Wally with a Brolly

Indeed, based on the stats above, you may be forgiven for questioning the logic behind Ferguson’s latest transfer. However, like his wily father, it seems that Ferguson Jnr. is capable of spotting and nurturing potential that others may have overlooked. Treacy’s performances in a white shirt in season 2010/11 have been very promising. In a team gasping for air above the turbulent waves that characterise the dreaded relegation zone and spearheaded by arguably the most convincing Santa Claus impersonator outside of Lapland in Jon Parkin (who admittedly has bagged seven goals to date), Treacy has often looked a cut above the rest in terms of ability so far this season. And, in fairness to the player, take a step back, and you can begin to understand why. Standing at 6 foot, Treacy not only has height on his side, but displays rapid pace, skill, vision and an eye for goal to sum up just some of the player’s raw ability. However, raw is a crucial word in this sentence and on occasions this season Treacy has failed to repeat the types of performance that, if consistent, would undoubtedly have the wandering eyes of the Premiership scouting network very focused indeed. Performances that have seen him notch 6 goals in 16 appearances so far this season – better than one in three, as a left winger – and the 5^th greatest number of shots on target in the division: 23 in 14 games. And again, all this in a team, and with team-mates, that are currently underperforming in the Championship. If, for example, you take statistics for one of the currently accepted strongest wingers in the division: Jimmy Kebe of Reading, whose club is sitting in 6^th, and match them against those of Treacy, with Preston currently sat in 21^st, we feel the quality and worth of the player start to become apparent. Both players have scored 4 goals, both have assisted 2, while Treacy has managed a total of 37 shots on goal and Kebe 26, from the same position. Of course, we recognise it could then be argued that Kebe has a greater shot:goal ratio, but also point out that Treacy has achieved this statistic in a team that is producing very few goal scoring opportunities: the next greatest number of shots on goal comes courtesy of the ‘prolific’ Jon Parkin, who has managed just 19 – half that of his team-mate. In addition to a fantastic domestic autumn, Treacy's antics haven't gone unnoticed by Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni, with the Italian schemer handing Treacy his senior international debut on 11th August against Argentina.

Ok, so we have pointed out the areas in which we believe Keith Treacy to be performing well; but of course he’s not all perfect. It appears that in addition to improving consistency, the attack-minded Treacy may also need to put in a few more training ground hours applying himself in the defensive department: as a left winger this season Treacy, in addition to 12 recorded fouls, has managed to receive one red card and concede two penalties! Considering Preston as an entire squad have only conceded three penalties all season, this isn’t a particularly CV boosting figure.

To summarise, we here at WWaB believe the ex-Blackburn midfielder is showing a lot of promise and ability that, if honed and maintained, could lead to him being courted by premiership clubs again before too long. Just work on those penalty area challenges Keith.