Introduction to Preston North End’s Legendary Players
Founded in 1880, Preston North End became the original ‘Invincibles’ in the inaugural 1888-89 Football League season. Since then, memorable players, managers and legends of the club have come and gone – contributing to the Lilywhites in exceptional ways.
These ten players will likely be lauded as some of the finest footballers to ever grace Deepdale, and to wear the North End shirt. Unanimously, these legends are well-respected among the fanbase due to their team accolades, personal achievements and record-high numbers during their stay with Preston.
The Legacy of Preston North End
As aforementioned, Preston were one of the founding members of the original Football League, claiming the first two titles in the 1888/89 and 1889/90 seasons. The Lilywhites’ home stadium remains the longest continuously in-use ground in the EFL. North End moved to Deepdale in 1875 and haven’t changed homes since.
In the 1888/89 ‘invincible’ season, PNE achieved the first double too – winning the League (now FA) Cup the very same year. Accolades for Preston have been predominantly during the earlier years of their footballing legacy. As FA Cup winners in 1937/38 and second tier champions in 1903/04, 1912/13 and 1950/51, their most recent silverware was a League One play-off winning campaign in 2014/15. This occasion oversaw Jermaine Beckford score a stunning hat-trick at Wembley to aid his side’s victory against Swindon Town.
Criteria for Ranking the Best Players
A perfect blend of statistics, club legacy, appearances, goal involvements, impact on the club and accolades are all used to determine who deserves the higher ranking in their club’s history.
North End have had leaders on and off the pitch during their top flight and lower league endeavours, with captains as well as skilful players emphasising what it means to wear the Lilywhites’ kit.
The level at which these following players performed at is also a crucial indicator as to what qualifies the ‘greatest’ – some, more than others, were able to flourish in the top division, which ultimately trumps the sentimentality element of fan-perceived quality.
Priority is given to those who have achieved the most and contributed the best performances, as well as successes, to Preston North End only. This means that tremendous briefly-present and loan players such as: Sir Bobby Charlton, David Beckham and Jordan Pickford miss out on this basis.
Top 10 Greatest Players in Preston North End History
1. Sir Tom Finney (1937-60)
In a Preston career spanning the length of 14 years, Finney was and is regarded as objectively the greatest player in the Lancashire club’s history. Sir Tom was a mainstay under all managers at Deepdale and was heavily involved in the heart of the city with council matters and charity ambassador duties. During the war-time effort, Finney initially signed as an amateur, but following participation as a driver-mechanic in the Royal Armoured Corp, the North End legend returned to football after WWII’s culmination.
Near-unanimously voted as Footballer of the Year in 1954 and 1957, Finney featured in an FA Cup final with the Lilywhites during the former year and guided his side to a Second Division title in 1951 as well as another 1957/58 promotion season.
Sir Tom Finney remains North End’s top goalscorer, with 210 goals in 472 games. As a versatile forward player, adopting the right-wing position predominantly, the Preston legend also scored 30 times for England in 76 England caps. As the greatest England representative for the club, ‘The Preston Plumber’ has even been widely regarded by those who saw him live as one of the greatest players in the history of football. The one-club man turned down many world class sides’ approaches in order to remain loyal for his hometown side.
Finney remains England’s seventh-highest scorer and was regarded as one of the best players in English football by Sir Bobby Charlton – who managed and appeared for Preston – as well as Bill Shankly.
The greatest player of Preston North End has been immortalised with a statue outside of Deepdale honouring a tremendous moment on the rain-soaked pitch at Stamford Bridge in 1956. In 2004, this statue, labelled the ‘Splash’, was unveiled and it denotes the pure excellence and legendary nature of such an exceptional legend, as a human first and foremost, as well as a footballer.
2. Alan Kelly Sr. (1958-73)
As North End’s record appearance holder, Kelly featured in 513 matches for Preston across a 15-year stay. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the club’s history, the famous Town End stand has been renamed to the Alan Kelly Town End. In 447 league matches, Kelly achieved 126 clean sheets before an injury-forced retirement ended his career earlier than expected. The shot-stopper was widely regarded as one of the best in the country during his Preston years and contributed 47 times in international service for the Republic of Ireland.
Kelly’s North End debut came two years after his signature from Drumcondra – a £4,000 double buy which included John O’Neill. The Preston legend made his first appearance in a 4th round FA Cup match in 1961. As a key part of the 1966/67 season, Kelly was awarded the Player of the Year trophy that year and after the following campaign.
