2018–19 Preston North End F.C. season explained

Club:	Preston North End
Season:	2018–19
Manager:	Alex Neil
Stadium:	Deepdale
League:	Championship
League Result:	14th
Cup1:	FA Cup
Cup1 Result:	Third round
Cup2:	EFL Cup
Cup2 Result:	Third round
League Topscorer:	Alan Browne Callum Robinson (12)
Season Topscorer:	Callum Robinson (13)
Highest Attendance:	19,912 vs. Blackburn (24 November 2018, League)
Lowest Attendance:	League: 10,849 vs. Reading (15 September 2018) All: 5,095 vs. Middlesbrough (25 Sep 2018, EFL Cup R3)
Largest Win:	4–0 vs. Wigan Athletic (6 October 2018, League)
Largest Loss:	0–3 vs. Leeds United (18 September 2018, League)
Prevseason:	2017–18
Nextseason:	2019–20
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The 2018–19 season is Preston North End's 139th season in existence, and their fourth consecutive season in the Championship. Along with the Championship, the club will also compete in the FA Cup and EFL Cup. The season covers the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.

Season review

Pre-season

Paul Huntington, the club's longest-serving current player since he arrived from Yeovil Town in July 2012, signed a new three-year contract. He made 46 appearances last season. Other new contracts were signed during the summer by Alan Browne, Tom Clarke, Darnell Fisher, Paul Gallagher and Sean Maguire.

Striker Eoin Doyle transferred to Bradford City on 1 August for an undisclosed fee and signed a two-year contract.^[1] On the same day, Preston announced that Billy Bodin had a knee ligament injury and would be out of action for up to six months. Sean Maguire, who had recently renewed his contract, was out for "the first few weeks of the season" with a hamstring injury.^[2]

August

Preston signed two forwards on season-long loans from Manchester City. They are Lukas Nmecha, who is an England U-21 striker, and Brandon Barker, an England U-20 winger.^{[3] [4]} Both made their debuts in the club's second EFL Championship match, away to Swansea City on 11 August.

Daryl Horgan transferred to Hibernian on 10 August for an undisclosed fee and signed a three-year contract.^[5] Horgan had appeared a substitute in the opening match against QPR.

