In a season that has been nothing short of a disaster it is hard to pin-point just one area that has been the sole reason for our downfall, in truth there are numerous reasons why we have failed at this level. I realise this a subject that has been discu sed by every Peterborough United me sage board and news source going in recent weeks but after the latest 6-0 hammering against Reading I feel this subject is once again a poignant topic. Hopefully this will be the definitive guide to why we have struggled so badly this season.THE FIXTURE LISTPosh looked competitive in their opening fixtures against Derby and Sheffield Wednesday, two clubs that have underperformed this season but at that time most expected both clubs to be mid-table teams at worst, with the team supposedly adapting to a new level and keeping with tradition of Posh having a poor start to the season the start was encouraging not just to the fans but to the staff inside the club as well. This, intertwined with a 4-0 win against Wycombe in the League Cup, appeared to stave off the need for any more additions to the squad when, in hindsight, they were needed drastically and Posh should have collected more than 1 point in their opening two fixtures than they actually did.West Bromwich Albion were next to travel to London Road and the warning signs kicked in. After going 3-0 up inside the first half the promotion candidates let their foot of the gas and Peterborough formed a remarkable comeback to pull the score back to 3-2 it would have, and should have, been 3-3 but a terrible refereeing decision cost the Posh a point it would have probably been better if W.B.A had gone on to demolish Peterborough and just show the difference in quality between the top teams and the teams battling againstrelegation highlighting the need to strengthen, unfortunately they didnt.The month of
Steve Young Jersey August finished with a win against Ipswich in the Carling Cup and a draw against Crystal Palace both at London Road after a 2-0 away defeat to Preston. Posh sat 21st in the league but it was stre sed that the squad was still adapting and, after all, Posh always started the season poorly. Before the season started the opening five fixtures seemed tough but now, as the table shows the level of each teams ability, only West Brom sit in the top half of the table. This highlights that fact that a two point return from the opening five fixtures was simply not good enough, that number should have been trebled.TRANFERSAs already stated there was a real need to strengthen a squad that was only good enough for League One, once again in hindsight. The summer transfers made by, then manager, Darren Ferguson were Tommy Rowe, Toumani Diagouraga, Danny Mills, Romone McCrae and Lee Frecklington. Rowe had been impre sive in League One with Stockport but has failed to find his form at Peterborough and has been largely disappointing. Diagouraga was supposed to give the team bite in midfield but his nickname of twiggy should have sent some warnings that perhaps he wasnt the strongest of centre midfielders. Diagouraga was loaned out to Brentford even after appearing a handful of times for the first team at Peterborough and impre sing in some fixtures, the ex-Hereford midfielders main problem was his inconsistency, some weeks he would look good enough for the Premiership others he wouldnt have looked out of place in a pub team. Lee Frecklington has undoubted ability but at times dallies in po se sion and is too slow, Swansea have reportedly been interested in Frecklington though, but whether he could cope at a squad challenging for promotion at this level is up for debate. Danny Mills and Romone McCrae both were bought in as prospects for the future but are regularly placed amongst the substitutes nowadays as the squad has been dismantled. Danny Rose, who is now thumping volleys in from 25 yards in North London derbies, was also added to the squad but looked largely disinterested and offered little fight that Posh needed.Perhaps if Posh had landed some of the players that were linked with the club during the summer it would have been a different season. Josh Thompson, who was heavily rumoured with Peterborough is now starting in a Celtic side, albeit a faltering one, but still impre sive for a player of such a tender age. Charlie Adam was another player that was rumoured with a move to the club who has gone on to shine. The Scottish midfielder has run the show for Blackpool and powered Ian Holloways men into outsiders for a play-off space. Lee Barnard has also impre sed, once again, in League One and secured a move to Southampton who look likely to dominate the division next season if they dont manage to secure a play-off spot this time round.People cried out that the main problem was a lack of experience; personally I dont buy into all this, if you are good enough, you are good enough, its not nece sary to be 33. I would rather have a team of youthful exuberance than a bunch of old timers looking for one last pay-day. With a strong set of tactics we would have fared better unfortunately, despite creating a lot of chances with an attacking