Big problems facing Preston North End?

After being served with a winding up petition from Her Majesties Revenue and Customs over two weeks ago, there has been a dark cloud over Deepdale. The club were given the winding up petition over failure to pay an outstanding tax bill believed to be around the fee of £400,000. This remains an unpaid bill and the rumours are rife around Preston of how the current chairman, Derek Shaw will resign or be bought out by major shareholder, and multi millionaire leisure tycoon Trevor Hemmings.

The club not only face problems off the field but on the field too, and after last season’s performance, and 17th place finish in the Coca-Cola Championship, their worst final table placing in the time they have spent in the Championship, the fans will be expecting a much improved finish and all round season next season, after they have shown time and time again that they have the talent that can take them to within a stones throw away from the promised land that is the Barclays Premier League. After being in the League for 11 years straight and in the 6 years of the Championship they have been to the play-offs three of those six times, and every time have failed to get past that final hurdle, the last time, in the 2008 – 2009 season, losing to Sheffield United in the semi final of the play offs.

Without a doubt P.N.E. have produced some big name footballers, who now make their living in the Premier League with clubs like Stoke and Fulham. Stoke having the big mane Ricardo Fuller who was a hit at his few seasons in the north west and Fulham having veteran midfielder Dickson Etuhu, who featured in the Europa League final for Fulham. In more recent years the two stars who spring to mind straight away are Sean St. Ledger and the unforgettable David Nugent. The club sold their star striker to Portsmouth for £5 million after failing to reach the Premier League through the play-offs that season. He has since been linked with a return to the club who made him the player he is after he gained an England call up under Steve McLaren.

The latest big name star, Sean St. Ledger, was the subject of a £4 million bid from Middlesbrough in January and he went on “emergency loan” agreeing to sign the deal on the 1st of January when the transfer market opened, but one thing led to another he ended up back at the club in which he was dubbed “The saint”. North End gained financially from this as it is rumoured they gained £1.5 million from the deal.

Sean St. Ledger is one of three young stars at the club who are nursing injuries and after recently playing two games for his native Northern Ireland he is due to go under the knife after visiting different treatment rooms and therapy rooms for different opinions on his double hernia injury and his torn knee cartilage. There are also two other players who have gone under the knife this summer, new signings Keith Treacy and Paul Coutts both have begun their rehabilitation and are set to be fit for the start of pre-season.

So, both on and off the field P.N.E. are facing their problems, but without a doubt the debt will be paid off and the players who are pushing to be fit for the start of pre-season will no doubt be fit and ready for the start of the season and under the guidance of Darren Ferguson, the son of the infamous Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson who has guided Peterborough to a back to back promotion from League 2 to League 1 and from League 1 to the Championship, providing he can bring in the players he wants at the club, who know North End fans could be in for a roller coaster 2010/2011 season!