Vital Statistics
Founded: 1880
Chairman: Peter Ridsdale
Last Season: League One - 15th
Nickname: The Lilywhites, PNE
Rivals: Blackpool, Burnley
Major Honours
League Championship: 1889, 1890
FA Cup: 1889, 1938
Scheduled Matches
Portsmouth vs Preston: Saturday, December 15th (3pm)
Preston vs Portsmouth: Friday, March 29th (5pm)
The Manager: Graham Westley
A journeyman player at non-league, Westley began his managerial career at the age of 28 when he broke his leg whilst playing for Kingstonian.
He made a name for himself at Stevenage, firstly turning the club into promotion contenders before resigning in 2006. He returned two years later and took the club to League One before taking over at Preston.
Westley has already caused controversy at Deepdale, having informed players by text message during pre-season that they were not required any more. Players were also said to leak his tactics last season which caused more distress.
The Ground: Deepdale (Capacity: 23,400)
Deepdale is a traditional old ground that sadly is no longer home to the Museum of Football, which is now located in Manchester.
Outside of the ground is a statue of Sir Tom Finney, the England international who made 433 appearances and scored 187 goals for Preston from 1946-1960.
Also outside the ground is a plaque littered with names of famous players who once plyed their trade at Deepdale. Pompey fans should recognise this one.
Pompey fans are housed in the West side of the Bill Shankly stand. To the left is the new Invincibles stand which was built in 2008.
Opposite the away end is the Alan Kelly stand, named after the legendary Irish goalkeeper who made 447 appearances for PNE. The mosaic of Kelly is much like the one of Jimmy Dickinson in the Fratton End.
To the right is the Tom Finney stand, which displays a mosaic of Preston's most famous player.
All in all, Deepdale is a nice football ground which looks traditional but also hasn't lost its character with its modern upgrades. Unfortunately, the atmosphere is poor due to a large stadium only seeing around 10,000 fans turn up for league games.