Preston North End were on the end of a heavy defeat from Southampton on Tuesday night. The Saints comfortably won 3-0 with the game wrapped up in the first half.
It was a result that the vast majority of Preston fans could have predicted. As is often the case at this stage of the season when the play-offs just move out of sight, the players and management effectively pack their bags and head off to the beach.
We’ve been here before
At this stage of the season in both of Ryan Lowe’s previous campaigns we have seen some embarrassing displays resulting in easy wins for the opposition. After losing to Norwich City on Saturday in a game that effectively ended our season, it was very predictable that heads would drop in the side, even more so after going a goal down.
In the last two seasons when we came down to the final four games of the campaign we had conceded four goals on three occasions.
2021/22
Fulham 3-0 PNE
PNE 1-4 Blackburn
2022/23
Swansea 4-2 PNE
Sheff Utd 4-1 PNE
PNE 0-3 Sunderland
Although the play-offs seemed a long-shot ahead of Tuesday it was still actually possible for us to sneak into that sixth place, and you play and give it your all even when there isn’t anything to play for.
But on Tuesday the players walked on the pitch and already looked defeated. Yes, there are some key players missing, but that doesn’t mean you just hand the game to the opposition. Southampton are a great side and they would have been delighted at having the game wrapped up in the first half.
Resigned to defeat
The commitment of the players and the staff has to be questioned when this happens again and again. We give the opposition far too much respect sometimes, and at points Preston had just 13% of possession. At 3-0 down, and commencing the second half, there wasn’t even an ounce of fight shown in the team. None of them believed a comeback was possible, and they just sat back hoping to keep the score line down.
We were playing Southampton not Manchester City. A good team, but they are in the same league as us. There was no desire or belief to try and turn the game round as soon as the first goal went in.
After a positive season on the whole, this type of defeat just leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and you have to feel for the fans who travelled down to St Mary’s, some for the second time in six weeks.
Holmes isn’t a wing-back
It’s almost as if we could all see we would run into a problem when Brad Potts was injured. The signing of Calvin Ramsay on loan in the summer was a disaster, as the Liverpool player was only fit enough to start one game. Yet when his loan finished, Lowe decided we had enough in the squad to cover for Potts.
Almost as predictable as the result, Potts duly got injured in February and we have struggled on that side ever since. Alan Browne, Ali McCann and Robbie Brady have all been square pegs in round holes there, when in Josh Seary we actually have someone suited for that position.
Holmes has had a good debut season for The Lilywhites but he makes an impact as a number 10, or wide of a front three. His defensive game isn’t the strongest. Putting him up against one of the league’s best attackers in Adam Armstrong was always going to be tough to watch.
He didn’t help himself with the rushed clearance leading to the third, and Lowe didn’t even let him see out the half. Poor from Holmes but he was never the answer anyway.
Whatmough and Mawene not the right choice
Ben Whiteman and Ali McCann are two absentees from the centre of midfield. Browne has been in and out of the team for the last few weeks, and something seems a bit off there. Lowe keeps saying it’s his calf or he’s been ill, but there is the issue that his contract is set to run out in a couple of months.
Jack Whatmough played well on Saturday but he is a centre-back. He was alongside Noah Mawene who was making just his second professional start of his career. Within a minute Mawene had been booked, and it was set to be a long night for the duo.
Browne was deemed fit enough to be on the bench, whilst Ryan Ledson was also named as a sub for the second game in a row. Both would have been more suitable options against a Southampton team that were going to have a large share of the possession. But it wasn’t until the 70th minute that they came on.
At least two more thrashings could be on the cards
There’s still three games left this season. All of them are live on television, so there could be some more embarrasing moments before the season is out. We face Queens Park Rangers on Saturday evening. The Hoops are battling to avoid the drop and based on Tuesday’s showing they will have a lot more fight and desire than the Preston players.
Then we face Leicester City for the final home game. The Foxes are a talented outfit and even though their form has dropped a bit, they are aiming to get promoted and will be desperate to get the three points a week on Monday.
We then travel to West Bromwich Albion to see the season out. The Baggies will have secured their play-off place by then, so it will be a dead rubber. However The Baggies beat Preston 4-0 earlier in the season at Deepdale, so you wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar score line.
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