Watching Peterborough United with their surprise formations, sterile football and disorganised defending is like having teeth pulled twice a week
I’d pay good money to listen to the current conversations between the Peterborough United chairman and his manager.
Darragh MacAnthony and Darren Ferguson can’t enjoy watching the decline and fall of their team any more than the rest of us. Given their pure unadulterated love of stylish, entertaining and all-out attacking football, sitting through performances in the last few months must be like having teeth pulled, sometimes twice a week.
Publicly they talk about ‘flying up the league’ and 'having enough to get out of trouble,’ but neither are fools. They surely must be watching players who refuse to learn from their mistakes, who continue to leak soft goals and who have lost their creativite spark, and fear, what had been unthinkable in the last 17 years, is now going to happen. League Two football for the first time since MacAnthony and Ferguson first teamed up to glorious effect looms larger by the week.
Nothing they have done in terms of recruitment, management and coaching is offering any hope. If Posh are not in the bottom four by the end of the month it will come as a pleasant surprise.
On Tuesday night at Charlton there were refereeing controversies and an admittedly plucky 30 minutes playing with 10 men to deflect from what had been an hour of sterile football with a full complement of players.
All hope now appears to rest with the return of Kwame Poku, but unless he can play at the back and in midfield as well as on the wing, it probably won’t be enough.
TALKING POINTS FROM CHARLTON 2, POSH 1…
1) A week ago the manager admitted he played the wrong formation from the start in a Vertu Trophy game against modest League Two opposition so to see three centre-backs and a pair of wing-backs starting again was a shock, even if three of the players had been changed. Ferguson had signposted his wish to play three central midfielders as well and presumably the plan was get the ball into Hector Kyprianou, Archie Collins and Mo Susoho who would then release two speedy strikers into space behind the home back four, all while the defence stayed compact and denied space to an in-form team. It failed on all fronts. Charlton players often popped up unmarked in dangerous areas, while Carl Johnston is obviously uncomfortable as a wing-back expected to get up in support of forwards. The midfielders hardly saw the ball and when they did too many passes were popped into the feet of Ricky-Jade Jones and Gustav Lindgren who were then overpowered by bigger, sharper players. As a result Posh often had an eight-man defence in front of recalled goalkeeper Jed Steer who still ended up as man of the match even with all that planned protection. It was dire. Posh actually defended better when circumstances forced them to change to four at the back. A red card and a four-match suspension for Manny Fernandez could make that the norm again, but who really knows right now?
2) Words are of course cheap. Before this game there was talk of playing with no fear and of having the ability to beat any team in the division, but a lack of confidence caused by a complete loss of form ensured there was plenty of scared play from players who are showing very little quality and who are not threatening to beat anyone, not convincingly at least. Posh were at their best this season when attacking from wide areas with pace and skill either side of a rapid centre forward, all fed by a creative number 10. It is still possible to play like that, even before Poku returns. Malik Mothersille was lively when he came on for the injured Lindgren in the first-half last night and should be starting. Cian Hayes started off well as Poku’s replacement before he was shuffled into positions that didn’t suit him. If Posh do go down please let it be with all guns blazing rather than what we are seeing right now. Designing teams to prevent goals rather than score them is not the Posh way, not since MacAnthony and Ferguson joined forces at least, and with the players available right now it’s not likely to succeed.
3) Charlton almost scored from their first corner and then did score the winner from one of their last. Is it really that difficult to defend them, or at least make things more difficult for opponents? It should be a coaching priority and it probably is with Ferguson highlighting on a couple of occasions before the game, but watching a big centre-half stoop unchallenged to direct a low outswinging ball into the corner of the net in the final minute was galling, yet not remotely surprising. I have no idea how much work is going into attacking corners though as Posh didn’t win any last night, not a single one.
4) If there was any hope to come from another dispiriting night it was the heart and fight shown when playing with 10 men. Posh found an equaliser from a penalty, which should also have led to a red card in my opinion and that of Ferguson (my go-to refereeing contact not so much, see point 6) and then defended their penalty area pretty well until the final moments. I’m enjoying Tayo Edun’s enthusiasm at left-back and Johnston is a decent one-on-one defender when played in his best position. Collins worked incredibly hard in front of the back four and Steer and Sam Hughes both made crucial far post clearances.
5) There were 714 Posh fans in South London last night supporting a team who are fifth from bottom and playing poorly. Kudos to them.
6) Ferguson claimed referee Lee Swabey told him he didn’t send Kayne Ramsay off when conceding the Posh penalty for a trip on Ricky-Jade Jones because he ‘had made a genuine attempt to play the ball’ which was nonsense given the video evidence. I often ask an emerging local referee to comment on controversial decisions and he had the following to say about this one. ”Technically at the point of the foul being committed, Ricky is running away from goal (to the side) and not directly at it. He’s also taken a touch that would mean he is not fully in control of the ball. There’s a CB on the right which from Swabey’s angle I assume he sees as being able to cover considering the distance to which Ricky is from goal. If he’s used the ‘play the ball’ comment, as an observer Im not sure I’d back him. But I think id be satisfied with the above. Manny however, shall enjoy a long rest again. Terrible challenge.’