ALAN SWANN’s talking points from Posh 4, Rochdale 1: ‘Why Fergie is paid the big bucks, but will he be brave enough to replace Thompson with Edwards? Dembele’s struggles, a tight League One title race, a surface far from pitch perfect and at last some value in the EFL Trophy’

Without seeing Harrison Burrows and Idris Kanu flying down the wings to tear West Ham’s youngsters apart a few days earlier, Posh boss Darren Ferguson admitted he would have been reluctant to send the players on the fringes into the heat of a League One battle.

And would he really have dared drop his marquee summer signing Sammie Szmodics for a 17 year-old kid yet to make his full Football League debut without seeing the future in Trophy action? I doubt it and yet Flynn Clarke justified his place.

Now many are saying why didn’t it happen earlier? They’re probably the same people who blame Ferguson for Brexit and Covid as well as a slide from first to fifth in the League One table, but it’s a fair question all the same.

But playing so many inexperienced players in the same team was a gamble for Ferguson who might just have timed it right. They could have all started against Chorley in the FA Cup and been successful, but last weekend’s contest at Portsmouth would have been a tough ask and possibly damaged some confidence.

A huge shot across the bows of some of last season’s star men has now been delivered though. Dan Butler, Szmodics and even Joe Ward are no longer certain starters.

Szmodics has been on borrowed time for a while, and probably kept hold of his spot for so long partly because of Ryan Broom’s failure to make much of an impact since his summer arrival.

And I now hope/expect Szmodics will be greatly motivated to get his place back pronto and it could easily happen at MK Dons this coming Tuesday as Clarke looked fatigued by the time he was substituted yesterday. And too be fair to the ex-Colchester and Bristol City man he looked bright, sharp and lively in his 25 minutes on the pitch against Rochdale.

Pre-match Posh chief Darragh MacAnthony urged his big hitters to start performing again and Clarke-Harris and Reece Brown certainly did, while Szmodics did as much as he could in his short time on the pitch.

Maybe MacAnthony can now urge Siriki Dembele to start playing again as he compounded a poor run of recent form by failing to make any inroads v the worst defence Posh have played against all season.

OTHER TALKING POINTS FROM YESTERDAY

1) Nathan Thompson is suspended from the game at MK Dons, so will Ferguson now be brave enough to replace him with Ronnie Edwards? Before yesterday I’d have said not, but the 17 year-old is so well suited to playing in the middle of a back three Ferguson will surely consider it, before most likely moving Mark Beevers back into the centre and recalling Frazer Blake-Tracy to play on the left of three centre-backs.

2) Thompson was outstanding playing in the middle of three centre-backs when skippering Mark Cooper’s Swindon Town team to the League One play-off final in 2015. His presence in the centre yesterday ensured the passing from the back was quicker and more positive. It’s frustrating one poor pass and then a ‘professional’ foul means he won’t be at MK.

3) After Ethan Hamilton’s man-of-the-match display against West Ham I said it would be a travesty if he didn’t start yesterday. And yet he wasn’t on the bench which seemed mightily unfair as there was no word on a possible injury.

But that’s why Ferguson is the one paid the big bucks to manage. Brown, who was one of the weakest players against the Hammers, was the best player on the pitch in the first-half against Dale as Posh raced into a 4-1 lead.

4) Co-owner Dr Jason Neale is a big advocate of younger players from the Academy playing in the first team. Indeed having three in every starting line-up is a stated goal of his and of the club. Dr Neale was understandably joyous at seeing Burrows, Kanu and Clarke start the game and then ecstatic when each contributed a goal assist in the first half. As Ferguson said after the game youngsters can often play without fear as fans are far more understanding if they make mistakes, and there is no denying all three were excellent against Rochdale. Claiming Kanu as an Academy graduate is a bit cheeky though. He was almost 18 when he joined Posh from Aldershot and barely played for the club’s youth team.

5) Home defeats for the top two Hull and Lincoln yesterday means fourth-placed Posh are just three points off top spot, but they are also just four points above seventh-placed Doncaster who have two matches in hand. Only eight points cover the top 10 and with games coming thick and fast a win over a defensively dire Rochdale teams needs to be backed up with victories over better sides. Promotion rivals lurk everywhere with Sunderland’s eye-catching win at Lincoln immediate proof that replacing Phil Parkinson with Lee Johnson was a very positive move for the division’s biggest club.

6) The squeal from Clarke-Harris as he fell awkardly with no help from an opponent 10 minutes from time was worrying. The Posh playing surface was a mess and probably contributed to the striker’s anxious moment. There appears to be no lasting damage to the top scorer’s ankle, but Ferguson’s post-match desire to seek answers re the decline of the pitch was understandable and necessary. A rutted surface won’t suit the Posh playing style, but luckily it didn’t suit Rochdale’s either.

7) Two Posh games with fans back in the Weston Homes Stadium have been won by an aggregate of 7-1. Tougher tests will follow, but having even a small crowd behind them must have been a boost for a set of players who had needed help.