 | ||||
| Full name | Preston North End Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Lilywhites,The Invincibles | |||
| Short name | PNE | |||
| Founded | 1880 (145 years ago) (1880) | |||
| Ground | Deepdale | |||
| Capacity | 23,404 | |||
| Owner | Wordon Limited | |||
| Chairman | Craig Hemmings | |||
| Manager | Paul Heckingbottom | |||
| League | EFL Championship | |||
| 2023–24 | EFL Championship, 10th of 24 | |||
| Website | pnefc.net | |||
 Current season | ||||
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to asPreston,North End orPNE, is a professionalassociation football club inPreston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in theEFL Championship, the second level of theEnglish football league system.
Originally acricket club, Preston has been based atDeepdale since 1875. The club first took up football in 1878 as a winter fitness activity, and decided to focus on it in May 1880, when the football club was officially founded. Deepdale is now football's oldest ground in terms of continuous use by a league club. Preston North End was a founder member of theFootball League in 1888. In the1888–89 season, the team won both theinaugural league championship and theFA Cup, the latter without conceding a goal. They were the first team to achieve the "Double" in English football and, as they were unbeaten in all matches, are remembered as "The Invincibles". Preston won the league championship again in 1889–90 but their only major success since then has been their1938 FA Cup final victory overHuddersfield Town. The club's most famous players have beenSir Tom Finney,Alan Kelly Sr. andBill Shankly, who are all commemorated at Deepdale by stands named after them.
Until 1961, Preston were usually members of theFirst Division but, having been relegated after the1960–61 season, they have not yet returned to the top flight. They were first relegated to theThird Division after the1969–70 season and have spent 28 of the 49 seasons since 1970 in the bottom two divisions of the Football League, including a span of 19 seasons from 1981–1982 to 1999–2000. Preston has faced serious financial issues and was twice in danger of closure. The club was owned by businessmanTrevor Hemmings until his death in October 2021 and has been in the EFL Championship since gaining promotion in 2015, with a highest finishing position since then of 7th (2017–18).
Preston North End was founded in 1863, originally as acricket club, and played their first matches at the Marsh near theRiver Ribble in thePreston suburb ofAshton. Later that year, they switched toMoor Park in the north of the town, calling themselves "North End" in recognition of the new location. On 21 January 1875, the club leased a field opposite Moor Park on the site of the currentDeepdale stadium, which has been its home ever since.[1]
The club formed arugby union team in 1877 as a winter fitness activity but this was not a success and, a year later, they played their first game under therules of association football. In May 1880, a proposal to fully adopt the association code was unanimously accepted and Preston North End Football Club was officially founded.[1]
Preston became one of the first professional clubs by hiring players from Scotland. The players who came from Scotland to play in England in those days were known as theScotch Professors. In1887, they beatHyde26–0 in the first round of the FA Cup, still a record winning margin in English first-class football. Scottish forwardJimmy Ross scored eight goals in the match before going on to score 19 goals in the competition that season, also still a record.[2][3]
In1888–89, Preston became the first league champions and the first winners of "The Double", becoming the only team to date to go throughout an entire season unbeaten in both the league andFA Cup – winning the FA Cup without conceding a goal.[4] The team did so with a majority of their team being made up of Scottish players (theScotch Professors).[5] In a contribution to Paul Agnew's 1989 biography ofTom Finney, the player himself wrote: "The club has long been known as Proud Preston, and the Old Invincibles of the previous century set some incredible standards".[6] The author wrote elsewhere: "...and that team became immortalised as the 'Old Invincibles'".[7] Other sources call the team "The Invincibles" and both versions of the nickname have been used.[8] In his autobiography, Finney wrote: "The championship stayed with North End — by now tagged the Old Invincibles — the following year, but runners-up spot had to suffice for the next three seasons".[9] As Finney said, Preston were league champions again in 1889–90, but have not won the title since. In total, they have been league runners-up six times, including the three consecutive seasons from 1890-91 to 1892–93, and twice in the 1950s when Finney was playing. The club's last major trophy win was in the1938 FA Cup Final when they defeatedHuddersfield Town 1–0 and the team includedBill Shankly,Andy Beattie and goalscorerGeorge Mutch.[10]
Preston's most famous player,Tom Finney, joined the club as a teenager in 1938. His first team debut was delayed until 1946 by theSecond World War but he played for Preston until he retired in 1960. He was nicknamed the "Preston Plumber" because of his local business. Finney remains the club's top goalscorer, with 187 goals from 433 appearances, and also scored 30 international goals forEngland in 76 appearances.[11]
A year after Finney's retirement, Preston were relegated to theSecond Division and have not played in the top division since. They had a memorableseason in 1963–64 when, managed by former playerJimmy Milne, they finished third in the Second Division and reached the1964 FA Cup Final where they lost a thrilling match 3–2 toWest Ham United.