In the 1970/71 season, a Third Division title was won by Preston, with Kelly being the perfect goalkeeper for this feat. The former North End ‘keeper spent one match as captain of his national side prior to this silverware. Kelly remained massively involved with PNE beyond retirement, coaching his son, Alan Kelly Jr., and having the Town End stand renamed in his honour.
3. Bill Shankly (1933-49)
Shankly is one of the most posthumously revered legends among the North End fanbase. To Preston, the former Scotland player and manager was more than just a Liverpool legend. His time with the Reds was exceptional, but he brought glory to the Lilywhites in his playing days. As a right-half – now noted as a holding midfielder – Shankly appeared 340 times for North End and scored 16 goals across 16 years of play.
In 1938, Shankly helped guide Preston to an FA Cup victory, which remains one of the club’s greatest achievements. Like Finney’s, the former Liverpool legend’s playing career was heavily interrupted by the Second World War. As one of the most decorated players in the Lancashire side’s history, Shankly played a pivotal role in Preston’s First Division return in the 1933/34 season. A 1941 War Cup final was won by North End, marking an important landmark victory for the side.
Bill Shankly’s name can be seen as an ever-present homage at Deepdale, with the Bill Shankly Kop holding great sentiment, primarily as an away stand for the Lancashire club. With 43 FA Cup appearances, another layer of this history is that Shankly holds the most appearances in that competition for Preston.
4. Alex Dawson (1961-67)
With a relatively low stint at Preston spanning over just six years, Dawson is still regarded as one of the greatest attacking players to feature for the Lancashire outfit. In a move from Manchester United in 1961, the Lilywhites paid the Red Devils £20,000 for the winger’s services.
Dawson scored a total of 132 goals across 237 games for Preston; his tally eclipsed a ratio of a goal every other game. As one of the ‘Busby Babes’, the attacker had just come off the bat of a 45-goal spell with United over 80 matches. The North End legend had close misses for silverware, in particular a 3-2 defeat to West Ham United in 1964 during the FA Cup final. Over this six year stay, Dawson successfully claimed club top scorer during four seasons.
5. Alex Bruce (1971-74, 1975-83)
As a fine attacking footballer, who played under the likes of Sir Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles, Bruce was an exceptional centre-forward for Preston. Over 404 appearances in Lilywhite saw Bruce score 171 goals and go down – to this day – as one of the most prolific goalscorers in North End’s history. In the 1972/73, 1973/74, 1976/77, 1977/78 (during a Third Division promotion campaign), 1978/79, 1980/81 and 1981/82 seasons, Bruce finished every one as club top-scorer.
These top-scoring seasons came either side of a controversial move to Newcastle United. Bruce was a clinical goalscorer in that day and age, moving to Preston early on after leaving his Dundee hometown.
6. Alan Spavin (1958-74, 1977-79)
A homegrown talent who won his first Preston honour in the 1960 FA Youth Cup final – Alan Spavin was a tremendous player for Preston. With a near-500 appearance record for North End, Spavin scored 32 times from a midfield role. Four years from this emergence, the midfielder helped guide Preston to a FA Cup final in 1964 as well as a Third Division title win.
In 1970/71, a personal accolade saw Spavin not only captain the North End side, but earn Player of the Year in the third tier. As an imperative inclusion on the final day of that season, a brace against Rotherham United saw the Lancashire side win the league, sparking pandemonium among the Preston fans.
7. Willie Cunningham (1949-63)
487 appearances in a Preston shirt, with three goals from right back, makes Cunningham one of the greatest North End players – especially in the mid-19th century era of the club. Often forming a right-sided partnership with Finney, Cunningham stayed at the club for 14 years and was purchased in the summer of 1949 from Scottish side, Airdrieonians.
Scotland’s former captain featured heavily in the North End defence and commanded the side from the right-sided position. Two top-flight 2nd-placed finishes also saw Cunningham feature in the 1953/54 FA Cup final loss against West Bromwich Albion.
Strong tackling and fearless resilience were great traits of Cunningham’s playing style. The North End legend earned a World Cup call-up in 1954 with Scotland and featured five times during that summer. In total, Cunningham earned eight caps for his international side during an injury-hampered Scotland career.
8. Graham Alexander (1999-2007, 2011-12)
The now-Bradford City manager is a more modern legend of Deepdale. With both player and manager achievements with Preston, Alexander proved to be one of the most important and best right-backs of North End’s legacy.
Alexander appeared over 400 times for North End during two spells with the Lancashire club. In the initial eight-year spell, the Preston full-back became a Scotland international and was a mainstay in the lineup under David Moyes, Craig Brown, Billy Davies and Paul Simpson.
