Preston fans at war with their ownership

[jedi_master]

I read this story earlier today on the Lancashire Evening Post (https://www.lep.co.uk//sport/football/p ... er-4896618).

I wasn't sure what the background for it was but on looking into it, it's surprising to me what is going on at Preston as I had no idea of such atmosphere/frustration. Basically it seems that fans off their equivelant of UTC, along with Supporters Clubs, raised an open letter to the club off the back of Preston being named 'the most boring football club in England' in some sort of survey. The crux of it seems to be that they feel the club has no strategy, direction or desire to improve and comes across (largely) as fairly entitled/jealous of *cough* OTHER clubs who have surpassed them in recent years (amongst other topics).

These fans who drafted the letter were then cordially given audience with the clubs owner (Trevor Hemmings son) to have an open discussion on the points raised. Apparently the club never signed off on this being made public, and no minutes were taken - but the fans gave chapter and verse on their messageboard which has angered Hemmings and resulted in a public slating of them on their official website.

Irrelevant to us perhaps, but I found it interesting - the next Oyston?

[Enola Gay]

A headline that could have been written at pretty much any time in the last decade, to be fair.

[NottsClaret]

Are things that bad at Preston. I know they’re destined to be in the Championship until the end of time but where are they expecting to be?

[jedi_master]

Are things that bad at Preston. I know they’re destined to be in the Championship until the end of time but where are they expecting to be?

I think that’s the point I found so bizarre about this. What is it they are expecting with the smallest budget, or one of, in the league? They’re a middling club who missed the gravy train of a promotion just as the parachute payments were kicking in. Aside from being jealous of that reality, what do they think their owners can do to alter course?

To my knowledge the club owes over £100m to the Hemmings family and their losses are personally funded directly by that family at £10m+ per annum.

Be careful what you wish for…

[BurnleyFC]

They’re (perhaps justifyingly) sulking because literally all of their rivals have had a promotion to the Premier League.

[NottsClaret]

I think that’s the point I found so bizarre about this. What is it they are expecting with the smallest budget, or one of, in the league? They’re a middling club who missed the gravy train of a promotion just as the parachute payments were kicking in. Aside from being jealous of that reality, what do they think their owners can do to alter course?

To my knowledge the club owes over £100m to the Hemmings family and their losses are personally funded directly by that family at £10m+ per annum.

Be careful what you wish for…

Yeah, I suppose our recent success doesn't help. But of all the clubs of our size, we're the exception in the last decade. Compared to the rest.. Blackburn, Bolton, Huddersfield, Barnsley etc - they're doing about what they should be doing. It's not exciting but from the outside, it hardly looks incompetent.

[Spijed]

Yeah, I suppose our recent success doesn't help.

The fact that Blackpool got promoted out of nowhere into the Premier league probably hurt them even more than any success we've had.

[Claretforever]

I think they’ve moved divisions the least of any current Championship club over the last 20 years or something? Both themselves and Bristol City have equally boring records I’m sure I read a few weeks ago somewhere.

Preston, as some will recall, were a pain in our side in the early 2000’s as they were paying bigger wages, attracting the likes of Sean Gregon who we had wanted to sign I believe? They seemed better set for promotion to the Premier League anyway. They had 2-3 goes at the Play Offs around the early-mid 2000’s.

The spending led to a large amount of debt (£42m rings a bell?) and Hemings wrote that off when he went in there. What he hasn’t then done is bankroll a promotion push. They’ve seen Burnley spend a lot of time in the Premier League and their main rivals, Blackpool, have a season up there too before round tripping around the divisions.

It probably has been quite boring and frustrating for them.

[The Shire Claret]

I remember when I started going in 97 … Preson has the upper hand in us and we kind of followed each other up to the championship

Then they lost that playoff to Leeds and that was that

Back in 97 I never in a million years thought we would outperform every other Lancashire team and thought if anyone would other than them lot it was Preston

It’s all relative though … bigger teams below them and smaller teams above them

Burnley on size are a championship team but it’s what you do with it that counts !

Preston are a Vanilla championship team but 48 teams below them would snap their hand off for that

[bfcjg]

What.....they're not superior ?

[Swizzlestick]

The blew their massive opportunities for promotion to the Premier League and have seen us and, most cruelly for them, Blackpool promoted ahead of them since. Unlike us, they've not been as savvy in the transfer market as we've been, and that also includes selling players at the right time. So big players have run their contracts down, like the captain Alan Browne, and they didn't capitalise on selling players for good money, like Riis who Boro bid £8m for a year or so ago. Hemmings' son is a steady owner not willing to push the boat out, and it's difficult to really blame him as they've put a lot in to the club, but it does mean limited budgets.

[NL Claret]

The blew their massive opportunities for promotion to the Premier League and have seen us and, most cruelly for them, Blackpool promoted ahead of them since. Unlike us, they've not been as savvy in the transfer market as we've been, and that also includes selling players at the right time. So big players have run their contracts down, like the captain Alan Browne, and they didn't capitalise on selling players for good money, like Riis who Boro bid £8m for a year or so ago. Hemmings' son is a steady owner not willing to push the boat out, and it's difficult to really blame him as they've put a lot in to the club, but it does mean limited budgets.

As well as not been as savvy in the transfer market they’ve had a fair few unsuccessful managerial appointments.

[Woodleyclaret]

Preston aren't our rivals like Bolton Rovers Blackpool they are years behind us.

[claretfern]

Not played in the 'top flight' since Tom Finney retired (1960) Must be hard to take that both Blackpool and Wigan have managed that. The latter with a FA Cup Final victory thrown in.

[Claretitus]

They are superior- oh no hang on a minute. They really aren’t, and NEVER were.

[mybloodisclaret]

Ricardo "cheating diving bas****" Fuller

[ClaretTony]

I never saw Preston in the top flight. They went down in 1961 just after I started watching.

So close many times with the play offs and were even in them when we went up in 2009.

[steve1264b]

The Hemmings family are putting in about 4 million a year to maintain a bang average championship club.

Which to be honest has a lot more potantial than us to get to 30k regularly.

They are trying to sell with no interest.

I live just outside chorley, my local had a list up for the coach to wembley for the Sherpa Van, when we got back there was only me and dad in the pub.

Long live Ashley!!!!