Preston North End FC History Preston North End FC History Posted: Mon 23 Jul 2012 Author: Ben Rhodes Image by: Preston North End can be traced back to 1863, but at that time it was linked with cricket and the first game of football was fifteen years away. In the early 1860's cricket was the only organised game of note in the town and the normal venue for this activity was the Marsh, an irregular stop of land on the Ribble Estuary at Ashton and which today is the site for the GEC works. Cricket can be linked with Wellfield Road School. In that year there was a split amongst the club members when the majority opted for a move to Moor Park where the Corporation had opened a public Cricket ground, The newly formed club using Moor Park was named North End simply as an indication of the clubs base being in the north end of the town. The first President was George Howarth and subscriptions were 2d a week.

The club fell on hard times and almost disbanded, but new members were recruited to ease the financial crisis and one of these new comers was William Sudell who became a member on 3rd August 1867 when he was 16-years-old, having lived in the town all his life. He was a good swimmer and cyclist, a keen cricketer and a very good rugby forward. In spite of the financial problems not being resolved, the members made a memorable and courageous step on 21st January 1875 when they took a lease on a field at Deepdale, a field which was to be the home of the finest football team of the era. Playing cricket and dabbling in other games such as lacrosse and rounders were not financially viable and so in 1877 members turned to rugby. Unfortunately, this venture was a failure since the club could not compete with the Grasshoppers who were already a well-established force. On the 5th October 1878 North End played its first game under association rules against Eagley, the game was played at Deepdale and was lost 1-0.

For the record the team that played this game were: - W Sudell, W Turner, J Sefton, T Charnley, T Wadeson, J Wadeson, C Miller, T Parkinson, JF Dodgson, R Green and H S Carmel (Cpt). The success of other clubs in Lancashire who were playing soccer had not gone unnoticed at Deepdale and in May 1880 a resolution proposing the adoption of the association code was proposed by Mr Harry Carmel and seconded by William Charnley and was carried unanimously. In March of 1881 North End played Blackburn Rovers and were beaten 10-0. This reverse following a defeat in the Lancashire Cup versus Turton did not however diminish enthusiasm and the next big leap forward was in the summer of 1883 when William Sudell, having seen tactics employed by neighbouring clubs went north to Scotland and obtained the services of N J Ross from Heart of Midlothian, Ross became one of the best full backs of his time, other players who came from Scotland were Drummond, Russell and Gordon. Thus was formed the nucleus of the team which was to make North End so famous.

In 1884 following a draw against Upton Park at Deepdale a protest was made to the FA about the eligibility of some Preston players, but the basic reason for the protest was that Preston were paying their players. Sudell did not deny this so following expulsion from Cup competition he commenced his historical move to have professionalism legalised in that same year James Ross (younger brother of NJ) and Sam Thomson came down from Scotland and Robert Howarth, a local boy joined the club as fullback. The success which Sudell brought to Deepdale and the short time taken to achieve this is illustrated by the fact that from 22 August 1885 to 26 April 1886, North End were undefeated and during the season won 59 out of 64 matches, scoring 318 goals and conceding only 60. In 1886 Sudell completed his team building with the signing of a centre forward, John Goodall, and the Invincibles were on their way to making football history.

Another season worthy of note was in the season 1887/88 when North End won 42 consecutive matches, but there was bitter disappointment when .as hot favourites they were beaten 2-1 in the Cup Final on 24 March 1888 by West Bromwich Albion. However, next season 1888/89 not only were they founder members of the league but they won the FA Cup and were the first team to achieve the double, doing this at the first opportunity. In 1889/90 North End were again League Champions and were runners up in the following three seasons. A limited company was formed in 1893 which was the end of the Sudell reign but the genius of a man who could build such a team and which justly earned the name the Invincibles is fully recognised today. North End is the only club from the founder Members of the Football League who have played continuously on the same ground. Deepdale has been the venue for soccer for over a century. The period before the First World War is often referred to as yo-yo when North End were relegated to the Second Division on two occasions and immediately came back.

In 1922 they once more reached the FA Cup Final but were beaten 1-0 by Huddersfield Town who scored from a penalty. 1924 saw the retirement of one of the Clubs great stalwarts, Joe McCall who had played at Deepdale for 20 seasons. From September 1925 for four seasons Alex James was a favourite whose transfer to Arsenal in 1929 hit the football headlines when the fee involved was reported to be £9,000. Following the departure of James, relegation to the Third Division was twice narrowly avoided but what happened later with a Management Committee of four under the Chairmanship of the late JI Taylor was a modern football romance. Holdcroft, Lowe, Harper, Rowley, Tremelling, Shankly, Gallimore and Dougal were signed and promotion was gained in 1934. The two Beatties, Andy and Bobbie (unrelated), together with Mutch, Smith, Milne, Fagan and the O'Donnell brothers were among the many Scots who came to Deepdale.

North End reached the Cup Final in 1937 when they lost to Sunderland and in 1938 when they reversed the result of the 1922 Final by beating Huddersfield town 1-0, the winning goal came from the first penalty awarded at Wembley, and was scored by George Mutch with the last kick of extra time. After the war and until his retirement in 1960 the skill of Tom Finney was the most important aspect of football at Deepdale. His genius and gentlemanly conduct was and still is, and example for all footballers to follow and brought great credit, not just to the maestro but also to his home town of Preston. The honour of being made Freeman of the Borough and the award of the CBE for services to football was just reward for this footballing legend, Sadly North Ends defeat, 3-2 by Albion in the Cup Final of 1954, did not result in a Cup Winners Medal and another disappointment was in 1953 when the First Division Championship was lost to Arsenal on a goal average difference of one.

As with so many other League Clubs the decline in the fortunes of North End started with the abolition of the maximum wage and with the concentration of successful clubs within the larger cities where stadiums could be filled by drawing on a relatively small percentage of the population. North End reached Wembley again in 1964 when they lost what is still considered to be a classic final against West ham United, the team included a young Howard Kendall. North End is also proud to be linked with the footballing feats of goalkeeper Alan Kelly who joined the club in 1958 from Drumcondra and, until his enforced retirement, following a shoulder injury sustained in the game against Bristol City on 15 September 1973, gave sterling service, his record speaks for itself. He was first choice goalkeeper for 13 seasons and holds the Club record of 447 league appearances (keeping 126 clean sheets) and 47 caps for Eire. North End's most recent visit to Wembley came in the 1993/94 season when the team reached the third Division play-offs.