Specifically in terms of achievements with Preston, Alexander helped earn promotion from the third tier in the 1999/2000 season. As a goal-scoring defender, on penalty duties very often, Alexander scored 66 times in 421 appearances.
9. Sean Gregan (1996-2002)
Gregan’s excellence in a North End shirt came during a 1996-2002 spell of six years with the club. Primarily utilised as midfielder under David Moyes, Gregan captained Preston tremendously during his days at Deepdale. During a period where PNE nearly achieved Premier League promotion, Gregan captained them under the now-Everton manager.
The West Bromwich Albion midfielder also won two Player of the Year awards at the club prior to his Baggies move, with Albion adding Gregan to their Premier League roster. The former Preston captain played 255 times across his stay at North End and even contributed 12 goals from midfield. A Second Division title win as Preston captain will undoubtedly be Gregan’s most famous accolade while at Deepdale. A particularly standout season in 1999/2000 saw the midfielder score three league goals in the promotion-earning campaign.
10. Paul Gallagher (2007, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015-21)
Sentimentally, ‘Gally’ is one of North End’s recent legends. After two initial loan spells at Preston – from Leicester City – Gallagher had left his Premier League years behind and opted for a new challenge. Between 2013/14, Gallagher would feature 35 times on loan at PNE, scoring ten times in a near-half-season stint. During another temporary move, in the 2014/15 campaign, 13 goals were added to Gallagher’s catalogue alongside a further 59 appearances.
Gally made a permanent switch to Preston in July 2015, and featured exactly 200 times from that date. 20 goals were then added by the former North End skipper, some of which came from the penalty spot. Gallagher’s unique, signature run up involved the Scot turning his back on the goalkeeper, taking a few paces away from goal, before turning around suddenly and sprinting towards the ball.
The midfielder achieved promotion to the Championship with Preston and even took on a coaching role under Alex Neil following his professional retirement. In 2007, a three-month initial loan at Preston saw Gallagher score just one goal in a handful of appearances.
Comparison of Preston North End Legends
Playing Styles and Contributions
The quality and competition of the EFL has risen drastically as football has evolved financially as well as on the pitch. For example, the Championship, First Division and League One/third tier endeavours of these club legends can outweigh each other for numerous reasons; the value of the player to the club is a primary indicator. This is merely due to the changing of expectations and competition modern football has created; it does not discredit the achievements of any of those who became legends of the club.
Paul Gallagher, Graham Alexander and Sean Gregan are modern iterations of Preston legends, with Sir Tom Finney being lauded as a footballer who could have ‘made it’ in the modern game. Finney played in an era where footballs were loads heavier and conditions were far worse – whereas Alexander and Gregan spearheaded Preston sides from defence and midfield in a recent period with more tactical advancements and far superior training plans.
Impact on Club Success
Players such as: Sir Tom Finney and Willie Cunningham helped guide North End to second-placed finishes and an FA Cup final. These two were pivotal to the spell of success that North End had during that era. Personal accolades and international-level exposure undoubtedly helped team performance as the two aforementioned stars lifted them higher.
Promotion campaign successes have been a common theme in these legends’ careers with North End. The upper-echelon of club success revolves mainly around the FA Cup victory in 1938 – this is why Bill Shankly ranks so highly on the list.
Each one of the ten have contributed to club successes throughout one to three respective divisions. It is all about relative success when it comes to Preston, considering their lack of major trophies in the modern era.
Records and Achievements
Individual Honours and Awards
The club’s all time leading appearance-maker is Alan Kelly Sr., with 513 appearances across all competitions for North End. Willie Cunningham followed behind with 487 and Alan Spavin made just one less than the defender. Paul McKenna, who could have easily taken a place in this top ten, earned 476.
Tom Finney scored 210 goals for Preston, with 187 coming in league matches. An international recognition for Finney lands him in the category of underrated England legends. Alex Bruce was not far behind, with 171 goals in a North End shirt. Many legends on this list won the club’s Player of the Year during their spells at Preston.
Club Milestones and Championships
Preston’s greatest spell of success occurred in the inaugural seasons of the Football League. The ‘Invincibles’ tag has only been achieved once more in English football, with Arsenal in 2003/04. North End have been champions of the Second Division on three occasions since and won the 1970/71 and 1999/2000 Third Division/League One seasons.
Two FA Cup victories – in 1889 and 1938 – are the Lancashire side’s greatest achievements in domestic competitions away from the league. Preston are also five-time runners-up in this competition.
