2008–09 Preston North End F.C. season

During the 2008–09 English football season, Preston North End F.C. competed in the Championship.

Preston North End

2008–09 season
Chairman	Derek Shaw
Manager	Alan Irvine
Stadium	Deepdale
Championship	6th (qualified for playoffs)
Play-offs	Semi-finals
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Second round
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

Season summary

Having spent most of the previous season embroiled in a relegation battle, this season Preston edged into the play-offs in sixth place, pipping Cardiff City on the last day of the season. Though being level with seventh-placed Cardiff with 74 points and a goal difference of +12 each, Preston gained sixth place by virtue of having scored one more goal than Cardiff over the course of the season. The run of form that had seen Preston reach the playoffs saw manager Alan Irvine named the Championship's Manager of the Month for April.

Preston were drawn against third-placed Sheffield United in the semi-finals. United won 2–1 over legs, consigning Preston to another season in the second tier of English football.

Kit

For the fourth consecutive season, Preston's kits were manufactured by Italian company Diadora, who introduced new home and away kits. The home kit was a white shirt with navy shorts and navy and white hooped socks, inspired by the club's kit from the late fifties and early sixties. (White shorts were worn for the away match at Wolverhampton Wanderers on 10 January). The away kit was a yellow shirt with navy sleeves, yellow shorts and yellow socks with navy turnovers.^[1]

Lancastrian support services company Enterprise remained Preston's kit sponsors.

Results

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League Championship

Ipswich Town v Preston North End

9 August 2008 (2008-08-09) 1	Ipswich Town	1–2	Preston North End	Ipswich
	Lisbie   2'	Report	McKenna   21' Whaley   34'	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 22,307

Preston North End v Crystal Palace

16 August 2008 (2008-08-16) 2	Preston North End	2–0	Crystal Palace	Preston
	Nicholson   58' Chaplow   90'	Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 14,225

Sheffield Wednesday v Preston North End

23 August 2008 (2008-08-23) 3	Sheffield Wednesday	1–1	Preston North End	Sheffield
	McAllister   20'	Report	Chaplow   77'	Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 17,963

Preston North End v Charlton Athletic

30 August 2008 (2008-08-30) 4	Preston North End	2–1	Charlton Athletic	Preston
	Mellor   58' Nicholson   66'	Report	Gray   19 pen.'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 12,089

Coventry City v Preston North End

13 September 2008 (2008-09-13) 5	Coventry City	0–0	Preston North End	Coventry
		Report		Stadium: Ricoh Arena Attendance: 16,544

Preston North End v Nottingham Forest

16 September 2008 (2008-09-16) 6	Preston North End	2–1	Nottingham Forest	Preston
	Mawene   50' Mellor   59'	Report	Mawene (o.g.)	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 13,145

Preston North End v Wolverhampton Wanderers

20 September 2008 (2008-09-20) 7	Preston North End	1–3	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Preston
	Mellor   59 pen.'	Report	Iwelumo   36', 66', 72 pen.'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 17,567

Burnley v Preston North End

27 September 2008 (2008-09-27) 8	Burnley	3–1	Preston North End	Burnley
	Guðjónsson   33' Caldwell   64' Eagles   90'	Report	Nicholson   22'	Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 16,276

Preston North End v Swansea City

30 September 2008 (2008-09-30) 9	Preston North End	0–2	Swansea City	Preston
		Report	Bodde   19' Gomez   80 pen.'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 10,558

Watford v Preston North End

4 October 2008 (2008-10-04) 10	Watford	2–1	Preston North End	Watford
	Harley   12' Smith   21'	Report	St Ledger   5'	Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 14,087

Preston North End v Reading

18 October 2008 (2008-10-18) 11	Preston North End	2–1	Reading	Preston
	Ingimarsson (o.g.) Elliott   81'	Report	Hunt   27 pen.'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 12,316

Plymouth Argyle v Preston North End

21 October 2008 (2008-10-21) 12	Plymouth Argyle	1–0	Preston North End	Plymouth
	Fallon   18'	Report		Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 9,824

Sheffield United v Preston North End

25 October 2008 (2008-10-25) 13	Sheffield United	0–1	Preston North End	Sheffield
	Ehiogu   50'	Report		Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 24,445

Preston North End v Watford

28 October 2008 (2008-10-28) 14	Preston North End	2–0	Watford	Preston
	Jones   43' Wallace   68'	Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 11,234

Preston North End v Southampton

1 November 2008 (2008-11-01) 15	Preston North End	2–3	Southampton	Preston
	Jones   36' Elliott   42'	Report	Pearce   64' Surman   69' McGoldrick   90'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 11,508

Norwich City v Preston North End

8 November 2008 (2008-11-08) 16	Norwich City	2–2	Preston North End	Norwich
	Lita   14' Kennedy   62'	Report	Brown   2' Mellor   81'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 23,225

