In The Programme - Preston North End

And so for the fourth time this season I sit down to write about a FA Cup tie at the Vetch. First time in five years we have been here at this stage with the prize if we win being our first fifth round appearance since 1980. A warm welcome to Preston North End to the Vetch Field and maybe, just maybe we owe you guys one for 1964 eh (I hasten to add at this point that I am not old enough to remember it - just researched it for 'Vetch Field Voices'!)

Preston of course are riding high in the 1^st division and will provide a good test today of our ability as a footballing team. Of course it's a cup tie and anything can happen but this a side with aspirations of being in the Premiership and if we could pull off a result then what a boost it would be for the remainder of our season?

It's been a bit of a lean time here at the Vetch in recent times with the last two league games showing 0-0 draws. Add to that a blank at Bury and the last time we managed a goal was Lee Trundle's goal to seal our place in this round of the competition. That seems ages ago and as we look at the league table the play offs seem to be getting further and further away. With most of our competitors in league action today that gap could be wider by the time that we know the result of this tie. Lets hope that results elsewhere go our way today?

There are though of course other third division sides in cup action this weekend with Scunthorpe travelling to Portsmouth and Northampton with the tie of the round perhaps as they entertain Manchester United. They have clearly decided to cash in on the dream draw with their ticket pricing structure for the game - £30 being the average price - I wonder what sort of reaction our fan base would give if we suddenly saw prices hiked like that just because we had drawn a big club (with the greatest of respect to Preston)

Of course games against North End don't just bring back memories of 64 but that magical day in May 1981 when we triumphed at Deepdale to seal promotion to the top flight. Even now when you think about it its hard to believe that was only 22 and a bit years ago - it seems so long when you consider all that has happened since. And no doubt Preston fans will feel similar when they think how long their side has been out of the top flight of the game - two sides with colourful pasts, trophies and of course a plastic pitch once upon a time.

Much criticism has been aimed at the club in the past week not least for their handling of the ticketing for this particular game. I will add at this point that the club could not win with the 'all ticket' situation. Due to the rules of the competition had the game been made all ticket then that decision cannot be reversed. Therefore if 2000 tickets had remained on Saturday lunchtime then we would have had 2000 empty spaces in here today. I know that they will learn from some of the mistakes and I am told that in the future consideration will be made for separate ticketing outlets for stand and terrace tickets to try and speed up the queuing process. I hope that when we move to White Rock (or whatever you want to call it) that we have some process in place that is more equipped for the 21^st century in which we live - I am sure that with a modern stadium, the use of a computer or two may be appropriate!!

But all of that aside and here we are still in the competition as January starts to draw to a close. I have said it before this season - I love the FA Cup. One of those competitions that throws out the ties like Scarborough v Chelsea that just grabs the imagination and I'll hazard a guess that the majority in here want Scarborough to pull off a win here. Today we have the chance to make the atmosphere count - its not very often we see a near capacity at the Vetch Field but we will today and lets really get behind the lads and yet again make us sit through another FA Cup draw with our fingers crossed. Lets hope it's a great game and get behind the team. "We're the Famous Swansea City and we're going to Wembley Millennium Stadium"

C'MON CITY!

Phil Sumbler (phil@sumbler.freeserve.co.uk)

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