Team 2000

[Jack Daniels]

From the Year 2000 onwards, pick your best XI plus subs.

Only rule is that you have to pick them based upon their time @ PNE, not since, Pickford being a prime example of being better now than then.

Bet you'll be hard pushed to beat this team.

Manager - Billy Davies.

Nash
Grezza Lucketti Mawene Cunningham
McGeady McKenna O'Neil Lewis
Nugent Fuller​

Subs.
Pickford
Huntington
Davidson
Pearson
Gallagher
Macken
Cresswell

Reasons why for my XI.

Nash - Kept a record 22/23 clean sheets in one season, we only lost 6 games and only conceded 30 goals. Pickford is obviously better long term but Carlo has the PNE stats in his favour.

Grezza - Legend, penalty king, legend.
Lucketti - Leader, hard as nails, solid, Captain.
Mawene - Best defender I have ever seen in 40 years of watching us. Smooth and classy on the ball.
Cunningham - A tight call with Davidson but possibly a tad quicker.

McGeady - A bit of a twat off the pitch so they say but a joy to watch on it. Scores and assists with ease.
McKenna - Good tidy player, won headers for a small guy and put his foot in. Only his lack of goals lets him down given his ability.
ONeil - The main player in my team. He dictated the flow of the game. If only we had him now.
Lewis - Skill, pace and a few goals chipped in. A clever little player.

Nugent - Pace, goals and an infectious attitude.
Fuller - Pace, goals and totally unpredictable in a good way. Up there with Mooney in my Top 5 PNE players.

 

[miff]

Sean Gregan gets in any team for me.

 

[pthnorthender]

Sean St Ledger?

 

[mozzchops]

Pickford
Grezza Lucketti Mawene Cunningham
McGeady Pearson O'Neil Lewis
Nugent Fuller

 

[Spavin Stardust]

Sean St Ledger?

Quite correctly nowhere near our best 2000 and onwards squad.

 

[pthnorthender]

Claud Davis ?

 

[Former Member]

Pickford over Nash for me, and Pearson in the Starting XI.

 

[AndySaville]

Sean St Ledger?

Massively overrated and sulked through his post Irvine North End career.

Claude Davis was rather like Kyle Walker is now, numerous short-comings disguised by the ability to use pace to make up for mistakes.

For me...

Pickford - Best keeper I've ever seen at Deepdale

Alexander - Best right-back I've seen at Deepdale
​​​​​​Lucketti - A rock at the back, great positioning & scored a few
Mawene - Legend, stupidly played at RB in the 2005 PO final
Davidson - Just wins it over Cunningham for me

Sedgwick - Controversial but work rate & combo with GA was major part of that team's success
O'Neill - Gutted when he had to retire. Not properly replaced until Welsh was signed.
McKenna - Couldn't think of another CM who would get ahead of him. Should have been a one club man but left as we declined.
Lewis - Out and out left winger that impressed even under Craig Brown. Quality crossing and fierce left foot.

Nugent - No words needed.
​​​​​Healy - Best natural finisher I've seen at Deepdale. Had Brown not fallen out with him and sent him of to Norwich Brown's teams may have been more successful

Just slightly worrying that none of the current squad would get anywhere near the above.

 

[gib white]

Classic 433 formation;

Turner

Keith Keane
Jack King
Chris Robertson

Jeff Monakana
Joel Byrom
Andy Proctor
David Amoo

Anthony Elding
Aaron Brown
Chris Beardsley

Just shows how far we have fallen now..

 

[ernest]

Just slightly worrying that none of the current squad would get anywhere near the above.

Glad you mentioned Sedgwick - certainly the most under-rated player of recent years. Memories of him are tarnished by the fact he stayed a season too long but in his prime a great asset.

As for the present squad Pearson, Robinson and a fully fit Maguire come close and Davies who is still developing is not far behind.

 

[ernest]

Just shows how far we have fallen now..

We have had many worse players than Jack King - he never let us down for commitment and just occasionally showed something more.

 

[BPIG]

Pickford

Grezza
St Ledger
Mawene
Cunningham

McGeady
Pearson
McKenna
Wallace

Nugent
Fuller

 

[paddysr]

Pickford

Grezza
Mawene
Lucketti
Davidson

O'Neill
McKenna

McGeady
Treacy
Lewis

Fuller


Subs:

Nash
Cunningham
Big Claude
Gregan
Pearson
Macken
Healy

 

[MrHodgeheg123]

Pickford

Grezza
Mawene
Lucketti
Davidson

O'Neill
McKenna

McGeady
Treacy
Lewis

Fuller


Subs:

Nash
Cunningham
Big Claude
Gregan
Pearson
Macken
Healy

I'd keep the Healy bit quiet if I was you unless you want dog pooh through your letterbox.

 

[cpnend]

I'd keep the Healy bit quiet if I was you unless you want dog pooh through your letterbox.

Yeah, take out Healy in put Kurt Nogan in his place.

 

[Jack Daniels]

Pickford

Grezza
Mawene
Lucketti
Davidson

O'Neill
McKenna

McGeady
Treacy
Lewis

Fuller


Subs:

Nash
Cunningham
Big Claude
Gregan
Pearson
Macken
Healy

No Nugent!

Why?

 

[Doc Brown]

Nash

Alexander The Great (c)
Lucketti
Mawene
Cunnningham

Sedgwick
McKenna
O'Neil
Lewis

Nugent
Fuller

Subs:
Pickford
Davidson
C. Davis
Gregan
Wallace
Healy
Macken

Manager: Wee William, King Billy.

I'd say all are fairly self explanatory. Gave Cunningham the nod over Davidson simply because he is more dynamic and more of a threat going forward. We've really missed him this season. The much maligned Sedgwick was massively underrated and was a fixture of our most successful team in decades. Great combination of work rate/defensive cover but technical ability as well. All our current wingers don't have a modicum of his skill and, more importantly, crossing ability.

Honourable mentions to pre-Middlesborough St. Ledger, Pearson, McGeady, Cresswell. Any I've missed out? What sticks out in my mind (and sticks in my throat) when compiling these sorts of teams is that we really, really had to get promoted between 2001-2007. The club was ready for it, and our squad was good enough. For a number of (partly self inflicted) reasons it didn't happen and we've paid the price in the decade since.

 

[Doc Brown]

Pickford

Grezza
Mawene
Lucketti
Davidson

O'Neill
McKenna

McGeady
Treacy
Lewis

Fuller


Subs:

Nash
Cunningham
Big Claude
Gregan
Pearson
Macken
Healy

Treacy?

As in Keith Treacy?

 

[Tino]

Treacy?

As in Keith Treacy?

He was a great player. A match winner. For that spell he was unplayable, just a shame he couldn't stay at peak fitness but shouldn't have left really. If he'd stayed I think we'd have made a better shot of that first season in league 1.

 

[billymac]

Pickford
Alexander, Mawene, Lucketti, Cunningham
Wallace, Pearson , O'Neil, Lewis
Nugent, Fuller​

Subs; Nash, Jones, St. Leger, Gregan, Coutts,Cresswell, Macken