Football Season Review

Preston started their season with an air of optimism surrounding the club, as Simon Grayson, well-known for his ability to get teams promoted from League One, made some promising summer signings and got rid of some of the players that struggled under his predecessor Graham Westley. The Lillywhites enjoyed a decent campaign under the former Leeds and Huddersfield manager, but they never really managed to reach the level that Wolverhampton and Brentford displayed and eventually missed out on direct promotion. Preston's bread and butter in the first half of the season were their away games, as they played some brilliant counter-attacking football and had no troubles beating teams on their travels, but they struggled to win at the Deepdale with enough frequency. That changed in the final third of the season, as they entered a superb run of home results, but they suddenly started struggling to get the job done on their travels. Grayson did not have an established starting eleven throughout the course of the campaign, as players went in and out of the lineup on an almost weekly basis - one of the reasons for this this was Grayson's desire to utilize his squad as much as possible, but another reason was the fact that only a few players were consistent enough to warrant a regular starting place. Apart from Tom Clarke, Joe Garner and Declan Rudd, all other Preston players had major ups and downs throughout the campaign, and this told in their play-off semi-final games against Rotherham, as the Lillywhites were outplayed over two legs despite the fact that their opponents had to deal with injuries of several key players. Despite the play-off heartbreak, there is no doubt that this season was a step forward for Preston, who returned into the play-off mix following their season's mid table mediocrity. However, expectations will increase additionally over the summer, and Grayson will definitely be expected to deliver promotion next season.

Player of the Season: Joe Garner