Blackpool v Preston North End

16 November 2008 (2008-11-16) 17	Blackpool	1–3	Preston North End	Blackpool
	Hammill   10'	Report	Brown   55', 87' Mellor   68'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 9,643

Preston North End v Barnsley

22 November 2008 (2008-11-22) 18	Preston North End	2–1	Barnsley	Preston
	Chaplow   21' St Ledger   88'	Report	Campbell-Ryce   33'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 12,153

Derby County v Preston North End

25 November 2008 (2008-11-25) 19	Derby County	2–2	Preston North End	Derby
	Hulse   8' Stewart   32'	Report	Davidson   21 pen.' Mellor   29'	Stadium: Pride Park Attendance: 25,534

Preston North End v Bristol City

29 November 2008 (2008-11-29) 20	Preston North End	2–0	Bristol City	Preston
	Elliott   30' Wallace   55'	Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 11,161

Cardiff City v Preston North End

6 December 2008 (2008-12-06) 21	Cardiff City	2–0	Preston North End	Cardiff
	Johnson   42' Chopra   76 pen.'	Report		Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 16,560

Preston North End v Doncaster Rovers

9 December 2008 (2008-12-09) 22	Preston North End	1–0	Doncaster Rovers	Preston
	Parkin   82'	Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 13,152

Preston North End v Birmingham City

13 December 2008 (2008-12-13) 23	Preston North End	1–0	Birmingham City	Preston
	Parkin   90'	Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 10,943

Queens Park Rangers v Preston North End

20 December 2008 (2008-12-20) 24	Queens Park Rangers	3–2	Preston North End	White City
	Helguson   16', 34' Blackstock   86'	Report	Sedgwick   28' Davidson   60 pen.'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 14,103

Preston North End v Derby County

26 December 2008 (2008-12-26) 25	Preston North End	2–0	Derby County	Preston
	St Ledger   30' Parkin   68'	Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 15,197

Barnsley v Preston North End

28 December 2008 (2008-12-28) 26	Barnsley	1–1	Preston North End	Barnsley
	Cureton   16'	Report	Wallace   73'	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 13,851

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Preston North End

10 January 2009 (2009-01-10) 27	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–3	Preston North End	Wolverhampton
	Ebanks-Blake   20'	Report	Elliott   24', 61' St Ledger   41'	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 26,138

Preston North End v Burnley

17 January 2009 (2009-01-17) 28	Preston North End	2–1	Burnley	Preston
	Davidson   53 pen.' Mellor   85 pen.'	Report	Blake   77'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 15,692

Swansea City v Preston North End

27 January 2009 (2009-01-27) 29	Swansea City	4–1	Preston North End	Swansea
	Gomez   2' Scotland   29' Bauza   69' Tate   87'	Report	Brown   90'	Stadium: Liberty Stadium Attendance: 14,774

Preston North End v Sheffield United

31 January 2009 (2009-01-31) 30	Preston North End	0–0	Sheffield United	Preston
		Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 14,889

Preston North End v Plymouth Argyle

3 February 2009 (2009-02-03) 31	Preston North End	1–1	Plymouth Argyle	Preston
	Parkin   43'	Report	Mackie   13'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 10,660

Reading v Preston North End

7 February 2009 (2009-02-07) 32	Reading	0–0	Preston North End	Reading
		Report		Stadium: Madejski Stadium Attendance: 19,570

Preston North End v Norwich City

14 February 2009 (2009-02-14) 33	Preston North End	1–0	Norwich City	Preston
	Parkin   41'	Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 12,033

Southampton v Preston North End

21 February 2009 (2009-02-21) 34	Southampton	3–1	Preston North End	Southampton
	Surman   19' Saganowski   29', 42'	Report	Wallace   73'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 14,790

Preston North End v Ipswich Town

28 February 2009 (2009-02-28) 35	Preston North End	3–2	Ipswich Town	Preston
	Davison   6 pen.' Parkin   41' Elliott   61'	Report	Miller   31', 63'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 12,709

Nottingham Forest v Preston North End

3 March 2009 (2009-03-03) 36	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Preston North End	Nottingham
	Earnshaw   58', 71'	Report	Parkin   63'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 17,568

Crystal Palace v Preston North End

7 March 2009 (2009-03-07) 37	Crystal Palace	2–1	Preston North End	London
	Stokes   32' Danns   34'	Report	Jones   29'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 16,340

Preston North End v Sheffield Wednesday

10 March 2009 (2009-03-10) 38	Preston North End	1–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Preston
	Parkin   90'	Report	Jeffers   30'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 12,381

Preston North End v Coventry City

14 March 2009 (2009-03-14) 39	Preston North End	2–1	Coventry City	Preston
	Turner (o.g.) Parkin   72'	Report	Morrison   17'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 13,251

Charlton Athletic v Preston North End

21 March 2009 (2009-03-21) 40	Charlton Athletic	0–0	Preston North End	London
		Report		Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 19,215

