A Posh slump in form isn’t all Fergie’s fault

Posh form dips prompting the social media critics to wake up and start demanding the head of the manager.

I’ve heard it all before and so has Darren Ferguson. It won’t change anything which means all the angry hand-wringing is a colossal waste of time.

But some of the stuff aimed at him in the last few days is worthy of a response...

He has wasted big money on some poor players.

It might come as a surprise to some, but the manager has no say in a) the size of a transfer fee or b) a player’s wages.

But he recommends who Posh sign.

This is true, but who wouldn’t have wanted Sammie Szmodics and Reece Brown to return after their efforts last season? And Jonson Clarke-Harris can’t yet be dismissed as a failure. Hell, I even upgraded my predicted Posh finish in League One from fourth to second after Szmodics signed.

The current form of Szmodics has just emphasised how good Ivan Toney was last season. Better even than most of us who constantly raved about him realised. Signing Szmodics was a no-brainer and Ferguson must be as baffled by his poor form as the player himself and the fans. Portsmouth and Sunderland wanted him as well. It’s too soon to write him off.

Mo Eisa’s signing I will give you looks an error of judgement, unless Tuesday night’s goal double re-starts his Posh career. But if we’re blaming Ferguson for Eisa, we have to praise him for getting Jack Taylor to the club.

He can’t improve players.

Utter nonsense. Just ask the Holy Trinity what influence Ferguson had on their careers.

And just look at the difference in Toney’s form under the manager who signed him compared to the manager who inherited him. Toney played well for Steve Evans, but he was far superior under Ferguson.

Joe Ward is another who has benefitted greatly from Ferguson’s coaching.

He can’t set a team up well enough.

Exhibit A: From January onwards when Ferguson devised a system that sent Posh charging towards promotion and helped Toney win a big move making Posh a fortune in the process. It also delivered the best form of the season from Mark Beevers and Dan Butler.

Exhibit B: Moving Siriki Dembele from the wing to a more central forward position was a stroke of genius.

Bringing the midfield diamond back at the weekend was a huge error though. I doubt it will be repeated.

He’s been here too long.

He hasn’t been back two years yet. Nine months ago he looked set to lead Posh back up to the Championship. Don’t blame the manager for the pandemic and the lily-livered response to it from the EFL and the UK Government.

Even after taking over a set of players unsuited to his preferred style of play midway through the previous season Posh only missed out on the play-offs on the final day.

And currently Posh are fifth, level on points with third place despite losing one of the greatest players in the club’s history.

Oh, and it wasn’t the manager’s decision to sell him.