formation, Fergusons strategy often left us exposed at the back.January was another big month and the signings by Mark Cooper of Jake Livermore, Izale McLeod, Reuben Reid and Kerrea Gilbert all looked good ones but turned out to be pitiful with only Livermore looking of any use. Cooper, supposedly, didnt even want McLeod here and tried to terminate his loan, Charlton stood in the way saying they wanted him at Posh still, leaving the pacey striker in the odd position of no club wanting to use his services. An injury scuppered his chances of playing any first team football this season. Reid has returned to West Brom after performing only in flashes in his brief time at Posh. Kerrea Gilbert did anything but impre s in his spell at Peterborough, looking haple s in defence at times, and struggled in po se sion. Jake Livermore po se sed real quality, he has undoubted athletic ability and allowed Posh to win the midfield battle that they so often
Jimmie Ward Jersey struggled to even compete in on occasion.Not only were the players that joined the club generally not up to the standard needed but the transfers out were also made at the wrong time. Releasing Dean Keates was an error, with the transfer of Paul Coutts, the loan deal for Toumani Diagouraga being completed and Jake Livermores loan, unfortunately, being terminated it left Posh very short in this area and often players had to slot into centre midfield when they werent used to playing there, Dominic Green being the prime example. Allowing Shaun Batt to join Millwall on loan, with no re-call clause, also caused costly for Posh and short-term manager Jim Gannon was quick to vent his frustrations at the transfer policy at Peterborough in his time in charge.LACK OF SQUAD DEPTHDespite having a squad of over forty players there is an obvious lack of depth in the Posh squad. At the current moment in time the substitute bench is that of a Blue Square Premier team with most of it being filled with youngsters and players that, at the start of the season, would have been expected to never appear in a Posh shirt again. Add this to the fact that the wage budget is being eaten into by players such as Scott Rendell, Liam Hatch and Rene Howe all strikers and a problem is shown in the fact that Posh have just not invested in the right places. The strategy of signing the best young and hungry talent is always a risky one as very often a player will not reach their potential and it has really been highlighted this season.Even in the first team squad there is most certainly areas that are nowhere near Championship quality. The current midfield is that of a mid-table League One side at best, with it arguable that currently we dont po se s a midfielder of Championship standard. Craig Mackail-Smith and Aaron McLean, heroes in both promotion seasons, have also failed to prove themselves at this level. In the defence Morgan is the one player who could be confirmed as a Championship player. Zakuani, Bennett and Little have all been impre sive at times but there is still a debate as to whether they are good enough to cope. With Joe Lewis in goal The Posh have an outstanding keeper however that could play at a higher level arguably, and without the England U21 stopper a leaky defence would have conceded a lot more than they already have. Ultimately, Posh have 3 players with Boyd included that without argument could play at this level with another 6 that you could make the argument for. However, 9 players of Championship standard is simply not enough to keep any squad in the Championship.Gary Johnson has targeted a 20 man squad for next season, of quality rather than quality which seems a much better philosophy to have rather than one that fills a squad with as many players as po sible quantity rather than quality, Mr. Ferguson many of whom
Joe Staley Jersey where loaned out to lower league opposition.MANAGERIAL CHANGES INSTABILITYDarren Ferguson was brilliant for Peterborough through Leagues One and Two. No doubt about it. He formed a side that were closely bound together and the dre sing room atmosphere seemed fantastic and thiscreated the foundations of two excellent promotion seasons for The Posh. His gung-ho style would create a lot of chances but at this level teams seemed to know how to pick Posh off on the counter, the attacking full-backs would leave the defence very exposed and Ferguson was perhaps out of his depth, dare I say, his record at Preston isnt particularly impre sive either.To lose Ferguson was a blow. It was his team, which he had put together and the squad felt loyal to him; highlighted by Paul Coutts attitude with Darragh MacAnthony stating once Ferguson left we were never going to be able to keep hold of him. George Boyd has also said this was the major down-fall in Poshs season saying once Darren Ferguson left things got worse. However, the decision seemed inevitable if you are to believe his disloyalty that was talked about by MacAnthony in one of his infamous midnight statements on the eve of the Preston North End game, the club Ferguson left to join. Ferguson has denied any wrong doing but there is no smoke without fire. Whatever the