2017–18 Preston North End F.C. season explained

Club:	Preston North End
Season:	2017–18
Manager:	Alex Neil
Stadium:	Deepdale
League:	Championship
League Result:	7th
Cup1:	FA Cup
Cup1 Result:	4th round
Cup2:	EFL Cup
Cup2 Result:	1st round
League Topscorer:	Sean Maguire (10)
Season Topscorer:	Jordan Hugill Sean Maguire (10)
Prevseason:	2016–17
Nextseason:	2018–19
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The 2017–18 season was Preston North End's third consecutive season in the Championship, in their 138th year in existence. Along with competing in the Championship, the club also participated in the FA Cup and EFL Cup. The season covered the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.

Squad

No.	Name	Pos.	Nationality	Place of birth	Age	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee	End
Goalkeepers
1	Declan Rudd	GK		Diss		85	0	Norwich City	1 July 2017	£966,000	2020
22	Chris Maxwell	GK		St Asaph		71	0	Fleetwood Town	1 July 2016	Free	2020
28	Mathew Hudson	GK		Southport		1	0	Academy	1 July 2015	Trainee	2020
31	Callum Roberts	GK		South shields		0	0	Academy	1 July 2017	Trainee	2018
Defenders
3	Greg Cunningham	LB		Galway		110	4	Bristol City	27 July 2015	Undisclosed	2019
5	Tom Clarke	CB		Sowerby Bridge		214	14	Huddersfield Town	22 May 2013	Free	2020
14	Darnell Fisher	RB		Reading		35	0	Rotherham United	27 July 2017	Undisclosed	2021
15	Calum Woods	RB		Liverpool		79	0	Huddersfield Town	1 July 2014	Free	2019
17	Tommy Spurr	LB		Leeds		24	1	Blackburn Rovers	1 July 2016	Free	2019
20	Ben Davies	CB/LB		Barrow-in-Furness		47	1	Academy	25 January 2013	Free	2021
23	Paul Huntington	CB		Carlisle		245	17	Yeovil Town	22 May 2012	Free	2018
32	Josh Earl	LB/LW		Liverpool		20	0	Academy	1 July 2017	Trainee	2020
Midfielders
4	Ben Pearson	CM/DM		Oldham		84	1	Manchester United	11 January 2016	£115,000	2020
7	Daryl Horgan	RM		Galway		44	4	Dundalk	1 January 2017	Free	2019
8	Alan Browne	CM		Cork		164	15	Free agent	1 January 2014	Free	2020
10	Josh Harrop	AM/CF		Stockport		39	4	Manchester United	3 July 2017	Undisclosed	2021
11	Daniel Johnson	AM		Kingston		149	23	Aston Villa	23 January 2015	£50,000	2019
12	Paul Gallagher	AM/WG		Glasgow		222	32	Leicester City	16 June 2015	Free	2019
19	John Welsh	CM		Liverpool		176	3	Tranmere Rovers	14 May 2012	Free	2018
Forwards
21	Louis Moult	CF		Stoke-on-Trent		11	2	Motherwell	1 January 2018	Undisclosed	2021
24	Sean Maguire	CF		Luton		25	10	Cork City	24 July 2017	Undisclosed	2021
27	Connor Simpson	CF		Guisborough		1	0	Hartlepool United	11 January 2018	Undisclosed	2020
29	Tom Barkhuizen	RW/SS		Blackpool		64	14	Morecambe	1 January 2017	Free	2020
37	Callum Robinson	WG/CF		Northampton		121	23	Aston Villa	4 July 2016	Free	2020
39	Billy Bodin	RW/CF		Swindon		19	1	Bristol Rovers	3 January 2018	Undisclosed	2020
Out on Loan
2	Marnick Vermijl	RB		Peer		54	4	Sheffield Wednesday	31 August 2016	Undisclosed	2019
6	Andy Boyle	CB		Dublin		12	0	Dundalk	1 January 2017	Free	2019
13	Eoin Doyle	CF		Dublin		44	7	Cardiff City	1 July 2016	Undisclosed	2019
18	Ben Pringle	CM/LM		Newcastle upon Tyne		14	0	Fulham	4 July 2016	£255,000	2019
25	Kevin O'Connor	LB		Enniscorthy	22	9	0	Cork City	24 July 2017	Undisclosed	2020
30	Melle Meulensteen	CM		Nijmegen		0	0	Academy	1 July 2017	Trainee	2018

• All appearances and goals up to date as of 7 May 2018.

