good morning!
Imagine having three managers in two weeks.
Now imagine having three managers in two weeks – after two games into the season.
Say hello to Preston North End, a club which has sat in the middle of the EFL Championship for a good handful of years now.
The first to depart was Ryan Lowe, who led Preston NE to 10th in the table last year, left after just one game this season.
The club’s director said it was Lowe who wanted to leave the club and that the gaffer asked for a break.
[Insert Friends gif here]
“I think now is the right time for the club to go in a different direction. I’ve always stressed since I walked through the door that if I can’t take the club any further, I’d leave it to someone else and that’s what I’m doing,” Lowe said in a statement after his departure.
I don’t quite agree with the timing or that he left the club in good hands, because his successor also left the club after just one game in charge too.
That man, Mike Marsh, quit his job as caretaker after a 3-0 loss against Swansea on Saturday (matchweek two).
That defeat marked their seventh consecutive league loss (all without scoring).
So that brings us to Paul Heckingbottom, who was announced as the new manager at Deepdale.
He has a decent history. Heckingbottom got Sheffield United promoted during the 2022-23 season, before leaving the club when they were bottom of the Premier League last season. Heckingbottom has also coached Barnsley and Leeds.
It’s not a bad hire, and it’s early enough in the season to easily turn this around. Will it be enough to turn Preston North End into playoff contenders? Probably not.
Fitzie’s track of the day: Orange Crush, by R.E.M.
And now for your links:
Alasdair Gold’s talking points from Tottenham’s 1-1 draw vs Leicester
Dan KP: Tottenham a work in progress but future is brighter this season
The Athletic ($$) breaks down Dominic Solanke’s Spurs debut
How Stockport FC helped a town in mourning
