League One Play-Off Final: Preston North End vs Swindon Town 24/05/2015 17:30pm

[TomPNE94]

VIVA PNE, VIVA PNE
SHOULD HAVE GONE STRAIGHT UP BUT WE FUCKED IT UP
WE WON AT WEMBLEY

 

[JoeJoeJoeJoe]

God some of you Bristol fans are embarrassing.

 

[TomPNE94]

TOM CLARKE IS OUR CAPTAIN
TOM CLARKE IS A WHITE
TOM CLARKE PLAYS FOR PNE
HE HATES THE BLACKPOOL SHITE

NANNANANANANAMAMANANANANANANANANA

 

[JJH]

When it comes down to it - I'm gonna miss Swindon, purely down to the fact that the Malaysians over the bridge haven't yet discovered Internet, and would think you're speaking foreign if you spoke about a 'football forum.'

It's been proper fun - and there are some really good Swindon lads on here, Mike, Krazy, Amgobar and even an honourable mention for Indian Dan.

Glad PNE are coming up, as there are some proper good PNE fans on here as well.

If we aren't in the big time by then, see you for the start of the 2016/17 season in the new 27,000 seater AG, where you won't have moan about allocation - as you'll have the whole bastard Atyeo full of ya!

Cheers boys.

 

[JJH]

TOM CLARKE IS OUR CAPTAIN
TOM CLARKE IS A WHITE
TOM CLARKE PLAYS FOR PNE
HE HATES THE BLACKPOOL SHITE

NANNANANANANAMAMANANANANANANANANA

Tom, you aren't drunk by any chance are you mate?

 

[TomPNE94]

Tom, you aren't drunk by any chance are you mate?

Not drunk enough. Still on the fucking coach.

 

[JJH]

Not drunk enough. Still on the fucking coach.

It's fucking chaos getting out of Wembley - we left by coach at 6:30 after the JPT Final and didn't get back to Bristol until gone Midnight.

It took nearly two bastard hours just to get on the motorway, and our coach was so slow that even the Warsaw team coach caught up with us, and pulled up alongside us at a set of traffic lights

 

[TomPNE94]

It's not been too bad tbf, we didn't set off til gone 9 o'clock and we stopped for half an hour at Warwick

 

[The Alex]

I remember my first Wembley final

 

[JJH]

I remember my first Wembley final

Hm - so do I..

Dean Windass the fat pig.

 

[redjed]

As I said this morning , couldn't get excited by today, and after the third minute , I knew it was going to be PNE days, fair play to them and well done on winning promotion, sure tore us a new ring piece! In all seriousness, next season is going to be hell for us , we are going to need a completely new team, hopefully we will get a few bob in the coffers to rebuild, but its going to be a real struggle for us next season.
Today it got to our young UN's, average age of the team at kickoff 22 years and 2 months, got a bit of stage fright, hey PNE, if you don't want Beckford , I wouldn't say no to him. Oh well that's it for 12 weeks now, next season will be my fiftieth year of following them, really can't complain, as always following STFC is one hell of a rollercoaster ride!
COYR

 

[TomPNE94]

Hope whatever block SF was sat in let out a chorus of 'For the birthday boy 4-0' - would have only been fitting.

Think I saw him at HT actually

 

[The Alex]

Hm - so do I..

Dean Windass the fat pig.

I was on about Tom and his drunken chanting

 

[dedwardp]

Goodbye, Tom. I am sure you're glad we enabled you to have such a day out now, all is well that ends well and clearly we needed it more

 

[SF_]

Amazed at how easy that was, Swindon are truly awful at the back and Jermaine Beckford is a God amongst men.

To a man we were excellent today, the leaders in the team actually stepped up to the plate when it mattered which rarely happens for us. Clarke, Welsh and Kilkenny bossed it.

Class celebrations for the goals, i'm in pain now. I don't think it's a good as the Millennium as a stadium but turning round and seeing our end bouncing with the flags and scarves going ten to the dozen was an impressive sight. Being the ones celebrating at the end was bizarre too, I didn't even know we got a trophy.

