An attempt at a Peterborough United puff piece with more salient facts attached on Leonard, Savage and MacAnthony

Struggling sides get no luck. Exhibit A, the ridiculous deflection which led to Luton Town’s game-killing second goal at the Weston Homes Stadium compared to the number of shots Posh saw deflected away from goal or straight into the hands of goalkeeper James Shea. Surely the luck will change soon?

There is a welter of stats that suggest Posh were unfortunate losers yesterday. Posh enjoyed more possession (57%-43%), had more shots (17-11), more shots on target (6-4) and more touches in the opposition box (17-12). Shea made more saves than Posh number one Alex Bass (6-4). Surely those numbers, if repeated often enough, will lead to wins soon?

‘Men against boys’ is a common post-match complaint from Posh fans and there is merit to that, but Sam Hughes, Tom O’Connor and Matt Garbett are back now and the physicality can’t fail to improve as a result. For a man who had played just 75 minutes of under 21 football in the last 18 months or so, Hughes was impressive in his comeback as a second-half substitute. Hughes should become captain again. He’s a natural leader.

Player recruitment hasn’t been all bad. Last season’s stars Kyrell Lisbie and JJ Morgan are tearing up the Championship for a start. Striker Harry Leonard is still held in high regard by current Posh watchers.

End of puff piece and onto some more salient facts.

1) Leonard has just three League One goals this term. He missed a sitter yesterday to add to the great chances he missed against Stevenage, Stockport, Bromley and Burton. His attitude in games can’t be questioned, but his finishing has left plenty to be desired. No-one else in the squad is likely to score regularly so the burden is his and he needs to step up.

2) Lisbie’s three Championship goals this season is the same number of goals Vernon Masara, Bolu Shofowoke, Ethan Williams, transfer-listed-yet-back-in the-squad Declan Frith and Owura Edwards have managed in League One between them, and Edwards has two of them and both arrived after the appointment of Robbie Savage as manager. Not a great look currently for that recruitment team.

3) Savage has managed Posh in five League One games. He signed none of the current squad. Fans have a right to criticise his appointment, but he’s here now and must be given a chance. I’ve enjoyed his enthusiasm and his rapport with fans, other than the nasties on social media, but he needs to learn on the job rather quickly. Posh played very well for 20 minutes or so after falling 2-0 behind when their pace and aggression troubled in-form Luton. His half-time subs worked well, after the first 45 seconds at least, but his other substitutions and the change in formation stopped Posh in their tracks. Posh lost control of midfield and spent the last quarter of an hour defending their goal. I get the desire to be positive and proactive, but sometimes things don’t need changing even at 2-0 down. There is no experienced ear in the dugout for a rookie boss to lean on.

4) Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony has doubled down on his commitment to Savage, but claiming he has built a ‘top-10-by-February’ squad is not actually helpful. At least he’s downgraded it from a top six squad. With every passing result and performance those comments will add to the pressure on Savage and will also be hurled back at an increasingly sensitive chairman, especially as he’s attached a promise to sell up if that February target is missed, which it will be.