Southend have done it, beating Wycombe
Wanderers on penalties to win promotion to League One,. Some of their
supporters had already left the stadium thinking there had been a
negative result. Oh ye of little faith!
Today, Kevin Davies, at 38, is hoping
to help Preston North End into the Championship. The Lancashire club
plays Swindon Town in the League One play-off. The last time he won
at Wembley he was with Chesterfield beating Bury in a play-off at the
old Wembley in 1995, he was 18. He only had a short time on the
pitch, coming off the bench.
He has been a long servant of English
Football, although he should have had more positive Wembley
experiences. He was left out of the Southampton squad for an FA Cup
Final and then got hammered 5-0 by Stoke when he was at Bolton in
another Cup semi-final.
Ryan Giggs is the only player to have
won at the old and new Wembley with such a long gap between
victories.
Preston's play-off record is not good,
although historians will note that in 1894 the club was victorious
over Notts County in relegation “Test Match” at Deepdale. This
was a period just after the “Invincibles” saw PNE as the top team
in the country decline rapidly after a period of instability at
ownership level. Preston had done the double and were rarely out of
the top part of the First Division until that disastrous season.
Another oldie in the play-off frame is
Jonathan Woodgate, a much travelled footballer, who at Middlesbrough,
may help his club return to the Premier League at the age of 35.
Woodgate was destined to be one of the great English centre backs but
injury has haunted him. He only won 8 international caps and this is
likely to be his last game, although a victory and the prospect of PL
football next season may delay his decision. A win over Norwich may
also help boost the Teesside economy, which is in much need of success.
Please note that the spelling of
Middlesbrough is correct and not as shown on the printed match tickets prepared at Wembley for this play-off!
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