Torquay United were the opponents for the first round, with the match being played at Plainmoor, Torquay won 2-0. The second round was played on Wednesday 18 May 1994 when memorable scenes were witnessed at Deepdale. North End went one goal up within the first ten minutes, only to see a two-goal advantage regained before half time, plus, Torquay gained the valuable away goal. The sending off of Torquay defender Darren Moore ten minutes before half time spurred Preston on. They scored twice in the second half to take the game to extra time, Torquay looked like holding out and winning on the away goals rule until Paul Raynor scored with only four minutes let on the clock and so North End were to feature once more at Wembley. The team that played that night were Steve Woods, Andy Fensome, Ryan Kidd, Lee Cartwright, Stuart Hicks, David Moyes, Gareth Ainsworth, Neil Whalley, Paul Raynor, Tony Ellis, Ian Bryson, subs were Greg Challender and Richard Lucas. Preston played Wycombe Wanderers in the final and unfortunately lost 4-2 having been 2-1 up at half time.

In 1996, however, everything went the way of North End and under the management of Gary Peters the club was promoted as champions of Division Three. During the championship season, the Sir Tom Finney Stand was opened, named in recognition of the maestro and representing the start of the redevelopment of Deepdale into a stadium for the 21st Century. The Sir Tom Finney Stand is the home of restaurants and a conference centre. The stand seats between 7,000 and 8,000 fans and has match day facilities for spectators on concourses within the stand. The next stage of the ground redevelopment to be completed was the Bill Shankly Kop, which was formerly the Spion Kop Stand. The work started in December 1997 and was completed in June 1998. This stand now houses a fitness centre and football museum. After Gary Peters' resignation in January 1998, David Moyes took over as Manager and in his first full season in charge he led the club to its highest League finish since the 1980/81 season, only losing out to Gillingham in the play-offs.

The following season, David went one better as he guided Preston to the Second Division title, and a place in the First Division for the first time in 20 years. In season 2000/01, Moyes excelled himself once again as he steered the side to a highly impressive fourth position in Division One. This meant the play-offs once again and, having beaten Birmingham on penalties in the semi final, North End travelled to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to face Bolton Wanderers. Although Bolton took a deserved lead in the first half, it was North End who had most of the play in the second period. Despite putting the opposition under substantial pressure, Preston could not get an equaliser and Bolton ensured victory with two late goals, the 3-0 scoreline an untrue reflection of the game. The following season was a year of departures, though the club did welcome the spectacular new Alan Kelly Town End stand, replacing the popular terrace that became so iconic of 'Old Deepdale'. In October, club chairman Bryan Gray ended a seven year tenure at North End and announced his resignation at the club's AGM. Deputy chairman Derek Shaw took over in the interim.

Nine days in March saw the end of an era at North End as Jon Macken and David Moyes both departed the club. Macken left for Manchester City in a club record £5million deal while David Moyes moved to Premiership club Everton. Kelham O'Hanlon took over temporary charge of management matters and despite difficult circumstances guided the club to a creditable eighth position a whisker away from the play-offs. The close season saw a wind of change sweep through the Deepdale corridors. The first big change saw former Scotland manager Craig Brown unveiled as new first team manager. Kelham O'Hanlon was rewarded for his good work by retaining his assistant managers role while former Motherwell boss Billy Davies was brought in as first team coach. The influx of new faces continued as Jamaican international Ricardo Fuller became the first signing of the new era. In late June, Baxi Partnership finally ended their association with PNE when their remaining shares were bought out by 'Friends of Preston North End' - a new company formed by club chairman Derek Shaw and Steve Jackson, the Managing Director of New Reg Ltd, the Club's official shirt sponsor.

The 2002/03 season saw Tyrone Mears, Marlon Broomes, Eddie Lewis, Brian O'Neil, Simon Lynch, Jonathan Gould and George Koumantarakis complete the North End revolution, but despite so many players coming in the final placing was slightly disappointing as they finished the season in 12th place. The disappointment signalled the end for several experienced players, with Iain Anderson, Colin Murdock, Mark Rankine and Tepi Moilanen all leaving before the season kicked off. But despite the changes the fortunes remained the same, finishing in 15th place. Callum Davidson, Youl Mawene and Gavin Ward all arrived in the summer of 2004 and gave the fans real hope for the new campaign, but things didn't quite go according to plan and with less than a month of the season gone, Craig Brown was relieved of his duties. In August 2004, Billy Davies was put in temporary charge and four wins in six games earned him the job on a permanent basis, Davies and his new Assistant David Kelly were unveiled on September 27th.

The rest as they say is history and Davies led North End to fifth place in the table and a place in the Play Off Final at Cardiff, but in the end it proved to be a step too far as Bobby Zamora netted the only goal of the game. Davies and Kelly were rewarded for their success with new and improved contracts in June 2005 and repaid the board's faith by leading North End to the Play-Offs for the second year in succession. However, this time they were knocked out in the Semi Final stage by Leeds United. In June 2006, Billy Davies left his post at Deepdale to become manager of Derby County and he was replaced by Paul Simpson, who signed a three year contract. In November 2006 Preston North End topped the Championship following the 1-1 draw at home to Coventry. It was the first time the Club had topped the second tier of English football since 1951. David Nugent became the first Preston player since Sir Tom Finney to represent England, when he came on as a substitute in the friendly against Andorra and scored in injury time to help England to a 3-0 win in March 2007.

In June, Nugent was sold to Portsmouth for an initial fee of £6m, bringing his short but exciting Deepdale days to an end. In the immediate aftermath of Nugent's departure, Preston struggled for form, and this culminated in the departure of manager Paul Simpson after a 3-0 defeat at Hull City in November 2007. He was replaced by former Everton assistant manager Alan Irvine, who has steadily overseen an upturn in fortunes. Alan Irvine steered the Club to Championship safety, completing the process when Richard Chaplow grabbed a late equaliser at Plymouth to guarantee North End's Championship status. During the summer of 2008 the finishing touches to the new Invincibles Pavilion were put in place and the new stand was officially opened on Saturday August 16th 2008 with PNE's first home Championship clash of the season against Crystal Palace. Deepdale's new capacity was moved up to 23,408 with more than 1,000 hospitality places and that extra seating proved useful when the Lilywhites drew Liverpool in the FA Cup Third Round.