Squad

No.	Name	Pos.	Nationality	Place of birth	Age	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee	End
Goalkeepers
1	Declan Rudd	GK		Diss		123	0	Norwich City	1 July 2017	£966,000	2020
13	Michael Crowe	GK		Bexleyheath		1	0	Ipswich Town	1 July 2018	Free	2020
25	Connor Ripley	GK		Middlesbrough		2	0	Middlesbrough	9 January 2019	Undisclosed	2022
Defenders
2	Darnell Fisher	RB		Reading		73	0	Rotherham United	27 July 2017	Undisclosed	2020
3	Josh Earl	LB/LW		Liverpool		36	0	Academy	1 July 2017	Trainee	2021
5	Tom Clarke	CB		Sowerby Bridge		236	15	Huddersfield Town	22 May 2013	Free	2020
6	Ben Davies	CB/LB		Barrow-in-Furness		88	2	Academy	25 January 2013	Free	2021
14	Jordan Storey	CB		Yeovil		31	1	Exeter City	1 July 2018	Undisclosed	2022
15	Joe Rafferty	RB		Liverpool		5	0	Rochdale	23 January 2019	Undisclosed	2022
16	Andrew Hughes	LB		Cardiff		34	4	Peterborough United	1 July 2018	Undisclosed	2021
23	Paul Huntington	CB		Carlisle		271	17	Yeovil Town	22 May 2012	Free	2021
31	Tom Stead	DF				0	0	Academy	1 July 2017	Trainee	2019
50	Kevin O'Connor	LB		Enniscorthy	22	9	0	Cork City	24 July 2017	Undisclosed	2020
—	Andy Boyle	CB		Dublin		12	0	Dundalk	1 January 2017	Free	2019
Midfielders
4	Ben Pearson	CM/DM		Oldham		116	1	Manchester United	11 January 2016	£115,000	2021
8	Alan Browne	CM		Cork		204	28	Free agent	1 January 2014	Free	2021
10	Josh Harrop	AM/CF		Stockport		50	4	Manchester United	3 July 2017	Undisclosed	2021
11	Daniel Johnson	AM		Kingston		186	31	Aston Villa	23 January 2015	£50,000	2021
12	Paul Gallagher	AM/WG		Glasgow		264	38	Leicester City	16 June 2015	Free	2020
17	Josh Ginnelly	LW		Coventry		5	0	Walsall	1 January 2019	Undisclosed	2021
18	Ryan Ledson	CM		Liverpool		28	0	Oxford United	1 July 2018	Undisclosed	2021
21	Brandon Barker	WG		Manchester		20	2	Manchester City	7 August 2018	Loan	2019
30	Jack Baxter	CM		Chorley		0	0	Academy	1 July 2017	Trainee	2019
32	Adam O'Reilly	CM				1	0	Ringmahon Rangers	November 2016	Undisclosed	2020
44	Brad Potts	CM		Hexham		10	2	Barnsley	3 January 2019	Undisclosed	2020
Forwards
7	Callum Robinson	WG/CF		Northampton		149	35	Aston Villa	4 July 2016	Free	2020
9	Louis Moult	CF		Stoke-on-Trent		38	7	Motherwell	1 January 2018	Undisclosed	2021
20	Jayden Stockley	CF		Poole		17	4	Exeter City	3 January 2019	£750,000	2022
24	Sean Maguire	CF		Luton		52	13	Cork City	24 July 2017	Undisclosed	2021
29	Tom Barkhuizen	RW/SS		Blackpool		101	21	Morecambe	1 January 2017	Free	2020
39	Billy Bodin	RW/CF		Swindon		19	1	Bristol Rovers	3 January 2018	Undisclosed	2020
45	Lukas Nmecha	CF		Hamburg		44	4	Manchester City	9 August 2018	Loan	2019
Out on Loan
19	Graham Burke	SS		Dublin		15	2	Shamrock Rovers	1 July 2018	Undisclosed	2021
22	Chris Maxwell	GK		St Asaph		81	0	Fleetwood Town	1 July 2016	Free	2020
26	Michael Howard	CF		Southport		0	0	Academy	20 February 2018	Trainee	2019
27	Connor Simpson	CF		Guisborough		1	0	Hartlepool United	11 January 2018	Undisclosed	2020
51	Tommy Spurr	LB		Leeds		24	1	Blackburn Rovers	1 July 2016	Free	2019
52	Ben Pringle	CM/LM		Newcastle upon Tyne		14	0	Fulham	4 July 2016	£255,000	2019
53	Marnick Vermijl	RB		Peer		54	4	Sheffield Wednesday	31 August 2016	Undisclosed	2019

• All appearances and goals up to date as of 5 May 2019.

Statistics

|-!colspan=14|Players currently on loan:|-!colspan=14|Players who left during the season:|}

Goals record

Rank	No.	Nat.	Po.	Name				Total
1	7		CF	Callum Robinson	12	0	1	13
2	8		CM	Alan Browne	12	0	0	12
3	11		CM		6	0	1	7
	29		WG	Tom Barkhuizen	6	0	1	7
5	12		AM		6	0	0	6
6	9		CF	Louis Moult	4	0	1	5
7	16		LB		3	1	0	4
	20		CF	Jayden Stockley	4	0	0	4
	45		CF	Lukas Nmecha	4	0	0	4
10	24		CF	Sean Maguire	3	0	0	3
11	19		SS	Graham Burke	1	0	1	2
	21		WG	Brandon Barker	0	0	2	2
	44		CM	Brad Potts	2	0	0	2
14	5		CB		1	0	0	1
	6		CB		1	0	0	1
	14		CB	Jordan Storey	1	0	0	1
Own Goals					1	0	0	1
Total					67	1	7	74

Disciplinary record

Rank	No.	Nat.	Po.	Name										Total
1	4		DM	Ben Pearson	13	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0	3
2	2		RB	Darnell Fisher	10	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	12	1	0
3	11		CM		8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	0
4	6		CB		7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
	18		CM	Ryan Ledson	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	0	2
6	8		CM	Alan Browne	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	5	0	0
7	3		LB	Josh Earl	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0
	12		AM		3	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
9	1		GK	Declan Rudd	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
	22		GK	Chris Maxwell	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0
	24		CF	Sean Maguire	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
	45		CF	Lukas Nmecha	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
13	9		CF	Louis Moult	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0
	16		LB		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	23		CB	Paul Huntington	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
16	7		CF	Callum Robinson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	10		AM	Josh Harrop	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
	14		CB	Jordan Storey	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	20		CF	Jayden Stockley	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Total					68	3	4	2	0	0	6	0	1	76	3	5

