Preston 3 United 2 - report/ratings

[dc_blade]

The free pass that Wilder gets is ridiculous. Anyone else managing this club would be getting absolute pelters after, yet again, another inept performance.

Yesterday another poster was telling me off for being too critical of Wilder!

Just calling it like I see it, regardless of who is in charge. If it had been another borefest with no attacking intent I’d have been more critical. But I do feel we’ve improved in some regards.

 

[Addison]

I share your anger DB. At half time is was clear the second half fall away would come about. We are a 35 minute team. The level of fitness is the main problem but we have failed all season to control the midfield. Blackburn was our best performance in the middle. Soumare provided ball winning skills, strong tackles and forward running. Similar to Souza. Peck as a consequence had his best game so far imo.

Whilst appreciating 3 games in six days we start with Jairo who was blowing out of his arse after 30 minutes. Got himself booked and was at fault for the first goal. Surely Soumare could have started and come off later. His impact was instant once he came on but we were floundering by then.

We started poorly but looked very good going forward for the next 35. Problem is competing for less than half a game isn't going to get you points.

PNE had the same schedule and were flying second half. We were not. Down to the old failing of being unable to cope with opposition tactical changes and upping of work rate. The 4-4-1-1 formation doesnt work when you play a good CB into a RB position. PNE's wing backs caused problems down the flanks all night. Why did we not match up? Maybe down to the fact the manager has decided a perfectly capable wing back with the added benefit of pace wouldn't be in the squad because Shackelton was picked by Bielsa in the EPL. He offers nothing compared to Seriki. Pace and physicality off the bench would have caused PNE new problems. This constant shoehorning of players into the side that the manager wants to prove a point about will cost us again. Shackelton is this seasons Brewster.

When the pressure was on second half making like for like substitutions again was a failing. We only went for it it in the last 10 minutes and then created chances that could have got a point.

We started the game with 3 players that weren't capable of playing 90 minutes in Mee Jairo and Campbell. Add in Shackelton and Ings on the bench with questionable levels of fitness nearly a third of the squad had question marks before a ball was kicked. Mee took a bad knock first half yet he plays the full 90 minutes and was clearly struggling and may now be out injured. Why is Bindon on the bench if we aren't going to bring him on?

We have improved from Selles but the managers blinkers are still on when it comes to certain players. I don't expect Soumare to start against Derby. Davies will come back in if fit. Young players such as Soumare, Seriki and One are being sacrificed because of the obsession we have to have experience in the team. Well last night when it was needed it was conspicuous by its absence.

 

[Revolution]

I share your anger DB. At half time is was clear the second half fall away would come about. We are a 35 minute team. The level of fitness is the main problem but we have failed all season to control the midfield. Blackburn was our best performance in the middle. Soumare provided ball winning skills, strong tackles and forward running. Similar to Souza. Peck as a consequence had his best game so far imo.

Whilst appreciating 3 games in six days we start with Jairo who was blowing out of his arse after 30 minutes. Got himself booked and was at fault for the first goal. Surely Soumare could have started and come off later. His impact was instant once he came on but we were floundering by then.

We started poorly but looked very good going forward for the next 35. Problem is competing for less than half a game isn't going to get you points.

PNE had the same schedule and were flying second half. We were not. Down to the old failing of being unable to cope with opposition tactical changes and upping of work rate. The 4-4-1-1 formation doesnt work when you play a good CB into a RB position. PNE's wing backs caused problems down the flanks all night. Why did we not match up? Maybe down to the fact the manager has decided a perfectly capable wing back with the added benefit of pace wouldn't be in the squad because Shackelton was picked by Bielsa in the EPL. He offers nothing compared to Seriki. Pace and physicality off the bench would have caused PNE new problems. This constant shoehorning of players into the side that the manager wants to prove a point about will cost us again. Shackelton is this seasons Brewster.

When the pressure was on second half making like for like substitutions again was a failing. We only went for it it in the last 10 minutes and then created chances that could have got a point.

We started the game with 3 players that weren't capable of playing 90 minutes in Mee Jairo and Campbell. Add in Shackelton and Ings on the bench with questionable levels of fitness nearly a third of the squad had question marks before a ball was kicked. Mee took a bad knock first half yet he plays the full 90 minutes and was clearly struggling and may now be out injured. Why is Bindon on the bench if we aren't going to bring him on?