That game broke all records with 23,046 viewing the match inside the ground, the biggest crowd at Deepdale since the early 1970s. The game also saw record gate receipts and a TV viewing audience of 7.3m. North End made the Play-Offs again at the end of that season but succumbed to Sheff Utd over two legs in the semi-final to miss out on the chance of Premier League football. In December 2009 Alan Irvine left the Club and was succeeded by the son of Sir Alex Ferguson, Darren. Ferguson only lasted 12 months however before being replaced by Phil Brown, but he was unable to keep the Lilywhites in the Championship and they were relegated to League One. In a scenario very similar to that of Ferguson’s reign, Brown was replaced at Deepdale after 12 months – the same 12 that his predecessor had overseen and Graham Westley arrived with a view to changing the Club’s fortunes around.

After a huge squad overhaul in the summer of 2012, Westley was sacked in February 2013 after a disappointing tenure at Deepdale and he was replaced by former Huddersfield Town manager Simon Grayson. Grayson had an immediate impact on the Club and under his guidance, results improved with the Lilywhites securing a respectable mid-table finish by the end of the season. A rejuvenated North End in the 2013/14 season saw the club finish in the Play-Off places at the end of the last campaign, but Simon Grayson's side ultimately fell short of promotion losing to Rotherham in the Play-Off semi-finals. It was during this season, that saw Preston North End lose its famous son with the death of Sir Tom Finney on the 14th February 2014. All Lilywhites concerned will be in hope that PNE can go one step better than last year going into the 2014/15 season as a fitting tribute to the 'Preston Plumber'. Roll Of Honour The Founding Clubs of the English Football League: Where Are They Now?

| Bleacher Report The Founding Clubs of the English Football League: Where Are They Now? By Jamie Ward , Senior Analyst Dec 29, 2008 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories 12.8K 16 Comments Football became a professional sport in the summer of 1885 with the very first league being contested in 1888 by just 12 clubs. An incredible 120 years later and 11 of the 12 teams are still up and running. The original set up of the league is the oldest of its kind in the world and has had 130 different clubs involved since its formation. Alongside the twelve teams of the Football League, stood the twelve clubs of the rival football association—the Football Alliance. It was created a year later and run along side the Football league for three seasons before it was decided that the two seperate associations would merge to create two divisions contended by the clubs. The Founders of The Football League Accrington(folded 1896), Aston Villa, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Derby, Everton, Notts.

County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Founders of The Football Alliance Ardwick (Man City), Birmingham St. George (Disbanded 1892), Bootle (Dropped out), Burton Swifts (Folded 1910), Crewe Alexandra, Darwen, Grimsby Town, Lincoln City, Long Eaton Rangers, Newton Heath (Man United), Nottingham Forest, The Wednesday (Sheffield Wednesday), Small Heath (Birmingham City), Stoke, Sunderland Albion (Disbanded), Walsall Town Swifts (Walsall FC). Accrington FC: (not to be confused with accrington stanley) Current league position: Folded Accrington FC resigned from the Football League after it was relegated to the second division in 1892-93, finishing one place above Newton Heath who themselves were in their very first season. Aston Villa: Current League Position: sixth (first tier) Founded in Aston in 1874, the club is now one of the most successful in the current English league with 20 titles to their credit, including seven league titles and seven FA Cups.

Aston Villa are noted to be the the ones who came up with the idea for the Football League, William McGregor, a director of the club was the person who pionered the format that became the corner stone of the modern game. Blackburn Rovers: Current League Position: 19th (first tier) Blackburn Rovers are one of only three clubs who are founding members of both the Football League and the Premier League. The Lancashire club is also one of only four to have won the Premier League title since its creation in 1992. Bolton Wanderers: Current League Position: 11th (first tier) The Greater Manchester based club has played football in all four professional divisions and have recently seen European football for the first time in their history, reaching the UEFA Cup in 2005-06 Burnley FC: Current League Position: fifth (second tier) A club that has not been in the top Football League division since 1976, Burnley have also experienced the threat of relegation in to non-league football on more than one occasion.

Derby County: Current League Position: 18th (second tier) Derby are currently one of eleven clubs that have played in every season of league football since its creation. They have two English League titles, one FA Cup and just one appearance in Europe, reaching the semi-finals in the European Cup. Everton FC: Current League Position: sixth (first tier) With nine Football League titles, five FA Cups, and a European Cup to their credit, the Liverpool based club has contested more seasons (106) in the top tier than any other club. Notts County: Current League Position: 17th (fourth tier) Established in 1862, Notts County are the oldest club from all of the professional teams currently playing. FA Cup winners in 1894, County have never spent much time in the first division and have plyed their trade in the lower leagues for the majority of their history. Preston North End: Current League Position: seventh (second tier) Preston have the honour of being the very first champions in the original season of the Football League in 1888, as well as being the first club to achieve the League and Cup double.

They also hold the record, alongside Arsenal, for achieving an entire season unbeaten. Stoke City: Current League Position: 18th (first tier) Formed in 1863, Stoke are the second oldest club, behind Notts County, in professional existence. When they left The Victoria Ground in 1997, Stoke racked up 119 years as residents, a record that is shared with Wolverhampton Wanderers. West Bromwich Albion: Current League Position: 20th (first tier) With just one League title and one League cup, West Brom have achieved a more respectful five titles in the FA Cup. Their many years in the Football League have been spent in the top two tiers, dropping down to the third tier just a couple of times in their history. Wolverhampton Wanderers: Current League Position: first (second tier) Wolves have seen plenty of success over the years with an impressive three top flight titles, four FA Cups, two league cups, and one European title. The club is also a major part of WolvesAid, the largest charity that is run in football. Since 1984, Wolves have only spent one season in the top flight.

