Tim Mercer's PNE Fans' Panel verdict: Return of the bad old ways in a Jekyll and Hyde performance
For this fan the season can’t end fast enough!
Of the two faces North End have shown, it was back to the inept, miserable one that doesn’t seem able to defend, pass or hold onto the ball whenever trying to move forward.
What a contrast to the Gentry Day win of just a week ago. That ‘team’ played with purpose and thoroughly deserved the win. This one got all it deserved against a West Brom outfit fighting for its Championship survival and under the imminent threat of a points deduction.
Put more simply, they wanted it more.
Of the two halves, the first was particularly dreadful from a PNE point of view. Second to the ball and with no idea of what to do when we did have some possession, the return to recycling around the back and sides was again a sure sign of this being a Mr Hyde day, as opposed to that of Dr Jekyll, which took us into a strong play-off position by the turn of the year.
It therefore came as no surprise that the Baggies took the lead early on, when poor defensive cover let in an Albion player to score, giving Daniel Iversen no chance between the sticks.
Captain Ben Whiteman, trying to retrieve the ball he had lost in the build-up to that opening goal, injured himself in the process and hobbled off down the tunnel due to what looked like a nasty injury.
Manager Paul Heckingbottom tried the old ‘half-time substitution’ routine to gee the team up with more attacking intent by bringing on left wing-back Thierry Small in place of midfielder Andrew Moran. Whilst there was an improvement, it was not enough to really trouble the visitors and we all knew they just needed their second to finish us off.
That duly happened inside the last 15 minutes and now gives a much-improved side under interim manager James Morrison a real chance of playing their fellow founding Football League members next season.
Let’s hope some real and careful investment in the squad by the potential sale to a US-Saudi businessman can take us away from the similar squad investments of Oxford, Blackburn, Portsmouth and, this season at least, even West Brom.
There’s a reason they are all struggling, and it may well just be that Heckingbottom’s squad refreshment of the Summer was enough to bring about a change in momentum up to the New Year until we ran out of steam.