We have improved from Selles but the managers blinkers are still on when it comes to certain players. I don't expect Soumare to start against Derby. Davies will come back in if fit. Young players such as Soumare, Seriki and One are being sacrificed because of the obsession we have to have experience in the team. Well last night when it was needed it was conspicuous by its absence.

Lots of great points here, but Cannon is this season’s Brewster surely.

 

[programmechap]

Coming out of Deepdale, a raging Revo Jr said he’d never seen us lose 3-2 after being 2-0 up. It turned out that I hadn’t seen it live either.

Funny game, that for me hinged on one thing. They were all over us for the first 10 minutes, then we score an excellent goal and for me we were on top, or at least level with PNE, for the rest of the half. What screwed us were the two injuries to their players which saw 5 mins added on to the first half. That doesn’t happen and we go in 2-0 up and them deflated - their defence was awful in the first half. As it was, they score a goal which saw good work by Dobbin but was probably preventable. And they come flying out of the blocks after HT, as I predicted.

Tanganga was unlucky with the OG. It happens. Having said that we were not switched on for the free kick (neither was Revo Jr, who was texting at the time).

Re the winner, that goal capped off a very poor 20 minutes, and I didn’t think Jebbison, who still doesn’t look very good, had it in him. Memo to our fans: it’s probably not a good idea to sing “Jebbo, Jebbo what’s the score?” Until about 85 mins in.

After they took the lead I think the team, and Wilder, did not realise the urgency of the situation. We were playing far too much football in our own half. Burrows was the worst offender: time and again he got the ball in good positions on the left and did not try to go round his man once. You’ve got to take risks in that situation. There was no attempt to shoot from deep. Bringing on Cannon is just stupid at this point. Ings is done, sadly, but there is a paucity of resources. Having said that, if I were McCallum with two good games behind me I’d have been pissed off not to get on the field.

O’Hare motm again, and Brooks and Barry (when he came on) both looked better - Barry from a low base - on the correct wings. Soumare had a good cameo but he’s yet another non scoring midfielder.

A disaster on the night but not a disaster for the season. Just shows there’s a lot of work to be done. Coventry will slaughter us on present form but the other 3 games are winnable out of the next 4.

Deepdale is a nice ground - it was half reconstructed last time I went - and Preston is a lot nicer place than I was expecting.

Think I've seen 2. 2-3 v Millwall in Mar 81 and 2-4 at Norwich in Oct 2000.

 

[programmechap]

Think I've seen 2. 2-3 v Millwall in Mar 81 and 2-4 at Norwich in Oct 2000.

Also 3-4 v Birmingham in Jan 85.

 

[Revolution]

Think I've seen 2. 2-3 v Millwall in Mar 81 and 2-4 at Norwich in Oct 2000.

I think the most recent one was the disaster v Oldham in 2012.

One point here is that this is basically a once in a decade thing. It’s like when everyone was ranting about the 3-3 at Villa in 2019 and worrying it was going to happen again, when we hadn’t gone 3 up and lost since 1986 v Reading.

 

[Rochdaleblade]

Cooper cannot be blamed at all it was a great strike and cooper will have seen it late not coopers fault his positioning was correct ( if you watch his positioning from Burrows zombie defending he follows the line of ball movement as he should

Definitely didn't see it until late.

 

[Houston_Blade]

Seen elsewhere as well (Deadbat's player order) that there's still confusion regarding our formation. Fotmob, Whoscored, last night's commentator also think we're still playing with a back three.

It should be described as a back four with Tanganga at right back. The formation can be assessed when the team has players behind the ball, but are collectively not applying a high press. In some games this can be difficult. Preston were quite direct and we do try to press high, which moves players out of their basic position. Here's an example though:

View attachment 224336

Whether you call it a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-1-1 is pretty much the same, just depends where you like to put the wide midfielders (Ogbene and Brooks).

Whatever it is it doesn’t work. Tanganga isn’t a right back, giving him the number 2 shirt doesn’t change this.

 

[programmechap]

Interestingly, there was an almost identical reverse game v Preston at the Lane in Dec 2000. They went two up early on. A Bobby Ford pen just before HT put us back in it, then goals from David Kelly and utterly forgettable loanee James Thomas (his one and only goal) saw us win 3-2.

 

[programmechap]

I think the most recent one was the disaster v Oldham in 2012.

