ALAN SWANN’S talking points from Peterborough United’s 3-1 win over Swindon Town: ‘

It often amuses me how critical fans get of playing formations after a couple of iffy displays. It’s happened this season with a 3-4-1-2 system that has only occasionally spluttered into life, but to say the formation doesn’t work is just daft - it’s the way Posh lined-up as they rampaged through League One in the second-half of League One last season.

Interestingly Swindon were the first team this season not to match Posh up and what joy they had in the opening 45 minutes at the Weston Homes Stadium by exploiting the gap behind left wing-back Dan Butler and sending runners forward from deep. The visitors outnumbered Posh in midfield and left three Posh centre-backs to mark just one striker in Brett Pitman who still managed to find enough space to regularly threaten the home goal.

Manager Darren Ferguson rightly took credit for dumping the formation at the break and switching to a 4-2-3-1 system that transformed the contest, but in truth the switch was crying out to made much earlier as Posh were lucky to still be in touch at the interval.

Ferguson made a substitution after 25 minutes of last season’s home game with Coventry as his side were getting overrun. He might well have acted sooner yesterday, but it all worked out well in the end.

Other talking points from yesterday’s game

1) It was encouraging that the change in formation took place without making any substitutions. The players were comfortable in their new roles with Nathan Thompson playing strongly at right-back, Joe Ward excellent on the right wing and Siriki Dembele giving veteran Paul Caddis a hard time on the other flank. In theory losing a centre-back exposes captain Mark Beevers to forwards with pace, but that is not a strength of Pitman and the captain coped well.

2) Ferguson’s substitutions were very effective. Reece Brown improved the side’s passing accuracy and tempo, while Ryan Broom was a man possessed after replacing Sammie Szmodics and supporting Jonson Clarke-Harris up top.

Brown is certain to start at Northampton next Saturday (October 10) in the absence of international star Jack Taylor and I wonder whether or not Broom will replace Szmodics? The latter reacted well to win Posh a penalty yesterday, but he has yet to find the form that dazzled when he was signed on loan last season. Broom was playing against tired opponents, but he took his opportunity well and earned high public praise from Ferguson who described him as ‘fantastic’.

It wouldn’t be the greatest surprise to see the greater physicality of Ethan Hamilton preferred to Louis Reed alongside Brown at a route one side like Northampton.

3) Broom’s first goal for Posh will be huge for his confidence, but the most pleasing fact about yesterday’s contest, with the season as a whole in mind, was the first goals for the club from Jonson Clarke-Harris. The burden of replacing a superstar like Ivan Toney is on Clarke-Harris and it was encouraging to hear after the game that he’s up for the challenge. Clarke-Harris is big and strong with a deadly left foot. He must have a great chance of 20 goals this season.

Ferguson and transfer tactician Darragh MacAnthony must be thrilled to see two major summer signings make decisive contributions.

4) The way Posh finished the game against Swindon was encouraging. They were running all over their visitors in the final 15 minutes or so which suggests fitness levels are high, but it was good to see Ferguson was not fooled completely by a strong second-half showing. The next visitors to the Weston Homes Stadium are Oxford and if the Posh centre-backs give the ball away as readily as they did yesterday in the opening stages of that game they will find themselves so far adrift at the break a powerful finish won’t save them. It was a surprise to hear Ferguson mention confidence possibly being an issue when Posh have been so strong at home lately and with no fans in the ground to put them under pressure. Indeed the only audible moans (justifiable ones) came from Ferguson after he’d marched down to the technical area to make his unhappiness at the start of the game obvious. Posh were lethargic and casual early on. According to @ReportPosh they gave up eight shots at goal in the opening 22 minutes, more than in total in any other game this season. Maybe over-confidence was the problem.

5) Goalkeeper Christy Pym was the overwhelming fans’ choice as Posh man-of-the-match yesterday. Some said he only made easy saves and it’s true the two shots he faced in one-on-one situations were weakly struck, but credit him for standing tall and not giving his opponents easy targets. Pitman and Jack Payne were the players who missed and they are both good finishers at League One level.

6) Never underestimate the influence of referees in the third tier. Posh were robbed at Sunderland in their previous game by a poor penalty decision, but yesterday they benefitted from referee Lee Doughty, and his extremely well-placed assistant, missing a rather blatant foul by Szmodics on Paul Caddis inside the penalty area just before the break. Swindon boss Richie Wellens called it a ‘game-changing decision’ and he was right.