Greetings and welcome to my football blog. First things first, I originally hail from Barnet in North London and my father is a Black Cab-driving, Wood Green grocer's son. Therefore I am a Tottenham Hotspur fan first and a Barnet fan second.
People sometimes ask me who I'd want to win if Tottemham and Barnet played each other. To these people I seldom reply but i'll say now, while i'm in a good mood... You've missed my point – I am a Tottenham fan. But I lend my support to Barnet when possible as they are my local team.
That brings me to this evening. The Championship Playoffs first leg. You'd be forgiven for wondering why on earth the first post of a blog whose title references the Premier League's elite would focus on the second tier of English football.
However, if I tell you I've lived eight brilliant years and counting in Preston, to add to what you already know about my affinity to local teams (and yes, I'm still a Tottenham fan) then you won't be surprised to learn that I will be lending my support to the local team as they embark on a somewhat unexpected playoff campaign.
Last Sunday, as the news of Sheffield Wednesday's goal (which opened the gate for Preston to steal the fourth Playoff spot) filtered through Deepdale, the crowd was whipped into a frenzy until the noise levels reached fever pitch – and stayed there.
For years Preston fans have waxed lyrical about the fantastic atmosphere at home games and, I'm sorry, but it's just not true. I've worked the turnstiles at Deepdale and have been to numerous important games and the noise level rarely ventures above average.
But against QPR, with the atmosphere hotter than it had been for years, the players responded, laying siege to QPR's goalmouth in search of that vital winner. Preston manager Alan Irvine has since said he'd never heard anything like it and it makes you wonder – if the atmosphere was like that all season, Preston North End may already be a Premier League side.
Tonight there have been measures taken by the club to improve the atmosphere further. Free banners and clapping boards could ensure that the Deepdale "roar" is louder than ever and, although Preston are probably rank outsiders in the Playoff race, if the team responds to the crowd as it did last week then anything is possible.
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