Skip to main content

PNE 04-05

PNE 04-05

BallyPNE

BallyPNE

President of the Juvhel Tsoumou Association
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
1,834
Location
PRESTON CHA
Just been reading another thread on the forum and this group of players were being talked about. Very enjoyable reading so I thought i'd get some more opinions, how good were north end during this season? Sound's like most would've had us nailed on for promotion

I would've only been aged 8/9 at the time, so even though a North End fan I was, I dont remember much!

Remember Idolising Cresswell around this period!
 
We had a great team.

Didn‘t lose too many but drew a hell of a lot of games iirc.

The play-off defeat made me feel sick to my stomach, really thought we’d do it.

Edit : I’m on about the 2005/2006 season🙄
 
Last edited:
Preston Lad said:
We had a great team.

Didn‘t lose too many but drew a hell of a lot of games iirc.

The play-off defeat made me feel sick to my stomach, really thought we’d do it.
Click to expand...

I dont think I ever went into such an important game feeling so confident. It was gut wrenching
 
The 04-05 season was very much a season of two halves. Craig Brown started in charge but was potted after 5 games. Billy Davies took over on a temporary basis and results improved enough for him to be given the job full-time. By October we were just outside the play-offs and we made two new signings, Sedgwick and Agyemang but then form dipped and we lost 5-0 at Wigan and 2-0 at Burnley at the start of December. Fans were starting to get restless and Davies responded by dropping Jonathan Gould and then Gavin Ward and brought in Andy Lonergan. We played West Ham the week before Christmas and that was the turning point of the season. We had a very good Christmas, picking up 13 points out of 15 and surged into the top half of the table. In the January we made some key signings, Matt Hill being one of them but also a certain David Nugent. Nuge was in truth nothing more than a punt on a young kid but he tore the Championship apart. By the start of March we played away at West Ham and won 2-1, that was when we thought that the team was special and promotion could be a possibility. Lonergan got injured around the February time so Chris Day was brought in on loan and then Carlo Nash was signed. Our form for the second half of the season was immense and Davies had have been in charge from the summer and we'd have signed the likes Sedgwick, Hill and Nugent in the summer then we'd have walked the league. We took the piss out of Derby in the play-off semi-finals but didn't turn up at Cardiff against West Ham. We'd had the upper hand over them in the two league matches but it was a game too far. Davies once said that he should have started Nuge on the bench because he was running on empty but that's okay to say in hindsight. If he had have done and we'd have lost 3 nil it would have been so easy to say we'd have won if he'd have started.

The team for the second half of the season did have something about them. They had a special blend of experience, youth, potential and players at their peak. It was very much a 4-4-2 with round pegs in round holes, but players could swap and change if needs be to out fox the opposition. Had that team got promotion I'd have backed them to have had a chance of staying up the following season but it wasn't to be.
 
The 04-05 team was special. I actually thought the team the season after was better.
A few things spring to mind in the following season which is why we ended up losing out.

Dickson Etuhu being on loan at Norwich, allowed to play against us and break Adam Nowland's leg. Make no mistake - Adam Nowland was sensational for us at the time. It was a huge loss.
David Jones going back to United. A quality loan player and definitely a big loss. He's been promoted with Wolves, Derby and Burnley so I don't get when people say they were underwhelmed by his performances. He has obviously been a big player for a lot of teams.
Brett Ormerod breaking his leg in the semi final. Douglas should have been sent off it was an abysmal challenge.

Sorry for going off topic but sometimes I feel you need a bit off luck and in that season we didn't get it. I was more annoyed we didn't get promoted that season than the 04-05.
 
JohnPNE said:
The 04-05 team was special. I actually thought the team the season after was better.
A few things spring to mind in the following season which is why we ended up losing out.

Dickson Etuhu being on loan at Norwich, allowed to play against us and break Adam Nowland's leg. Make no mistake - Adam Nowland was sensational for us at the time. It was a huge loss.
David Jones going back to United. A quality loan player and definitely a big loss. He's been promoted with Wolves, Derby and Burnley so I don't get when people say they were underwhelmed by his performances. He has obviously been a big player for a lot of teams.
Brett Ormerod breaking his leg in the semi final. Douglas should have been sent off it was an abysmal challenge.

Sorry for going off topic but sometimes I feel you need a bit off luck and in that season we didn't get it. I was more annoyed we didn't get promoted that season than the 04-05.
Click to expand...
I think a massive part of us losing out to leeds in that play off semi final,were our tactics for the home leg,we played really well in the away leg,and then completely changed the team for the home leg,did we start with 4 strikers?
 