After witnesing an event on TV in 1962, Liverpool supporters took on a tradition from Brazil and made it their own. Click Here to find out how The Anfield Kop got its voice. History of Preston North End Football Club History of Preston North End Football Club ▼ Primary Sources ▼ Preston North End: 1862-1945 Preston North End were founded as a cricket club in 1862. Their original name was Preston Nelson but later changed it to reflect the fact that they played their games in Ashton, at the north end of Preston . In 1875 Preston North End began playing their games on land at Deepdale Farm. They also formed a rugby team at this time. Later, they established a football team that played its games at Deepdale. On 5th October 1878, Preston North End played its first football game. Eagley beat them 1-0. Two years later the club decided to concentrate on football rather than cricket or rugby. Major William Sudell , the manager of a local factory, became the secretary of Preston North End. Sudell decided to improve the quality of the team by importing top players from other areas.

This included several players from Scotland joined the club. Over the next few years players such as John Goodall , Jimmy Ross , Nick Ross , David Russell , John Gordon , John Graham , Robert Mills-Roberts , James Trainer , Samuel Thompson and George Drummond . He also recruited some outstanding local players, including Bob Holmes , Robert Howarth and Fred Dewhurst . As well as paying them money for playing for the team, Sudell also found them highly paid work in Preston. In January, 1884, Preston North End played the London side, Upton Park , in the FA Cup . After the game Upton Park complained to the Football Association that Preston was a professional , rather than an amateur team. Sudell admitted that his players were being paid but argued that this was common practice and did not breach regulations. However, the FA disagreed and expelled them from the competition. Preston North End now joined forces with other clubs who were paying their players, such as Aston Villa and Sunderland . In October, 1884, these clubs threatened to form a break-away British Football Association. The Football Association responded by establishing a sub-committee, which included Sudell, to look into this issue.

On 20th July, 1885, the FA announced that it was "in the interests of Association Football, to legalise the employment of professional football players, but only under certain restrictions". Clubs were allowed to pay players provided that they had either been born or had lived for two years within a six-mile radius of the ground. In 1886 Major William Sudell signed Arthur Wharton , who had recently set a new world record when he ran the 100 yards at Stamford Bridge in 10 seconds. Despite his tremendous speed he played in goal. Wharton was the first black man to play professional football in England. In 1887 Walton played against West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup semi-final but lost 3-1. Under the leadership of Major William Sudell , Preston North End became one of the best clubs in England. In the first round of the FA Cup in 1887-88, Preston beat Hyde 26-0. This is the highest score ever recorded in the competition. Jimmy Ross , who had developed a good partnership with centre-forward John Goodall , scored seven of the goals against Hyde.

Preston played West Bromwich Albion in the final that year. According to reports, Preston was much the better team and Bob Roberts, the WBA goalkeeper made good saves from Fred Dewhurst , Jimmy Ross , John Goodall and George Drummond . Dewhurst did eventually score but WBA won the game 3-1. In March, 1888, William McGregor , a director of Aston Villa , circulated a letter suggesting that "ten or twelve of the most prominent clubs in England combine to arrange home and away fixtures each season." The following month the Football League was formed. It consisted of six clubs from Lancashire (Preston North End, Accrington , Blackburn Rovers , Burnley and Everton ) and six from the Midlands ( Aston Villa , Derby County , Notts County , Stoke , West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers ). The main reason Sunderland was excluded was because the other clubs in the league objected to the costs of travelling to the North-East. The first season of the Football League began in September, 1888. Over 6,000 people turned up to Deepdale to see Preston play the first game against Burnley .

Preston's Fred Dewhurst scored a goal after only two minutes. Samuel Thompson put them two-up after five minutes and they went onto win the game 5-2. Preston North End won the first championship that year without losing a single match and acquired the name the "Invincibles". Eighteen wins and four draws gave them a 11 point lead at the top of the table. The top goal scorers were John Goodall (21), Jimmy Ross (18), Fred Dewhurst (12) and John Gordon (10). The Preston North End team that won the Football League title in 1888-89: George Drummond , back row. John Gordon , Jimmy Ross , John Goodall , Fred Dewhurst and Samuel Thompson are sitting on the bench. Preston also beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 to win the 1889 FA Cup Final . The goals were scored by Jimmy Ross , Fred Dewhurst and Samuel Thompson . Preston won the competition without conceding a single goal. John Goodall , Bob Holmes , Robert Howarth and Fred Dewhurst all went onto play for England, whereas Robert Mills-Roberts and James Trainer played for Wales.

However, the heart of the team was made up of the Scotsmen, Jimmy Ross , Nick Ross , David Russell , John Gordon , and George Drummond . Preston North End also won the league the following season. This time it was much closer as they only beat Everton by one point. James Trainer , John Gordon and David Russell appeared in all 22 league games and Jimmy Ross and George Drummond only missed one game. It was the last time that Preston was to win the Football League . They finished second to Everton (1890-91) and Sunderland (1892-93) but after that they ceased to become a major force in the game. Preston's top players were persuaded to sign for other clubs. This included John Goodall (Derby County), Jimmy Ross (Liverpool), David Russell (Nottingham Forest) and Samuel Thompson (Wolves). Whereas Bob Holmes , George Drummond , Nick Ross , Robert Mills-Roberts , James Trainer and John Graham retired from full-time professional football. In 1893-94 Preston finished third from bottom (14th).

That season William Sudell was sent to prison for embezzling £5,000 from his employers. Preston continued to struggle and finished 15th in 1898-99 and 16th in 1899-1900. On 20th March, 1901, Preston's excellent goalkeeper, Peter McBride injured a shoulder in a trial for the Scottish team. As a result McBride missed the last five games of the season. His deputy let in 15 goals in those games and Preston was relegated from the First Division. Preston North End began a period of rebuilding. Robert Jack , who had been a great success with Bolton Wanderers joined in 1901. Richard Bond was signed from the Royal Field Artillery in 1902. Bond, fast and direct outside right, eventually played for England. The international goalkeeper Fred Griffiths also joined in 1902 as a replacement for Peter McBride , who broke his collarbone during a match against Middlesbrough . In 1903 the club signed John Bell from Everton . Although now 34 years old, Bell was an experienced Scottish international.

John Bell formed a great partnership with Richard Bond . The two men played an important role in getting Preston promoted to the First Division of the Football League in their first season together. That year Preston won the Second Division title by winning 20, and drawing 10, of its 34 games. Peter McBride had a great season, keeping 14 clean sheets. Preston North End managed a respectable 8th place in the 1904-05 season. The following season, Preston finished second to Liverpool . Goalkeeper, Peter McBride , had another great season and the team had the best defensive record in the First Division. The 36 year old John Bell also had a great year and Richard Bond was top scorer with 17 goals. After John Bell and Richard Bond left the club, the best player at Preston was Joseph McCall . He was fairly short for a centre-half (5ft 8in). However, he made up for this deficiency with other talents. McCall was a great organizer and leader of men and the Preston manager, Charlie Parker , appointed him captain. McCall also became a regular member of the England team.

