Former Preston North End and England winger Sir Tom Finney has died at the age of 91.
Preston's favourite son Finney made more than 400 league appearances for the club between 1946 and 1960 and won 76 caps for England.
He scored 30 goals for his country, placing him level with Alan Shearer and Nat Lofthouse in the list of all time England goalscorers.
Finney was born in Preston just a stones throw away from the club's Deepdale stadium and inherited the nickname the Preston Plumber after completing an apprenticeship in plumbing before turning to football.
In 1946, aged 24, Finney made his Preston debut and he went on to win the footballer of the year award twice, in 1953-54 and 1956-57. The only silverware he won as a player was winning the old Second Division title with Preston in 1950-51. Finney also played in the FA Cup final against West Brom in 1954 and was twice a runner-up in the league with North End.
In all, he scored 187 league goals before retiring in 1960. A year after he retired, in 1961, Preston were relegated from the top flight and have not returned since.
Finney maintained his strong links with Preston, served as the club's president for many years.
Preston honoured his services to the club by renaming a stand in his honour in 1995 and also erecting a statue of him outside the ground.
The club released a statement today which read:
"Sir Tom was the greatest player to ever play for Preston North End and one of the all time greats for England.
"The thoughts of everyone at the club, and those connected with it, are with his family at this time."
Legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly was once quoted as saying Finney would have been "great in any team, in any match and in any age ... even if he had been wearing an overcoat."
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