TOM FINNEY

Of course, the mention of Preston North End in previous blogs immediately brings some of my best friends out into the open and Bernard, whom I met years ago in Lancashire, now lives on the eastern side of the Pennines at Meltham, not so far away from me and he is a big Preston fan. He reads this blog and well done Bernard for sticking with me! I have a book about the Lilywhites, that he gave me and I notice the importance of Preston in English football.

He has recently sent me some photos of that famous Tom Finney spray of water, that is for ever remembered in the wonderful statue at Deepdale. I saw the statue once, on the 125th anniversary of the formation of the Football League, when I decided to visit every one of the original league grounds. The statue is dedicated to a moment involving the great man at Stamford Bridge.
I saw Finney play at Leeds United in a friendly game in 1974 between some "Veterans" including the great John Charles, as part of a Billy Bremner testimonial.

I went to Preston on 15th February 2014 and if had thought about it, I might have met Bernard on the day. It was a League One match v Leyton Orient, drawn 1-1, a poor game. Finney would have been embarrassed!
I took John Taylor, once a superb coach of Bolton GS and ISFA football, so I had a Lancashire lad to keep me on the straight and narrow and to explain what was going on!

13,4440 turned up to watch the game, the day after TOM FINNEY had died at the age of 91.
The Preston players all wore "Finney" on their shirts, the statue was covered in wreaths and flowers and there was a silence. Finney's face permanently is emblazened on the seat of the main stand.

The Preston team on the day: Rudd, Clarke (both Eng), Laird (Sco), Wiseman (Eng), Wright (also known as Bailey) an Australian, Keane (Irish), Kilkenny (Aust), Welsh (Eng), Davies (Welsh), Gallagher (Scot) and the well travelled Garner (Eng) who equalised in the 64th minute.