A PRESTON North End fan has been banned from the local independent supporters association after criticising the club at their annual general meeting.

Andrew Woods, a Preston North End shareholder, launched a stinging assault on chairman Bryan Gray, blaming him for Preston's failure to secure promotion last year.

At the meeting he said: "Why, when the critical moment of truth came in February, with promotion firmly in our sights, did you not make around £1 million available for David Moyes to go out and buy the quality centre forward we need?

"I believe if you had backed the manager then we would now have a team in the First Division and gates of 15,000."

His comments sparked an angry reaction from the North End board, and also from fellow members of the PSG 2000, the newly created independent supporters association, which has set out with the intention of airing the fans' views without unnecessarily antagonising the club. Committee members of the PSG this week confirmed that Andrew was no longer a member of PSG 2000 following his outburst.

Member Mark Holt said: "As a shareholder he has a right to say whatever he wants, but as a known representative of PSG 2000 he shouldn't say anything like this without consulting other members of the PSG 2000 first.

"I can confirm he is no longer a member of PSG 2000."

At the meeting, manager David Moyes responded to criticism that he tried to do promotion 'on the cheap' by saying that it was time North End jumped on football's expensive bandwagon.

He said: "If you don't get on it, you get left behind. I don't want to be left behind."

Preston's chief executive Tony Scholes said external funding was the key to providing the manager with more cash, which could mean a new share issue is just around the corner.

Chairman Bryan Gray said: "Our squad was too small for the injuries we had last season. We must work to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.