ALAN SWANN’s 10 Peterborough United talking points from the Blackpool defeat: Remember what worked last season because the last two performances have been deeply worrying

Peterborough United were never playing well enough to maintain a run of results which propelled them to the top of the League One table. Late goals, great goalkeeping and opposition incompetence had all helped as seven wins in eight unbeaten matches sent Posh to the summit, a not unfamiliar position in the early stages of a season for a team who have not gone on to even reach the play-offs in the last six years.

This season was supposed to be different and it might yet prove to be, but alarm bells are certainly ringing after defeats against bottom half sides Crewe and Blackpool in back-to-back games. Defeats happen, but to be outplayed so comprehensively by both teams while barely registering a shot on target over three hours of football is rather worrying.

I know Ivan Toney was good, one of the best ever Posh strikers, but can his absence (and he is pretty much the only one) from a side that finished last season so strongly really make such a huge difference?

Judged solely on the last two performances it clearly can.

OTHER TALKING POINTS...

1) With Toney, Sammie Szmodics and Siriki Dembele created a formidable forward line. They’ve now been on the pitch with his replacement Jonson Clarke-Harris for 10-and-a-half matches and yet there is no sign of a partnership.

That’s not to say Clarke-Harris is the sole problem, although he clearly has inferior mobility and technique to Toney. Posh were playing a different formation when they hit top form from the middle of January. The 3-4-2-1 system allowed Szmodics and Dembele to stay close to Toney and the result was often electrifying with forward runners driving into the penalty area beyond the central striker at pace.

Too often now Clarke-Harris is isolated. Szmodics is struggling to get involved and Dembele is too often stuck out on the wing.

A return to last season’s formation would probably help Clarke-Harris. Joe Ward’s likely absence, and that of Nathan Thompson, makes it harder to play with wing-backs, but a team of Pym: Kent, Beevers, Blake-Tracy: Broom, Brown, Taylor, Butler: Szmodics, Dembele: Clarke-Harris could work against Plymouth on Tuesday (November 24).

2) The above selection would be a vote of confidence in some who perhaps deserve to be left out, but those on the fringes have had chances to play recently and none have suggested they will improve matters, and I include Ryan Broom, who might get another chance because of injury on Tuesday, in that. Louis Reed, Ethan Hamilton and Mo Eisa have not exactly been knocking the manager’s door down with their performances.

3) Is Jack Taylor capable of playing further forward with Dembele behind Clarke-Harris. Posh have become shotshy and Taylor is an accurate shooter at least. He looks athletic enough to me to charge into the penalty area.

4) A reminder that Mark Beevers played his best football in the middle of a back three last season.

5) Manager Darren Ferguson believes the opening 30 minutes cost Posh the game against Blackpool. I know what he means, and these slow starts have haunted Posh all season, as a tone was set, but to blame the first half an hour suggests Posh were competitive for the next hour. They weren’t. Blackpool could easily have scored three goals in each half whereas Posh scored with their first effort on target, in the 84th minute. We shouldn’t knock a manager’s positive outlook, but having scraped an equaliser against the run of play and while playing so poorly I’d have shut up shop and made sure of a point. A winning goal for Blackpool wasn’t much of a surprise.

6) Ferguson wants Posh to play aggressively from the first whistle, so who decides the ball should be passed slowly square and backwards in the first 10 minutes? It happens every single game and, never mind the appalling tempo it creates, it’s such a dangerous habit as one of the centre-backs can look distinctly uncomfortable in possession. If Posh were pressed at the back yesterday they lost possession and when they were pressed in midfield they also lost it. Opposition centre-backs also find it easy to nip in front of Clarke-Harris. If Posh want to play through the thirds get Dembele in a more central area as he can at least turn opponents and get away from them.

7) There was a rare highlight yesterday as Posh finally scored from a set-piece. They also defended one horribly which led to Blackpool’s first goal.

8) Both teams took advantage of the new five-subs rule by using four each yesterday. I had feared it would slow the game down horribly, but to be fair they were all done efficiently and referee Ollie Yates added a suitable six minutes on at the end of the game.

9) I’ve not been impressed with Mr Yates in previous Posh games, but he was excellent yesterday. He should have cautioned Blackpool’s Kenny Dougall before he did and he could easily have sent Dan Butler off in the second-half (it was an orange card tackle in my opinion), but he was spot on to caution Dembele for his dive in the penalty area and he controlled the game impressively overall.

10) Posh remain second and if, on Tuesday, they beat a Plymouth team hammered 5-1 at Fleetwood yesterday, they will be averaging two points per game and they could return to the top as leaders Hull have a tough game at third-placed Ipswich Town.