Millwall Deepdale 21/10/2023

Pre-Match Chat


Hear from manager Ryan Lowe as he provides an injury update and previews his side’s clash with the Lions.

Who’s Available?

For the first time in seven months, striker Ched Evans is back in contention to feature after recovering from a potentially life-changing medical condition.

There will be a number of players missing, though, with Ali McCann and Jack Whatmough sidelined through calf and hamstring injuries respectively, while Andrew Hughes (calf) is also expected to miss out.

Long-term absentee Emil Riis has suffered a setback which may prolong his rehabilitation for another few weeks, but there’s better new for Calvin Ramsay who is set to return to PNE from parent club Liverpool on Monday.

Opposition Focus


After four years in charge at the Den, manager Gary Rowett parted company with the club by mutual consent on Wednesday evening, with the Lions currently sat 15th in the Sky Bet Championship.

During his reign, Millwall consistently pushed for a place in the division’s top six, however fell just short, and they’ll be hoping to make it into the Play-Offs under Rowett’s successor.

For the time being, Adam Barrett has been placed in caretaker charge, with Paul Robinson assisting, and they may look to change things up for the trip to Deepdale.

A Recent Clash


North End’s last home victory over Millwall came in December 2018, courtesy of goals from Alan Browne, Tom Barkhuizen and Andrew Hughes.


Match Officials


Referee: Matthew Donohue
Assistant Referees: Matthew Jones and Sam Lewis
Fourth Official: Daniel Middleton

Matthew Donohue will take charge of a PNE match for the second time this season on Saturday, after previously refereeing North End’s 2-0 victory against Stoke City in September.

Donohue has shown 39 yellow cards during nine matches so far this term.

MACS VIEW

If you look at the previous meetings guide, we have not beaten these lads since 2019 when a certain Gary Rowett took charge at the Den
There have been rumblings of a bit of discontent in South London but if you are going to change direction surely it should have been after the last game not before a game in two days time.
Usually a tough game against these lads Saturday's televisual delight will be no different. There is a certain irony that as our form starts to dip we get mass television exposure.
The mad world of the Championship kicks into gear again up the Whites

Will be watching in the bar at Sutton United prior to their game against Morecambe.

I don't know what the weather is like in Preston but if the match was in S Yorkshire there would be doubts over it being on...need to check situation at Rotherham tonight.

I don't think we played badly in our last two games at Leicester and Ipswich (I think Lowe's selection lost it for us at Portman Rd). Be interesting to see what he does tomorrow. I like Hughes as lcb but he does appear to be coming something of a sick note.

More than time we beat Millwall....and we will if we start with Millar, Holmes, Whiteman and MF...how Lowe could leave out the first three at Ipswich is beyond me.

I'd like to see
Woodman
Storey Lindsay Cunningham
Potts Holmes Browne Whiteman Millar
MF
Keane

Well done on the thread and putting together manager info so quickly.

themaclad what a thread thank you.

I see we've extended Greg's stay to summer 2024

See our enforcer Ledson and our most improved player Potts are having blinders. Get them off, and tell them all they need to start winning tackles. Absolute poor first half.

2 poor sides so nothing else to say

I'd say we tried for 23 minutes out of the 90.
Not really good enough Mr Lowe especially as we were the home team.

Dawson spot on absolutely. What baffles me and quite frankly I feel insulted he is taking us for fools. Granted we have enough of them that mercifully do not frequent this site.
I am like others acutely aware that we are limited but his tactics, his choice of players (Ledson and Potts) give us nothing. I can’t believe that some players are buying into his blag it is dire and I lay the blame at his feet. Should he go ? He can for me,the football is rubbish.

Just watching the game & I am trying to figure out just why RL picks Brady, knowing that all his passes go backward to the CHs. Possession is one thing but he can't turn with the ball and look for forward players. Total liability but the Manager mustard recognise this

Great start yesterday, terrific run by Storey and composed finish from Mads. Great to see, I thought that was going to set the tone for the rest of the game, unfortunately not.

Without wanting to be too negative I have got serious concerns about the direction Lowe is taking this team. There is a real Frankie ball feel to match days. The performances have been abysmal, people will accept bad performances to a degree if results are good like the start of the season but it is no surprise people are now asking questions about Lowe's ability to take this team forward. I was more than willing to give Lowe time last season as he clearly didn't have the players to play the way he wants to play so hard to judge, but since then he has been backed considerably by our standards and we are still rubbish and still don't have the players to play his desired system, how did that happen?

I absolutely hate this wingback system Lowe is married to. I am absolutely desperate to see a change of set up. Lowe's team selections are rubbish too, take yesterday for example, a team that contains Brady, Ledson, Cunningham, Potts is going nowhere. Too many weak links all playing at the same time. To think that team he put out yesterday was ever going to deliver the points and a positive performance is incompetent on Lowe's part. Millwall where there for the taking.