One point here is that this is basically a once in a decade thing. It’s like when everyone was ranting about the 3-3 at Villa in 2019 and worrying it was going to happen again, when we hadn’t gone 3 up and lost since 1986 v Reading.

God, I was at the Oldham one too. Im cursed...

What I'll always remember about that game is

(1) that we were cruising at 2-0, and they got 1 back from a corner as it richoted off Cresswell. Matt Lowton then got in a tussle with an Oldham player as the latter tried to retrieve the ball and got booked. We then went up the other end and a great shot from Lowton hit the bar. Unfortunately as it came back to an Oldham player, Lowton dived in and scythed him down. 2nd yellow and Oldham equalised soon after.

(2) in the very last minute, an Oldham player runs through and Simonsen comes out to meet him with Harry Maguire in hot pursuit. Its close, but Simonsen looks favourite to get to the ball first. Unfortunately Maguire hauls the Oldham player back. Pen and red card. Pen is scored and we lose 3-2

That put 2 of our best players out for the next game, we have to get an as yet unknown John Egan on.loan and we lose 3-2 at Walsall

Had that Lowton shot gone in or had Maguire stayed calm we would have got 3 or 1 point and probably got something out of the Walsall game and got promoted

 

[Houston_Blade]

Lots of great points here, but Cannon is this season’s Brewster surely.

He’s not even that good

 

[Greystones Blade]

I thought we had a good call for a penalty that the ref didn’t see. It looked a pen to me.

I thought Burrows should have tried to get around his marker on his forward runs. I think he cut back nearly every time.

And I thought 3 of Burrow’s corners were poor - not even beating the first man, McCullum takes much better corners.

 

[Champagneblade]

Basically the naive new board made a dog’s dinner of the summer decision making and we’re all now going to pay for it throughout the season.

They’ll learn the hard way as it will cost them far more money to put right than it would have done to tweak.

 

[The Vicar]

How can professional footballers who train all week, are fit and young, and are provided with nutritional advice, be so unfit that they cannot run around for 90 minutes?
Whilst working in engineering I did a full 6 to 1.30 shift, ran the Rotherham half marathon at night, then went back to work next day, and I was never anywhere near the fitness levels of today’s professionals.
I find their lack of fitness pathetic. No matter what position you play, if you run out of steam after 60 minutes, you are no use and a liability to others. This and our poor midfield showing are the 2 biggest problems this season. Midfield neither shields the defence or feeds the attack, Soumare looks like he might be capable of both, but he will take time to grow into the role and develop.

 

[TJ blade]

How can professional footballers who train all week, are fit and young, and are provided with nutritional advice, be so unfit that they cannot run around for 90 minutes?
Whilst working in engineering I did a full 6 to 1.30 shift, ran the Rotherham half marathon at night, then went back to work next day, and I was never anywhere near the fitness levels of today’s professionals.
I find their lack of fitness pathetic. No matter what position you play, if you run out of steam after 60 minutes, you are no use and a liability to others. This and our poor midfield showing are the 2 biggest problems this season. Midfield neither shields the defence or feeds the attack, Soumare looks like he might be capable of both, but he will take time to grow into the role and develop.

Its nothing new mate regarding fitness levels! It's plagued us for years under Wilder, no more so than the play off final ffs! Even signing players what they know just can't keep fit or are never fit. Because it's cheap and they hope it's going to pay off, it never fckg does.

 

[UTB Blade]

What should he have done differently?

Ooh, ooh, I know this one!

Never have made a single mistake in his life or his career, won the PL in unprecedented times in the pandemic in 2020, won the whole of football in Europe in 2021, won the entire world of football the season after that, brought peace to the Middle East, Ukraine and anywhere and everywhere people are fighting, eradicated knife crime in Britain and gun crime in the US, in fact, sod it, eradicated all crime anywhere ever, including in the past by borrowing Marty McFly's Delorean and travelling back in time, eradicated world hunger and poverty and made everyone billionaires overnight, cured all diseases and illnesses and discovered, and freely distributed, the secret of immortality, and finally - and this is by far the most important - never have had an alcoholic drink in his life, never have set foot in a pub in his life, never have sung a silly song in his life, and - lest we forget - never, EVER, have thumped his badge.

And, do you know what, even if he turned back time like Superman by flying backwards around the world, and achieved all of the things I've listed above and more, they'd still moan about him!