Ex-Files: The Forgotten Men
As well as having a large number of loan players who may have only played the odd game for the club, Preston over the years have had their fair share of players who perhaps did not get a fair crack at the whip and for whatever reason their time at Deepdale and appearances were limited.
Accordingly, we shall take a look at some of those who have left Deepdale in hope of first team football elsewhere who were perhaps left in the shadows somewhat.
Goalkeepers
Gregorsz Szamotulski, brought in by Alan Irvine in February 2008 signed a six-month contract to provide competition for the number one spot that Andy Lonergan occupied. Things did not go quite go to plan for "the monk," as Hearts fans dubbed him thanks to his likeness to Mean Machine star Jason Statham. Szamotulski picked up an injury in a reserve game, which prevented him from ever making any first team appearances; he later left the club by 'mutual consent'.
Defenders
Paul Morgan is another player who never actually featured for the Preston first team. Morgan spent four years at Deepdale after signing as a trainee in 1997, before leaving to join Lincoln where he made over 200 appearances for the club. Morgan is now on loan at Macclesfield from Bury.
Kelvin Langmead, who now finds himself at Shrewsbury with a whole host of former Preston personnel, made just the one, solitary appearance for the Lilywhites during his two years at the club. After spending numerous loan spells with the likes of Tamworth, Carlisle and Shrewsbury, he then joined the latter on a permanent deal in 2004, where he currently resides.
Midfielders
Brian Stock initially signed on loan from Bournemouth so that he would be eligible for his debut against Millwall at Deepdale on 14th January 2006. As many Preston fans will testify, Stock had an outstanding debut and credited with an assist before coming close to scoring himself with a delicious lob. Despite such a good start, Stock's Preston career was limited as he only notched up a mere 7 appearances for the club before joining up with his former boss at Bournemouth, Sean O'Driscoll who is now in charge at newly promoted Doncaster Rovers. It will be interesting to see what sort of reception Stock gets when he returns to Deepdale this season.
Alan McCormack joined Preston back in 2002 when he signed as a trainee. During his five-year spell with the Lilywhites, McCormack only managed two starts with the rest of his 12 appearances coming from the substitute's bench. His debut came at Turf Moor when he came on as a second half substitute to replace Dickson Etuhu in a 1-1 draw back in March 2004. His first start for Preston came against Derby County when North End were hammered 5-1 later that month with Youl Mawene scored an own goal for Derby. McCormack spent the majority of his time at Deepdale farmed out on loan, namely to Southend where he eventually signed a permanent deal in December 2006. His return to Deepdale as a Southend player was a successful one, Southend went on to win the game 3-1 with McCormack scoring a screamer.
Brian Barry-Murphy signed from Cork City in 1999 with a lot of promise. The former Republic of Ireland under-21 international, utilized largely as a fringe player whilst at Deepdale found himself loaned out to the likes of Southend and Hartlepool, to gain valuable first team experience. After making 28 appearances for the Lilywhites, Barry-Murphy signed for Sheffield Wednesday in January 2003 where he spent just under 18 months, notching up 67 appearances before moving to his current club, Bury where he has been a first team regular since joining in 2004.
Strikers
Michael Ricketts was a Paul Simpson signing, joining on a short-term contract following his release by Southend United in January 2007. Initially on trial, Paul Simpson deemed Ricketts the ideal candidate to re-invent, much like he did with Michael Bridges at Carlisle. However, this was not to be the case as instead of deploying him in his more familiar role upfront, the former England international was used on the wing and so his goal tally stood at just one in the seventeen appearances that he made at Preston. Ricketts did not do enough to earn a long-term contact at Preston and was released by Paul Simpson in the summer of 2007. Ricketts is now back at Walsall in what is his second spell.
David Hibbert signed from Port Vale after a tribunal set the fee in June 2005. Regarded as one for the future, Hibbert's appearances mostly came from the substitute's bench, 12 in total and just one start which came in the FA Cup against Crystal Palace in January 2006 where the game finished 1-1. During his spell at Deepdale, Hibbert was sent out on loan to Rotherham and Bradford before eventually leaving to join Shrewsbury. Hibbert finished last season as the Shrews' top goal scorer with 12 goals.
Pawel Abbott is a player that some sections of the Deepdale crowd feel should have been given his chance in the Preston team. Born to a Polish mother and English father, Abbott began his career at LKS Lodz before joining Preston in 2001 for £125,000. Whilst at Preston, Abbott made 30 appearances, scoring 5 goals before joining Huddersfield in 2004. Whilst at Huddersfield, Abbott enjoyed his best goal return with 48 goals in 83 starts, such form was enough to attract the attention of Swansea who brought him to south Wales for a fee of £150,000. Spending just one season with the Swans, Abbott joined northeast outfit Darlington in July 2007 where currently plays his football.