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It was something of a surprise to see these two game coming so early in the season and so close to each other, just ten days between Blackpool's and Preston's visits to Turf Moor.
This is always a game that the fans of both clubs will have as one of the most important games to win in the season and it is Preston who have come out in top of the last three. The last time we beat them was in October 2006 when James O'Connor and Andy Gray scored too add to a Sean St. Ledger own goal to give us a 3-2 win in front of the Sky cameras.
If we have deserved to lose the two at Deepdale then we certainly didn't deserve the 3-2 reverse at home last season in such controversial circumstances and it would be good to get some revenge for that.
Preston have had a change of fortune since they last visited us. They arrived back in December last year bottom of the league and looking a good bet for relegation. They'd won just two points away from home and the poor form had seen a change of manager with Alan Irvine arriving just a couple of days before Owen Coyle got the Burnley job.
It sparked off something of a revival and although they ended the season only four points above the drop zone they looked pretty safe by the time they beat us at Deepdale and only a poor run of five games at the end of the season prevented them pulling well clear.
Irvine had brought in five players during the January transfer window, including former Clarets Richard Chaplow and Neal Trotman, so didn't need to do too much shopping during the summer, and when the new season got underway there were only two new signings.
Midfielder Barry Nicholson was signed from Aberdeen whilst Ross Wallace joined from RK Sunderland on a season long loan. Since the start of the season he's added Stephen Elliott from Wolves and Stoke's big striker Jon Parkin.
Matt Hill moved to Wolves as part of the Elliott deal and the only other player to leave was Kevin Nicholls who took his bad apples back to his previous club Luton.
It has all led to a good start to the season and last weekend saw them lose for the first time in the league when they were beaten 3-1 at home to Wolves. The only other defeat was also at Deepdale when they went down 1-0 to Derby in the second round of the Carling Cup.
They are currently third in the table and will provide us with a stern test. Of the other sides we've played so far only two are currently in the top half with Blackpool highest in tenth place. Whether Preston can maintain this sort of form all season remains to be seen, but it certainly doesn't look as though they will be facing another struggle as they did during 2007/08.
Irvine has three players returning from injury. Callum Davidson, Chris Brown and former Claret Richard Chaplow have all been back in training this week and will all be under consideration should they have no reaction.
Chaplow seems the most likely to get a start. He's missed a couple of games with a hamstring problem but is fully fit and ready to play for the first time at the Turf for Preston, although he has previously been back with both Southampton and West Brom.
Preston could line up: Andy Lonergan, Billy Jones, Youl Mawene, Sean St. Ledger, Michael Hart, Barry Nicholson, Richard Chaplow, Paul McKenna, Chris Sedgwick, Neil Mellor, Jon Parkin. Subs from: Chris Neal, Jason Jarrett, Simon Whaley, Ross Wallace, Stephen Elliott, Callum Davidson, Darren Carter, Chris Brown.
Owen Coyle will be forced into at least one change from the side that started against Fulham. Loan defender Russell Anderson is out, not just for this game, but for the rest of the season after suffering damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, and how often we've referred to that particular injury in the last year.
Bes Berisha and Michael Duff both suffered similar injuries last season and Duff is likely to be the one who comes in to replace Anderson. He replaced him during the cup win at right back and is almost certain to start there against Preston.
Kevin McDonald came off at half time last Saturday at Swansea whilst Ade Akinbiyi didn't travel because of a back problem. Both were ruled out against Fulham and neither of them will be fit enough to be involved against Preston. Joey Gudjonsson is almost certain to continue in the midfield.
One good but of news for Coyle is that Steven Thompson is available again after missing the Fulham game because he'd played for Cardiff in the first round of the competition. Robbie Blake came in for him on Tuesday but I expect Thompson to return at Blake's expense.
The probable Burnley team is: Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan, Graham Alexander, Wade Elliott, Joey Gudjonsson, Chris McCann, Steven Thompson, Martin Paterson. Subs from: Diego Penny, Christian Kalvenes, Remco van der Schaaf, Alan Mahon, Robbie Blake, Chris Eagles, Jay Rodriguez.
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Everyone inside the ground knew that Matt Hill handled the ball on the goal line with just over a minute gone. Everyone inside the ground knew that it was a penalty and Hill should have been receiving the red card, all but Mason who chose, and I really do believe he chose, not to give it because he did not want to send a player off so early in the game.
At that point, he'd lost control of the game and in a series of ridiculous and appalling decisions he turned in one of the worst refereeing performances seen at Turf Moor in many a year. Preston still had eleven men on even after Neil Mellor was guilty of two shocking challenges but then we took the lead through Kyle Lafferty. Wade Elliott crossed and a Preston defender got a touch but Lafferty floated a superb header into the corner.
