This club has one thing it is very well known for. When the Football League was formed in 1888, North End were founder members. Earlier that year they had lost the FA Cup final, so they were a top team. Then, in the league’s first season, they played 22, won 18, and drew 4. They won the league by 11 points, and they won the Cup without conceding…

Mainly it’s about Blackpool, which is less than 20 miles to the west. It’s the West Lancashire derby and has been played 96 times in all four top divisions. The 2022–23 season’s two games—each was a win for the home team—were the first since 2013. Unfortunately, Blackpool was relegated to League One in 2023, so it looks like these two only have a…

None, which is dumb. That’s because of Dick, Kerr’s Ladies FC, arguably the first women’s football team in the world, was founded in Preston in 1917. They played 833 games over the next 48 years, occasionally beating pro men’s teams in the early days. The name comes from the company whose employees started it, a locomotive manufacturer called…

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Deepdale is an impressive place. There have been games on the site continuously since 1878, making it one of the longest-used football venues around (this topic is a minefield, by the way). But it was all rebuilt starting in the 1990s and today is a modern, cozy, convenient ground that can probably get pretty loud during a big game. Its capacity…

GETTING THERE: It’s about a half-hour walk from the station through the city center, but you can make it easier on yourself by taking bus 19 (Sharoe Green) to the Football Ground stop right outside Deepdale. Catch it at the bus station (via bus 111 from the train station) or by walking to Lancaster Road in the center. PUBS: There are some proper…