In 1909 Preston North End signed Jimmy Bannister who had won a First Division championship medal with Manchester United . However, he was not a great success and he only scored 12 goals in 65 games With Peter McBride in goal and Joseph McCall at centre-half, Preston had a good defensive record. However, the club had difficulty scoring goals and at the end of the 1911-12 season, was relegated from the First Division of the Football League . Alf Common , the former English international, was purchased from Arsenal for £250, half-way through the 1912-13 season. Common scored 7 goals in 21 games and helped Preston win the Second Division title with 53 points. Common also scored against Sunderland on the opening day of the 1913-14 season. He was now 33 years old and only played in 13 more games before retiring from football. Preston finished in 19th place in the 1913-14 season and were relegated once again. Freddie Osborn ended up as top scorer with 26 goals.

Preston finished second to Derby County in the final season before the First World War . One again Freddie Osborn was top scorer. This time he scored 17 goals. However, the club had to wait another four years before they could take their place in the First Division. The records are incomplete but it is known that at least three Preston players, Fred Griffiths , John Barbour and William Gerrish were killed on the Western Front during the war. Richard Bond was taken prisoner by the German Army and William Luke was so badly wounded his football career came to an end. Freddie Osborn , Preston's leading scorer in the 1913-14 and 1914-15 seasons, joined the 160th Brigade Royal Field Artillery (RFA). He served on the Western Front and in 1918 he was badly wounded by a bullet that hit him in the thigh. Dick Kerr Ladies emerged as the best woman's football team during the First World War . Several members of the Preston North End team helped with the coaching. This included Bob Holmes , John Morley , Billy Greer and Jack Warner . During the war Charlie Parker worked for the civil service as an accountant.

When the Football League resumed in 1919, Vincent Hayes was appointed manager of the club. Hayes first task was to replace leading goalscorer Freddie Osborn , whose wartime injury had made him unavailable for selection. Later that year Hayes signed Tommy Roberts from Leicester Fosse and Rowland Woodhouse from Lancaster Town. Over the next two years Vincent Hayes brought in the much travelled Archie Rawlings and the English international winger, Alf Quantrill . Woodhouse, Rawlings and Quantrill provided the service for Roberts who was the club's top scorer for the next five seasons: 1919-20 (29), 1920-21 (25), 1921-22 (25), 1922-23 (29) and 1923-24 (26). Vincent Hayes also tried to improve the quality of Preston's defence. Joseph McCall , despite his advancing age, was still playing at centre-half. Hayes purchased full-back George Speak from West Ham United and wing-half George Waddell from Bradford City. Local youngster Billy Mercer was also drafted into the side.

Preston North End did very well in the FA Cup in 1921. The club defeated Newcastle United (3-1), Barnsley (3-0) and Arsenal (2-1). Archie Rawlings scored the first goal in the semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur and created the chance for Tommy Roberts to score the winning goal. Preston played Huddersfield Town in the final. The team lost to the only goal of the game, a penalty conceded by Tommy Hamilton . It was awarded when Hamilton tripped Huddersfield's outside-left Billy Smith. Hamilton admitted the offence but claimed it was outside the penalty area. Despite the goals from Tommy Roberts and the signing of English international, George Harrison , Preston continued to struggle in the league. The club finished 19th (1919-20), 16th (1920-21), 16th (1921-22), 16th (1922-23) and 18th (1923-24). Jim Lawrence replaced Vincent Hayes at the end of the 1923-24 season.

Lawrence had won three First Division championships and five FA Cup medals while playing in goal for Newcastle United . However, he had very little experience as a manager, having served for less than a season at South Shields. Preston was also undergoing a financial crisis and his first action was to sell the club's leading scorer, Tommy Roberts to Burnley . In the previous five seasons he had scored 118 goals in 199 games. Lawrence signed veteran strike, Horace Barnes , from Manchester City in November, 1924. Rowland Woodhouse was asked to play in a deeper, midfield role, but still managed to score 9 goals that season. Barnes scored six in his first 10 games and finished as the club's joint top scorer in the league. Despite the goals of Woodhouse and Barnes, Preston finished in 21st place in the league and were relegated to the Second Division. Jim Lawrence resigned and was replaced by Frank Richards , the former secretary/manager of Birmingham City . Richards brought in former Aston Villa and England international Harry Hampson as coach. Richards also arranged the transfer of Alex James and David Morris from Raith Rovers.

James did well in his first season ending up as the club's top scorer with 14 league goals. He also won his first international cap when he played in Scotland's 3-0 victory over Wales in October, 1925. However, Preston only finished in 12th place and failed to get promotion to the First Division. In the 1926-27 season Alex James developed a good partnership with centre-forward, Tommy Roberts , who had returned to the club after spending a couple of seasons at Burnley . Preston finished in 6th position in the 1926-27 season, with Roberts scoring 30 goals. This included all four in a 4-2 FA Cup victory at Lincoln City. Frank Richards was disappointed with his failure to achieve promotion and resigned from his post in 1927. In 1927 Alex Gibson become manager of Preston North End . Soon after taking over the job he was forced to find a replacement for Tommy Roberts , who had been involved in a serious car accident. Norman Robson was promoted from the reserve team and managed to score 19 goals in 22 appearances.

That year Preston scored 100 goals and finished in 4th position. Alex James was the star of the Preston side that season and attracted the notice of all the top clubs when he scored two spectacular goals in Scotland's 5-1 victory over England at Wembley on 31st March, 1928. George Harrison was Preston's penalty taker and during his time at the club (1923-1931) he scored 33 out of 35. His method was to kick the ball as hard as possible at the centre of the goal. He argued that the goalkeeper would instinctively would go one way or the other and leave the middle of the goal undefended. At the beginning of the the 1928-29 season, Alex Gibson persuaded the Partick Thistle striker, Alex Hair , to join the club. In his first season he scored 19 goals in 31 games. However, Preston only finished in 13th place of the Second Division. Alex James was becoming frustrated with playing Second Division football. In four years at Preston he scored 55 goals in 157 appearance.

