Where are Simon Grayson’s first five signings as Preston North End manager?
ADAM TIFFEN’S
POSTED 2 HOURS AGO
This is how Simon Grayson’s first five PNE acquisitions are faring at the moment.
Simon Grayson’s appointment as manager spared Preston North End from relegation and put them on the right track.
Grayson’s first five acquisitions, which included Tom Clarke and Kevin Davies, were crucial to the club’s success.
While some players retired or moved to lower levels of football, others, such as Paul Gallagher, became coaches.
At Preston North End, Simon Grayson was a lifesaver.
He arrived at a time when the team appeared to be heading for relegation to League Two. He took over at Deepdale in February 2013, winning his first four games and officially keeping the club afloat by mid-April with four games to spare.
All of this happened before he could bring any of his own players into the Preston squad. Things only got better once he was given permission to do so at the start of the 2013-14 season.
They made the League One play-offs the following season, but were defeated in the semi-finals by Rotherham United. But they just needed one more shot at advancement.
Preston’s fortunes improved significantly once Grayson was permitted to bring in more of his favoured players. But where have the first FIVE signees gone? Let us have a look.
Clarke, Tom
At the start of the 2013/14 season, the centre-back was the Lilywhites’ first signing. Unlike many EFL recruits who are “flashes in the pan,” staying only one or two years at a club, he was a loyal servant to Preston North End.
Over a seven-year period, he made just under 250 appearances for the club. He started for Salford City in 2020 and left three years later.
Humphreys, Chris
On the first day of the transfer window, he came on a free transfer, much like Clarke. The Jamaican international remained at the club for practically the whole spell of Grayson, leaving in January 2017; the manager would join freshly relegated Sunderland the following summer.
Despite his international experience, he has spent the majority of his career since leaving Deepdale playing for semi-professional teams in Scotland and Cumbria. He is still playing with Garstang FC, who compete in the North West Counties League Division One North.
Davies is most remembered for his time with Bolton Wanderers, where he spent 11 years. In 2013, he moved to Preston from there.
He’d retire just two years after joining the Lilywhites, capping up his career in Deepdale. In his club career, the striker scored 119 goals, 87 of which were in the Premier League.
Davies has established KCD Management as an agency.
Grayson’s first summer transfer window at the club saw him sign only the three players listed above. Nicholson joined on a free transfer after leaving Newcastle United’s under-21s at the end of September.
Unlike some of the other players on this list, he did not spend much time in Lancashire playing. He only appeared in one match for the club before departing in the summer of 2014.
He went on to play for a number of non-league clubs in the North East before retiring.
Gallagher, Paul
Gallagher’s Preston career was not typical. He joined the club on loan from Blackburn Rovers in 2007. In December of that year, he returned to Rovers.
The midfielder would not be back for another six years. On Halloween of 2013, he was brought back by another loan transfer to become Grayson’s sixth signing for the club. He returned for another loan from Leicester City at the end of the season-long loan.
He eventually went to PR1 permanently in 2015, following three different interim transfers. He remained there until his retirement in 2021. He is presently a first-team coach at Stoke City, working under Alex Neil.
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