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Preston North End Fans Verdict: Lacklustre Royals Fall To Defeat

How the fans reacted to a poor showing and deserved loss.

By harry.chafer
/ new
PA Images via Getty Images

Well that wasn’t very fun, was it? So often this season we’ve picked up points in games that we just wouldn’t have done last season, but Friday night was like watching Reading from 18 months ago. No ideas, no vigour, no aggression - and a deserved loss.

I usually pick out two or three big talking points from each game, as you know. But Friday didn't really conjure up any talking points, it was just flat from the get-go and Reading never got going.

We showed a bit of fire in the second half once we got the equaliser, but some poor defending ended any hopes of any points.

Here’s how the fans reacted to the loss...

Paul Ince

Paul Ince was quick to criticise the schedule after the game, saying his players look tired and sloppy. That was always going to happen if we lost the game. And part of that is true.

The players did look tired. But Mamadou Loum and Tom McIntyre had midweek off, while Ince could’ve also started Tyrese Fornah, Nesta Guinness-Walker, Lucas Joao or Shane Long who haven’t been starting recently. But instead he chose to stick with the likes of Yakou Meite, Andy Carroll and Jeff Hendrick.

When the triple sub was made in the second half we saw an uplift. So it would’ve been interesting to see how we’d have gone with those players on from the start.

Here’s what the fans had to say about Ince’s comments on team selection...

The performance

Let’s be honest, the performance was dross. Apart from a small spell in the second half, we were really flat and didn’t deserve to get anything from the game.

Preston were good, they’re defensively organised and can keep the ball well. But we always have to look at ourselves and how we could’ve done better. And we didn’t imprint ourselves on the game at all.

We were blunt in attack and pretty poor defensively too. Preston’s second goal in particular was awful.

The fans were not happy with the performance, as you can tell...

Conclusion

A poor performance that stemmed from a poor team selection from Ince. The ‘tiredness’ excuse doesn’t quite wash when you’ve got Guinness-Walker, Fornah, Joao and Long on the bench who are all fresh as a daisy.

There was an opportunity to rejig the starting lineup but Ince decided not to take it. That wasn’t the only problem of course - you still expect the players to show something, anything. But it was still a nothing performance.

Next up, Watford. *gulp*.

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