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Updated 04/5/08

Gareth Ainsworth - born 10 May 1973

Gareth Ainsworth First Played for Preston North End in 1992 playing 5 Games and scoring no goals, but was a hit with the fans. After a short Spell at Cambridge United, he signed for Preston North for the Second time Spanning from 1992 to 1995. He Enjoyed Hero status at Deepdale for him commitment to the club and the fans. During his time at Deepdale, Ainsworth suffered a broken cheek bone, and became one of the first players to wear a protective mask whilst playing. In 1995 he Signed for Lincoln City, before, moving on to Port Vale (97-98) and Wimbledon (98-2003). In 2002 he had a 3rd spell at Deepdale on Loan scoring 1 goal in 5 games. He'll not be forgotten by the Preston Fans that have seen him play.

Graham Alexander - born 10 October 1971

Although Graham was born in Coventry, whilst playing for Preston in 2002, he was called to the Scotland squad. Sign By Preston in 1999, Graham was ever present in the Preston Squad. He became the Greatest Penalty taker in history with a 99% accuracy rate. He played over 400 games, scoring 52 goals, for Preston and was worshipped by many of the Deepdale fans. He Became Preston captain and he himself became a bigger part of the club than any modern day player. During the summer of 2007 a number of clubs were linked with Alexander including Crystal Palace who had a £50,000 bid turned down by Preston, who said; "He is club captain and a vital member of this squad and certainly not a player we will allow to leave". On August 29, 2007, he made a surprise move to local rivals Burnley almost 9 years after they had originally tried to sign him. The reasons cited for his departure were that Preston would not extend his contract by another year so when offered a two year contract by Burnley the player accepted and made a £200,000 move to Turf Moor. Preston Chairman Derek Shaw did not want to lose the player and said; "We don't particularly want to sell Graham but he has the comfort of a two-year contract at Burnley whereas he only has one year here at Deepdale. We quite possibly would have renewed Graham's contract, he's a fit man." Following Alexander's departure, Preston manager Paul Simpson also made similar comment regarding the player's departure but insisted he did not want to offer a 2-year contract to a 35 year old. The £200,000 transfer money was made up of £100,000 payable in 2007 and the final £100,000 payable in the summer of 2008. Graham was seen leaving the Training Ground in Tears. The Decision to sell Alexander was decision to far by some of the fans, and was part the reason fans turned on him and led to Simpson’s Departure.

Samuel "Sam" Allardyce - born 19 October 1954

Signed in 1986 from Bolton, and went on to play 90 games scoring 2 goals. Between 1989-91 he played 1 game for West Brom and then had a season at limerick, before returning to Deepdale and played a further 3 games for PNE in 1992. After his one successful season in Ireland Allardyce returned to England and to Preston North End for the start of the 1992-93 season to take up the role of coach/assistant manager under Les Chapman. Ten games into the season however Chapman was sacked and Allardyce given the role of caretaker manager. His short spell in charge was an impressive one with Preston putting in some fine performances, picking some much needed league points along the way. The clubs board though felt that Allardyce's managerial inexperience at league level worked against him and opted in December 1992 to appoint the more experienced John Beck who in turn appointed Gary Peters as his assistant. Allardyce carried on with the club in his original coaching capacity for another 18 months but the disappointment of missing out on the Preston job spoke volumes and when in July 1994 arch rivals Blackpool offered him the manager's job Allardyce jumped at the chance. A Decision he may of wished he hadn't made, after getting Blackpool into the Playoffs, and the Highest place in many years, he was sacked before the Playoffs started. But Sam has had a good management career. Preston Lost out again.

Lee Ashcroft - born 7 September 1972

Signed in 1987, Lee Ashcroft took Deepdale by storm, scoring 13 goals in 91 games. The speedy winger was a crowd favourite, with his accurate passing abilities. In 93 he signed for West Brom Playing 90 games and scoring 17. In 1996 Preston took him back on loan he played 7 games and scored 3, before resigning permanently in 1996 and played 57 games scoring 19, a better ratio the second time round. In 1998 he moved to Grimsby.  He made his Football League debut aged 18 in 1990 for Preston North End F.C.. He played for England U-21s whilst at Preston. In August 1993 he moved to West Bromwich Albion for £250,000. He was loaned out again in 1996, this time to his former club Preston North End, whom he then re-joined on a permanent deal. After Preston, Ashcroft moved to Grimsby Town for £500,000.