Contracts

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	Contract Length	Status	Expires	Ref.
10 July 2018	CB		Paul Huntington	3 years	Signed	June 2021	^[6]
11 July 2018	CM		Alan Browne	3 years	Signed	June 2021	^[7]
24 January 2019	CM		Paul Gallagher	1 year	Signed	June 2020	^[8]
25 January 2019	LB		Josh Earl	2 years	Signed	June 2021	^[9]

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2018					Undisclosed	^[10]
1 July 2018			Jimmy Corcoran		Undisclosed	^[11]
1 July 2018					Free transfer	^[12]
1 July 2018					Undisclosed	^[13]
1 July 2018					Undisclosed	^[14]
1 July 2018			Brian McManus	St Kevin Boys	Undisclosed	^[15]
1 July 2018					£765,000	^[16]
1 January 2019					Undisclosed	^[17]
3 January 2019					£1,440,000	^[18]
3 January 2019					£747,000	^[19]
9 January 2019					Undisclosed	^[20]
23 January 2019					Undisclosed	^[21]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
13 June 2018					Undisclosed	^[22]
1 July 2018					End of Contract	^[23] ^[24]
1 August 2018					Undisclosed	^[25]
11 August 2018					Undisclosed	^[26]
23 January 2019					Free transfer	^[27]

Loans in

Start date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	End date	Ref.
7 August 2018					31 May 2019	^[28]
9 August 2018					31 May 2019	^[29]

Loans out

Start date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	End date	Ref.
1 July 2018					3 January 2019	^[30] ^[31]
6 July 2018					1 January 2019	^[32] ^[33]
17 August 2018					1 January 2019	^[34]
29 August 2018					7 January 2019	^[35]
31 August 2018					1 January 2019	^[36]
31 August 2018					21 January 2019	^[37] ^[38]
31 August 2018					31 May 2019	^[39]
12 October 2018					1 January 2019	^[40] ^[41]
8 January 2019					31 May 2019	^[42]
9 January 2019					31 May 2019	^[43]
11 January 2019					31 May 2019	^[44]
22 January 2019					31 May 2019
29 January 2019					30 June 2019	^[45]
31 January 2019					4 May 2019	^[46]
8 February 2019					31 May 2019	^[47]
8 March 2019					April 2019	^[48]

Pre-season friendlies

PNE announced they will compete with Bamber Bridge, AFC Fylde, West Ham United and Burnley during pre-season.^[49]

Competitions

Championship

See main article: 2018–19 EFL Championship.

Matches

On 21 June 2018, the Championship fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.^{[50] [51]}

FA Cup

See main article: 2018–19 FA Cup.

The third round draw was made live on BBC by Ruud Gullit and Paul Ince from Stamford Bridge on 3 December 2018.^[52]

EFL Cup

See main article: 2018–19 EFL Cup.

On 15 June 2018, the draw for the first round was made in Vietnam.^[53] The second round draw was done on 16 August.^[54] The third round draw was made on 30 August 2018 by David Seaman and Joleon Lescott.^[55]

