Preston (a); The Review

Random star performance

MM: Not the finest City performance to write home about so instead I want to praise some of the players for their intensity, especially in the second half. Krul, in particular, was trying hard to keep the pace up and absolutely screaming at his defence on several occasions. Zimbo was the same, carrying on his increasingly commanding role over some of the (other) young players. This defeat is less about the defeat itself and more about the response. I for one have had a touch of the hubris about me since derby day. On the evidence of tonight, this team has some leaders who know that we can’t coast from here to the Prem.

DM: Are we allowed ex-Norwich players? Declan Rudd had an absolute blinder and were it not for him, we would have almost certainly come away from Deepdale with something. Not only did he guess right for the penalty but he pulled off some beauties to deny us when the intensity was high and a goal from us would have flipped the game.

For Norwich, it is a hard one to pick with many performing well below their best; Pukki, with his usual industry and another goal to his name probably edges it amongst some lacklustre rivals for the MoM badge.

Moment of the match

MM: The penalties. Neither was a penalty to be honest, and ours (from my vantage point at the other end of the ground) had the look of the referee trying to make amends for his dodgy decision in giving theirs. They slotted theirs home, we (obviously) didn’t.

We had another chance to kick start things in the second half with the team coming out firing on all cylinders. Declan Rudd earned his MoM award with a string of fine saves over a period of ten minutes, the finest being a tip over the bar from one of our 1,132 corners of the night.

DM: That third Preston goal was an absolute sickener. Norwich had been enjoying a prolonged and intense spell of beautiful pressure. We’d been waiting for this to get going. It’s what we do. It had got going. We really had them under the cosh, our foot was on their throat. Every City fan felt the imminent goal. It’s coming, it’s coming. Then, in a brief moment, they’re down the other end, it’s off the crossbar and then in. Totally against the run of play and pretty much delivering the final nail into the lid of the coffin.

Farke watch

MM: Twitter told me that he switched the system in the first half but I couldn’t see it myself. I’m no tactical genius but whatever he was trying didn’t really come through until the second half. My seatmate complained vociferously throughout halftime about Farke leaving his subs too late, so it was excellent to be able to mock him when Rhodes came on for the second half. It worked well immediately, and – if not for Declan Rudd – we’d be extolling his tactical genius for turning the game around with one decision.

DM: There was plenty of stick for Farke on social media for the team selection. Tettey over McLean for the injured Vrancic? Tettey? I’m reluctant to jump in with anti-Tetty brigate: I think the Norwegian gets a disproportionate amount of stick and people have some short memories.

Having said that, I think it was a mistake selecting him here. Don’t get me wrong, I will always be grateful to him as a loyal and committed servant to the club. I have loved and appreciated all the ‘Tettey specials’ and will never forget going absolutely mental as he helped deliver us a victory at Old Trafford. However, looking at him at Deepdale, within the squad and system we have now, he just didn’t look right. He doesn’t have the urgency of the other players (I had to explain the word ‘ponderous’ to the 16 year old), or the touch. I get the whole ‘he’s the more defensive option’ but just think it’s time to say, ‘Thanks for the memories, Alex’. Further, why sub Trybull instead of Tettey? Given our position in the league, it feels churlish to be critical of the gaffer but on this one…

On a positive, and I think this is Daniel Farke all over, there were plenty of reflective, reactive tactical adjustments and tweaks. Fairly early on, Preston were beginning to enjoy the fruits of their endeavours down our left side. What followed was a switch of formation involving the swapping of Godfrey for Zimmermann and Aarons featuring more over that side. This kind of tactical nous and flexibility is encouraging. Subs (whilst there will always be moaners) seemed appropriate too. I don’t know about anyone else but Pukki and Rhodes both up top definitely got my juices flowing.

Biggest positive

MM: The pre-game pub was top notch. I can heartily recommend the full English breakfast on pizza (no joke).

DM: The Norwich we have become accustomed to are still there, just that last night it was not in the sustained way we know they’re capable of. The second half was much more like it but too little too late. We had I think 22 shots to their 4, and, as mentioned elsewhere, were it not for Declan Rudd…

Midweek moan

MM: Daniel Farke didn’t waste any time in coming out after the game to answer to “but what do they do in training Neyul?” question, insisting Steiperman was flawless in penalty practice. You had to laugh when Rudd saved it but ffs we’ve got to get this sorted out.

DM: Missing yet another penalty. We really aren’t very good at these are we? My 16 year old muttered to me as the ref pointed to the spot, “Here we go, we’re going to miss this now. Oh look, it’s Stieperman. Look Dad, you can see, he’s going to go left… There, told you so. If I could read it from nearly 100 yards away, it must have been simple for Rudd!”

Fair play, he was right. Room for improvement I think. Don’t want to look back in May and be counting the cost of points missed out on through missed penalties.

Atmosphere rating.

MM: From them? Poor. From us? Not great. The hangover from Sunday, the long trip, and the ludicrous levels of cold all contributed to a slightly muted atmosphere. But 880 city fans making the midweek trip, in the cold and with no chance of a train home, was in itself impressive.

My evening was cheered up by having an angry river ender behind me, shouting about Declan Rudd being a traitor (??), taking every wayward pass personnally, and the old classic, “get it forward!”.

PNE had a very shit drum.

DM: There’s a particular demographic to the midweek, long-distance, away Canary crowd: the age profile skews upward spectacularly. This may well be because the retiree doesn’t have to worry too much about the return to Norfolk in the early hours and work the next day. That’s not to say this older crowd are less passionate, just that they maybe show it in different ways. There were occasional valiant efforts to lift the lads but perhaps what was being served up on the pitch made it hard to get anything significant going. The contrast with Leeds (away) was striking.

Summary

MM: At 2-0 down, it felt like we’d tried to play FIFA on the next difficulty up just to see what happens. It wasn’t pretty. PNE hassled and pressed and were quick on the attack. We were sluggish and tired and very very cold. It was a sharp reminder that for all the fun of the Leeds and Ipswich games, there’s a long, long way to go before we can start thinking about the premier league.

DM: This was a game of two halves. We were outplayed and outclassed in a first half where ‘average’ would have been a generous description of the performance. This is understandable though when you consider the commitment given both mentally and physically to the previous two fixtures. There is the lingering concern about the forthcoming Bolton fixture coming, as it does, as the third game in six days. Having said that, the concern is mitigated by the ability of this intrepid crew to dig deep – I just hope the metaphorical spades have not been left on the beaches of Cromer and Hunstanton.

If you’d have said to me a fortnight ago that you could have 3-1 away to Leeds, 3-0 against that lot but the price would be defeat to Preston North End, I’d have snapped your hand off! Onwards, OTBC!