Michael Anthony Appleton - born 4 December 1975

Played as a midfielder until his playing career was cut short by a serious knee injury. In the 1997-98 pre-season, Appleton joined Preston North End for a fee of £500,000 from Manchester United. In his 3½ years at Deepdale, Appleton played 145 first team games, scoring 15 goals. He also played an important part in The Lilywhites promotion to Division One in 2000.

Andrew Beattie born - 11 August 1913 / died 20 September 1983

Was one PNE’s many Scottish players since the club was formed. Andy Beattie was employed as a young quarry-man at the Inverurie Loco Works. He was soon to join the Inverurie Loco Works FC where he established himself as an accomplished full-back before attracting the interest of English First Division club Preston North End. They paid £135 for him in March 1935, but World War II was to sadly interrupt his career and he made just 125 Football League appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring 5 goals, before retiring from his only professional club in March 1947.

The war also curtailed a promising international career which saw him awarded seven Scotland caps between April 1937 and December 1938. In spite of spending part of his military service abroad Beattie was also to gain a further five unofficial caps for Scotland during wartime internationals and appear as a 'guest' player for several clubs. Most notably though he helped his own side Preston North End secure the 1940/41 double of the North Regional League Championship and the Wartime League Cup, which they won by beating Arsenal 2-1 after a 1-1 draw.

John Charles Bird - born 9 June 1948

Signed for Preston in 1971 from Doncaster Rovers, he went on to play 166 games for PNE scoring 9 Goals, before moving on to Newcastle United in 1975.

Ian Bogie - Born 6 December 1967

Having finally joined Preston, Bogie made his debut in a home league match versus Bristol Rovers, a game that ended 1-1. Bogie did however endear himself to the Preston fans immediately with his silky ball playing skills. His time at Deepdale was though a frustrating one for Bogie, Preston and the fans with the club beginning to struggle and Bogie himself frustrating the fans with some indifferent performances despite his obvious ability. After two and a half years at Preston in which he played 91 games scoring 12 goals, Ian exorcised his right to speak to other clubs at the end of his contract and in August 1991 signed for Millwall for a tribunal set fee of £145k

Tommy Booth - born 1949

Played in the centre of defence and in midfield, winning FA Cup, European Cup Winners Cup and two League Cup winners medals. He played 382 times for Manchester City between 1968 and 1981, scoring 25 goals. He also won 4 England under 23 caps. In September 1981 he moved to Preston North End for £30,000. At Deepdale he made 94 appearances between 1981 and 1984, scoring 2 goals, before injury forced him to retire during the 1984-85 season. In February 1985 he was appointed as Preston manager, initially on a temporary basis. Following a bad run of results at the start of the 1985-86 season he resigned in December 1985

Marlon Broomes - born 28 November 1977

Broomes spent the pre-season of the 2002 training with Burnley, however he was then offered a trial at another Championship side, Preston North End. Then manager Craig Brown was impressed with Broomes and signed him on a three year contract. He became a regular at Deepdale, playing sixty-nine games for the club in this three year spell. Once again, his contract was not extended after he saw out the initial one and Billy Davies decided to release Broomes on a free transfer.

Albert Frederick Brown - born April 1879

Brown was reputed to be the fastest sprinter in English football and was known as the "Tamworth Sprinter". He moved on to Preston North End in May 1904 and played 22 and scored 7 goals. In 1906 he signed for Blackpool

