I missed the first 2 goals but got the next 5 by PNE .(video footage below ) It was fantastic ; one of my first games back watching football again and it was a goal feast ! I kept thinking the pitch fence surround was more suited to a game of draughts than football ! Amazingly Kendal started well and could have taken a surprise early lead but when PNE scored Kendals defence crumbled and even though Preston should have scored at least ten ,Proctor helped himself to a hat-trick for Preston in the first half. Kendal fought bravely and in the second half , managed to find the net past Carroll (ex Man UTD keeper.) I got my photo next to the scoreboard; Kendal 1-7 Visitors . Preston showed good attitude to the game and the players put in an excellent shift .
Proctor scored a hat trick, Parry , a stunner from Miller , Carter and Mayor; Kendals Marc Joseph replied after a World Class save from Carroll . Mark Lawrenson presented the trophy to the PNE team and i made my way home . Approx 50 miles (spot on this time . I really enjoyed the atmosphere and theres something pure about this stadium . The grandstand behind the goal is like a subbuteo stand and to the left there's a terrace section with a small roof , a hill with a scoreboard ; reminded me of the hill bank at Victory Park Chorley in my youth . I slept well with fond memories and a thirst for more .

More Updated  Photos from my recent trip to The Lakes .

CRICKET CLUB OVER THE ROAD

Where's The Shops ?  Oh Dear ! Must Have Taken A ' Wrong Turn ! '

View from The Cemetery

Gate Entrance Cemetery View