20 Questions: Preston North End

Plus! 17 photos from Swindon at home

The Scarf My Father Wore

Feb 25, 2024

Sunday 25 February 2024

NEXT HOME GAME: Newport – Saturday 9 March, 3pm

NEXT AWAY GAME: Colchester – Saturday 2 March, 3pm

If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.

Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Preston supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Sunday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

Firstly, can I say a huge thank you to everyone who’s bought tickets for our ‘Flynny at the Finger’ event on Wednesday 17 April. I’m going to be joined at The Fingerpost (start time 7.30pm) by the man who made 460 appearances for County, and captained our heroic 1996-97 promotion-winning side. Half the tickets have already been sold. If you’d like to join us for the evening as well, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com. (Flynny also spent a number of years at Deepdale before signing for County so it’d be great to see a few Preston fans in the audience as well!)

Tickets are £10 (or £5 for The Scarf My Father Wore paid subscribers, plus anyone who’s written an article for us) and you’ll be financially supporting a 39-year-old bloke from Stockport who’s producing this website on a daily basis to pursue his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian! (He’s currently doing the open mic circuit, and has so far been paid a grand total of one orange juice.)

Earlier this month, our new ‘20 Questions’ series kicked off with Liverpool. We’re dropping down a division today, but we are staying in the North West, as Chris, editor of PNE fanzine The Nose Bag, joins us for a chat.

Today’s edition is sponsored by R ‘N’ B Window Cleaning and APL Locksmiths. A big thank you to Pete and Tom, and also to Anthony.

Also, a big thank you to CARM Bespoke Fitted Furniture, who sponsor our Preston North End content on the website. They can help transform your bedroom into a bespoke retreat with their custom-fitted furniture solution. Individually crafted to harmonise with your room's dimensions, optimising space with precision. Fully tailored to embody your unique style and requirements. Call 01772 915401 or email enquiries@carmbespoke.co.uk to book a complimentary, no obligation home consultation for exclusive bespoke designs.

Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.

Total distance so far: 97.67 miles

Total steps so far: 160,432

Total raised so far: £1,571

Total completed streets so far: 156 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)

Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.

Des Junior

Preston currently play in the Championship, which is the second tier of English football. What’s that like as a division?

Bloody hard work. That might not necessarily be the division, but the club. We can lose to Sheffield Wednesday one week then beat Leeds the next. People say it’s the best league in the world. Quite possibly. My wife supports Luton and she's currently living her best football life in the Prem, which was beyond her wettest dreams, so that's the coat tail of hope we dangle from.

Describe a typical matchday for yourself in Preston.

I'm Mr Boring. When I'm not flogging the fanzine, a matchday is purely business: wake up, no beers, no meeting mates. Without sounding like a right basket case I've had my battles in the past so Deepdale is my sanctuary. I drive, go straight in at 2.45pm, place my bets, sit on my own, contemplate life, watch the football, get in the car and come home listening to Radio Lancashire. It allows me to de-stress the week. Away days are for me and the lads.

Who are your club’s biggest rivals?

Them lot with the tower. Funnily enough I've just done an article for their fanzine and how we’re programmed to hate these local teams but as you get older and wiser you actually realise there’s teams ranging between 70 and 200 miles away who you actually hate with solid foundations rather than your local rivals simply for being the nearest team.

What’s your best memory following Preston?

I know you'd expect me to say a promotion season or beating the Lashers from down the M55 but pre-season in 2022 in Benidorm. It was the first time in years we'd been abroad for pre-season. The sun shone, the beer was cheap, and I was surrounded by lads I’d grown up with. Truly magical times.

What’s your worst memory following Preston?

Millennium Stadium, 2000-01. Play-off final for the Premier League. Bolton 3 Preston 0. Bolton played the match, we played the occasion. I'd ploughed so much financially and emotionally that season that I never really did recover. I remember hearing Status Quo’s “Rocking All Over The World” through the speakers as Bolton celebrated and to this day it takes me back for a few seconds watching them celebrate and the emptiness it left.

If Preston North End was a TV show, which one would it be?

If I’m honest my life is so busy I watch little telly, and if I do have time I need to wrestle the remote from the missus. I’ve had to have a flick through Sky and decided on 24 Hours In A&E. So much drama some days it’s enough to send you home in an ambulance.

What’s your ground called, and how would you describe it for someone who’s never visited before?

Deepdale. The newest truest traditional ground you'll ever visit. Four stands, four floodlights, not a bad view in the house. Apart from when Ryan Lowe goes defensive…

What’s your thoughts on Stockport County?

