Peterborough United talking points: ‘A confidence-jolting return to the Championship, players operating out of position unnecessarily, expect to get pressed relentlesly, a couple of positives and one bad omen’

What a confidence-jolting welcome to the Championship for Peterborough United this was.
Mark Beevers of Peterborough United is shown a yellow card by match Referee Andy Woolmer at Luton. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.Mark Beevers of Peterborough United is shown a yellow card by match Referee Andy Woolmer at Luton. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.
Mark Beevers of Peterborough United is shown a yellow card by match Referee Andy Woolmer at Luton. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

Nothing much has changed in the eight years since Posh last competed at this level. Teams won’t necessarily cut you open with the quality of their football, but, given any encouragement, they will overpower you with strength, speed, size and fitness as Darren Ferguson’s side discovered at a packed Kenilworth Road yesterday (August 7).

Luton were far superior athletes which enabled them to dominate opponents who were feeble in comparison. Ferguson reckoned the 3-0 final scoreline was harsh which wasn’t an opinion shared by many, if any, neutrals.

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The Hatters also won the shot count 12-4, the on-target shot count 4-1 and the corner count 6-1. Posh edged possession according to the BBC, but most of that keepball took place in their own half, a lot of it in the defensive third, a tactic which proved fraught with danger for the second Saturday in a row. Posh can expect to be pressed relentlessly at the back this season. They will need to find an antidote quickly.

Ethan Hamilton of Peterborough United battles for possession with Amari'i Bell of Luton Town. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.Ethan Hamilton of Peterborough United battles for possession with Amari'i Bell of Luton Town. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.
Ethan Hamilton of Peterborough United battles for possession with Amari'i Bell of Luton Town. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

There’s a reason Posh have spent just five seasons out of 62 as a Football League club in the second tier. It’s tough. Everything has to be spot on from recruitment to selection to tactics to defensive organisation and to game management.

Other talking points...

1) There was a sense of unease in the Posh section of the press box when the teamsheets arrived. Playing without two stars of the League One season in Jack Taylor and Siriki Dembele was a bodyblow. The absence of Jack Marriott weakened the squad even further, but did it really mean players had to be employed in unnatural positions? Joe Tomlinson did better than many others, but he was a full-back operating far higher than he’d normally expect in a division three levels above anything he’d experienced before. Ferguson deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation, but left more natural left-sided attacking players Harrison Burrows and Joel Randall on the bench. The manager spoke about ‘looking after’ Randall post-match which was an interesting take on a player reportedly signed for a million pounds. And Ferguson was a reluctant employer of Josh Knight in midfield in the club’s League One days and yet here he was in the engine room in a Championship fixture. It’s not his position. It is Ethan Hamilton’s. The promised new midfielder can’t arrive soon enough.

2) Finding a playing style that will work at second tier level won’t be easy. It’s easy to criticise the pfaffing around at the back, but players in possession often go backwards as they don’t see forward options. Jorge Grant showed he can accept a pass under pressure which Taylor will emulate when he returns, but Joe Ward struggled to find space and offer assistance on the right and any longer pass from the back has to be deadly accurate as Jonson Clarke-Harris lacks mobility. It didn’t help that the big man’s lay-offs usually led to Luton getting the ball back. And playing the ball over the top is pointless as without Dembele there is no pace in the side. It was a surprise Ricky-Jade Jones wasn’t given a runout to at least try and stretch a Luton defence that was missing three first-choice centre-backs. Dembele would have fancied his chances against Kal Naismith, a midfielder playing at the heart of the defence, but instead the home back four enjoyed a stress free afternoon once goalkeeper Simon Sluga had rescued his own potentially calimatous error in the early stages.

Sir Alex Ferguson watches Luton v Posh. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.Sir Alex Ferguson watches Luton v Posh. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.
Sir Alex Ferguson watches Luton v Posh. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.
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3) The opening goal at Kenilworth Road had its origins in an attacking Posh throw-in not far from the corner flag. A few negative passes later Posh were under pressure in their own half and conceded a corner which was poorly defended (the foul Ferguson claimed was hard to spot) and headed in by imposing centre forward Elijah Adebayo. Ultra safe passes won’t cut it at this level. Scoring chances will be at premium. Possible entries into the opposition penalty area need to be grasped.

4) There were positives. Tomlinson didn’t look overawed once he settled into the match and one neat turn and accurate shot from the edge of the area was the first-half Posh highlight. And Randall looked excited rather than nervous about playing his first Football League match outside of League Two. He wears his socks like Jack Grealish and he showed flashes of the England star’s confidence. Tough to say he is Dembele’s natural replacement, but he should at least get a shot.

5) It’s only one match and Luton would have troubled better sides than Posh with this level of performance. Once they sorted the quality of their crossing out they became a huge attacking threat. The Hatters are apparently a low-budget side by Championship standards so need to get their recruitment spot on. They had a big turnover of players in the summer, but they’ve bought in players with pace and power - a must at this level. Posh were expert recruiters at League One level and they knew what to expect at the higher level so it will be interesting to see how their summer signings develop.

6) If you believe in omens stop reading now. In the two seasons Posh have managed to survive at Championship level they won their opening fixture, v Derby in 1992 and Crystal Palace in 2011. In their three relegation seasons they lost the first game, v Leicester in 1993, Derby in 2009 and v Leicester in 2012. As a counter argument Posh were pretty hopeless in their opening game at Accrington last season when they lost comfortably after playing without a couple of key men including Dembele.