Edwin "Eddy" Brown - born 28 February 1926

Brown was born in Jutland Street, Preston, Lancashire and attended St Ignatius primary school in the town. He was a religious boy, and at the age of twelve began to attend the De La Salle Catholic college on Guernsey with a view to taking Holy Orders. He studied at the college for eight years, during which time the boys were evacuated to the mainland when the Germans invaded, a disruption which did not prevent Brown achieving four A levels (in English, French, Latin and History) and laying the foundations for his lifelong love of Shakespeare. However, after the war he returned to Preston and in August 1948 was persuaded to defer his calling in order to make use of his gift for football instead. He presented himself at Deepdale and said "I am a centre forward." Preston took him at his word and he scored a hat-trick on his debut for the "A" team which secured him a professional contract. He joined Preston at a time when Bill Shankly was nearing the end of his Preston playing career; Brown believes his success in the game owed much to the lessons learned from Shankly in that first year: "He said football was all about the soul, enjoying your life, but always keep striving for that bit extra. He could be crude, rude and outspoken, but it would be football for breakfast, dinner and tea. He was an astonishing and genuine man and football was his obsession. Bill was a preacher, but he always preached with a smile on his face. If I hadn't started at Preston and not met Bill Shankly, who was so kind to me, I don't think I'd have made a living out of football." He played 36 games for PNE scoring 6 goals, before moving to Southampton

Steve Basham - born 2 December 1977

Steve had a strange time at PNE, in 1998 he was loaned to the Club from Southampton but played no games for PNE, again in 1999 he was loaned to PNE this time playing 17 games and scoring 10 goals. In the Summer of 1999, he signed for the club, playing 51 games and scored 5. He was part of Preston’s 1999-2000 Division 2 (old) Championship winning side

Frank Becton - born 11 May 1873 / died 6 November 1909

Preston born England International footballer at the turn of the 20th century. A striker, he turned out for Preston North End (in two separate spells), his first spell was 1891 to 1895, playing 87 games and scoring 37 goals, before signing for Liverpool. In his Second spell he played 26 games and scored 9 goals. He also represented England twice, scoring two goals. His early death came from tuberculosis.

John Bell - born 6 October 1869

was an early Scottish football player and manager. He was instrumental in organising the Association Footballers' Union in February 1898. A winger or inside-forward,Bell played with Dumbarton Union, Dumbarton F.C., Everton, Celtic, New Brighton Tower and Preston North End. He also represented the Scottish national team ten times between 1890 and 1900 and the Scottish League twice. During his time with Everton he helped organise the Association Footballers' Union and later served as its president. In 1909, Bell was appointed manager/coach of former club Preston. Not much is known about this player, but he was very influential in the way football is today.

Robert Blyth - born 1870 / Died 1941

He was born in Glenbuck Scotland and was a member of the Glenbuck Cherrypickers, playing alongside members of his extended family. He played as a wing-half, for Preston North End Between 1894-1899, playing 114 games and scoring 8 goals before joining Portsmouth. He was a big part of the Originals Invincibles

Richard Bond - born 14 December 1883 / died 25 April 1955

“Dicky” Bond started his career with the Royal Artillery before he signed professional forms with Preston North End in August 1902. He was part of Preston's Division Two championship winning team in 1903-04. Two years later he was a regular as the club were The Football League runners-up. He played 148 games and scored 34 before transfer to Bradford City. Bond made his first international appearance for England while at Preston on February 25, 1905 against Ireland. He won a total of eight caps, scoring twice, both against Ireland in 1906. His son Tony Bond, had 2 spells for Preston, but never made the Main team, his second spell was cut short due to the 2^nd World War.

Gary Brazil - born 19 September 1962

A true Preston 80’s Hero, Brazil by name, Brazil in his finishing. It was in February 1985 that Gary was given the chance of regular football when he along with United defender Bob Atkins were offered the chance to go on loan to struggling Preston North End with a view to making the deal permanent. Although Brazil and Atkins couldn't stop Preston from being relegated they did make enough of an impact to secure a permanent £25,000 joint move to Deepdale. The next season again was a disappointment for although Gary was now a regular and scoring frequently Preston finished the season in 91st place in the Football League forcing the powers that be at Deepdale to make vast changes. With many of the older players having left, a new manager in John McGrath and a new plastic pitch laid for the start of the 1986-87 season gave Preston new optimism. Gary was however by this time disillusioned with the life at Preston and prior to the season went on a months loan to Mansfield Town with the view to making the deal permanent. Surprisingly though Gary didn't do enough to impress stags boss Ian Greaves and he was back at Deepdale for the start of the season. Having spoken with boss McGrath Gary decided to come off the transfer list and duly formed a lethal partnership with John Thomas (one of the few plus points from the season before) scoring nearly 50 goals between them as Preston powered to promotion, Gary also winning the clubs player of the year award. The following season was though one of consolidation with Preston finishing comfortably in mid table after a poor start and also narrowly missing out on a Wembley cup final when they lost to Burnley in the Sherpa Van Trophy semi final. Gary again scored regularly bagging 20 goals for the second successive season. In total he played 166 games for PNE and scored 58 goals

