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Jeffrey Monakana made more appearances for Preston North End than he did any other club.
Moving from Arsenal in search of first team football, at a time when Graham Westley was overhauling essentially the entire playing squad, he was one of the signings that captured the imagination of Deepdale almost immediately.
But Westley’s exit from the club, while it ultimately brought Preston North End promotion to the Championship, was not good news for Monakana.
He would ultimately have more limited opportunities from that point – joining Brighton’s development squad before going on to have a somewhat nomadic playing career that took in both Romania and Iceland.
Now retired and working as a scout, Jeffrey Monakana is the cover interview for the latest edition of The Nose Bag. You can read their chat in full below.
TNB: You were brought up in Edmonton, London. You joined Arsenal youth, how did you get into football and get on the footballing ladder?
JM: I was playing for a local team in the north of London just enjoying the game when the coach came up to me and asked where my dad was as he was going to send me to play for the Arsenal academy.
I didn’t really know these things existed as I was just playing football being a kid. But the coach was closely linked into the Arsenal set up and I just went from there being aged 8 or 9.
TNB: Who was your boyhood team?
JM: I must admit I was following Man United but when I signed my forms with Arsenal, that all changed. I was walking around Highbury, seeing Thierry Henry and would get free tickets.
My first Arsenal game was against Everton when Rooney scored and I got tickets for Milan in the European Cup. I could feel the club and associate with it so my allegiance changed [from United].
TNB: How did signing for Preston come around and what convinced you? That is a huge move for a teenager from London.
JM: I’d never really even heard of Preston or even knew where it was, I mean I’d hardly been out of London.
I’d been speaking with Chuks Aneke who’d been on loan and had started to sow seeds. I’d played with Chuks even though he was a year older as I had been playing ahead of my age group. I went to see Liam Brady and pleaded my case saying so many players were ahead of me.
We had a good relationship and wanted me to stay but I needed to challenge myself. They sorted a visit to Preston for me where I spoke to Graham, did a bit of training, and played a reserve match. I told Arsenal I wanted to go and after a bit of chatting they agreed to let me go.
TNB: I must ask this as he was such a divisive character, what was Graham Westley like and how did he sell the club to you?
JM: He didn’t really sell the club to me, the club sold itself. I walked out in an empty Deepdale and just seeing those huge stands spoke to me, I imagined running out and playing for a club with a stadium like this.
The pitch was huge and again this was attractive, dreaming of running at defences.
Graham was a motivator, He’d have you running through a brick wall not for him, but for the club. He had his ways and a lot of the lads hated it and didn’t agree but it wasn’t about working for him, rather doing what was best for the club.
TNB: What was your pre match grub and music choice?
JM: While joining Preston I was young and could do what I wanted, eat what I wanted and my body would let me get away with it. As I got a bit older, I got cautious and started to concentrate on high protein stuff, toast, beans, eggs, cereal. As for the music, someone else was always in charge of the boombox and I was cool with that. I could listen to anything, but given a chance it’d be a bit of RnB, Hip hop or Afro Vibes.
TNB: Any pre match superstitions?
JM: It’s not really a superstition but more of a lifestyle, I’d always pray before I went out.
TNB: Favourite moment as a Lilywhite?
JM: My first assist. It was against Huddersfield where I think I set up Jack King. Before the game I was super nervous like you don’t know, and I was thriving off the fans. I was not meant to start but with injuries to key players the squad had to rotate and with me training super hard, I was given my reward in a start. As soon as I hit the ball I knew it was good and was going in. Also, my first goal against Crystal Palace, I slept like a baby after that goal.
TNB: Forgettable moment as a Lilywhite?
JM: Not playing in the Blackpool derby! That hurt like hell. I started to feel the beat of the club, understand how it worked and how it ticked. I got close to a few fans and felt what it meant to them. I wanted to be the guy that ripped Blackpool a new one, the one who could put smiles on the faces of the people around me but I obviously didn’t get my chance.
I was wounded.
TNB: What’s your proudest moment in football?
JM: My man of the match performance versus MK Dons. I didn’t really get nervous at Deepdale. The fans knew what I was capable of so they knew what to expect. For some reason though this game I was so nervous, I felt I had to perform. [Akpo] Sodje was saying to me to chill and do what I knew I was capable of. But in heart of hearts, I knew it was my job to perform, to make things happen.