Whoopi Goldberg said:
I think a massive part of us losing out to leeds in that play off semi final,were our tactics for the home leg,we played really well in the away leg,and then completely changed the team for the home leg,did we start with 4 strikers?
Click to expand...
I'm convinced that BD was spitting his dummy out about not being backed & deliberately threw that game. His selection & tactics that night were mind boggling
 
Whoopi Goldberg said:
I think a massive part of us losing out to leeds in that play off semi final,were our tactics for the home leg,we played really well in the away leg,and then completely changed the team for the home leg,did we start with 4 strikers?
Click to expand...

Yeah I forgot about that. Ormerod, Dichio, Stewart and Nugent. Think he started with 3 strikers in the first leg. I think a big surprise was leaving Chris Sedgwick on the bench as well after he had been a key player throughout the season.

Edit: Just checked - he played a part in every league match before the play offs.
 
BallyPNE said:
Just been reading another thread on the forum and this group of players were being talked about. Very enjoyable reading so I thought i'd get some more opinions, how good were north end during this season? Sound's like most would've had us nailed on for promotion

I would've only been aged 8/9 at the time, so even though a North End fan I was, I dont remember much!

Remember Idolising Cresswell around this period!
Click to expand...
Craig B had bought some great players very cheap and BD moulded them into a machine.... though BD remained convinced that team would still have made the playoffs had Brown not been sacked.##
 
buckshawwhite said:
I'm convinced that BD was spitting his dummy out about not being backed & deliberately threw that game. His selection & tactics that night were mind boggling
Click to expand...
Im sure one of the players in Staff’s book says there were rumours of a leak from one of our players to people at Leeds about what we’d been working on so Billy changed the whole thing🤔
 
We'd have gone up automatically the season after if we still had BD in charge rather than that useless lasher.
 
sf said:
We'd have gone up automatically the season after if we still had BD in charge rather than that useless lasher.
Click to expand...

This.

Best team I’ve seen in my time following North End.
Not going too much into the play offs, most of it been said.

The final against West Ham, rumours have it O’Neil and McKenna we’re in hospital till daft o clock after O’Neils daughter took a tumble down the stairs.

Year after we got beat by Leeds. But I think Davies got us beat. The trashing of Leeds’ dressing room. The floodlights. The strange starting selection.

Year after we were flying. Think Davies came out with a sarcy comment of having 2 teams in the top 6. (Well known Simpson didn’t change a thing from the Davies tenure) we were top or second at the time and Simpson did a full 360 and changed it all. Went on a shoddy run and finished 7th. He then got potted season after with us in dire straights.

Think we hired Irvine next. An immensely lucky campaign saw us against Sheff Utd in the Play Offs. Out played for the majority and deservedly lost.
Irvines signings were utter garbage, and after all of this the wheels finally came off and we ended up relegated after hiring Fergie JNR.
 
buckshawwhite said:
I'm convinced that BD was spitting his dummy out about not being backed & deliberately threw that game. His selection & tactics that night were mind boggling
Click to expand...
If you are so easily convinced, I have a bridge in the New York area for sale if you are interested 😎
 
buckshawwhite said:
In short the squad of that season is the best I have seen in the 40+ years of supporting PNE. The current squad is close but lacks the Nugent at his peak
Click to expand...

I’m not sure about the squad but we had a very fine and experienced team that steered clear of injuries.

The lack of pace we had at the time is interesting. Other than Nuge and Paddy, I reckon I could have given most of them a run for their money!
 
Double J said:
This.

Best team I’ve seen in my time following North End.
Not going too much into the play offs, most of it been said.

The final against West Ham, rumours have it O’Neil and McKenna we’re in hospital till daft o clock after O’Neils daughter took a tumble down the stairs.

Year after we got beat by Leeds. But I think Davies got us beat. The trashing of Leeds’ dressing room. The floodlights. The strange starting selection.

Year after we were flying. Think Davies came out with a sarcy comment of having 2 teams in the top 6. (Well known Simpson didn’t change a thing from the Davies tenure) we were top or second at the time and Simpson did a full 360 and changed it all. Went on a shoddy run and finished 7th. He then got potted season after with us in dire straights.

Think we hired Irvine next. An immensely lucky campaign saw us against Sheff Utd in the Play Offs. Out played for the majority and deservedly lost.
Irvines signings were utter garbage, and after all of this the wheels finally came off and we ended up relegated after hiring Fergie JNR.
Click to expand...
Craig Brown made the "2 teams in the Top 6" quote, not BD.

Phil Brown relegated us, not Fergie Jnr but otherwise spot on.
 
Probably the most talented North End squad I've ever seen - we were very entertaining all season and frustratingly never turned up in the play off final.

West Ham were there for the taking as they weren't anything special. That one hurt more than any other play off final defeat.
 
Back
Top