He also supplied the passes that resulted in plenty of goals for his strike partners, Tommy Roberts , Norman Robson , George Harrison and Alex Hair . James was also upset with Alex Gibson for not always releasing him to play international games for Scotland . Most of all, he was dissatisfied with his wages. At the time, the Football League operated a maximum wage of £8 a week. However, other clubs had found ways around this problem. This included Arsenal who signed James for £8,750 in 1929. Herbert Chapman , the manager of Arsenal, arranged for James to obtain a £250-a-year "sports demonstrator" job at Selfridges. It was also agreed that James would be paid for a weekly "ghosted" article for a London evening newspaper. Alex Gibson was blamed for the loss of Alex James . Others said that if he had to go, Gibson should have got a better price for the man considered to be the best player in the Football League . The main complaint against Gibson was his failure to get Preston North End promoted to the First Division of the Football League . Alex Gibson bought Bill Tremelling from Blackpool in 1930.

At first he played at centre-forward and scored two goals on his debut. However, later in the season he was moved to centre-half and eventually became captain of the side. Preston only finished in 7th place in the 1930-31 season and Alex Gibson lost his job and was replaced by Lincoln Hyde . In his first year in the job Preston finished in 13th place and at the end of the 1931-32 season he was sacked. In 1931 Blackburn Rovers sold Ted Harper to Preston for £5,000. In his first season Harper scored 24 league goals in 23 games. In 1932 Preston signed the 39 year old Robert Kelly . The England international had helped achieve success for previous clubs Burnley , Sunderland and Huddersfield Town . George Holdcroft , a goalkeeper from Everton , also joined that year. He made his debut at Southampton on 24th December 1932. Holdcroft went on to play in 172 consecutive Football League and FA Cup matches. Preston also signed two young talented midfielders who had born in Scotland .

Both men were destined to have a considerable impact on the fortunes of the club. Bill Shankly , who was only 20 years old at the time, had been playing for Carlisle United and 21 year old, Jimmy Milne , was recruited from Dundee United. These new players joined a talented squad that included Ted Harper , Robert Batey , Frank Gallimore , Bill Tremelling , John Pears , Billy Hough , Henry Lowe , George Fitton , Frank Beresford and George Bargh . Ted Harper had a great start to the 1932-33 season. He scored four against both Burnley and Lincoln City and hat-tricks against West Ham United and Manchester United . By the end of the season he had scored 37 league goals, beating the club record previously held by Tommy Roberts . Despite Harper's goals, Preston only finished in 9th position and once again failed to get promotion to the First Division. The following season Ted Harper moved back to Blackburn Rovers in order to get First Division football. During his time at Preston he had scored 67 goals in 75 games.

He was replaced by the English international, George Stephenson , who had considerable goalscoring success at Derby County , Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday . Stephenson formed a good partnership with another former English international, Robert Kelly . John Palethorpe was recruited from Stoke City and another experienced striker, Jimmy Dougal , joined the club half-way through the 1933-34 season. Preston at last achieved promotion to the First Division when they finished runners-up to Grimsby Town. George Stephenson had a great season scoring 16 goals in 25 games whereas John Palethorpe scored 11 in 18. Robert Kelly , now aged 41, was considered too old for First Division football and was allowed to become player manager at Carlisle United. Stephenson, at 34, was also considered past his best and was allowed to join Charlton Athletic . Preston signed another veteran, Ted Critchley , to replace Kelly. Critchley had been a member of Everton's 1926-27 and 1931-32 championship winning-sides.

He had been the main supplier of the crosses that enabled Dixie Dean to score so many goals at Everton . However, Critchley was past his best and only played in the first 11 games of the season before losing his place in the team. Other players brought in that year included Jimmy Maxwell (Kilmarnock), Les Vernon (Bury) and Albert Butterworth (Blackpool). In the 1934-35 season Preston finished 11th in the league. Maxwell, who played at centre-forward, was the club's leading scorer with 26 league and cup goals. The following season Preston persuaded the Scottish international, Tom Smith , to join the club. This strong centre-half brought stability to the defence. Other signings that year included the brothers, Hugh O'Donnell and Frank O''Donnell from Celtic . In the 1935-36 season, Preston finished 7th in the league. Jimmy Maxwell was again top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions. New signing, Hugh O'Donnell , added 15 more. Preston had a disappointing league campaign in 1936-37 only finishing in 14th place.

Frank O''Donnell was top scorer with 27 goals. Eleven of these came in cup competitions. For example, he scored in every round of the FA Cup , including a hat trick in the 4th round against Exeter City and a double against West Bromwich Albion in the semi-final. O'Donnell also scored in the first-half of the cup final against Sunderland . Preston held the lead until early in the second-half. In the 52nd minute Eddie Burbanks took a corner. Raich Carter headed the ball to Bob Gurney , who back-headed the ball into the net. Carter, was a growing influence on the game and in the 72nd minute he lobbed Sunderland into the lead. Six minutes later, Patsy Gallacher created a third goal with a skilfully judged pass to Burbanks who shot home from a narrow angle. Carter had led Sunderland to its first FA Cup final victory. At the beginning of the next season, Preston made two important signings. In September, 1937, Preston purchased the high scoring George Mutch , from Manchester United for £5,000.

The following month, Robert Beattie a skillful inside forward, arrived from Kilmarnock for a fee of £2,500. They joined fellow Scotsmen, Bill Shankly , Jimmy Dougal , Andrew Beattie , Jimmy Maxwell , Tom Smith , Hugh O'Donnell , Frank O''Donnell , Andrew McLaren , Jimmy Milne , John Cox and Jimmy McIntosh . The squad also included Bill Tremelling , Frank Gallimore , Leonard Gallimore , George Holdcroft , Henry Lowe , Les Vernon and Dickie Watmough . George Mutch repeated the success he had at Manchester United (48 goals in 112 games). Soon after signing he scored two goals in Preston's victory over Everton . He also scored a hat trick when Preston beat West Ham United in the 3rd round of the FA Cup . Mutch also scored goals in the 4th round against Leicester City and in the semi-final when Preston beat Aston Villa 2-1. In the 1938 FA Cup Final Preston played Huddersfield Town . This was the first time that a whole match was shown live on television .

