Saturday’s edition of The One And Only contains all your usual 84 pages of fantastic content, including Keith Keane paying tribute to Sir Tom Finney…
“All of the Preston supporters have obviously let me know how great a man Sir Tom Finney was, but what has struck me has been the reaction from friends and people I know where I am from,” the PNE No.2 told the matchday programme. “They are the people that I speak to regularly and they have been saying what a great player Sir Tom was. My father was telling me, my father-in-law; they have all said he was up there with the best. It is not just in Preston, or in the north, it is all over England that people recognise how good he really was.
“I always made sure I knew about that, even though I never saw him play and I think that was why, as players, we were more gutted we didn’t win against Leyton Orient. We wanted to win because it was Leyton Orient, but we really wanted to win because we knew what a special day it was for the fans. We were happy not to lose, but we were gutted not to pay an even bigger tribute to the legend of Sir Tom Finney. We tried our best, but it just didn’t happen and hopefully we can pay him an even bigger tribute by trying to get promoted this season.
“It was an inspiring experience to be involved in the Orient game. It just showed us how big a star he was and how good a player, and well-respected he was. There are not many players that within 24 hours can get that sort of treatment.
“We honestly knew how big an occasion it was, what it meant to everyone and we were just gutted that we weren’t able to get the win, but, as I said before, we want to pay an even bigger tribute by getting promoted, as we feel that would be the best tribute and respect we can pay to him and we are focusing on doing that.
“For me personally, the way I respect Ronald and Messi, and the high regard I hold them as players means that when people – and not just fans, but legends in the game, say that Sir Tom Finney was as good as them, then it really hits home and you think ‘wow, he must be good’, because to us, as modern day people and players, we think Ronaldo and Messi are the greatest players who ever lived, so when people say Sir Tom was as good as them and it is proper footballers, who have played at the very highest levels who say it, then you know he must have been one of the very, very true greats.”
It is not just Keano who pays tribute to Tom though, if you buy your full 84-page perfect bound programme from the Club’s retail store, from our sellers inside and outside the ground on matchday, or online, you will receive a separate 52-page pictorial tribute to Sir Tom Finney, completely free of charge.
Make sure you get down early to get one, as these limited edition programmes are sure to sell quickly and will no doubt be in high demand on matchday.
Don’t forget; The One And Only is now available to download on your iPhone and iPad via the Matchday Digital app.
The Matchday Digital App allows you to view the North End programme anytime, anywhere. You can make one-off purchases or take out a season pass so you are subscribed to the whole season. If you can’t make the game, simply download the programme on the Matchday Digital app and be part of the game.
The slick digital version comes with all the content you would have in the printed programme, but with added features including:
• Programmes available to fans any time, anywhere
• Download back copies from past games
• Programmes will be made available for purchase worldwide
• Easy to use curl or slide ‘turn page’ technology
• Keyword search taking you straight to a particular player or feature
• Pinch screen feature to zoom into articles or images
• Add articles to Facebook or Twitter via the social media feature
• The Matchday Digital app is free to download on to your iPhone/iPad.
Preston North End supporters can download an individual issue at £2.99 or take out a season pass for £49.99.
Download the Matchday Digital app on your iPhone or iPad for free now by clicking on the below iTunes App Store icon. Alternatively simply go to the iTunes App store on your iPhone/iPad and search for ‘Matchday Digital’.