Ian Bryson - born November 1962

Joined Preston North End in 1993 on his 31st birthday. Bryson was appointed captain of the north west club. Although Preston lost the Third Division playoff final 4-2 to Wycombe Wanderers, Bryson himself scored with a spectacular overhead kick. Two years later he led them to the Third Division title, lifting the trophy at Deepdale in front of a capacity crowd. Bryson ended his professional league career at Rochdale, later playing for Bamber Bridge. However, he is still remembered with great affection at Preston, one of the founding members of the Football League, where he also spent time coaching youngsters at North End's academy. He Played 176 games scoring 21 goals

Francis Burns - born 17 October 1948

He became former United team mate Bobby Charlton's first signing as manager of Preston North End in 1973, making his debut for the Deepdale club against Aston Villa on 25 August 1973 and ended his first season being named as the club's Player of the Year. He made a total of 314 appearances (including 2 as substitute) and scored 9 league goals for Preston.

Les Chapman - born 27 September 1948

Midfield player Chapman made 747 league appearances in a career that spanned 22 seasons. From an early stage, it was not clear how Chapman would go on to have such a long career in football as he himself admits: "I never had a great desire to be a professional footballer, it simply landed at my feet." John Finished his Playing Career with PNE in 1987 after Signing in 86. He played 53 games and scored 1 goal. He later Managed Preston between 1990 and 1992. Les scored the goal that officially clinched promotion out of the bottom flight for Preston North End (1-0 at Leyton Orient in 1987). After the match he told local newspaper the Lancashire Evening Post he felt 53 miles west of Venus. Reference to an obscure B-52's track from their album Wild Planet. A way of saying he was Over The Moon

Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton, CBE - born 11 October 1937

Charlton became the player-manager of Preston North End in 1973, taking United and England team-mate Nobby Stiles with him as player-coach, but his first season was not a success and he left at the end of it. However, he was awarded the CBE that year and began a casual association with the BBC for punditry on matches which continued for many years. During his time as Preston Manager he played 38 games and scored 12 goals. Charlton is one of the 1966 World Cup winning squad that’s played for Preston.

Clive Clark - born 12 December 1940

Signed in 1969-70, making his debut against Bristol City on 24th January 1970. He made 83 appearances (including 2 as sub) for the Deepdale club, scoring 12 goals, and won a Third Division championship medal in 1970-71

Michael Kevin Conroy - born 31 December 1965

Conroy joined from Burnley in 1993 for £85,000 (bargain). He went on to score 22 goals in 57 appearances for North End before joining Fulham in 1995. He became a PRESTON HERO after scoring for PNE against Blackpool. He later went on to play for Blackpool, but it is said he refused to score for them, he played 14 games for Blackpool and scored no goals. What a player

William Cunningham - born 22 Feb 1925/ died 15 November 2000

Born in Cowdenbeath, Fife, Cunningham began his career as a centre half with Dunfermline Athletic, combining part-time football with a mining job in the local colliery. He moved to Airdrie and scored 9 goals in 93 appearances for the Diamonds before a £5,000 fee took him south to Preston North End on 28 June 1949. Cunningham had by this stage converted to playing as a full-back and made his North End debut against Grimsby Town at Deepdale on 24 August 1949. 12 years later he made his four hundredth league appearance in a goalless draw against Bolton Wanderers on 18 April 1961, the last of the 1953-54 Cup Final team still playing for the club. Cunningham was capped eight times for his native Scotland - including captaining the side during the 1954 World Cup finals. On leaving Preston in 1963 he had a brief spell as player/manager at Southport before returning to Deepdale as Reserve Team trainer. Cunningham made 487 appearances for North End, scoring 2 goals. He played along side the great PNE Legend Sir Tom Finney

