What happened to the team which beat Norwich, Preston fan Tim Mercer muses over the loss to Stoke

Without doubt the worst seen at Deepdale this season and with the autumn gloom descending early as fans voted with their feet long before the final whistle.

Stoke came well prepared for Alex Neil’s first return to PR1 since being relieved of his duties in March 2021 after nearly four years in a place he had come to consider as ‘home’.

He admitted to being a wee bit nervous of the reception he would receive but needn’t have worried as, overall, it was warm albeit a bit muted.

In this fan’s view a lack of support from the board ‘did’ him by the end; a problem he will not have down in the Potteries if this team and display are anything to go by.

As for the match itself, I’d like to know what happened to the team that won away at promotion favourites Norwich only seven days earlier?

North End offered nothing going forward, without a single shot on target over the 90 minutes. That’s a pretty shocking statistic for a home side, along with the fact that no player really came to the fore in trying to shake us out of it.

Despite the score still being nil-nil by halftime, the visitors had already taken a firm grip on the game with Preston struggling to get out of their own half.

This simply continued after the break and once they scored complete dominance was assured along with the three points heading back down the M6 by teatime.

It was no surprise to see the substitutions making little difference, with the Lilywhites seemingly devoid of any ideas or creativity.

No matter what Ryan Lowe said in his post-match interview, this was a bad day at the office that needs to be quickly forgotten as we move onto the midweek game over the Pennines in Huddersfield followed by the crunch West Lancashire derby at Bloomfield Road next Saturday.