37 Facts About Preston North End

1. Preston North End made strenuous efforts to get players fixed up with jobs - Bill Shankly found employment shovelling sand, George Mutch building aeroplanes and Jack Fairbrother joined up as a policeman.

2. Preston North End was my first football hero and my role model and when he was transferred to the Gunners I thought I would never get over it.

3. Preston North End was box office, the draw card, a player who grabbed your attention and refused to let go.

4. Preston North End were in the Second Division and the general standard of football was not the best, but here was a magic and a mystery about James that mesmerised me.

5. Preston North End wore the baggiest of baggy shorts and his heavily gelled hair was parted down the centre.

6. Preston North End dominated the rest of the match but Dennis Compton managed to get the equaliser just before the end of full-time.

7. Preston North End scored a hat-trick in the fourth-round tie against Manchester City.

8. Preston North End had a good run in the FA Cup until being knocked out by Portsmouth in the sixth round.

9. Preston North End scored a hat trick when Preston beat West Ham United in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.

10. Preston North End was replaced by the English international, George Stephenson, who had considerable goalscoring success at Derby County, Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday.

11. Preston North End scored four against both Burnley and Lincoln City and hat-tricks against West Ham United and Manchester United.

12. Preston North End signed two young talented midfielders who had born in Scotland.

13. Preston North End made his debut at Southampton on 24th December 1932.

14. Preston North End served on the Western Front and in 1918 he was badly wounded by a bullet that hit him in the thigh.

15. Preston North End finished second to Derby County in the final season before the First World War.

16. Preston North End was fairly short for a centre-half.

17. Preston North End now joined forces with other clubs who were paying their players, such as Aston Villa and Sunderland.

18. Preston North End were founded as a cricket club in 1862.

19. Preston North End was part of the twelve football teams that made up the English Football League in 1888, and were the first team ever to win the English Football League.

20. Preston North End was the club's fifth manager in four seasons, after Irvine, Darren Ferguson, Phil Brown and Graham Westley.

21. In January 2001, Preston North End beat their club transfer record by paying £1.5 million to Manchester United for David Healy.

22. In 2000, Preston North End finally made their return to the second tier of the Football League, after an absence of nineteen seasons.

23. Preston North End won five games on the trot in March 1986, but by then it was too late.

24. Preston North End were the first club to achieve the league and cup "Double" and they did so with a majority of their team being made up of "Scotch Professors" - as the professional Scottish players of the time were known.

25. Preston North End made 76 international appearances from 1946 to 1958 and is remembered as one of football's greatest-ever players.

26. Preston North End worked hard to weather the storm in the closing 20 minutes, with Rudd claiming three corners in quick succession as Millwall looked to turn the screw.

27. Preston North End eventually found a way through on 37 minutes, with Lukas Nmecha's neat through ball sending Ireland international Browne through to slot home from a tight angle.

28. Preston North End was keen on Leahy while he was Dundalk boss, and the Lilywhites were looking at winger Dan Kelly before he accepted an offer to go on trial with Bolton.

29. Preston North End have a keen eye on the Irish market having recruited extensively from the League of Ireland with mixed results.

30. Preston North End completed his Leaving Cert last summer after finishing his studies in tandem with a full-time commitment to Rovers through their partnership with fee-paying school Ashfield College.

31. Preston North End have won their last two matches against Millwall and Nottingham Forest to climb to 15th in the Championship table.

32. Preston North End reached the 2001 play-off final but were defeated by Bolton Wanderers.

33. Preston North End is generally considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time and, being local, was nicknamed the "Preston Plumber" due to his professional business as a plumber.

34. Preston North End became one of the first professional clubs by hiring players from Scotland.

35. Preston North End was founded in 1863, originally as a cricket club, and played their first matches at the Marsh near the River Ribble in the Preston suburb of Ashton.

36. Preston North End have faced serious financial issues and were twice in danger of closure.

37. Preston North End was a founder member of the Football League in 1888.