reason the decision to sack Ferguson rattled the foundations for Poshs recent succe s.Arguably the biggest mistake of the season was appointing Mark Cooper. MacAnthony has admitted that it was a rushed decision and a mistake. Coopers style of football didnt suit Posh and Peterborough struggled to pick up any points under Coopers guidance. He looked out of place, and out of ideas, regularly looking to the skies and after the Sheffield Wednesday defeat, which effectively confirmed Poshs relegation, Cooper said that the team prepared for the game as if it was the World Cup Final when, in-fact, he had been to watch the opposition once, a common choice of managers.Cooper simply wasnt good enough for this level and when Posh needed a proven manager at this level it was the wrong option to go for a manager with no experience higher than the Blue Square Premier level with Kettering. The time and points lost under Coopers management in crucial fixtures, even though Posh started poorly under Ferguson, can
Mitch Wishnowsky Jersey be argued are the main reason that Peterborough went down.Jim Gannon was next up to try his luck in charge at Posh. He came on a short-term deal but after an encouraging start to management he was offered a longer term contract at Posh which he rejected. All the instability of managerial changes was simply too much for the players and it harmed any chance of safety that remained at that time. Gannon stated that Posh were relegated before mathematically proven, a style not chosen by many managers and this seemed to relieve the pre sure on the players who went on to pick up two victories and give themselves a chance of the great escape. However after the chants of we are staying up went up at Doncaster Posh were 1-0 up at the time the pre sure seemed to get to the team once again and the lead was relinquished with Doncaster going on to win the match 2-1.Jim Gannon then refused a longer contract for personal reasons rather than footballing ones. And this was the queue another managerial change at London Road with Gary Johnson coming in. With Gannon leaving the players lost any fight they had left in them and succumbed to a heavy 4-0 defeat to Scunthorpe in what turned out to be Gannons last game before Johnson took charge with Gannon stepping down allowing the club to prepare for next season.It can be argued that stability is the crucial
Frank Gore Jersey element of any teams succe s and this season has been anything but stable for The Posh. Look at any club exceeding expectations and there will be one common factor; stability. Manchester United have had Ferguson for over two decades, Wenger has reigned at Arsenal for over 12 years and Chelsea, who look set to win the Premier League, have had a similar squad for a number of years now. Everton continue to improve under Moyes, Fulham are outstanding under Roy Hodgson both fairly long standing managers at their teams. Any teams that have suffered instability generally have poor season; Portsmouth, Newcastle last season obviously, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Southend being prime examples. With so many changes behind the scenes this season was always going to be a struggle, even if we had the quality to compete.REFEREEING DECISIONSThis may appear to be clutching at straws; admittedly its not the major reason for Poshs downfall but it hasnt helped. Early in the season everything seemed to go against The Posh, as previously stated if it wasnt for some brilliant amateur dramatics from Scott Carson Peterborough would have equalised, coming back from 3-0 down, against West Brom and this may have provided the team some much needed momentum and confidence in their opening few Championship games.Shaun Batt was called offside against Queens Park Rangers when he was about 2 yards behind the defender when the shot, that rebounded to him, came in if the last minute strike had counted it would have been enough to secure a 2-1 win for Peterborough and allow them to get their first win on their travels, something Peterborough struggled with all season. There are no doubt numerous more decisions like this that have cost The Posh but these are the two that still stick out in my mind.There seems to be a big club bias amongst many referees at all levels in English football. This may be a sub-conscience thing but it is frustrating for fans of smaller clubs. Why video technology hasnt been introduced yet, when it is available, is beyond me, anything that helps a referee, who has a tough job, and creates a fair result, not one decided on a bad refereeing decision surely is a step forward for football?WELL A SEASON TO FORGET, HEY?This article shows that the season has been a result of numerous errors not just one. It will divide fans opinion as to what is the major contributor in Peterboroughs downfall. The instability? The wrong managerial appointments? Not signing the right players in the transfer market? Bad luck perhaps? Or just simply not enough quality in the team? Whatever the reason it has been anything but a season to remember. At least with two games left in the season it cant get any worse, can it?
The Wall