Has to be said, Swindon fans took it on the chin well, saw a couple of them walking past our fans at the end, clapping and saying well done. Fair play.

 

[SF_]

It's not been too bad tbf, we didn't set off til gone 9 o'clock and we stopped for half an hour at Warwick

We went through Warwick, my mate puked up there and then we left.

 

[Ravey 28]

Congratulations Preston. You were a class above us today. Our young players froze on the big stage. We deservedly got nothing out of the game.

Still had a great laugh on the minibus with the boys though; just can't help thinking how good the trip home would've been had we won.

Shame that we're getting rather used to going to Wembley and coming away disappointed and underwhelmed. At least we're getting there though, and we were not expecting that at the start of the season at all. When the dust settles, we'll look back on this as a very good season with a disappointing end.

Good luck in the championship Preston; hope you do well.

And as for the predictable and class-less goading from the teenage city fans...grow up.

 

[Techno Natch]

Glad to see Preston go up and they deserve it over the course of the season.

Delighted to see Swindon capitulate after our run ins this season but they have had a good season and can be proud of their achievements. If it had been the other way round I am sure their fans would feel the same. It's part of the enjoyment of football.

What are your hopes for next season Preston and Swindon fans?

 

[Windass10]

Beckford was outstanding and Preston deserved to go up

 

[MagpieBee]

Moves us up another spot too.

Think Sheff Utd and Reading are the only two teams to never get promoted via the play-offs and have lost at Old Wembley, Millennium and New Wembley.

At least Preston are showing it is possible...

I think we also join you in this list.

Think we haven't won in 8, Sheff Utd haven't won in 9?

 

[Big Bird]

Currently in Doncaster station waiting for the train to hull with a new found love of Chelsea fans, just had a great time with a bunch of London exiles celebrating promotions and championships sharing booze and stories, great day all round. Also fair play to Swindon fans a class act after the match I couldn't stay to celebrate had to run for the train so was on the tube with you lot and it was a right laugh, hope you lot do well next season really hope you don't do an Orient

Saw a grand total of zero dickheads from Preston all day as well. Fans mixed well and there was no trouble at all that I saw.

Glad to see Preston go up and they deserve it over the course of the season.

Delighted to see Swindon capitulate after our run ins this season but they have had a good season and can be proud of their achievements. If it had been the other way round I am sure their fans would feel the same. It's part of the enjoyment of football.

What are your hopes for next season Preston and Swindon fans?

Another huge rebuild here. Mostly loans and a couple of permanents I'd guess. Depends if we can bring in the same quality of player we did this season but think we'd do well to match what we've achieved this season.

 

[Big Bird]

As for the game - comprehensively beaten in all departments. Lethargic with the ball, lack of movement, bullied, predictably horrific at the back and lacking desire.

Should have switched to a back 4 for this as soon as it became a apparent PNE were looking to play in behind us and use the channels. Thompson should never have have started and was clearly a long way off being ready. Gave away the free kick after 2 minutes and then failed to prevent Beckford (who took the piss all afternoon) scoring as a result.

We just appeared terribly naive in the way we tried to play the game which is a bit galling to take considering it was season defining.

Preston were just better.

 

[PUSBCCFC]

Were the JPT tickets the same price as the Play Off tickets?

 

[Heisenberg20]

Dont care what other fans think, loved the fact they were humiliated in the Final. What goes around comes around.
See you all again never I hope.

 

[Big Bird]

Dont care what other fans think, loved the fact they were humiliated in the Final. What goes around comes around.
See you all again never I hope.

Likewise.

 

[JoshBCFC]

It's fucking chaos getting out of Wembley - we left by coach at 6:30 after the JPT Final and didn't get back to Bristol until gone Midnight.

It took nearly two bastard hours just to get on the motorway, and our coach was so slow that even the Warsaw team coach caught up with us, and pulled up alongside us at a set of traffic lights

Took me half an hour to get out of the bloody car park.