Preston were first relegated to theThird Division after the1969–70 season. Although they won promotion again immediately, the team have spent 28 of the 49 seasons since 1970 in the bottom two divisions, including a span of 19 seasons from 1981-82 to 1999–2000. The club experienced a near-terminal decline in the 1980s which brought about the very real threat of closure, the nadir being the1985–86 season when they finished 23rd in theFourth Division and had to seek re-election to the league.
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Under managerJohn McGrath, the team recovered and won promotion back to the Third Division only a year later but it was a false dawn as the team spent another three years in the bottom division from 1993 to 1996. The club finally began to recover and move forward after a takeover by heating manufacturerBaxi in 1994 but their ownership ended in June 2002.[12][13] The team's central defenderDavid Moyes, then aged 34, began his managerial career when appointed by the Baxi-controlled board in February 1998. Moyes was successful and managed the team to thethird tier championship in 2000. Preston reached the2001 play-off final but were defeated byBolton Wanderers. In the2005 play-off final, under Moyes' successorBilly Davies, Preston were beaten 1–0 by West Ham United.[14]
Following the Baxi sell-off and the departure of Moyes toEverton in 2002, the team was established at second-tier level through the 2000s but more problems arose at the end of the decade with anHM Revenue and Customs winding-up order in 2010 and relegation to the third tier in 2011. The taxation issue was resolved by local businessmanTrevor Hemmings, already a shareholder, who bought a controlling interest in June 2010.[15] The team were promoted again, via the play-offs, in 2015 and have remained in theEFL Championship since then, with a highest finishing position of 7th in the2017–18 season.
Preston North End reached the2024–25 FA Cup quarter-finals but they lost 3–0 againstAston Villa atDeepdale.[16]
Deepdale was the original cricket club's home from 1875 and has been a football venue from 1878. It is the world's oldest football ground in terms of continuous use by a club in a major league. The biggest attendance seen was 42,684 for a Division One clash with Arsenal in April 1938.
When Baxi took control, it embarked on an investment programme between 1996 and 2009 with the aim of upgrading Deepdale into a modern stadium. The old ground was demolished and rebuilt in four stages and the last of the new stands was opened in 2008. The stadium has a seated capacity of 23,404. The current pitch dimensions are 110 x 75 yards.[17]
Part of the Baxi-funded redevelopment was the originalNational Football Museum which opened at Deepdale in 2001, but it was relocated to Manchester in 2012 after being closed for two years.[18]
Outside the Sir Tom Finney Stand is a statue of the famous player himself, which is known as "The Splash" or the "Tom Finney Splash". The statue, sculpted byPeter Hodgkinson and unveiled in July 2004, was inspired by a famous photograph taken at theChelsea versus Preston game in 1956, played atStamford Bridge in particularly wet conditions.[17]
An attempt was made to destroy the ground in 1913. As part of thesuffragette bombing and arson campaign,suffragettes carried out a series of bombings and arson attacks nationwide during their campaign for women's suffrage.[19] In April 1913, suffragettes attempted to burn down Deepdale's grandstand but were foiled.[20] In the same year, suffragettessucceeded in burning downArsenal's then South London stadium, and also attempted to burn downBlackburn Rovers' ground.[20] More traditionally male sports were targeted in order to protest againstmale dominance.[21]
Preston North End have traditionally worn white shirts with blue shorts for their home kit, with yellow being a common colour for Preston's away kit. The club's main sponsors, since shirt sponsorship was introduced in 1979, have been as follows:[22]
| Years | Sponsor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1979–1984 | Pontins |
| 1984–1985 | David Leil |