Lee Cartwright - born 19 September 1972

Born in Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire Lee was signed from school as a trainee in 1989 by North End boss John McGrath. It was however under McGrath's successor Les Chapman that Lee made his first team debut at the age of 18 in a 1-0 home win against Shrewsbury Town in March 1991. Having broken into the first team Lee remained there for the rest of the season. The following season (1991-92) Lee missed only a handful of matches as he picked up the club's player of the year award as reward for a string of consistently good displays. The 1992-93 season though was something of a disaster with Preston being relegated to the third division (now Football League Two) of the Football League. Lee's displays though were again impressive and interest from both Oldham Athletic and Blackpool nearly led to Lee moving on. He was however persuaded to stay by new manager John Beck and he remained at Deepdale for the next eleven years. In his thirteen years at the club Lee became a North End legend making a total of 472 appearances for the club scoring 30 goals. He was an important member of the Preston teams that won both the third division title in 1995-96 and the second division (now Football League One) title in 1999-2000. Lee also played in the play-off final defeats of 1993-94 and 2000-01 the latter when North End narrowly missed out on a place in the FA Premier League losing 3-0 to Bolton Wanderers at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Between 1990 and 2004 he played 472 games scoring 30 goals before joining Stockport County. Lee Cartwright still is a Crowd favourite at Deepdale, he returned to Deepdale for the 125 Anniversary match against Hyde United and crowds were queuing to see him

Alf Common - born 25 May 1880 / died 3 April 1946

Signed for Preston North End in December 1912 for £250. At Preston, he helped the club to win the Division Two title that season, although they were relegated the following season (1913-14). Common retired from football in 1914, and went on to run a pub in Darlington After playing 35 games and scoring 9 goals. He died in 1946 aged 65

Richard Paul Wesley Cresswell born September 20, 1977

In July 2001, Cresswell then transferred to Preston North End for £500,000 after previously spending time with them on loan playing 11 games and scoring 2 goals. It was at Preston where Cresswell would enjoy his best goal return, in the 2004-2005 season. He scored a total of 23 goals in 52 games, which helped Preston to reach the Championship Play-offs, where they were beaten by West Ham United. But Cresswell went from Hero to Zero, after months of stalling on a new deal at Deepdale, Cresswell was purchased by Leeds United on the final day of the 2005 summer transfer window. It had been widely believed that Cresswell would move to Sheffield United, Leeds' Yorkshire rivals, however, comments made by Sheffield manager Neil Warnock hinted that Cresswell would move to Leeds instead. It was confirmed on 31 August that Leeds had indeed signed Cresswell, for a fee of £1,150,000. After signing, Cresswell made it known that he was a lifelong Leeds United supporter, and did not want to miss a chance to join his Favourite club. In total he played 187 games and scored 48 goals for Preston

Alexander Downie Dawson - born 21 February 1940

Dawson left Manchester United for Preston North End in 1961 after scoring 54 career goals. At Preston he became known as "The Black Prince of Deepdale" and featured in their FA Cup Final side of 1964.

Thomas Henderson Docherty - born 24 August 1928

Nicknamed “The Doc”, Tommy Docherty's football career began when he joined non-League Shettleston Juniors. The turning point in his playing career came in 1946 when he was called up to do National Service in the Highland Light Infantry. While completing his National Service, Docherty represented the British Army at football. On demobilisation, Docherty was offered a contract with his beloved Celtic F.C. in 1947. However the young Docherty found first team places hard to come by at Celtic and, in November 1949, after spending just over two years with the Club he'd supported as a boy, he joined Preston North End F.C. It was at Preston where he enjoyed the most successful period of his playing career, making over 300 League appearances, and appearing in an FA Cup Final in 1954. At Preston he received the first of his 25 full Scotland international caps. After defying Preston and travelling to the World Cup finals with Scotland, in Sweden in 1958, he left Deepdale that year to join Arsenal F.C. It was at Arsenal where he was to finish his serious playing career in 1961, although he did go on to play a few games for Chelsea. Although he left in controversy in 1981, his career came full circle and he returned to England in July that year to manage Preston North End, where he had spent nine successful years as a player. But he was unable to make his mark and he left after a few months, returning to Australia to manage South Melbourne Hellas until the following year. He played 323 games for PNE, scoring 5 goals