Notes and References

1. News: Eoin Doyle: Bradford City sign Preston striker for undisclosed fee . BBC Sport . 1 August 2018 . 12 August 2018.
2. News: Billy Bodin: Preston North End striker out for six months with knee injury . BBC Sport . 1 August 2018 . 12 August 2018.
3. News: Lukas Nmecha: Manchester City and England Under-21 striker joins Preston on loan . BBC Sport . 9 August 2018 . 12 August 2018.
4. News: Brandon Barker: Manchester City loan England Under-20 winger to Preston North End . BBC Sport . 7 August 2018 . 12 August 2018.
5. News: Daryl Horgan: Hibs sign Republic of Ireland winger on three-year deal . BBC Sport . 11 August 2018 . 12 August 2018.
6. News: Paul Huntington: Preston North End defender signs new three-year deal . BBC Sport . 10 July 2018 . 11 July 2018.
7. News: Alan Browne Agrees New Preston North End Contract . PNEFC.net . 11 July 2018 . 11 July 2018.
8. News: Paul Gallagher: Midfielder signs new Preston contract . BBC Sport . 24 January 2019 . 24 January 2019.
9. News: Josh Earl: Preston North End defender signs contract extension . BBC Sport . 25 January 2019 . 25 January 2019.
10. News: Preston sign Shamrock striker Burke . 13 June 2018 . . 13 June 2018.
11. Web site: Republic of Ireland youth international Jimmy Corcoran becomes the latest Irish player to sign for Preston North End . . 8 February 2019.
12. News: Preston bring in goalkeeper Crowe . 6 June 2018 . . 6 June 2018.
13. News: Preston sign Hughes from Peterborough . 21 June 2018 . . 21 June 2018.
14. News: Preston sign Oxford midfielder Ledson. 17 May 2018. BBC. 17 May 2018.
15. Web site: Congratulations to Brian McManus after signing for Preston North End Football Club . . 8 February 2019.
16. News: Preston sign Storey from Exeter . 12 June 2018 . . 12 June 2018.
17. Web site: Ginnelly completes Preston move . . 1 January 2019.
18. Web site: Barnsley midfielder Brad Potts joins Preston - in a club record deal for North End . . 3 January 2019.
19. Web site: Preston North End Sign Jayden Stockley From Exeter City . . 3 January 2019.
20. Web site: Goalkeeper Connor Ripley Makes Permanent Move From Middlesbrough . . 9 January 2019.
21. Web site: Joe Rafferty Joins Preston North End . . 23 January 2019.
22. News: Greg Cunningham: Cardiff City sign Preston North End defender . BBC Sport . 13 June 2018 . 13 June 2018.
23. News: John Welsh: Preston midfielder to leave club at end of season . BBC Sport . 3 May 2018 . 8 May 2018.
24. News: Grimsby Town sign Welsh & Hessenthaler . 25 June 2018 . . 25 June 2018.
25. News: Doyle Arrives As Wyke Departs . 1 August 2018 . . 1 August 2018.
26. News: Horgan Signs On A Three Year Deal . 12 August 2018 . . 11 August 2018 . 11 August 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180811164236/http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/news/9071 . dead .
27. Web site: Bantams Snap Up Woods . . 23 January 2019.
28. News: Brandon Barker: Manchester City loan England Under-20 winger to Preston North End . BBC Sport . 7 August 2018 . 8 August 2018.
29. News: Preston North End Agree Loan Deal With Manchester City Striker Lukas Nmecha . 9 August 2018 . . 9 August 2018.
30. News: Fleetwood sign Coyle and Spurr on loan . 27 June 2018 . . 27 June 2018.
31. Web site: Tommy Spurr returns to Preston North End . . 8 February 2019.
32. News: Bury sign Miller and add Hudson on loan . 6 July 2018 . . 6 July 2018.
33. Web site: Loan Duo Return to Parent Clubs . . 2 January 2019.
34. News: Pitmen Sign Up Three . 17 August 2018 . . 17 August 2018.
35. News: Kevin O'Connor Joins On Loan . 29 August 2018 . . 29 August 2018.
36. News: Andy Boyle Joins Dundee On Loan . 1 September 2018 . . 31 August 2018.
37. News: Pringle Joins On Season Long Loan . 31 August 2018 . . 31 August 2018.
38. Web site: Pringle Loan Terminated . . 22 January 2019.
39. News: Marnick Vermijl Joins MVV Maastricht On Season Long Loan . 31 August 2018 . . 31 August 2018.
40. News: New Signing Announcement . 12 October 2018 . . 12 October 2018.
41. Web site: Loan Extension . . 21 November 2018.
42. Web site: Charlton swoop for goalkeeper Chris Maxwell . . 8 January 2019.
43. Web site: Striker signs half-season loan deal . . 9 January 2019.
44. Web site: Preston winger Michael Howard joins Stalybridge Celtic on loan . . 11 January 2019.
45. Web site: Andy Boyle Joins Ross County On Loan . . 29 January 2019.
46. Web site: Gills sign Graham Burke on loan . . 31 January 2019.
47. Web site: Preston North End defender leaves on loan for season . Lancs Live . 8 February 2019.
48. Web site: Three Players Join The Tigers Today . . 8 March 2019.
49. News: Pre-Season Friendlies Confirmed . 7 July 2018 . . 12 June 2018.
50. News: EFL fixtures for 2018-19 in full . 21 June 2018 . . 21 June 2018.
51. News: Preston North End Scores & Fixtures . 21 June 2018 . .
52. Web site: Emirates FA Cup third round Draw Made At Stamford Bridge . . 4 December 2018.
53. News: Lampard's Derby at Oldham in Carabao Cup . BBC Sport . 15 June 2018 . 15 June 2018.
54. News: Carabao Cup second-round draw . BBC Sport . 16 August 2018 . 16 August 2018.
55. News: Carabao Cup Round Three Draw Confirmed . . 30 August 2018 . 30 August 2018.