And in the closing stages he picked out Ben Whiteman, whose delicate cross found match winner Lindsay. Ched Evans, Brad Potts and others were impressive on the night too, but Browne was the exceptional man in yellow. The Team of the Week – powered by WhoScored.Com’s rankings – also featured stars from Middlesbrough, Watford, Cardiff City and Millwall.

Browne, though, scored the highest of all 11 players with the EFL commenting: ‘The Championship player of the week this week is Preston’s Alan Browne after a standout display in the Lilywhites’ 2-1 win at rivals Blackburn. The 28-year-old netted the opening goal at Ewood Park with his only shot of the game and he also drove Preston forward from deep well, having completed three dribbles. Browne also made six tackles, three clearances and two interceptions on his way to a WhoScored.com rating of 8.88.’

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Scottish striker Ryan Hardie was the man on the Preston North End radar with those of an Argyle persuasion glad that they kept hold of the striker.

Hardie is continuing to score goals now that Plymouth Argyle are playing Championship football and so the decision-making has paid off down in Devon.

Football League World reported an exclusive regarding Ryan Hardie’s links to North End on the eve of 2022, just weeks after Lowe’s switch from Home Park to Deepdale.

Ryan Lowe took charge of 128 Plymouth Argyle games, getting them promoted out of League Two, before jumping ship to North End out of the blue.

One of his first acts at Deepdale was to target Hardie as a January signing, but the Pilgrims were able to retain the services of the striker.

Argyle have gone to new heights under Steven Schumacher with Lowe’s former assistant becoming the manager and guiding them to the League One title.

Hardie scored 13 goals and assisted a further four as the Greens finished top of the tree in the third tier with an impressive 101 points.

Despite his form in front of goal, the 26-year-old only actually started 26 league games with a further 18 coming from the bench, owing to Schumacher’s rotation of attacking options.

This time around he has already contributed to nine goals from 14 outings (as of November 11) and so is on course to surpass last year’s tally even though Argyle are in a higher league now.

It can be fairly common for managers to move from one club to another and then take a player or two with them.

Lowe did exactly that when he switched Bury for Argyle, although those were obviously extenuating circumstances due to the impending doom surrounding the former.

Danny Mayor, Dom Telford, Will Aimson, Byron Moore and Callum McFadzean all followed Lowe across in that summer window, as did Schumacher in what has proven to be a very important time for Argyle.

Two of the previously mentioned names that Lowe signed for Argyle, Telford and Moore, are amongst the players to lead the line for the club in recent years.

Neither were able to establish themselves in the starting XI and that can be said for a number of others.

Luke Jephcott, Freddie Ladapo and Jamille Matt have on the other hand performed well, Ladapo scoring 18 in the 2018/19 League One campaign and then Jephcott notching 16 in 2020/21.

Whilst those three have had their moments, it is difficult to put any of them in the same conversation as Hardie, particularly given the fact that he has continued to score goals in the Championship.

Across his career at Home Park, the former Blackpool man has scored 55 goals and assisted 19 from 179 appearances.

Sammy Black and Tommy Tynan are in three digits for their records for the club but Hardie leads the way in the modern era ahead of Reuben Reid, Graham Carey and Paul Wotton.