There was no grace for me as I came from Arsenal and it was expected every game I’d be 8 or 9 out of 10. Lucky for me I fell straight into the game and played a blinder.
TNB: Biggest regret in football?
JM: Not staying at Aberdeen. I’d started a loan spell up there from Brighton and we were flying, like six points clear of second at the halfway stage. We were tearing it up. Anyway Brighton brought in Chris Hughton and he had asked to recall me but gave me the option of whether to stay or not.
Brighton was still my parent club so I felt an obligation to go back even though the Aberdeen gaffer Derek Innes said he would offer me a permanent move in the summer, I chose to return to Brighton.
TNB: Who did you room with on away days and their most annoying habit?
JM: I always had my own room. Apart from the Xmas do where I shared with Keano but I was way too p**sed to even realise whether Keano was there or not. He was probably the one throwing hate over my way.
TNB: The most gifted player you played with at Deepdale?
JM: It was all very rigid under Graham Westley. It was hard to tell, nobody could really show anything off as it was all for the good of the club, it was probably only me that did show skills as that’s what I’d been brought to do.
Lee Holmes showed glimmers but the brightest spark was Alan Browne, he was so quiet and shy but would be in his own world just doing bits, you could just see he was going to do good.
TNB: And the most gifted you played with OR against in your career?
JM: I’m going to be greedy here. Jack Wilshire, Jay Thomas and a guy who I played with in Romania called Aone, he was super lazy, he was nicknamed the ‘Fat Maradona’.
I remember we were doing some running and this guy was getting lapped, he was small with this pot belly. I couldn’t believe my eyes that this guy was a professional footballer.
But when he went on to the football field, my god could he play. He did this stunning bicycle kick in the Europa league which had to be seen to be believed.
TNB: Who was the dressing room clown during your Deepdale tenure?
JM: Jack King without a doubt. We went through a stage of having to come in suits and I had this belt with a lion buckle on it. Jack King would walk around the dressing room with it pretending he was a WWE champion – so funny.
TNB: Do you keep contact with any of the lads from your time at the club?
JM: Here and there, I saw Josh Brownhill a few weeks ago up in Manchester and we had a good chat about the old times. I’ve kept up to date on social media, but it’s hard to keep contact as when you part ways you’re doing your own thing.
TNB: What was your favourite bar/club in Preston at the time?
JM: I didn’t go out much. I was only a young lad when I was up Preston and I think we went to Baluga one night, I had to go home, I had to get out of there, it was far too much.
TNB: You’d leave Deepdale for the Brighton development squad. How easy a decision was that for you?
JM: Easy to be fair. I was due to sign for Nott County on loan and as I was driving there my
agent rang me to take the foot off the accelerator as Brighton had come in with a cash bid.
Things got thrashed out between Brighton and Preston and when I met the manager at Brighton and saw the facilities, I couldn’t wait to get down there.
TNB: Unfortunately, in March you retired due to injury. What are you doing these days to put food on the Monakana table?
JM: Yeah, I got a bad cartilage tear and my specialists said ‘that is it’. I have been lucky to get a job scouting for QPR and have done some excellent work with them, a few lads coming through already.
TNB: Do you still follow PNE results and have you returned to Deepdale as a punter?
JM: Funny you say, I was meant to come to the Sheffield United game but I never got there in the end. Arsenal will always be my home team but I have this strange connection with Preston.
They gave me a chance, believed in me, and allowed me to fulfil a dream. I am always supporting you guys from afar wishing you over the line, you keep getting close and I really hope it can be this season.
TNB: Is there anything you wish to say to the PNE faithful?
JM: Keep supporting, back your manager, back your players, they need your support, you really don’t know what a difference it can make, especially at Deepdale as your guys are on top of the pitch.
I see on social media you are unhappy with the owners and Peter Ridsdale, but they truly want the best for you, they’ve always put the club first and I don’t get the hate.
Peter lives and breathes wanting success. Unite and put the club first and see where it may take you.
Thank you for the opportunity and support you gave me, you truly are a special place up there and you’re always in my heart.
The Nose Bag: This article featured in the most recent edition of The Nose Bag, which was released in November 2024. You can take a subscription or buy issues from the archive here.
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