| 1985–1986 | Lombard Continental |
| 1986–1990 | Garratt's Insurance |
| 1990–1992 | Ribble Valley Shelving |
| 1992–1995 | Coloroll |
| 1995–2002 | Baxi |
| 2002–2005 | New Reg |
| 2005–2010 | Enterprise |
| 2010–2012 | Tennent's |
| 2012–2013 | Magners |
| 2013–2014 | The Football Pools/Carers Trust |
| 2014–2016 | Virgin Trains |
| 2016–2017 | 888sport |
| 2017–2018 | Tempobet |
| 2018–2021 | 32Red |
| 2021–present | PAR Group |
Historically, Preston North End's main rivalry is withBlackpool — the two clubs' grounds being seventeen miles apart — and theWest Lancashire derby between the two clubs has been contested 96 times across all four divisions of theFootball League and cup competitions since 1901.[23] Preston's other local rivals in the league over the years includeBlackburn Rovers,Burnley,Bolton Wanderers andWigan Athletic.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Below is a list of non-playing personnel:[24][25]
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Paul Heckingbottom | Manager |
| Stuart McCall | Assistant Manager |
| Ched Evans | First Team coach |
| Peter Murphy | First Team Coach |
| Mike Pollitt | Goalkeeping Coach |
| Matt Jackson | Head of Medicine |
| John Lucas | Head of Physical Performance |
| Nick Harrison | Academy Manager |
| Andy Livingstone | Head of Academy Recruitment |
| James Wallace | Chief Scout |
| Paul Huddy | Kitman |
The following is a list of Preston North End managers since 1986, excluding caretakers:[26][27]
| Manager | Nationality | Period | Total | League | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | G | W | D | L | Win % | Point Av. | |||
| John McGrath |  England | 1986–1990 | 192 | 74 | 53 | 65 | 38.54 | 165 | 68 | 45 | 54 | 41.21 | 1.51 |
| Les Chapman | England | 1990–1992 | 129 | 44 | 30 | 55 | 34.11 | 118 | 39 | 29 | 50 | 33.05 | 1.24 |
| John Beck | England | 1992–1994 | 99 | 36 | 20 | 43 | 36.36 | 87 | 31 | 19 | 37 | 35.63 | 1.29 |
| Gary Peters | England | 1994–1998 | 166 | 72 | 42 | 52 | 43.37 | 143 | 63 | 37 | 43 | 44.06 | 1.58 |
| David Moyes |  Scotland | 1998–2002 | 234 | 113 | 60 | 61 | 48.29 | 196 | 95 | 53 | 48 | 48.47 | 1.72 |
| Craig Brown | Scotland | 2002–2004 | 106 | 36 | 30 | 40 | 33.96 | 97 | 32 | 28 | 37 | 32.99 | 1.28 |
| Billy Davies | Scotland | 2004–2006 | 101 | 45 | 35 | 21 | 45.55 | 87 | 40 | 31 | 16 | 45.98 | 1.74 |
| Paul Simpson | England | 2006–2007 | 67 | 27 | 14 | 26 | 40.30 | 62 | 25 | 14 | 23 | 40.32 | 1.44 |
| Alan Irvine | Scotland | 2007–2009 | 110 | 45 | 25 | 40 | 40.90 | 99 | 40 | 24 | 35 | 40.40 | 1.45 |
| Darren Ferguson | Scotland | 2010 | 49 | 13 | 11 | 25 | 26.53 | 45 | 11 | 11 | 23 | 24.44 | 0.98 |
| Phil Brown | England | 2011 | 51 | 15 | 15 | 21 | 29.41 | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 30.95 | 1.19 |
| Graham Westley | England | 2012–2013 | 62 | 16 | 23 | 23 | 25.81 | 52 | 11 | 21 | 20 | 21.15 | 1.04 |
| Simon Grayson | England | 2013–2017 | 235 | 104 | 74 | 57 | 44.26 | 198 | 84 | 67 | 47 | 42.42 | 1.61 |
| Alex Neil | Scotland | 2017–2021 | 140 | 55 | 39 | 46 | 39.29 | 129 | 51 | 37 | 41 | 39.53 | 1.47 |
| Frankie McAvoy | Scotland | 2021 | 33 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 42.40 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 36.36 | 1.45 |
| Ryan Lowe | England | 2021–2024 | 124 | 47 | 30 | 47 | 37.90 | 117 | 45 | 30 | 42 | 38.46 | 1.38 |
| Paul Heckingbottom | England | 2024–Present | 32 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 31.25 | 28 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 28.57 | 1.32 |
In 1996, Preston's Third Division title made them the third club to have been champions of each of the top four professional leagues in English football. This feat was previously achieved byWolverhampton Wanderers in 1988, andBurnley in 1992, and has since been achieved bySheffield United andPortsmouth both in 2017.
League
Cup
The previously affiliatedwomen's football team was calledPreston North End W.F.C. In May 2016, they became Fylde Ladies F.C., in association withNational League North sideAFC Fylde.[33]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
