2008–09 Preston North End F.C. season

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 →

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notes

^ 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.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ 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.

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

[2] 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.

[3] 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.

[4] 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.

[5] 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.

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