Ex-Files: Adam Nowland
Preston born Nowland began his career at bitter rivals Blackpool as a trainee where he spent over three years for the Seasiders. Whilst at Bloomfield Road, Nowland made 81 appearances albeit mainly as a substitute. Despite that, Nowland did enough to attract the attention of Wimbledon who deemed Nowland as the ideal man to fill the void in their midfield. After a nominal fee was agreed, Nowland moved to Selhurst Park where he spent a further three years.
Having only made 62 appearances in the three years for the London club, Nowland moved to West Ham hoping for a slightly better return. Things didn't quite go to plan for Nowland at West Ham either he yet again found his appearances limited and so was farmed out on loan to Gillingham before joining Nottingham Forest in 2004 for £250,000.
Home Town Club
Nowland caught the eye of Billy Davies who then brought Nowland to Deepdale in July 2005 where he started out brightly. Slotting into the centre of midfield alongside on loan Manchester United midfielder David Jones, Nowland was in a good vein of form and even got himself on the score sheet against Coventry and Norwich. However it was against the latter where Nowland's career went pear-shaped. Dickson Etuhu was guilty of breaking Nowland's leg after what was regarded as a horrendous challenge. The irony is, is that Etuhu was on loan from Preston and perhaps should not have been playing that night.
Frozen Out
After spending 18 months on the sidelines recovering from his broken leg, Nowland was the subject of much speculation with regards to his future and after an alleged bust-up with Paul Simpson, it seemed to be the end of Nowland's North End career.
Under Paul Simpson, a man who Nowland played alongside whilst at Blackpool, Nowland made just the one appearance for Preston - a very late substitute appearance against Burnley. In November 2007, Simpson was sacked as manager of Preston and was replaced by the Everton assistant manager Alan Irvine. Despite the change of management and the possibility of a fresh start for Nowland, the Preston born midfielder had his contract cancelled by mutual consent and became a free agent.
Another Injury Set Back.
After spending six months in the wilderness, Nowland joined League Two outfit Notts County where he was given the number 25 shirt. However, after making just 3 appearances for his new club, Nowland suffered yet another injury set back after being ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring problem. County should have plenty of cover with Neil McKenzie, the first ever footballer to appear on Count Down star, waiting in the wings. Nowland picked up the injury in the 1-1 draw to Luton Town, playing against former teammate Kevin Nicholls.