Even so, far more people watched the game in the stadium as only around 10,000 people at the time owned television sets. No goals were scored during the first 90 minutes and so extra-time was played. In the last minute of extra-time, Bill Shankly put George Mutch through on goal. Alf Young , Huddersfield's centre-half, brought him down from behind and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Mutch was injured in the tackle but after receiving treatment he got up and scored via the crossbar. It was the only goal in the game. George Mutch scores the penalty that won the 1938 FA Cup Final . In the 1937-38 season Preston North End challenged Arsenal for the First Division title. In the final match of the season the two teams played each other. During the game Jimmy Milne broke his collarbone in a collision with Alf Kirchen . Ten man Preston lost 3-1 and Arsenal won the championship. Top scorers were Scotsmen George Mutch (18) and Jimmy Dougal (14).

Bill Shankly had a magnificent season and on 9th April, 1938 he won his first international cap when he played for Scotland against England at Wembley. Also in the Scottish team were Preston colleagues, George Mutch , Andrew Beattie , Tom Smith and Frank O'Donnell . Scotland won 1-0 with Mutch scoring the only goal of the game. Later that season, two other Preston players, Jimmy Dougal and Robert Beattie , were called up to play for Scotland. Bill Shankly (left) celebrates the 1938 FA Cup Final victory. Preston finished in 9th place in the 1938-39 season. Jimmy Dougal was the club's leading scorer with 19 goals. Preston had a good run in the FA Cup until being knocked out by Portsmouth in the sixth round. On Friday, 1st September, 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland . The football that Saturday went ahead as Neville Chamberlain did not declare war on Germany until Sunday, 3rd September. The government immediately imposed a ban on the assembly of crowds and as a result the Football League competition was brought to an end.

On 14th September, the government gave permission for football clubs to play friendly matches. In the interests of public safety, the number of spectators allowed to see these games was limited to 8,000. These arrangements were later revised, and clubs were allowed gates of 15,000 from tickets purchased on the day of the game through the turnstiles. The government imposed a fifty mile travelling limit and the Football League divided all the clubs into seven regional areas where games could take place. Preston North End became a member of the North West Regional League. In the 1939-40 season Preston finished in second place, only two points behind the winners, Bury. After the declaration of war in September 1939, Adolf Hitler did not order the attack of France or Britain as he believed there was still a chance to negotiate an end to the conflict between the countries. This period became known as the Phoney War. As Britain had not experienced any bombing raids, the Football League decided to start a new competition entitled the Football League War Cup . The entire competition of 137 games including replays was condensed into nine weeks.

However, by the time the final took place, the "Phoney War" had come to an end. On 10th May, 1940, Adolf Hitler launched his Western Offensive and invaded France . In the days leading up to the final, the British Expeditionary Force was being evacuated from Dunkirk . In the final West Ham United beat Blackburn Rovers 1-0. Preston North End also took part in the 1941 Football League War Cup . In the first two rounds Preston beat Bury and Bolton. In the next round Andrew McLaren scored five of the goals in Preston's 12-1 victory over Tranmere. He also scored a hat-trick in the fourth-round tie against Manchester City . Preston reached the final by beating Newcastle United 2-0. The Preston team that faced Arsenal at Wembley on 31st May was: Jack Fairbrother , Frank Gallimore , William Scott , Bill Shankly , Tom Smith , Andrew Beattie , Tom Finney , Andrew McLaren , Jimmy Dougal , Robert Beattie and Hugh O'Donnell . Preston played Arsenal in front of a 60,000 crowd.

Arsenal was awarded a penalty after only three minutes but Leslie Compton hit the foot of the post with the spot kick. Soon afterwards Andrew McLaren scored from a pass from Tom Finney . Preston dominated the rest of the match but Dennis Compton managed to get the equaliser just before the end of full-time. Leslie Compton ( Arsenal ) during the 1941 Football League Cup Final . The ball hit the post and bounced back into play. The replay took place at Ewood Park, the ground of Blackburn Rovers . The first goal was as a result of a move that included Tom Finney and Jimmy Dougal before Robert Beattie put the ball in the net. Frank Gallimore put through his own goal but from the next attack, Beattie scored again. It was the final goal of the game and Preston ended up the winners of the cup. In the 1940-1941 season Preston North End needed to win their last game against Liverpool to win the North Regional League title. The nineteen year old Andrew McLaren scored all six goals in the 6-1 victory. There is no doubt that during this period Preston was the best football club in England.

During the 1940-41 season Tom Finney played in 41 games. Others involved in this great season included Jimmy Dougal (40), Andrew McLaren (39), Frank Gallimore (38), Tom Smith (38), William Scott (38), Jack Fairbrother (27), Bill Shankly (25), William Jessop (25), George Mutch (17), Robert Beattie (15), George Holdcroft (14) and Hugh O'Donnell (10). Top scorers for that season were: Dougal (32) and McLaren (31). It has been argued by Jack Rollin ( Soccer at War: 1939-45 ) that: "The first club to benefit from a youth policy to any marked degree was Preston North End, who owed success in 1940-41 to their exceptional pre-war structure.

By 1938 the club was already running two teams in local junior circles when the chairman James Taylor decided upon a scheme to fill the gap between school leavers and junior clubs by forming a Juvenile Division of the Preston and District League open to 14-16-year-olds." Rollin points out that by 1940 over 100 youngsters were being trained in groups of eight of the club's senior players voluntarily assisting in evening coaching. Robert Beattie was one of those involved in this coaching. This system produced Tom Finney , Andrew McLaren , William Scott and William Jessop . This great Preston team was broken up by the Second World War . In 1942 Tom Finney , their star player, was called up to the Royal Armoured Corps and later fought under General Bernard Montgomery in the Eighth Army in North Africa . Jack Fairbrother and Willie Hamilton joined the Blackburn Police Force on the outbreak of the war. The British Army invited some of the best footballers to became Physical Training instructors at Aldershot. Others served abroad. This included Andrew Beattie and Robert Langton who was sent to India. Seventy professional football players were killed during the Second World War .