Swindon were shite in the first half, i knew nothing would happen in the second half so i didn't watch the second half. Presume they were just as bad in the second half.

 

[Dion'sHead]

Good to see Preston go up just because we haven't beat them at Deepdale for 13 games!

 

[This Charming Mike]

Finally had time to dissect yesterday.

It was a great day out, up until about two minutes into the game. From thereon in, it was awful, with very little to cheer or sing about. Too many players just didn't turn up and I think that's the thing that hurts most. If we had gone down with a little bit of fight, it wouldn't have been so hard to take, but as with the Wembley games against Millwall and Chesterfield in 2010 and 2012 respectively, we bottled it on the big stage and put in a performance to forget.

In terms of individual performances, only Byrne, Kasim, Stephens and Obika came out of that with any credit for me. Luongo has been poor for weeks now, Gladwin looked like the non-league player we signed from Marlow, Toffolo didn't attack or defend well enough, Smith played like a carthorse and missed a golden opportunity to get us back into the game and Turnbull looked more like he was making his professional debut than his 50th (maybe more?) start in a player of the year campaign.

It wasn't all our own doing, though. As with B City, Gillingham, MK etc in recent times, PNE sussed us out and played pretty much the perfect game. They put pressure on our young defence, put balls in the the box and channels, and really exploited the space left by Byrne and Toffolo. It's plain to see why Beckford is paid so well as, at this level, he is lethal and I think his goals in the last 3 months have been almost as important as Garner's over the course of the season.

On a personal level, I'm pleased for Tom, PrestonCha, PNEMynx, SF, Dessie et al. PNE have a good set of fans on here and after all their play-off heartbreak, they truly deserve promotion this time around. They finished 3rd, 10 points ahead of us and with a better GD, so it's hard to begrudge them and the club this promotion. Well done chaps, and I hope you enjoy the Championship.

As for us, I expect it will be all change next season. Foderingham, Williams and Luongo will almost certainly leave, Kasim, Gladwin and Byrne are bound to attract interest, loan players L Thompson, Stephens and Turnbull will return to their parents club and are unlikely to be back here so it looks like Lee Power and Mark Cooper have a massive rebuilding task on their hands. My big fear about next season is that we do an Orient (or indeed a Swindon in 2010) by which we reach the play-off final with a load of plaudits, lose, consequently oversee the dismantling of a successful squad, fail to really replace those who depart and find ourselves in L2 12 months later.

I'll finish on a positive note as, despite the overall negative feel of this post, I am extremely proud of my club this season. Many (including us!) tipped STFC for relegation in pre-season so to challenge for automatic promotion for most of the campaign and reach the play-off final really is some achievement, particularly when you consider the average age of the squad is 21/22 and it was assembled on a budget of £1.5-1.8M. The football at times has been a joy to watch and probably the best I've seen in my 15+ years as a Swindon fan. I'd like to forget yesterday's game fairly quickly but I think I'll remember the season fondly for a long time to come.

 

[blademan89]

I think we also join you in this list.

Think we haven't won in 8, Sheff Utd haven't won in 9?

Ours is only 7 promotion playoffs and 1 relegation playoff. But 4 of those were finals so were claiming top spot.

 

[James [bcafc]]

It's fucking chaos getting out of Wembley - we left by coach at 6:30 after the JPT Final and didn't get back to Bristol until gone Midnight.

It took nearly two bastard hours just to get on the motorway, and our coach was so slow that even the Warsaw team coach caught up with us, and pulled up alongside us at a set of traffic lights

When we got dicked in the cup final by Swansea, it took our coach about 1hour 30 just to get out of the car park, then we was all muddled up with Swans coached even tho they'd stayed back ages to celebrate so they was giving us shit, to top it off, finally got on motorway to find the kind people at motorway maitenace had decided to close of two lanes and just have the one lane for hundreds of city coaches, think it was near 2am I got back into the city centre and managed to get a taxi home. Then I did it all again in the play offs but least we'd won that time, safe to say tho I fucking hate that journey.