Simon Archibald Davey - born 1 October 1970

In February 1995 Davey was sold to Preston North End for £125,000. At the end of that season, Carlisle won the Division Three Championship and although Davey had already left the club he had played the minimum requirement of 26 games to qualify for a Championship medal. At Preston, Davey played 5 matches in midfield alongside a youngster on loan from Manchester United who arrived to make his league debut, David Beckham. Beckham scored his first league goal when the novice asked Davey if he could have a go at a free-kick Davey was planning to take; Davey stepped aside and let him have it. Davey went onto to score 22 times in 122 games for Preston and was named in the PFA Team of the Season in 1995. While with the club, he also made 11 loan appearances for Darlington. Unfortunately Davey’s career was cut short at the age of 27 following a back injury while training with a medicine ball. However, Preston manager David Moyes gave him a chance at coaching with the club and within a short time Davey was in charge of Preston’s Youth Academy, later moving to the Youth Academy at Barnsley FC. He played 106 games and scored 21 goals

Fred Dewhurst - born 16 December 1863 / died 21 April 1895

Played as an inside forward for Preston North End in the late 19th century. He also made 9 appearances for England between 1886 and 1889, scoring 11 goals. His main claim to fame is scoring the first goal for Preston in their opening game in the inaugural season of The Football League on 8 September 1888 in a 5-2 victory over Burnley. Although Aston Villa's Gershom Cox had scored the very first goal only minutes earlier, as this was an own goal, Dewhurst could claim to have scored the first "intentional" goal in the Football League. In the 1888-89 season he played 16 league games, scoring 12 goals. Dewhurst was a losing finalist in the 1888 FA Cup but went on to take the Cup the following year. He scored in both games

Daniele Salvatore "Danny" Dichio - born 19 October 1974

In the summer of 2005 he moved to Preston North End, but did not score in the league in his first season. In the summer of 2006 he was the subject of a bid from Brighton. Although a fee was agreed, Dichio chose to stay at Preston and fight for his place. On 14 October 2006 he scored his first league goal for Preston in a 4-1 win over Sunderland. He became a hero at Preston even though he didn’t score many goals, he played 63 games and scored 5 goals

Anthony Joseph "Tony" Ellis - born 20 October 1964

Ellis was spotted by Preston North End manager John McGrath banging in the goals for Oldham's reserve team. McGrath decided to pay £23,000 in October 1987 to take Ellis to Deepdale, where a last-minute winner on his debut against Port Vale turned him into an instant hero with the fans in a game that also marked the debut of a certain Brian Mooney. In his first spell at Deepdale between 1987-89 he scored 32 goals in 86 games. In 1989 he signed for Stoke, before returning to PNE in 1992, scoring 58 games in 88 games. Tony Ellis was at his best at Deepdale, but in 1994 he went from Hero to the most hate by Preston Fans, after signing for Blackpool. It wasn’t the move that was the main problem, but days before he was putting Blackpool down, playing up to his hero status. “I will never sign for Blackpool” he said. Signing anti Blackpool Songs with the Preston Fans. But worse was to come, Preston played Blackpool and Tony Ellis scored and he slide across the grass, shoving his fingers up to the Preston fans and kissing the Blackpool Badge. Judas became his name, and he became the most hated player in Preston History. In 2007, the club tested the feeling of fans, by doing any interview with him, it didn’t go down well. Fans split of whether he should be forgive or not, what was clear the level of hatred was as strong as ever in some Preston Fans. Will he ever be forgiven? I doubt it. After a much-publicised fall out with Preston boss John Beck over a new contract and his role within the club, Ellis signed for arch-rivals Blackpool for £165,000 - a move for which many Preston fans have never forgiven him. However in November 1995 Ellis handed in a transfer request fueling rumours of a return to Deepdale, by now managed by Gary Peters. Blackpool got around this problem by offering Ellis an extension to his contract

Michael Elwiss - born 2 May 1954

He moved to Preston North End in February 1974, scoring both goals in a 2-2 draw against Carlisle United in his debut on 2nd March 1974. He was twice named as the club's Player of the Year before being transferred to Crystal Palace in 1978 after making 192 appearances and scoring 60 goals. Returned to Deepdale on loan in March 1980, making a further 10 appearances and scoring 3 goals before his injury forced him to retire from the game at the end of the 1979/80 season

Robert Edwards - born 1 July 1973

On 8 August 1999 Edwards moved on a free to then League One side Preston North End, where he played an important role in Preston's title victory, and promotion to the Championship. On 1 July 2004, Edwards moved to League One side Blackpool where he made 69 appearances before being released on a free at the end of the 2005–06 season by manager Simon Grayson. He Played 169 games for PNE and scored 4 goals. He also played 4 games for Wales.

