Preston North End held on for a point against Middlesbrough as a 1-1 draw stopped the run of successive 4-0 defeats at the Riverside Stadium.
Mads Frokjaer’s equaliser followed Tommy Conway’s opener in the first half to ensure the teams were level at the break, perhaps undeservedly in Preston’s case.
Neither side could find a winner as North End picked up their first point away from home this season.
Defence not Championship standard
The backline has needed a refresh for some time. Freddie Woodman has already made a couple of major mistakes this season and he needs a stronger defence in front of him.
They are solid in the air and when it comes to blocks but none of our defenders have any pace and are often a few seconds behind play.
Liam Lindsay was suspended for Saturday and he was a big loss as Jack Whatmough looked scared to play. He was far too easily outpaced by Tommy Conway for the Boro goal. Whatmough couldn’t get out of first gear and it’s hard to see what he adds to the side.
Andrew Hughes and Jordan Storey are very slow as well and with Paul Heckingbottom choosing to play a high line, their frailties were easily exposed by balls over the top and around the defence.
All three centre backs picked up yellow cards for challenges that were just too late. Not intentional but the Boro players were simply too quick for us.
Lindsay isn’t the fastest either but is more dominant in the air. That defence will struggle against most teams this season and it needs to be addressed in January.
We can’t make simple passes
In the first half we actually had 55% possession which was surprising considering Michael Carrick’s side were on top for the majority of the half. But the bulk of that was down to the defenders just passing it between themselves.
Woodman had been instructed to play it out from the back but none of our defenders are comfortable with the ball at their feet especially under pressure. It leads to us effectively wasting time at the back, playing it around for a while before finally getting it forward. When they do try and get it forward the passes are misplaced either out of play or straight to the opposition.
Whatmough especially looked very nervous on the ball. We don’t possess a defender who can make a defence splitting pass unless it is their own defence they are splitting.
A lot of the time the pass forward goes to our wing-backs but they come deep to receive the ball facing their own goal and it is then very difficult to turn under pressure from the opposition.
Whilst it may not be pleasing on the eye our best option with this team is getting the ball forward as quickly as possible and then trying to pick up the second ball.
Is Whiteman doing enough to stay in the team?
We have a lot of options in the centre of the park now. The addition of Stefan Thordarson looks to be a sensible one and the Icelandic man is very positive with his play always looking to advance up the pitch.
Mads Frokjaer, Sam Greenwood and Duane Holmes can all play centrally but further up the pitch and they give us some much needed energy.
Greenwood was probably our best player on Saturday, always keen to get on the ball and getting stuck into challenges as well.
Ben Whiteman, Ali McCann and Ryan Ledson are our midfielders who would usually be sitting deeper. McCann and Ledson we can rely on to break up play and also have good energy and intensity. Ledson was key in putting pressure on the Boro backline when he came on in the second half.
Whiteman doesn’t really have the same tenacity as other midfielders, his passing is very hit and miss, his set pieces are poor and he doesn’t score or assist enough. Just 11 goals in his 147 appearances for the club.
He doesn’t stand out as the captain on the pitch either. He doesn’t seem very vocal and the team look bereft of any confidence. Right now I don’t think his performances warrant a starting place in a fully fit squad.
Potts as an inverted wing-back?
The inverted wing-back role came to prominence with Chris Wilder at Sheffield United. However this would work well with the wider centre backs pushing forward. That wasn’t the case for us as Potts was tucking in just to solely man mark Finn Azaz.
Going in to the game Azaz had managed more shots on target this season than the whole of the Preston squad together; 10 to 9. Potts was clearly tasked with sticking to Azaz the whole game which was often very central.
It meant Greenwood was the main option down the right hand side which he was having some joy with.
In the second half Greenwood switched to the left as Josh Bowler came on for Jeppe Okkels at half time. Okkels had struggled in the first 45 but was often overcrowded down the left with not much support.
Bowler reminded us what a winger can do as he instantly attacked the Middlesbrough defence looking dangerous early on.
The side did lack any balance though throughout the game. It was unclear whether we were actually playing wing-backs or were they just pushed higher up. Bowler, Okkels and Greenwood aren’t wing-backs but that does leave a lot of reliance on the three centre backs.
It’s clear Heckingbottom is still testing things out and it will be a while yet before he fully understands the capabilities of the squad.