Statistics

|-!colspan=14|Player(s) out on loan:|-!colspan=14|Player(s) who left the club:|}

Goals record

Rank	No.	Nat.	Po.	Name				Total
1	24		CF		10	0	0	10
	—		CF	Jordan Hugill	8	0	2	10
3	8		CM		6	2	0	8
	29		WG	Tom Barkhuizen	8	0	0	8
	37		WG	Callum Robinson	8	0	0	8
6	10		AM	Josh Harrop	2	2	0	4
7	11		AM		3	0	0	3
8	5		CB		2	0	0	2
	7		WG	Daryl Horgan	1	1	0	2
	12		CM		2	0	0	2
	21		CF	Louis Moult	2	0	0	2
11	3		LB	Greg Cunningham	1	0	0	1
	20		CB		1	0	0	1
	23		CB	Paul Huntington	1	0	0	1
	39		LW	Billy Bodin	1	0	0	1
Own Goals					1	0	0	1
Total					55	5	2	62

Disciplinary record

Rank	No.	Nat.	Po.	Name										Total
1	4		CM		13	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	1	0
2	14		RB	Darnell Fisher	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0	0
3	11		AM		8	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9	0	0
	23		CB	Paul Huntington	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0	0
5	—		CF	Jordan Hugill	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	0
6	12		CM		7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
7	3		LB	Greg Cunningham	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0
	8		CM		4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0
	19		CM		3	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0
10	10		AM	Josh Harrop	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
	15		RB	Calum Woods	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
	20		CB		5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
13	32		LB	Josh Earl	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
	39		LW	Billy Bodin	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0
15	1		GK	Declan Rudd	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
	29		WG	Tom Barkhuizen	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
18	5		CB		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	6		CB	Andy Boyle	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	24		CF		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
20	37		WG	Callum Robinson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Total					105	5	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	108	5	0

Contracts

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	Contract Length	Status	Expires	Ref.
13 September 2017	LB		Josh Earl	3 years	Signed	June 2020	^[1]
16 October 2017	RB		Calum Woods	2 years	Signed	June 2019	^[2]
23 October 2017	WG		Callum Robinson	3 years	Signed	June 2020	^[3]
22 March 2018	CB		Ben Davies	years	Signed	June 2021	^[4]
22 May 2018	RB		Darnell Fisher	3 years	Signed	June 2021	^[5]
1 June 2018	CB		Tom Clarke	2 years	Signed	June 2020	^[6]
6 June 2018	GK		Mathew Hudson	2 years	Signed	June 2020	^[7]
6 June 2018	CF		Sean Maguire	3 years	Signed	June 2021	^[8]
8 June 2018	CM		Paul Gallagher	1 year	Signed	June 2019	^[9]

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2017					£966,000	^[10]
3 July 2017					Undisclosed	^[11]
24 July 2017					Undisclosed	^[12]
24 July 2017					Undisclosed	^[13]
26 July 2017					Undisclosed	^[14]
1 January 2018					Undisclosed	^[15]
3 January 2018					Undisclosed	^[16]
11 January 2018					Undisclosed	^[17]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2017					Released	^[18]
1 July 2017					Released
1 July 2017					Released
8 August 2017					Undisclosed fee	^[19]
31 August 2017					Mutual consent	^[20]
31 January 2018					£10 Million	^[21]

Loans out

Start date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	End date	Ref.
31 August 2017					January 2018	^[23]
8 September 2017			Myles Mason		6 October 2017
8 September 2017			Melle Meulensteen		January 2018	^[24]
8 September 2017			Oscar O'Neil		6 October 2017
9 January 2018					30 June 2018	^[25]
25 January 2018					30 June 2018	^[26]
30 January 2018					30 June 2018	^[27]
20 February 2018					30 June 2018	^[28]

Pre-season

Friendlies

As of 7 June 2017, Preston North End have announced seven pre-season friendlies against Bamber Bridge, Stockport County, Morecambe, Accrington Stanley, Burnley, Fleetwood Town^[29] and Newcastle United.^[30]

Competitions

Championship

See main article: 2017–18 EFL Championship.

Matches

On 21 June 2017, the league fixtures were announced.^{[31] [32]}

FA Cup

In the FA Cup, PNE entered the competition in the third round and were drawn away to Wycombe Wanderers.^[33]

EFL Cup

On 16 June 2017, Preston North End were drawn an away tie against Accrington Stanley in the first round.^[34]

