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Posh rookies may face Newcastle
DARREN Ferguson will take a 'bold is best' approach to securing a shock Championship win at Newcastle on Saturday (3pm).
DARREN Ferguson will take a 'bold is best' approach to securing a shock Championship win at Newcastle on Saturday (3pm).The Posh boss is prepared to gamble by throwing two rookies into the fray in front of 40,000 baying Geordie fans.
Teenage centre-back Ryan Bennett and attacking midfielder Josh Simpson (below) - who was delivering furniture for a living seven days ago - could well be involved from the start at the home of the table-toppers.
Posh boss Ferguson is planning a new formation for the toughest trip of the season, but he will not be abandoning his attacking principles.
Ferguson said: "We will play in a slightly different way tomorrow. Our philosophy won't change, but our formation might.
"We will be going there to win and we will still try and play in an attractive manner, but we will hopefully have some surprises in store.
"We want to put on a performance fit for our surroundings, but more importantly we want three points.
"I don't have the biggest squad to pick from, but in Ryan and Josh I have two new players who look ready to me.
"Ryan impressed me from the minute he walked through the door. He is a very mature young man and he has trained very well."
Full coverage: Newcastle v Posh.
"When he came here he was someone I thought I would be able to use pretty much straight away and from what I've seen so far that is true.
"And Josh looks to be a big talent who can do a job in the Championship right now. I'm very happy to have him here."
Bennett's height will be a factor in his chances of selection as Newcastle's highly-rated young striker Andy Carroll has a massive physical presence. Bennett could replace error-prone centre-back Craig Morgan or Gaby Zakuani, who was substituted midway through the second half of last weekend's disappointing home defeat by Barnsley.
It's unlikely Shaun Batt will retain his place up front, and with Craig Mackail-Smith rated very doubtful because of a hamstring problem, Posh may flood the midfield with Simpson, fit-again Paul Coutts and Dean Keates all competing for a call-up.
George Boyd could also be asked to play close to lone striker Aaron Mclean.
Mackail-Smith joined in training yesterday and travelled north with the team today, but club insiders believe he is unlikely to be involved.
Teams:
Posh - (from) Lewis, Lee, Bennett, Zakuani, Rowe, Whelpdale, Diagouraga, Keates, Frecklington, Boyd, Mclean, Morgan, McKeown, Coutts, Simpson, Martin, Pearce, Mackail-Smith, Day, Green, Batt.
Newcastle - (from) Harper, Simpson, Kadar, S. Taylor, R. Taylor, Colocinni, Enrique, Smith, Butt, Gutierrez, Nolan, Carroll, Ranger, Donaldson, Tozer, Krul, Guthrie, Geremi, Harewood.
Newcastle's Hughton admits Posh have some great players
NEWCASTLE manager Chris Hughton has admitted that Peterborough possess great players.
Hughton was impressed by the Posh performance back in September when they dumped Newcastle out of the Carling Cup.
He's confident of a different outcome tomorrow as The Magpies attempt to stretch their unbeaten home run to eight league matches, but he will warn his players against complacency.
Hughton said: "It is a completely different scenario this time around, although it is worth revisiting the cup match.
"That night they showed they are a very tough team to play against and they have some great players.
"Yes, we did have a young team out that night, but certain things do stick in your mind.
"They beat us on merit that night and proved that every team wants to be beat Newcastle.
"Teams like Peterborough and Scunthorpe will always raise their game against us and Peterborough are sure to fight hard for everything tomorrow.
"The teams that came down from the Premier League with us last season have also struggled at times which shows how tough this league is.
"But our home record is there for all to see, although we are due to win a game comfortably. Hopefully that will be tomorrow."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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