ALAN SWANN’s Peterborough United comment on the Lionel Messi of League One, playing poorly and winning, a fantastic points haul in 2020, Fergie’s ruthless streak and why Steve Evans deserves some credit

And yet Posh boss Darren Ferguson isn’t entirely happy and I don’t blame him.

Ferguson said after yesterday’s 5-1 drubbing of Shrewsbury Town that the result was better than the performance. The same could also be said of the recent wins against Wigan Athletic, Hull City and even Swindon Town.

Winning games without playing particularly well is a great skill, but Ferguson knows that’s impossible to maintain over 46 matches so he’ll be looking to start games with a far greater tempo while also seeking far more incisive inter-play rather than relying on individual moments of magic to pick up three points.

With that in mind, and for all Siriki Dembele’s obvious brilliance yesterday, the third Posh goal which featured two fine passes from Sammie Szmodics and Joe Ward before Dembele’s first-time finish was a most encouraging moment.

It’s quite some record Posh have put together either side of lockdown though. They’ve won 14 of their last 19 League One matches and collected 44 of the 57 available points in that time.

That’s a fantastic effort, especially given the departure of one superstar player in the middle of the run, and so perhaps there has been far more judgement than luck and this Posh team (and manager) really is the real deal.

Other talking points from yesterday’s game...

1) Siriki Dembele is the Lionel Messi of League One and I hope referees offer him the same protection that the Argentine superstar receives in La Liga. James Oldham was a lenient, although accomplished, official at times yesterday, but he reacted decisively and correctly when Shrewsbury midfielder Josh Vela launched himself rather dangerously at the division’s best player just before the break.

Three things are certain about Dembele. He’s currently playing well below his true level, he will be the most fouled player in the third tier and he will win so many penalties Jonson Clarke-Harris should be backed to reach 20 League One goals.

Dembele can frustrate, not everything he does comes off, but his workrate, his creativity and his finishing were all top class yesterday. He needs looking after carefully this season both for Posh’s promotion chances and because of the big fat transfer fee he will command at the end of the campaign.

2) Of Steve Evans’ 24 Posh signings in 11 months as manager only two have been roaring successes and Siriki Dembele could follow Ivan Toney in making Posh a multi-million pound profit.

3) Posh continue to start games slowly. They took the lead in the 16th minute yesterday and yet by then Shrewsbury could have scored from two set-pieces. Thirteen of Posh’s 19 League One goals this season have arrived in the second-half of matches. If Posh don’t start games on the front foot soon they will find themselves a couple of goals behind and with far too much to do once they hit their stride.

4) Ferguson’s frustrations are far more obvious in these days of no crowd noise. Yesterday he could be seen turning his back in anger when his players didn’t move the ball forward to his liking or when silly free kicks were conceded against a team who looked a threat from the set play. This game was still in the balance until Posh moved two goals ahead with 20 minutes to go. Shrewsbury, despite playing with 10 men, had enjoyed plenty of possession before they folded in the final quarter.

Ferguson is also reacting quickly to moments of ill-discipline. He hauled Reece Brown off yesterday 60 seconds after he’d picked up a silly caution for booting the ball away to delay a visiting free kick. There was still 40 minutes to play and Posh led by just one goal. It’s a strong message.

5) Louis Reed looked bright and full of energy when he replaced Brown. Jack Taylor will most likely be on international duty when Posh visit Crewe on November 14 and Reed will probably get the nod over Ethan Hamilton for that fixture so positive minutes for a midfielder who started the season well was a good thing. It was also good to see Mo Eisa back in action in League One for the first time since the second game of the season and he looked sharp albeit against beaten opposition. If the chances Sammie Szmodics missed had fallen to Eisa there might have been a second Posh hat-trick in the same game.

6) Szmodics looked full of running though. His finishing aside, he looked more like the player who first pitched up at the club last January. If Szmodics can get up to the speed and form of Joe Ward and Dembele, Posh have a scary attacking force behind Jonson Clarke-Harris.

7) Playing with wing-backs enables Dembele to play as close to Clarke-Harris as he did to Toney last season with devastating effect, while also keeping Szmodics central and in the game. I’d expect to see the formation many more times this season, especially away from home.

8) Isn’t it great that Ferguson, me, and many fans judging by their post-match comments, think Posh have reached the top of League One without hitting top form? We all believe the current squad is hugely talented so expectations are set very high. Ferguson always accompanies any criticism of his players with positive words and he is delighted with the way they have approached this strange season mentally as well as physically. He even cracked a post-match gag after yesterday’s game stating he hoped football would be called off now as Posh would be promoted on points-per-game!