Preston Tonight
 

From PNE website

Two similar teams with a mixture of first team and reserves, but quite a difference in the admission prices - £10 at Stanley and only £5 at Lancaster

Re: Preston Tonight
 

I'm not going tonight, but I think I'll pop along tomorrow instead.

Re: Preston Tonight
 

Yes, quite a price hike from the last year's £7 admission price for the pre-season friendlies (apart from against Burnley)!

Re: Preston Tonight
 

Re: Preston Tonight
 

Let's just say that it works for those of us who go to every game, but at £10 for a pre-season friendly, I doubt that we will attract as many people to the occasional pre-season game as we could do. Last Saturday's attendance was 617, lower than any pre-season Saturday game last year against League opposition, despite giving out free tickets to pupils at least one school (Moorhead) that I heard about.

Re: Preston Tonight
 

The point is that they are friendlies against championship/premiership CLUBS, but not friendlies against championship/premiership TEAMS. Cardiff played their first team in the first half, Preston are only bringing half of their first team, Burnley will probably bring their first team, Wigan are playing Morecambe next Tuesday and Stanley next Wednesday, I don't think that they will field their first team for both games. Stanley are playing tonight and tomorrow night - I don't think that Stanley will field their first team on both occasions. Lancaster's friendly against half a Preston team is only £5 - that is the point.

Re: Preston Tonight
 

The preston team going to Lancaster is stronger than the one playing us WHY?
I would have thought the stronger team will play the better opposition

Re: Preston Tonight
 

So, Whalley Red & Jeff, which football team is it that you two support?
Do people think that stanley can get back in to the football league surviving on fresh air?

Trying new ideas and introducing new schemes to increase attendances is essential if the club are to succeed, financially speaking. They may not always get it right but I don't see why 'fans' see it necessary to criticise the club repeatedly when they could take the positive step of passing on their thoughts/suggestions to the club rather than make negative remarks in this forum

Re: Preston Tonight
 

It's a good job I'm not in retail management, I would have never thought that taking something that was £7, raising it to £10 and introducing a "buy 3, get one free" idea would actually increase sales :)


And please read through my previous posts if you are going to label me as someone who "criticises the club repeatedly" - we are all entitled to our opinion, however supportive that may be ;)

Re: Preston Tonight
 

A quick survery of preseason ticket prices at other Northern clubs in the Conference (can't find any details on the awful websites for Southport & York):

Morecambe

"Admission for the home games against Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic will be £8 for adults and £4 for others.

The games against Tranmere Rovers, Blackpool and Gretna are £6 for adults and £3 for others."

Altrincham

"Season tickets also confer free admission to the pre-season friendlies held at Moss Lane in July/August 2005."


Halifax

Same prices as us, but ...

"U12's will get in for free at the Leeds Utd home game on the 21st July"


Scarborough

"Boro are hoping that admission prices of £5 and £2 will appeal to loyal fans and tourists alike."

Enough said.

Re: Preston Tonight
 

Friendlies without "fan friendly" prices; ruddy extortionate in my opinion. The ticket deal is only any good if you are free to go to all matches. I will be saving the dosh and going to Smithy's Testimonial instead. I understand the need to make money but I really think people will be put off by these prices. Kids should get in free at friendlies to encourage an interest in the rest of the season.

Grrrr.

Re: Preston Tonight
 

I could not agree more!

Sorry Eric but i think that you have just blown your toes off with a twelve bore!!

I always thought that the primary objective of preseason friendlies was to create a competitve environment to examine options for the coming season!

Sadly in the commercial world of Conference football, (As interpretted by some) it has now become a revenue earner!

The people of Accrington deserve better!!

Re: Preston Tonight
 

Just back from the game and with just 394 other people present, it can hardly be called a "revenue earner"!

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As I said.............no toes on Eric's foot!!

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Well, could one of the few people who did go tell us how Stanley played please? Considering that Lancaster held the stronger Preston side to a draw, it seems a little worrying that we got beaten by the weaker line-up.

Re: Preston Tonight
 

First half line-up:

....................Alcock......................
.Jagielka - Flynn - Tretton - Latham.
Brown - Craney - Brennan - Roberts
.................Mullin - Hay..................


Latham looked composed on the ball and a decent player. Should certainly provide Butler with good competition for the left back position. Hay also looked lively, but more a player for the future than the finished article. He did seem to develop a good partnership with Mullin though, which Brown didn't do on Saturday.

Second half saw lots of subsitutions, so the game became very scrappy so difficult to judge the other trialists, but none particularly impressed, though I do hope Matty O'Neil did enough last season to earn a contract with us this season. As a result, I can't really comment on the second half performance, as the highlight of the half (and earned the loudest cheer) was Cookie falling on his backside when heading the ball.

Largely, we looked a decent team in the first half. Craney was as threatening to defences as he was at the start of last season, Mullin and Hay worked well together, though without really forcing Carlo Nash into a decent save, and Roberts once again looked the best player on the pitch. We have had some great wingers at the club in the last 25 years that I been watching Stanley and Roberts looks as though he will be up there with them.

Jaggers was played at right back and did as well as could be expected, but was at fault in letting them take a short corner from the right from which the cross found its target and it was 1-0 after about 20 minutes. Flynn, Tretton and Alcock will need time together as a unit before the start of the season and they were at fault on this occasion, but otherwise they were solid enough and the defence was much better than on Saturday.

Which leaves Brown and Brannan ... and while Brown didn't fall over every time he was near a defender as he did on Saturday, both he and Brannan were largely spectators in this game. Both looked lightweight.

In trust, Preston were not that good and we certainly deserved a draw, but the main point was that the first-half team looked as though they could pass the ball about and play some football as opposed to the 'punt-and-hope' tactics on Saturday, we just need a proven goalscorer to complement Mullin.

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It was just a typical pre-season game really nothing much to comment on......

Few new trialists none of which really impressed very dull and boring game not many chances for either side...got a feeling tomorrow will be different...hope so anyway!

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Ta, WR...sounds reasonably encouraging. I just hope this "proven goalscorer" turns up soon!

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So do I! A win against Burnley would be just the morale booster we need at the moment!

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All the Burnley first team wil be playing tomorrow, and a couple youths may come on for the last 10 minutes

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Encourages me even more then for a win :D no only joking should be another good test for the lads tomorrow.....

Re: Preston Tonight
 

I was informed that the game had "friendly" written all over it as the players were just having a good run round to get warmed up for the season ahead, or as I put it to my mate at the game "Handbags at ten paces type of game" to which I got the reply "YES!"

I was hoping to attend the game against Burnley but got duties mixed up and have to cover the cycling event in Colne. My fault for not reading e-mails enough before replying lol.

Hope that Accrington Stanley play well on Wednesday and hope to be able to get to the ground more this season than last.

Re: Preston Tonight
 

they were good tonight on the whole. Fitness wise they looked superb; defensively they were organised and have to say again that Gary Roberts looked the part. Tretton and Flynn have - potentially - a good partnership going on and triallist (Hay and Latham) looked okay as well. Still need another striker though and Martin O'Niell to lower his wage demands because he is well worthy of playing for Stanley.

All in all a good work out.

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I wonder how much he was on at Celtic? ;)

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I thought the lads played well last night - a much better game than on Saturday anyway. Jags in particular played well at right back, Gary Roberts had another cracker and it was good to see Danny in the nets. I wouldn't have said we played the weaker Preston side, there were quite a few of their first team in there and we played quite a few trialists in the 2nd half.

Re: Preston Tonight
 

Whalley Red you are spot on