The Tim Mercer column:Third bottom in terms of spending, I dream of a big cash injection for PNE
Another season drew to a close with in-form Southampton the visitors to Deepdale for the early kick-off.
Back in November, a Saints squad stuffed with Premier League parachute money had been outplayed by North End on their own patch and deservedly lost 2-0. to the Lilywhites.
As I have often witnessed, with us carrying the ‘Teams like Preston’ tag combined with a win away against more illustrious opponents, Southampton sacked their manager the next day as they continued to underperform near the foot of the table.
The 35-year-old Tonda Eckert, brought in as a temporary stopgap manager, surprised everyone and got the undoubtably talented pool of players performing again, cumulating in a narrow FA cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City, and with this match making it 19 games unbeaten in the Championship.
It didn’t help that they dominated the first 15 minutes or so, including taking the lead following a series of dangerous crosses. This fan feared the worst and started to brace himself for a potential drubbing on the cards.
However, Preston got back into the game and were only prevented from equalising due to an Iversen-like double save from the visiting keeper of first an Alfie Devine powerful shot from the edge of the box that was followed up by an equally emphatic strike by captain Ben Whiteman.
As ever, an early goal at the start of the second half was the requirement for the hosts. Unfortunately, they made a mess of it inside 2 minutes by allowing Ross Stewart far too much time to twist and turn before placing a shot beyond Iversen to go 2-0 up.
Credit must be given here to the North End players for not letting their heads drop as they continued to try and get back into the game. With Iversen withdrawn at half-time due to injury, it was replacement Dai Cornell who was involved in the next goal.
Having just made a very good save down to his left, he spotted Lewis Dobbin making a run and quickly punted the ball towards him. Coming out to meet it, the otherwise excellent Saints keeper slipped and allowed Dobbin through for a simple tap into an empty net.
This confirmed Dobbin as the club’s leading goalscorer for the season along with the greatest number of assists. He’s had a great campaign, along with fellow Premier League loanee Alfie Devine, and will only get better in the next couple of years or so.
It also underlined the fact that without some serious investment in the squad over the summer, we will again be relying on savvy free transfers and loans. When you are third from bottom of the Championship in terms of spend, there will inevitably be a point when you finish third from bottom.
This, I would argue, is just a simple fact.
With North End tiring in stoppage time, Southampton got a third goal in what was, in the end, a slightly flattering scoreline. Yes, they deserved to win, but it did not feel like 3-1.
I will renew my season card, as ever, and allow myself to dream of a US- Saudi injection of cash that allows us to buy both Dobbin and Devine as the starting point to a return to the Promised Land for the first time since 1961.
“It’s the hope that…” you know the rest.