David Eyres - born 26 February 1964

A relative latecomer to the professional game, Eyres began his career at Welsh non-league side Rhyl before signing, in 1989 at the age of 25, professional terms with Blackpool for a fee of £10,000. He spent four seasons with the Seasiders, two of which ended with appearances at Wembley in the play-off finals (achieving promotion in 1991-92). He also finished as the club's top league goalscorer in 1992-93, with sixteen goals. In the summer of 1993, Burnley and Jimmy Mullen (Eyres' former manager at Blackpool) came in for his services with an offer of £90,000. Eyres remained at Turf Moor for seven years, and then continued his tour of Lancashire by signing for Blackpool's arch-rivals Preston North End in 1997 for £80,000. Eyres moved to Oldham in 2000 on a free transfer and signed a one-year extension to his contract the following January, which would keep him at the club until June 2002. He subsequently signed two more contracts, which tied him to the club until 2006. During the 2003-04 season, Eyres and teammate John Sheridan took on joint caretaker-manager roles after Iain Dowie's departure from the Latics hotseat. Earlier in the season, Eyres fractured a bone in his foot, which put him out of action between October and December. Eyres, who was voted Oldham fans' player of the season in 2001-02, scored in his 234th and final appearance for Oldham in a 1-1 draw with Scunthorpe to close out the 2005/6 season and his 18-year professional career at the age of 42. He then joined Conference North side Hyde United in August 2006, but left the club by mutual consent two months later. On October 13, 2006, Eyres signed for Unibond team Mossley. In May 2007, Eyres made a return to Burnley to play at Turf Moor in the testimonial of another ex-Claret, Graham Branch. He played 89 games for PNE scoring 20. He was part of the 1999-2000 Division 2 Championship winning sid

Alec Farrall - born 3 March 1936

Played for Preston North End from 1957 to 1960, along side Sir Tom, played 27 games scoring 9 goals.

Andrew Fensome - born 18 February 1969

He signed for Preston North End for a £7,500 fee in October 1993 and was named as the club's Player of the Year in the 1994/95 season. In total he made 105 appearances for the Deepdale club and scored 2 goals. He was transferred to Rochdale in July 1996. He is currently resides in Preston and is a coach for the Preston North End centre of excellence. Played from 1993-96 scoring 1 goal in 93 games

Ricardo Dwayne Fuller - born 31 October 1979

Fuller scored on his Preston debut, a 2-1 defeat at home to old club Crystal Palace, and soon became a vital team player. He had an explosive scoring rate, but unfortunately he suffered knee ligament damage in early December, which ended his season prematurely. He had scored 11 goals in only 20 appearances for the club. A fit again Fuller began the 2003-04 season on fire, including a run of six goals in five games, but his form tailed off as his knee troubled him once more. Despite this, he still scored 19 goals that season.

William Fagan - born 20 February 1917 / died 29 February 1992

Starting his career as a teenager at Celtic he moved on to Preston where he would link up with future Anfield managerial great Bill Shankly who was playing for the club at the time. They reached the FA Cup final of 1937 but lost the game 3-1 to Sunderland. Played for PNE from 1936-37, playing 35 games and scoring 6 goals

Michael Anthony Flynn - Born 23 February 1969

In December 1989 third division Preston North End tabled a bid of £125k which City duly accepted enabling Flynn to return to his native North West. Flynn's time at Preston was, however, a difficult one for although Flynn's own performances were generally outstanding the club on were struggling with many of there best players being sold to boost the club coffers. Indeed in Flynn's time at Deepdale North End sold Tony Ellis, Warren Joyce, Alan Kelly, Martin James, Brian Mooney and Mark Patterson all for large transfer fees. It therefore came as no surprise when Flynn himself was sold to Stockport County in March 1993 for a fee of £150k. In Flynn's three and a half years at Preston he had played 162 games scoring 8 goals.