Peterborough United chairman's upbeat appraisal of the playing squad as he makes bold claim re George Nevett

George Nevett in action for Posh. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.comGeorge Nevett in action for Posh. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.com
George Nevett in action for Posh. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.com
Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony believes teenage centre-back George Nevett could become as good as Ronnie Edwards.

MacAnthony delivered an upbeat appraisal of his club’s young playing squad on the latest edition of his ‘Hard Truth’ podcast.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“This squad is having to learn on the job,” MacAnthony said. “Last season’s squad was young, but players like Ronnie and Harrison Burows already had plenty of experience. That’s not the same with the current group, some of whom have had to play more at this stage of the season than we’d intended. We are suffering at the moment with injuries and bad luck, but we will soon put this period down and we won’t revisit it.

"We are missing some key pieces, like our first-choice full-backs, but even so when we’ve been good, we’ve been very good. I’m very proud of the team and when we are through this period we will fly like a rocket ship. I know what we have in the club and I’m excited it by it. Call me an eternal optimist, but I see champagne football, 70% possession in games and no injuries.

Malik Mothersille in action for Posh. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.comMalik Mothersille in action for Posh. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.com
Malik Mothersille in action for Posh. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.com

"When we are through this current spell we will have fresh players and we will be very good attacking wise and very solid defensively. When we get that first clean sheet we will get lots of them. George Nevett could be as good as good as Ronnie Edwards. I watched George pinging passes about from the back against Blackpool recently. He was the best passer of the ball on the pitch. If he has a flaw it’s defensively, but don’t forget Ronnie wasn’t phenomenal defensively when he first got into the team at 17/18.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I also like that bit of arrogance Malik Mothersille shows. I told him if he is going to give it out on social media he needs to walk the walk on the pitch and he has most of the time. He’s only just 21 and he’s a frightening prospect.”

Edwards left Posh for Premier League Southampton in the summer in a deal reportedly worth £3 million plus add ons, but he has made just one first-team appearance in a 5-3 Carabao Cup win at Cardiff City in August. He was also absent from the club’s under 21 side who beat RB Leipzig 4-1 in a Premier League International Cup tie on Tuesday night.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.