My first memory was playing you in the Coca-Cola Cup at Bury as our new pitch wasn't ready. I once worked with a County fan who was sound and adored Brett Angell. One of those teams I have no bad wishes towards. In fact, it was shameful to watch your recent demise, of which you now seem to be bouncing back from.

Have you ever visited the town of Stockport before? If yes, what were you doing the last time?

Plenty of times. Delivering food on an HGV to a certain A6 based orange supermarket. Stockport also brings sadness to me. When I see Edgeley Park it usually indicates the end of my holiday as we come in to land at Ringway.

What colours do you play in, and what’s the best ever kit Preston have had?

Traditionally white, not just any white but Lilywhite. We have blue shorts and not forgetting blue and white hooped socks. Got to be hooped socks or cue Twitter outrage.

My favourite was the 1994 deckchair which debuted at our Division Three play-off final against Wycombe (which we also lost). It was yellow and navy stripes with a vertical sponsor. Worth a couple of hundred quid these days.

If Preston were playing in the next FA Cup final, who’d be at Wembley as your celebrity fan?

Probably the cricketer Freddie Flintoff.

What’s the most interesting fact about Preston North End we might not know?

Preston North End was the first club to have a female convicted hooligan after a skirmish against Aston Villa in the 1880s. How’s that for a random fact?

Who’s your all time Preston hero?

Mark Rankine. I hate bullies, and even though I was 15 at the time and this bloke was 30 odd, I used to hate people scapegoating Ranks for his passing backwards and sideways. He was very limited in going forward but he just worked for the club, he had a great link-up with the rest of the players and when he didn't play, PNE didn't play. He added something we couldn't put our finger on and probably still can't. When Ranks played, PNE played, and most fans began to observe this which is why he's now a club legend.

What sort of attendances do you get, and how would you describe Preston’s fanbase?

After a squeeze by the club I think we have around 12,000 season ticket holders, up from 8,000 just a few years ago. We seem to have a problem in uniting and this causes issues in getting atmosphere going and putting on a united front. Some are just too precious about their own image to sometimes allow themselves to do what's best for the club.

What’s your manager like?

A silky Scouser, Ryan Lowe. You may be familiar with him. Ryan's a young manager who is quite a likeable chap when the goings good but can give off stroppy vibes when it's not. He's still young and learning. He has this stubborn streak that gives him confidence in a formation that doesn't suit PNE. We don't have the players to play it, and can't afford the players to play it, but he still insists on playing it.

What’s your owner like?

That’s a good question. Trevor Hemmings, who made his fortune in property and horse racing, owned the club until his death in 2021. It then got passed into one of his many companies and from there on in it gets cloudy as it’s all Isle of Man based. Preston North End isn’t self-sufficient and relies on £8m+ per year investment from whoever is pulling the strings, so I guess we can’t be too critical.

What’s it like for a night out in Preston?

I’m an early doors type of bloke that when the creatures of the night come out, I’m going home. Our craft ale scene is really booming, we have some great little independent establishments that are really going for it. The traditional part of town I believe is suffering of the economical climate blah de blah de blah. We also have the university side of town where the students drink which I believe is a decent night.

What’s the best thing about being a Preston fan?

It’s given me the opportunity to meet so many sound folks. Strangers on trains that have become mates, other fanzine editors, seeing different towns, drinking different beers. The chance to mooch about with reason and experience the world. Usually spoilt by 90 minutes.

What’s the worst thing about being a Preston fan?

The constant wait for glory. Life is starting to run away.

What are your hopes for the rest of this season?

On the final day of each season, if I can walk out of Deepdale and say, “We gave it our best shot, that’ll do for me,” I’ll have no complaints.

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R ‘N’ B Window Cleaning have a brand new van on the road!

It’s lovely hearing positive news from our advertisers, so we’re delighted to say a big congratulations to Pete and Tom after launching their fifth van on the road this month. The business is continuing to grow, and obviously a fifth van means they can take on lots of new customers. If you’d like to book a slot to have your windows cleaned every four or eight weeks, give the chaps a call on 07970 024993.

Visit rnbwindowcleaning.co.uk for further details.

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Contact APL Locksmiths to make sure your van is secure

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Swindon at home

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Photo of the day

Edgeley Park, Stockport

County treated staff member (and former Fingerpost Flyers manager) Alan Prescott to a corporate day at the Swindon match yesterday, to celebrate his retirement. A top bloke and a hard grafter who certainly deserves to put his feet up. Enjoy your retirement Gaffer!

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Treat yourself to a Sunday roast at The Dog & Partridge

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Argylle (12A) at 5pm, followed by Bob Marley: One Love (12A) at 7.45pm. Click here for tickets.