# 2007–08 Preston North End F.C. season

During the 2007–08 English football season, Preston North End competed in the Football League Championship.

## Season summary

After losing key player David Nugent, Preston North End made a bad start to the 2007–08 season with just three victories from the opening 16 matches, which resulted in manager Paul Simpson being sacked on 13 November. Everton assistant manager Alan Irvine took over as manager seven days later and guided Preston to a 15th-place finish.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 13 | Burnley | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 60 | 67 | −7 | 62 |
| 14 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 60 | 66 | −6 | 58 |
| 15 | Preston North End | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 56 |
| 16 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 54 | 55 | −1 | 55 |
| 17 | Norwich City | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 49 | 59 | −10 | 55 |

## Results

Preston North End's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Championship

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 11 August 2007 | Norwich City | H | 0–0 | 13,408 | |
| 18 August 2007 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–2 | 19,556 | |
| 25 August 2007 | Colchester United | H | 0–3 | 11,582 | |
| 1 September 2007 | Coventry City | A | 1–2 | 17,551 | Agyemang |
| 15 September 2007 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–0 | 13,062 | Gallagher |
| 18 September 2007 | Scunthorpe United | A | 1–2 | 5,754 | Mawéné |
| 22 September 2007 | Cardiff City | A | 2–2 | 11,772 | Davidson (2) |
| 29 September 2007 | Bristol City | H | 0–0 | 12,098 | |
| 2 October 2007 | Southampton | H | 5–1 | 10,279 | Hawley, Carter, Sedgwick, Agyemang (2) |
| 6 October 2007 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–2 | 19,243 | Mellor (pen) |
| 20 October 2007 | Sheffield United | A | 1–1 | 23,661 | Carter |
| 23 October 2007 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–0 | 11,407 | |
| 27 October 2007 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 2–0 | 11,055 | Ormerod, Carter |
| 3 November 2007 | Barnsley | A | 0–1 | 10,223 | |
| 6 November 2007 | Leicester City | H | 1–1 | 10,930 | Carroll |
| 10 November 2007 | Hull City | A | 0–3 | 16,358 | |
| 24 November 2007 | Charlton Athletic | H | 0–2 | 12,532 | |
| 27 November 2007 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–2 | 13,048 | Mawéné |
| 1 December 2007 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 22,836 | |
| 4 December 2007 | Hull City | H | 3–0 | 11,311 | Agyemang, Whaley, L Neal |
| 8 December 2007 | Blackpool | H | 0–1 | 17,807 | |
| 15 December 2007 | Burnley | A | 3–2 | 14,829 | Sedgwick, Mellor, Whaley |
| 22 December 2007 | Southampton | A | 1–0 | 23,267 | L Neal |
| 26 December 2007 | Scunthorpe United | H | 0–1 | 12,920 | |
| 29 December 2007 | Cardiff City | H | 1–2 | 12,046 | Whaley |
| 1 January 2008 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–2 | 20,690 | Hawley |
| 12 January 2008 | Watford | H | 1–0 | 12,347 | Mellor |
| 19 January 2008 | Stoke City | A | 1–3 | 15,011 | Brown |
| 29 January 2008 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–1 | 12,473 | Mawéné, Hawley |
| 2 February 2008 | Norwich City | A | 0–1 | 24,092 | |
| 9 February 2008 | Coventry City | H | 1–0 | 11,857 | St Ledger |
| 12 February 2008 | Colchester United | A | 1–2 | 5,122 | Mellor |
| 23 February 2008 | Watford | A | 0–0 | 16,798 | |
| 26 February 2008 | Stoke City | H | 2–0 | 12,798 | Chaplow (2) |
| 1 March 2008 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–1 | 12,347 | |
| 4 March 2008 | Leicester City | A | 1–0 | 19,264 | Carter |
| 8 March 2008 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–1 | 25,124 | Brown (2) |
| 11 March 2008 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | 12,090 | Davidson (pen), Whaley |
| 15 March 2008 | Blackpool | A | 0–0 | 9,629 | |
| 22 March 2008 | Burnley | H | 2–1 | 16,149 | Priskin, Brown |
| 29 March 2008 | Sheffield United | H | 3–1 | 14,647 | Davidson (pen), Mellor (2) |
| 5 April 2008 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–2 | 14,966 | Mellor, Priskin |
| 12 April 2008 | Barnsley | H | 1–2 | 13,994 | Foster (own goal) |
| 19 April 2008 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 2–2 | 10,727 | Mellor, Chaplow |
| 26 April 2008 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–2 | 14,187 | Brown, Mellor |
| 4 May 2008 | Bristol City | A | 0–3 | 19,169 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 2008 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1–0 | 4,616 | Whaley |
| R4 | 26 January 2008 | Derby County | A | 4–1 | 17,344 | Hawley (2), Whaley, Mellor (pen) |
| R5 | 17 February 2008 | Portsmouth | H | 0–1 | 11,840 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 14 August 2007 | Morecambe | H | 1–2 | 7,703 | Pugh |

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Andy Lonergan |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Michael Hart |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Callum Davidson |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Richard Chaplow |
| 5 | DF | FRA | Youl Mawéné |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Jason Jarrett |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Chris Sedgwick |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Karl Hawley |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Chris Brown |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Craig Beattie (on loan from West Bromwich Albion) |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Darren Carter |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Sean St Ledger |
| 13 | GK | IRL | Wayne Henderson |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Liam Chilvers |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Simon Whaley |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Paul McKenna |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Brett Ormerod |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Matt Hill |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Billy Jones |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Kevin Nicholls |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Neal Trotman |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Lewis Neal |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Joe Anyinsah |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Chris Neal |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Andrew Murphy |
| 32 | DF | IRL | Dylan Adams |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Neil Mellor |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Chris McGrail |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Graham Alexander (to Burnley) |
| 2 | DF | ENG | John Halls (on loan from Reading) |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Danny Pugh (to Stoke City) |
| 9 | FW | GHA | Patrick Agyemang (to Queens Park Rangers) |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Paul Gallagher (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Andy Carroll (on loan from Newcastle United) |
| 22 | GK | POL | Grzegorz Szamotulski (released) |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Adam Nowland (to Lancaster City) |
| 25 | FW | HUN | Tamás Priskin (on loan from Watford) |