Summary

Games played	49 (46 Championship, 2 FA Cup, 1 EFL Cup)
Games won	20 (19 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 0 EFL Cup)
Games drawn	16 (16 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 0 EFL Cup)
Games lost	13 (11 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 1 EFL Cup)
Goals scored	64 (57 Championship, 5 FA Cup, 2 EFL Cup)
Goals conceded	51 (46 Championship, 2 FA Cup, 3 EFL Cup)
Goal difference	+13
Clean sheets	15 (15 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 0 EFL Cup)
Yellow cards	105 (102 Championship, 3 FA Cup, 0 EFL Cup)
Red cards	5 (5 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 0 EFL Cup)
Worst Discipline	Ben Pearson 13, 1, 0)
Best result	5–1 vs Wycombe Wanderers, 6 Jan 18
Worst result	0–3 vs Ipswich Town, 4 Nov 17
Most appearances	Paul Huntington (47)
Top scorer	Sean Maguire (10)
Points	73

Notes and References

1. News: Josh Earl: Preston North End defender signs three-year contract . BBC Sport . 13 September 2017 . 24 October 2017.
2. News: Calum Woods: Preston North End defender signs new contract . BBC Sport . 16 October 2017 . 24 October 2017.
3. News: Callum Robinson: Preston North End forward signs deal until summer of 2020 . BBC Sport . 23 October 2017 . 24 October 2017.
4. News: Ben Davies: Preston North End defender signs new three-and-a half-year deal . BBC Sport . 22 March 2018 . 24 March 2018.
5. News: Darnell Fisher: Preston defender signs contract extension with Championship side . BBC Sport . 22 May 2018 . 23 May 2018.
6. News: Tom Clarke: Preston North End captain agrees new two-year contract . BBC Sport . 1 June 2018 . 2 June 2018.
7. News: Mathew Hudson Agrees New Two-Year Deal . Preston North End . 6 June 2018 . 9 June 2018.
8. News: Sean Maguire Extends Stay With Preston North End . Preston North End . 6 June 2018 . 9 June 2018.
9. News: Gallagher signs new deal at PNE . Preston North End . 8 June 2018 . 9 June 2018.
10. News: Declan Rudd: Preston North End re-sign Norwich City goalkeeper . BBC Sport . 20 June 2017 . 20 June 2017.
11. News: Josh Harrop: Preston North End sign Manchester United attacker on four-year deal . BBC Sport . 23 June 2017 . 23 June 2017.
12. News: Sean Maguire To Join PNE. 4 June 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 3 June 2017.
13. News: Preston North End Agree To Sign Cork City's Kevin O’Connor. 30 June 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 30 June 2017.
14. News: Darnell Fisher Signs For Preston North End. 26 July 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 26 July 2017.
15. News: Preston North End Reach Agreement Over Louis Moult Transfer. 14 December 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 14 December 2017.
16. News: Preston North End Sign Billy Bodin From Bristol Rovers. 3 January 2018. Preston North End Official Site.
17. News: Connor Simpson: Preston North End sign Hartlepool striker . BBC Sport . 11 January 2018 . 11 January 2018.
18. News: Retained List Confirmed . Preston North End Official Site . 8 May 2017 . 8 May 2017.
19. News: Aberdeen sign Stevie May on permanent deal. Preston North End Official Site. 8 January 2017.
20. News: Liam Grimshaw Cancels Contract. 31 August 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 31 August 2017.
21. News: Preston North End sell Jordan Hugill to West Ham United. Preston North End Official Site. 31 January 2018.
22. News: Stephy Mavididi Joins PNE On Season Long Loan. 4 August 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 4 August 2017.
23. News: Eoin Doyle Joins Latics On Loan. 31 August 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 31 August 2017.
24. News: Young Trio Set For Loan Spells. 8 September 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 8 September 2017.
25. News: Ben Pringle: Preston midfielder loaned to Oldham Athletic until end of the season . BBC Sport . 9 January 2018 . 9 January 2018.
26. News: Kevin O'Connor: Fleetwood Town sign defender from Preston North End on loan . BBC Sport . 25 January 2018 . 25 January 2018.
27. News: Andy Boyle: Doncaster Rovers sign Preston defender on loan . BBC Sport . 30 January 2018 . 30 January 2018.
28. News: Michael Howard Signs Professional Deal And Cork City Loan . PNEFC . 20 February 2018 . 20 February 2018.
29. News: 2017/18 Pre-Season Fixtures Announced . Preston North End Official Site . 19 May 2017 . 19 May 2017.
30. News: PNE To Host Newcastle United In Pre-Season Friendly. 7 June 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 7 June 2017.
31. News: 2017/18 Fixtures Announced. 28 June 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 21 June 2017.
32. News: Fixture List. 28 June 2017. Preston North End Official Site. June 2017.
33. News: PNE To Travel To Wycombe In FA Cup third round. 7 December 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 4 December 2017.
34. News: PNE Face Accrington Stanley In Carabao Cup first round. 16 June 2017. Preston North End Official Site. 16 June 2017.