Whilst I don't think we are anywhere near the likes of Leicester and Leeds in terms of quality, I certainly believe we have a squad far more capable of turning out better performances than we are doing and a good forward thinking manager (like the fella at Ipswich has done with arguably a worse squad) would get far more from this set of players.

People may not agree, they might be happy with Lowe and that's cool, football is all about opinion but personally I am sick to death of Lowe and wouldn't be unhappy if he wasn't here anymore. I can only see a rapid slide down the table if he carries on the way he is now our luck has totally ran out. I was hoping a 2 week break for a period of reflection would have opened Lowe's eyes to changes and a change of approach but clearly not.


Another really tough week ahead. Lose the next 2 (and we will if we carry on playing this bad) and the pressure really will be on for Lowe.

I have some sympathy for Potts repeatedly being asked to do a job he is not cut out for...clearly the lad from Liverpool was brought in to do this job but (as ever it seems) North End signed a crock.

I lost any faith in Lowe not long into last season ...his team selections , substitutions and tactics continue to baffle me. It is a measure of his game management that his substitutions rarely change the outcome of a game for the better (they changed the performance at Ipswich but by then his starting line up had lost the game for us).

He seems to have favourites...how else can anyone explain the continuation selection of Potts, Brady, Ledson when there are better options available.

I, too, don't like the continuing exclusive reliance on the wing back system.

The slide down the table started when we failed to win at Rotherham...I never expected anything at Leicester and, to be fair, we put up a good performance for over an hour....but we could have got something at Ipswich had Lowe started with the side that played the second half.

The Leicester and Ipswich games threw out interesting contrasts in styles...Leicester one of accurate passing to feet, possession, probing, being patient and holding the ball waiting for space to play in forwards whilst Ipswich bombed on, overlapping full backs, getting the ball quickly in the box, pushing up/taking risks at the back.

The point is that in both games you could see their style...what the players were being coached to play. Very different but both successful. OK Leicester have the quality players to play that way but................................when you watch PNE can anybody see any style, any pattern of play that makes the most of the players available and exploits the shortcomings in the opposition?

The obvious strategy in the Ipswich game was to exploit the space behind the defenders...yesterday against Millwall there was even a massive clue in the first few minutes. Whilst Cooper wins everything in the air he is slow on the deck and his team mates at the back were no quicker...yet we've got sideward or backwards Brady on one flank and Potts , stay in your own half, on the other. Not till the second half when Millar appears and we have someone prepared to run at defenders.

I looked for Lowe in the first half to see what he was doing..if he was barking out any instructions...and he was sat down (at an height at which you can't even get a proper perspective on the game).

Not for me I'm afraid.

It was a pretty awful game yesterday, very dull and made harder as once Millwall equalised, I felt they sat very deep, cut off all our passing routes and settled for the point.

Despite this, a few facts… Holmes should have put the game to bed at 1-0. He didn’t and we paid a heavy price. Second one. We really should have been awarded a penalty with 5 minutes to go. Although the game was dire, something football supporters often forget is that there are two teams in every game, and the opposition won’t just roll over. Where Lowe has to be smarter is by working on getting the cutting edge when teams sit in with a low block. It’s hard when there’s no pace in the attack. Millar made a difference with his running and directness, he needs to be playing more.

Absolutely Mooney there are 2 teams playing, the opposition definitely won't roll over and nor should they so the minimum I expect is to be set up with our strongest line up, well coached, well prepared and with the intention to have a go, I don't think this is unreasonable. I think as a group of supporters we are quite reasonable and realistic with our expectations. Let's be honest, Millwall didn't have to do too much to walk out of Deepdale with a point on Saturday. We struggle with the basics, we cant string more that 2 passes together the majority of the time.

My major issues are as follow:

Playing a system that does not suit the players we have at the football club. If Lowe can't see this as an issue then that is a worry.

The football is rubbish, verging on Frankie ball. Long aimless punts up top that rarely hit a white shirt. Is this something they work on on training, not sure how Lowe can watch this and think it is good.

Team selections. So in my view the set up is very poor so at least can Lowe get the team selection correct in order to give himself a fighting chance? I'd argue no, recently his team selections have been awful. Ipswich and Millwall prime examples. Players like Ledson, Brady, Cunningham, to a lesser extent Potts (on current form) and Lindsay (erratic form) should be nowhere near the first 11 at the same time, some I'd say shouldnt be near the first 11 at all but I suppose that is just my opinion.

When you look at how Lowe has been backed over the summer (more than any manager I can remember) and the quality of squad available to him I'd expect much better performances and a team that looks like they are set up to win football matches rather than the boring rubbish we currently have to watch. I don't think I am being unfair with my expectations. I feel we have a better squad than Ipswich overall but look how they play in comparison to how we play. I'll accept defeats to better sides no problem but can't accept when a manager repeatedly offers up what Lowe offers up and sells us short. Again just my opinion👍