This included Percival Thomas Taylor, who made five appearances in wartime football for Preston North End. Taylor scored a hat trick while playing as a guest for Middlesbrough against Bradford City on 4th April 1942. He was killed in a motor cycle accident six days later. Emlyn Williams, Andrew Beattie and Lloyd Iceton practice first aid at the local Air Raid Precautions centre in November, 1939. According to the Football Association publication, Victory Was The Goal (1945), between 3 September 1939 and the end of the war, 55 went from Preston North End . While some footballers joined the armed forces, others found occupation in the support services. For example, Preston player's Jack Fairbrother and Willie Hamilton joined the police force in Blackburn. Preston North End's Deepdale ground was used to hold captured prisoners during the Second World War . The military gave the club £250 a year in compensation for having to play on other grounds. 125 years of the Football League and the top flight - which team comes top?

| Football | theguardian.com 125 years of the Football League and the top flight - which team comes top? Which teams have the upper hand after a century and a quarter of football? • More data journalism and data visualisations from the Guardian Preston North End, unbeaten in 22 games 1888. Photograph: Howard Barlow Today exactly 125 years ago, The English Football League was founded at the Royal Hotel in Manchester, becoming the first national football league in the world. Twelve teams started into the first season on September 8 1888, which would produce Preston North End as their very first champions. We've crunched the numbers of all 113 top flight seasons (1888-1892: Football League, 1892-1992: First Division, 1992-today: Premier League ). Eleven seasons had been suspended during the first and second world wars. Since the foundation of the Football League, a total of 64 teams have played at least one season in the respective top flight of English football.

Everton, one of the twelve founding members, is currently playing its 110th season in the top league, having missed only four for two spells in the second division. It is topping the list of most seasons played in the top flight. 23 teams have been crowned champions at least once, Manchester United (19 titles), Liverpool (18) and Arsenal (13) being the most successful collectors of silverware. If we combine the two metrics – championships won and seasons played in the top league – we can calculate an efficiency index in winning tropies when in the race. Which puts Huddersfield Town right in the top group along the above serial winners. From a geographical perspective, London might have been and still be the city with by far the most teams, but its the North-Western cities that picked up most of the trophies to date. Our map shows how the 113 championship trophies have been spread across the country. Over all 113 completed seasons, the average number of goals scored is just above three per game. It has been the highest in the very beginning, at 4.63 in the second season.

After being at a steady low for the past fourty years, average goals scored per game have been rising again in the past three seasons. They are now – at a current 2.83 goals per game – on course to finish higher than in any other season since 1967-68. Finally, if we count every single game played in England's top league since it was founded towards one table, this is what it would look like as of April 14 2013. Points are counted as they were awarded at the time, so two points for a win until 1981, three afterwards (did you know that the initial idea of the founders was to award points for wins only, so that it would make no difference if you drew or lost a game?). What can you do with this data? Data summary Preston North End F.C. (Football Club) of the Barclay's Premier League PRESTON NORTH END F.C. (Football Club) Included Info: Brief History, Club/Stadium Info, Team Jersey & Much More...

BRIEF HISTORY of PRESTON NORTH END FOOTBALL CLUB (reproduced from 'Wikipedia' pages) Preston North End was originally founded as a cricket club in 1863, by Mr Walter Pomfret of Deepdale Road, who was the first person to rent the field on which North End has always played. The original rent was ï¿½8 per year. As Preston already had a strong town's club, they adopted the "North End" suffix because they moved to the North End of the town when Moor Park opened, playing their matches at Moor Park. Preston North End were famously successful during the early years of professional football in England. In 1887, Preston beat Hyde 26ï¿½0 in the First Round of the FA Cup, still a record winning margin in English first-class football. Preston forward Jimmy Ross scored eight goals in the match, going on to score 19 goals in the competition that season, also still a record.

In 1888ï¿½89, they 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 and FA Cup ï¿½ winning the FA Cup without conceding a goal. Preston were league champions again the following season, but have not won the title since. The club's last major trophy was an FA Cup triumph in 1938. Preston's most famous player, Sir Tom Finney, played for the club between 1946 and 1960. Finney is considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time. Following Finney's retirement, Preston were relegated to the Second Division in 1961 and have not played in the top division since. The club did reach the FA Cup final in 1964, but lost to West Ham United. Preston were relegated to the Third Division in the 1969ï¿½70 season. The club won the Third Division title at the first attempt and so returned to the Second Division.

Bobby Charlton, an England World Cup winner from 1966, was appointed Preston manager in 1973, but was unable to prevent the club from sliding into the Third Division in his first season and left after two years in charge. A brief respite in 1978 saw Preston win promotion back to the Second Division, but go down after three seasons. In 1985 the club fell into the Fourth Division for the first time in its history. In 1986, Preston finished second from bottom in the Fourth Division and only avoided dropping into the Football Conference because the other Football League members voted in favour of the division's bottom four teams retaining their senior status. The arrival of new manager John McGrath saw Preston win promotion to the Third Division a year later and they were still at this level when McGrath left in 1990. Preston began the new millennium by winning promotion from Division 2 in the 1999ï¿½2000 season as champions. The club almost made it two promotions in a row in 2001 but lost 3ï¿½0 to Bolton Wanderers in the Division One play-off final.

Billy Davies guided Preston to the Championship playoff final in his first season as manager, but they lost to West Ham United. The club reached the play-offs again the following year, this time losing at the semi-final stage to Leeds United. Davies then moved to Derby County. Preston spent much of the 2006ï¿½07 season in the automatic promotion or play-off places. However, from March 2007 the club slid rapidly down the league. The club failed to make the end-of-season play-offs, finishing the season in seventh place, despite a 1ï¿½0 victory over Birmingham City at Deepdale on the final day of the season. After a bad start to the 2007ï¿½08 season which saw the club pick up just three wins, Paul Simpson was sacked as manager on 13 November 2007. On 20 November, Everton's assistant manager Alan Irvine was appointed as Preston's new manager on a three-and-a-half year deal. He achieved his first objective as manager by finishing in 15th place, thus securing Preston's survival in the Championship.

The following season, he led Preston to 6th place in the Championship after a good run of form towards the end of the season, qualifying for the play-offs. The club again missed out on promotion to the Premier League after losing 2ï¿½1 on aggregate to Sheffield United. On 29 December 2008, Irvine was sacked after a poor run of results. In the 2009ï¿½10 season, Preston finished in 17th place. CLUB FACTS & INFORMATION

Question: Preston North End were football League Champions in the first two years of its existance, which team won the third year?
Answer: EVERTON