Preston North End fan group calls for 'clear answers' and 'meaningful change' in open letter to the club
PNE Online have posed a number of questions to the club amid their struggles in the Championship.
Respected fan forum PNE Online has demanded to know what action is being taken to ‘address the decline’ of Preston North End.
The North End supporter website published a statement over the weekend asking a string of questions on the proposed takeover, accountability on decisions that have left relegation to League One an increasing possibility and the club’s hierarchy.
PNE have endured a torrid start to the new season, picking up just five points from 13 games and are odds-on to be relegated back to the third tier after 11 years in the Championship.
The response on social media in the wake of the 2-0 defeat to Stoke City on Saturday has been particularly furious, with ire directed at the club's board and ownership for North End’s struggles in recent years, especially as similar concerns had been raised and discussed with the club in 2022 and 2024.
Amid growing anger and pessimism, PNE Online released a statement on Sunday night asking questions of the club's custodians and demanding 'clear answers, visible leadership and meaningful change.'
PNE Online asks string of questions to Preston custodians
The full statement reads: "Supporters raised the concerns, sought the answers and kept turning up. Yet here we are again, fearing for North End's future.
"The staff at Deepdale, Euxton and Springfields deserve our support. We all hope Graham Alexander can turn things around, but he is not a miracle worker.
"If any players are unhappy with the appointment, perhaps they should first reflect on their own performances. This decline did not begin with the new manager. These problems are now new, lads.
"Nearly two years ago, PNE Online and the Preston Supporters Collective called for change in recruitment, contracts, the academy, leadership and communication.
"We met Craig Hemmings for positive, constructive discussions. We acknowledged the family's financial support and left believing those conversations would lead to meaningful change.
"Yet we are still raising the same fundamental concerns. Looking at where North End is now, it feels as though those warnings and constructive discussions have been ignored.
"Our offer to help remains within our limits as supporters, including through the Fan Advisory Network (FAN). Where is the positive change we believed would follow?
"From Ingol to contracts, academy development, commercial income and Deepdale's upkeep, these concerns stretch back years.
"The family's significant investment deserves acknowledgement. It also makes the questions about how it has been used more pressing.
"Despite spending a fortune by PNE standards, how have James Wallace and the recruitment team left such glaring gaps in the squad? Who approved the strategy? Who is accountable?
"North End were in League One when Peter Ridsdale arrived. We now fear we are heading back there.
"What is Ian Penrose responsible for as a non-executive chairman? Who is holding the CEO to account?
"What has happened to the takeover? Is a sale progressing and what can supporters now be told?
"What action are Kathryn Revitt and the Hemmings family taking to address the decline? What is the plan to prevent relegation and secure a better future?
"We have bought tickets, travelled, raised funds, organised displays and kept engaging because North End matters to us. That loyalty deserves clear answers, visible leadership and meaningful change."
The Post has approached Preston for comment.
Fans have raised concerns with Preston in the past
It is not the first time PNE Online has raised concerns with Preston's ownership, and the club has directly engaged with them in years gone by.
The forum, along with 10 other supporters groups, published a nine-page open letter in 2022 voicing their worries about recruitment, budget, youth development, training facilities and Ingol, club structure, maintenance of Deepdale, and how the club engages with supporters.
Ingol refers to plans for a new training facility in Ingol which never materialised as the club bought the Euxton Training Facility in 2020 instead.
The club acknowledged the letter, with then-Chairman Craig Hemmings and Peter Ridsdale proposing to meet two representatives of each fan group at Euxton.
Two years later, PNE Online, along with the Preston Supporters Collective, wrote an open letter which called for an ‘immediate reform of leadership’ and again questioned club structure, player signings and the match-day experience.
Hemmings invited the groups to speak with him in person but was left 'extremely disappointed' when an account of the meeting he deemed 'not accurate' was published online. PNE Online responded by saying a proposition to take minutes was declined, and they were 'surprised' by Hemmings' 'differing interpretation.'
Hemmings, representative of the club’s owners, the Hemmings family, stepped down as chairman in October 2025 and was replaced by Ian Penrose as non-executive chairman.
Ridsdale joined Preston in 2011, initially as the owners’ representative, and became CEO in December 2024.
Kathryn Revitt is listed as a director of Deepdale PNE Holdings Limited, which owns 100 per cent of the shares in Preston North End Limited, on Companies House after being appointed in 2010. She has worked with the Hemmings family for years.
The latest update on a proposed takeover came on August 14, 2026, with Penrose confirming the club is in ‘negotiations with parties who have made offers to buy PNE on terms that are acceptable to the Hemmings family.’
It was added that a ‘running commentary’ of updates can not be provided to fans due to ‘legal and regulatory reasons.’
Penrose had confirmed in a statement in January that US-Saudi businessman Amr Zedan had made enquiries about the club. A spokesperson for Zedan said that discussions had started in early December before stalling. The horseracing and energy mogul attended Preston North End vs Queen’s Park Rangers at Deepdale in April.