Mellor then committed bad foul number three and was finally shown the yellow card. We then made a hash of a three on one situation that should have seen us go two up, and a couple of minutes later just as we looked to be going in at half time a goal up we gave one away and the scores were level.
Things got worse early in the second half when Mellor, who should not have been on the pitch, gave Preston the lead. Even so we should have been level within a minute but substitute Steve Jones made a mess of a header following another excellent Elliott cross.
We did get ourselves back into it at 2-2. Robbie Blake flicked the ball through for Chris McCann and the midfielder made no mistake. Now surely we would go on and win this, but disaster struck.
McCann was fouled right in front of the referee. Incredibly from his wonderful vantage point he missed it. It wasn't missed for Chris, but mist, the red variety. He lunged in and got himself sent off. No one could make a case for the red card being wrong, but had Mason been doing his job the situation would never have arisen.
We seemed to drop back and gave them too much space to play in and it eventually cost us when Whaley made the most of it to hit home the winner. The game wasn't over though by any means.
Quick thinking by Gabor Kiraly led to Andy Gray having a chance but he fluffed it, and then David Unsworth fired a free kick just over. We couldn't just get the equaliser but we did get another player sent off. This time it was Joey Gudjonsson for stamping on a Preston player.
Did he? Video evidence is far from clear and only he will know. That is apart from Mason who went straight for the red card. It led to scenes on the pitch that led to the club being up in front of the FA, Mason meanwhile just walked away from it all smiling.
He's with us again for the same game. One thing for certain is he can't have as bad a game. I hope this time we are talking about the football and not the fact that the referee totally ruined the game.
The teams were;
Burnley: Gabor Kiraly, Graham Alexander, Stephen Jordan, David Unsworth, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, Chris McCann, Alan Mahon (Joey Gudjonsson 45), Kyle Lafferty (Steve Jones 53), Robbie Blake (James O'Connor 67), Andy Gray. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, Ade Akinbiyi.
Preston: Andy Lonergan, Billy Jones (Youl Mawene 73), Liam Chilvers, Sean St. Ledger, Matt Hill, Simon Whaley, Chris Sedgwick, Callum Davidson, Paul McKenna (Darren Carter 48), Neil Mellor, Paul Gallagher (Karl Hawley 86). Subs not used: Chris Neal, Lewis Neal.
Previous 20 Seasons | |||||
Season | Div | Ven | Result | Att | Scorers |
1989/90 | LD | a | 0-3 | 5,241 | . |
1990/91 | LD | a | 1-6 | 12,016 | Bray |
1992/93 | 2 | a | 0-2 | 7,209 | . |
| . | . | h | 2-0 | 12,648 | Heath(2) |
1993/94 | LC | a | 2-1 | 6,283 | Davis Eyres |
. | . | h | 4-1 | 9,346 | Deary Eyres Francis Russell |
. | AG | a | 1-2 | 4,485 | Eyres |
1996/97 | 2 | a | 1-1 | 12,652 | Nogan |
| . | . | h | 1-2 | 16,186 | Barnes |
1997/98 | 2 | h | 1-1 | 13,809 | Cooke |
. | . | a | 3-2 | 12,263 | Payton Cooke N Moore |
. | AW | h | 1-0 | 10,079 | Payton |
1998/99 | 2 | a | 1-4 | 15,888 | Eastwood |
| . | AW | h | 0-1 | 3,366 | . |
| . | 2 | h | 0-1 | 11,561 | . |
1999/2000 | 2 | a | 0-0 | 13,708 | . |
| . | . | h | 0-3 | 22,310 | . |
2000/01 | 1 | a | 1-2 | 17,355 | Moore |
| . | . | h | 3-0 | 16,591 | Moore Ball Little |
2001/02 | 1 | a | 3-2 | 20,370 | Gnohere(2) Little |
| . | . | h | 2-1 | 18,388 | I Moore Johnson |
2002/03 | 1 | a | 1-3 | 16,046 | Taylor |
| . | . | h | 2-0 | 12,245 | Blake Papadopoulos |
2003/04 | 1 | a | 3-5 | 18,802 | I Moore Gnohere Blake(pen) |
| . | . | h | 1-1 | 15,837 | Blake |
2004/05 | C | h | 2-0 | 15,318 | Blake(2) |
| . | . | a | 0-1 | 18,202 | . |
2005/06 | C | a | 0-0 | 17,139 | . |
| . | . | h | 0-2 | 17,220 | . |
2006/07 | C | h | 3-2 | 14,871 | J O'Connor St. Ledger(og) Gray |
| . | . | a | 0-2 | 17,666 | . |
2007/08 | C | h | 2-3 | 14,829 | Lafferty McCann |
| . | . | a | 1-2 | 16,149 | J O'Connor |