American businessman probably glad he didn't buy either PNE or Derby after this showing, says PNE fan John Smith

So with it not being a case of howdy partner and welcome to the ranch it was business as normal for Ryan Lowe's North End side as we travelled to Derby where a lack lustre display meant a second successive defeat on the road in what I considered to be an uninspired performance.

Whether or not the takeover speculation is partly responsible for back-to-back away defeats is open to discussion. However in my opinion this performance and the one at Luton fell way short of the standard I have come to expect since the current manager took control of the reigns in December.

The travelling faithful taunted their once famous hosts who look destined for the drop by proclaiming that Accrington Stanley were waiting for them but if things are not addressed in the summer and if we do not bring at least a couple of quality signings in, we ourselves could possibly be preparing for our first ever league trip to the Crown Ground in the not too distant future.

Derby were no great shakes and struggled to break our defence down even when they had an extra man on the pitch but the most disappointing thing for me is that I cannot recall us having a single shot on target throughout the game.

When the hosts were also reduced to 10 men, I thought the game would peter out to an inevitable draw but Derby managed to score with one of their rare chances created minutes from time and there was no way back for us despite Ryan Lowe having introduced attacking substitutes Josh Murphy and Sean Maguire into the fray both of whom I felt were totally ineffective.

If the American businessman who supposedly had tried to buy both clubs had been watching this dull game he would have probably headed for the golf course long before this game reached its conclusion.

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