2000–01 Preston North End F.C. season
# 2000–01 Preston North End F.C. season

During the 2000–01 English football season, Preston North End F.C. competed in the Football League First Division, the second tier of English football.

## Season summary

After being promoted to the First Division, Preston North End occupied the play-offs spots for most of the season and eventually finished fourth to qualify for the play-offs for promotion to the Premiership. After beating Birmingham City 4–2 on penalties after a 2–2 draw on aggregate over two legs North End faced Lancashire rivals Bolton Wanderers at the Millennium Stadium. Bolton took a 17th-minute lead through Gareth Farrelly, and, despite Preston fighting for an equaliser, goals from Michael Ricketts and Ricardo Gardner in the 89th and 90th minutes ended Preston's hopes of a second successive promotion and a return to the top flight after an absence of over 50 years.

## First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | GK | ENG | David Lucas |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Graham Alexander (born in Coventry, England) |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Dominic Ludden |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Ryan Kidd |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Michael Jackson |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Sean Gregan |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Lee Cartwright |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Mark Rankine |
| 9 | FW | USA | Brian McBride (on loan from Columbus Crew) |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Steve Basham |
| 11 | FW | NIR | David Healy |
| 12 | DF | SCO | Derek Collins (on loan from Hibernian) |
| 14 | DF | NIR | Colin Murdock |
| 15 | DF | WAL | Rob Edwards (born in Kendal, England) |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Paul McKenna |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Jon Macken |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Paweł Abbott |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | FW | ISL | Bjarki Gunnlaugsson |
| 20 | MF | NIR | Paul Morgan |
| 21 | GK | FIN | Teuvo Moilanen |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Adam Eaton |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Mark Wright |
| 24 | FW | NIR | Steve Robinson |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Richard Cresswell (on loan from Leicester City) |
| 26 | MF | IRL | Stuart King |
| 28 | MF | IRL | Brian Barry-Murphy |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Joseph O'Neill |
| 30 | GK | IRL | Kelham O'Hanlon (O'Hanlon was born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, England) |
| 31 | MF | SCO | Iain Anderson |
| 32 | DF | SCO | David Moyes (player-manager) |
| 33 | MF | ENG | John Bailey |
| 38 | MF | IRL | Michael Keane |
| 44 | GK | ENG | Andy Lonergan |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 11 | MF | ENG | David Eyres (to Oldham Athletic) |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Gary Parkinson (to Blackpool) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Michael Appleton (to West Bromwich Albion) |
| 25 | FW | NED | Erik Meijer (on loan from Liverpool) |
