Preston North End's campaign is coming to a disappointing end after defeat to QPR at the weekend.
The Lilywhites looked like they had a chance of reaching the play-offs a fortnight ago but those hopes have been dashed. Three successive defeats to Norwich City, Southampton and Queens Park Rangers means it's another year in the Championship for Ryan Lowe's men.
North End do look like they're going to improve under Lowe however. He's guided the club to 13th and 12th placed finishes so far, and they are at least guaranteed to finish in the top half. Hull City and Coventry City are still battling for the play-offs while Preston are level on points with Middlesbrough ahead of their game with Leeds United on Monday night. Cardiff City are just behind North End in 11th while Bristol City are four points behind PNE so you'd expect them to finish above them barring a continued poor run of form in to their final two matches.
A top-half finish might be viewed as a success given that they were unable to sign anyone in the January transfer window. If you’re a team that doesn’t have a big financial backer or you’re not in receipt of parachute payments from the Premier League then you have to be smarter in how you do your transfer business. North End signed Milutin Osmajić for a club record fee in the summer, and he’s got eight goals in 34 games which is a respectable return, but more will be needed next term.
Money isn’t always the recipe for success but it does go a long way towards helping you achieve your goals. The season is just two games out for most clubs, so who has been the wisest with their spending this term?
Thanks to TransferMarkt, we can see which clubs are the most astute when it comes to signing players. Based on their squad market value, they have crunched the numbers to see how much it costs a game for each of the 24 teams in the division including Preston North End, Sunderland, Ipswich Town and more.
