Ex-Files: The Loan Rangers Part 3
Last but by no means least we look at the men brought in on loan over the years to bolster the Preston front line - the strikers.
Marcus Stewart joined Preston on loan in March 2006 from his home town club of Bristol City, in order to boost Billy Davies' firepower ahead of the play-offs. After having a successful season in the Championship with Sunderland the previous year, many Preston fans were thrilled at the acquisition and deemed him as a great signing. However, to much confusion Stewart spent his 4 games at Deepdale he was largely used as a midfielder and never actually got on the score sheet for Preston despite coming close, particularly against Norwich City in the 2-0 win.
Brian McBride was brought to England during the MLS winter break by David Moyes in 2000. McBride was a towering presence in the North End attack and was mostly a success. His stay at Deepdale though, was blighted with injuries; in total McBride made 9 appearances and got himself on the score sheet just once before he returned to Columbus Crew. McBride had his final season in English football with Fulham where he is a fans favourite and despite being in his mid thirties, he has proven to be an important player in Fulham's battle against relegation this season but now looks forward to returning home to ply his trade.
Jemal Johnson is another American striker who scored just the once for Preston. With Billy Davies having a shortage in the striking department, he turned to Blackburn Rovers' Jemal Johnson who made an immediate impact. North End welcomed the visit of Hull City on November 1st 2005, still looking for their first home win; Johnson broke the deadlock after just under an hour played in superb fashion which then sparked what became a comfortable home win for the Lilywhites.
Andy Gray, once of bitter rivals Burnley, initially spent a loan spell at Deepdale in 1999, when he was at Nottingham Forest. Gray appeared 5 times for Preston but never actually found the net. The Harrogate born striker's goal scoring prowess impressed Charlton manager Alan Pardew enough to prize him away from Turf Moor in January 2008.
Paul Gallagher joined Preston on loan from Blackburn Rovers in August 2007 to boost Paul Simpson's firepower following the sale of David Nugent the month before. Donning Nugent's number 10 shirt, Gallagher racked up 19 appearances for North End and scoring one goal which came against Sheffield Wednesday, in the 1-0 win at Deepdale. Gallagher could have added to his tally but missed a penalty against QPR meaning that Preston had to settle for just the one point that day. Gallagher returned to Blackburn in January before joining Stoke City on loan until the end of the season. Rumour has it that Alan Irvine tried to sign Gallagher on a permanent basis but instead he opted to join the Potters.
Andy Carroll was another striker brought in by Simpson in August 2007, the difference being that Carroll was deemed as more of a target man and was likened to that of Duncan Ferguson. Like Gallagher, Carroll only managed to notch one goal during his loan spell at Preston which came against Leicester in the 1-1 draw. When Preston visited Glanford Park to face Scunthorpe earlier in the season, Carroll was dismissed and as a result fell out of favour with Paul Simpson. Duly, his appearances were limited to just 11. Carroll returned to St James Park when his loan was up and has made a handful of appearances for the Magpies including from the start against Everton.
Darren Byfield joined Preston from Aston Villa during the 1998/1999 season where he made 5 appearances for the club and scored 1 goal. Since leaving Preston, Byfield has become somewhat of a journeyman in English football having had loan spells with Northampton, Cambridge and Blackpool just to name a few. Byfield is currently at Bristol City where he has been since 2007. During his spell at Ashton Gate, the Birmingham born Jamaican International has scored 8 goals.
Craig Beattie was brought in by Alan Irvine to give Preston a much need boost in the goal scoring department. Having recognised this area as a one of weakness, Irvine deemed Beattie to be the ideal man to get the goals that would ensure Preston's safety last season. However, all did not go to plan as after just 37 minutes of his debut, Beattie hobbled off with what was a suspected hamstring problem. Leaving him out for a few weeks, Preston were back to square one and in need of a striker. Beattie did recover from his injury before the end of the season but only managed to add another substitute appearance to his tally. There are rumours that Beattie will be signing for Preston and a permanent basis and with West Brom's promotion to the Premiership adding weight to those rumours, it makes the next few weeks very interesting.
Tamas Priskin. As soon as Craig Beattie was sidelined, Irvine turned his attentions to Watford's Hungarian international, Tamas Priskin. Priskin was thrown straight into the side that beat Charlton 2-1 and had an impressive debut. He went on to score two goals for Preston during his 5 appearances before returning to Watford for their Play-Off push.