Paul's Infrequently Updated Blog

Preston North End have appointed the son of Alex Ferguson as their new manager. Little Darren has been given a three and a half year contract by Preston and I am sure the board of directors hope that the success that his dad has had at Manchester United will rub off on little Darren so that he can make Preston a success.

As you can probably guess by my tone I am not convinced by this appointment. First off, I am still shocked about the  sacking of Alan Irvine. Second I don’t think much of Darren Ferguson as either a player or as a manager. All I can remember about little Darren was that he started out under his dad at Manchester United, but that he could not cut it in the first team and so got transferred to Wolverhampton Wanders. After that, he played in the Dutch league for awhile and finished his playing career at Wrexham and Peterborough United. This is not exactly the career of a great player.

His managerial career consists of three years in charge at Peterborough. Granted, during that time, he took Peterborough to two successive promotions, but this year in the championship his managerial skills have been found wanting. This season Peterborough Utd have been firmly rooted to the bottom of the table and are favorites for relegation. Meanwhile, little Darren has abandoned the sinking ship and, in November, left Peterborough by “mutual consent,” which pretty much means he was fired and Peterborough could not wait to show him the door. My fear is that little Darren is totally out of his league, so to speak, in the championship and that he will take Preston down along with Peterborough.

In the end, I think that little Darren got his job because of who is dad is and not because of his outstanding playing skills and managerial ability (of which he as neither). Add to this is the fact that he has a criminal record for domestic violence and, once all mixed all together, we have a recipe for what I am sure will be a complete disaster.

I know that this is not worth much, but I will not be supporting Darren Ferguson as the manger of Preston North End as I am sure he will be a disaster and I look forward to the day he leaves or is sacked.

I have just heard that Preston North End have sacked their manger Alan Irvine. The Preston Chairman, Derek Shaw, has said it is because Preston have won just once on ten games and because there is a danger that Preston could get sucked into a relegation battle.

This decision does not make much sense to me. Sure, Irvine was going through a bad patch at Preston, but every manger goes through a bad patch. Just six months ago, Irvine was offered the manger’s job at West Bromwich Albion and, when he could have left Preston North End for a lot more money, he choose to stay. Just six months later, his loyalty is rewarded with the sack.

This decision makes no sense to me. I am sure that Irvine would have turned things around but now he will not be given the chance. I just feel that who ever is the next manger will not be as good as Irvine and we will indeed be sucked into a relegation battle.

Today, Preston North End appointed Alan Irvine as the new manager of Preston North End. To be honest, I did not expect his appointment. I remember when he played for Everton in 1980’s, but had pretty much forgotten about him. It turns out, he has been the Assistant Manager under David Moyes at Everton the last few years and, from what I read, has been doing a pretty good job. Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not he can turn things around at Preston. Since I do not know too much about him, I will have to reserve my judgment and just wait and see.

It finally happened. Paul Simpson has been fired as the manager of Preston North End. It was not a surprise since the team has been under performing for some time. The game that sealed Simpson’s fate was a 3-0 defeat on Saturday. From what I read, and from what the fan forums say, the game was simply awful.

Upon reflection, I think Simpson sealed his own fate. To publicly criticize members of the team and to keep changing your tactics is going to doom you to failure. Certain things also need to be dealt with in private and, if you have players who are not performing on the pitch, then you should not be talking about their failures on the pages of the Lancashire Evening Post.

The North End Chairman has said that they will make an appointment before the next game, which will be at home to Charlton on the 24th. As usual, names are being thrown about on who will succeed Simpson and we will have to wait and see who will get the job. One thing is for sure, the board of Preston North End must get the appointment right.

The football season is well underway in England and our very own Preston North End (PNE) have had a very poor start to the season. The latest disappointment came yesterday, with a 2-1 defeat against Ipswich Town. Although they beat Southampton 5-1 the week before, there is a lot of concern about how Preston are playing.

Even worse, the manager, Paul Simpson, seems to blame everyone except himself for the situation. Only a year ago, I was talking about what a good job he was doing, but, so far this season, he has disappointed. Publicly blaming players and constantly changing your squad smacks of a guy that does not know what he is doing. Also, a lot of fans are calling for him to be sacked. I hope that Simpson can sort himself out, but I think time is running out. The way things are going he is going to be sacked and Preston will be relegated come May. This is not what the supporters had hoped for at the start of the season. With a squad of Preston’s caliber, they should be doing much better.