Readers' letters: 'A poor state of affairs for Preston North End'

They have only won two of their last 10 games.

They are supposed to be in the entertainment business. The last time there was a celebration was when Jermaine Beckford’s hat-trick achieved promotion to the Championship.

Surely the club and staff must have the incentive to step up to top-flight football.

One only needs to see what Burnley has achieved.

The rot seems to set in when there is an international or national holiday break.

PNE is not the only club to lose momentum and desire to maintain previous successes. Eight out of nine Lancashire clubs lost on New Year’s Day.

Well done to Fleetwood, the exception.

Obviously there is a pattern and training or lack of it may be a root cause.

Certainly PNE is a historically proud club and they have embraced the best, from Shankly to Sir Tom, and long before.

People do not wish to suffer the fare served up during the winter weather when they can watch Premier action on TV, hence the reason for lower attendances.

It is just not good enough for managers to be frustrated or tight-lipped about how they feel. Action to rectify matters is what should be shown. I hope none of the players and staff received Christmas bonuses. If so, they should be donated to charity.

As for the supporters who travel far and wide to witness these defeats, they should have been in the New Year’s Honours list or be able to claim a refund of expenses.

Seriously, it is a poor state of affairs for Preston and Lancashire football and I hope matters will improve, rather than just fizzle out like the end of last season.

At PNE we are supposed to have a good squad, with 73 per cent possession and 21 shots off target against Reading, and similar against Middlesbrough.

I respectfully suggest a visit to the opticians would be useful.

Meanwhile, one must remain sitting at Home, dreaming of what may happen and certainly did happen in the past.

The local derby with Blackburn is PNE’s next league match. Hopefully that will galvanise both clubs into entertainment.

May the best team win.

Disgruntled,

William Still, Penwortham

Different to original Carol

I watched all three episodes of the BBC One version of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.

To me, it was nowhere near the same as the original by Dickens or even the other four movie versions of it.

It was the first version I’ve ever known where Scrooge is a mine owner.

First of all, the three-part BBC version allowed swearing in it and there was no swearing at all in the original Dickens’ novel or even in the four other movie versions.

I think the BBC

ruined it by including swearing, especially the F word.

For that reason I shall never buy a DVD of that three-part series.

It is a bad influence on the young because of the swearing in it.

A few other things happened in it that deviated from the original Dickens novel and that went down badly with me too.

I was quite disgusted with the BBC version of A Christmas Carol.

Mr R N Coupe

Lostock Hall

Motorway closure

I read with interest that the M6 will be closed in January, between junctions 32-33,

to remove a bridge that isn’t up to standard.

I have just a simple question on this matter.

Would it be possible to repair the bridge that was struck by a wagon earlier this year (at the same time)?

Surely then you would only have to close the motorway for one weekend, thus saving money and inconvenience for us, the general public.

Phillip Green

Heysham