Bristol City v Preston North End

4 April 2009 (2009-04-04) 41	Bristol City	0–0	Preston North End	Bristol
	Maynard   59'	Report	Mawene   69'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 16,596

Preston North End v Blackpool

11 April 2009 (2009-04-11) 42	Preston North End	0–1	Blackpool	Preston
		Report	Adam   43'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 21,273

Doncaster Rovers v Preston North End

13 April 2009 (2009-04-13) 43	Doncaster Rovers	0–2	Preston North End	Doncaster
		Report	Brown   26' Mellor   72'	Stadium: Keepmoat Stadium Attendance: 11,648

Preston North End v Cardiff City

13 April 2009 (2009-04-13) 44	Preston North End	6–0	Cardiff City	Preston
	Mellor   17', 41' Parkin   51' Kennedy (o.g.) Brown   75' Lee Williamson   86'	Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 13,692

Birmingham City v Preston North End

25 April 2009 (2009-04-25) 45	Birmingham City	1–2	Preston North End	Birmingham
	Fahey   57'	Report	McKenna   69' Wallace   89'	Stadium: St Andrews Attendance: 24,825

Preston North End v Queens Park Rangers

3 May 2009 (2009-05-03) 46	Preston North End	2–1	Queens Park Rangers	Preston
	Parkin   37' St Ledger   74'	Report	Agyemang   57'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 18,264

Football League Playoffs

Main article: 2009 Football League play-offs

Preston North End v Sheffield United

8 May 2009 (2009-05-08) Semi Final 1st Leg	Preston North End	1–1	Sheffield United	Preston
	St Ledger   21'	Report	Howard   46'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 19,840

Sheffield United v Preston North End

11 May 2009 (2009-05-11) Semi Final Second Leg	Sheffield United	1–0	Preston North End	Sheffield
	Halford   59'	Report		Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 26,354

FA Cup

Main article: 2008–09 FA Cup

Preston North End v Liverpool

3 January 2009 (2009-01-03) 3	Preston North End	0–1	Liverpool	Preston
		Report	Riera   25' Torres   90'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 23,046

League Cup

Main article: 2008–09 Football League Cup

Preston North End v Chesterfield

12 August 2008 (2008-08-12) 1	Preston North End	2–0	Chesterfield	Preston
	Mellor   37', 90'	Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 5,150

Preston North End v Derby County

26 August 2008 (2008-08-26) 2	Preston North End	0–1	Derby County	Preston
		Report	Green   40'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 8,037

Players

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   ENG Andy Lonergan 2 DF   SCO Michael Hart 3 DF   SCO Callum Davidson 4 MF   ENG Richard Chaplow 5 DF   FRA Youl Mawéné 6 MF   JAM Lee Williamson^[notes 1] (on loan from Watford) 7 MF   ENG Chris Sedgwick 8 FW   ENG Karl Hawley 9 FW   ENG Chris Brown 10 MF   SCO Barry Nicholson 11 MF   ENG Darren Carter 12 DF   IRL Sean St Ledger^[notes 2] 14 DF   ENG Liam Chilvers 15 MF   ENG Simon Whaley 16 MF   ENG Paul McKenna (captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 DF   ENG Billy Jones 21 DF   ENG Neal Trotman 22 GK   IRL Wayne Henderson 25 MF   SCO Ross Wallace 26 FW   ENG Jon Parkin 27 DF   IRL Eddie Nolan 29 FW   IRL Stephen Elliott 30 GK   ENG Chris Neal 31 GK   ENG Andrew Murphy 33 FW   ENG Neil Mellor 34 MF   CAN Phil Appiah 35 DF   ENG Dean Stott 36 FW   ENG Rob Turner 40 MF   NIR Adam Barton^[notes 3]

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 6 MF   ENG Jason Jarrett (to Brighton & Hove Albion) 6 DF   ENG Andrew Davies (on loan from Stoke City) 17 FW   ENG Brett Ormerod (to Blackpool) 18 DF   ENG Matt Hill (to Wolverhampton Wanderers)

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 DF   ENG Wayne Brown (on loan from Hull City) 20 DF   SCO Jay McEveley^[notes 4] (on loan from Derby County) 23 MF   ENG Lewis Neal (to Carlisle United) 24 MF   ENG Joe Anyinsah (to Carlisle United)

References

1. "Championship 2008-2009 - Historical Football Kits". www.historicalkits.co.uk.

Notes

1. Williamson was born in Derby, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and was called up by Jamaica in 2008 before making his international debut for Jamaica in September 2015.
2. St Ledger was born in Solihull, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandfather and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in May 2009.
3. Barton was born in Clitheroe, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland internationally through his parents and represented Northern Ireland at U-21 level before making his debut for Northern Ireland in November 2010 and then representing the Republic of Ireland at U-21 level.
4. McEveley was born in Liverpool, England, and represented England at U-20 and U-21 level, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and represented Scotland at B level before making his international debut for Scotland in August 2007.