Whenever pre-season predictions are made prior to a League One season, Peterborough are often there or thereabouts in the reckoning. They’ve faced a number of false dawns since their last season at Championship level back in 2013, but with an old favourite back at the helm, it begs the question: 8 years on from their last triumph in this division, will Darragh MacAnthony and Darren Ferguson be able to bring back the good times to London Road once again?
The club’s excellent recruitment strategy is often cited as one of the reasons why Posh are typically fancied for promotion. With the blueprint of ‘the Peterborough way’ entailing; buying the brightest young talent around, lining them up in an expansive style which often leads to their attacking players posting impressive goal and assist numbers, and then finally selling those players on for a tidy profit.
Unlike last season though – where they chose to offload the likes of Jack Marriott, Gwion Edwards and Jack Baldwin for a combined total of close to £4m – Peterborough are yet to part with any of their prize assets this summer, with the exception of Ryan Tafazolli, who left the club upon the expiration of his contract to pursue Championship football at Hull.
It appears that MacAnthony could be knocking back bids in an effort to keep his squad intact, which would make for exciting news for Posh fans, as he looks to make a real go at not only promotion this year, but stabilising as a Championship club in the future.
Alongside keeping their best players, Posh have managed to make a number of eye-catching additions already this summer. With perhaps the most impressive deal being capturing Bristol City’s Mo Eisa for a fee that MacAnthony has confirmed eclipses the £1.25m they paid for Britt Assombalonga in 2013.
Eisa was tipped by many to be a big hit at Ashton Gate last season, after arriving for a fee close to £1,000,000 from League Two Cheltenham, however he found game time extremely hard to come by at City and only played a total of 22 Championship minutes for them.
The reason why Lee Johnson was so hesitant to hand Eisa game time last season remains unclear, but a move to London Road offers him a fresh start. If the Sudan born striker can manage to recapture some of his 17/18 form – where he scored 23 goals for a struggling Cheltenham side – then he could well be a contender for the League One Golden Boot.
Goalkeeper proved to be a problem position for Posh last season, with neither Aaron Chapman nor Connor O’Malley really impressing. That problem should be solved however with the signing of talented young keeper Christy Pym, from Exeter.
Pym joins on a free from The Grecians, after making 166 appearances in the six years since he graduated from the same St James’ Park academy that has produced the likes of Ethan Ampadu, Matt Grimes and Ollie Watkins in recent years.
The 24 year old keeper will likely be marshalling two new signings in front of him in the shape of centre backs Mark Beevers and Frankie Kent, who join from Bolton and Colchester respectively.
Beevers has had a torrid last couple of years at Bolton, with concerns over off the field matters surely overriding thoughts of performances on the field and he’ll be hoping for a more comfortable time after signing for Posh this summer.
Kent and Beevers have the potential to form one of the best centre back partnerships in the league, as they possess the attributes to compliment each other perfectly.
Kent, at the age of 23, certainly has youth on his side and has also demonstrated accomplished ability at bringing the ball out from the back, whereas 29 year old Beevers brings experience, as well as communication skills and a no-nonsense style that could be the perfect match for Kent.
If Ferguson returning to the hotseat at London Road had a feel of ‘getting the band back together’ about it, then the signing of George Boyd certainly continues to affirm that theme.
A big favourite with the fans during his previous spell at the club, Boyd’s return was met with great optimism by the Posh faithful. Now 33, the ex-Burnley winger will be looking to have a final swansong back at the club where he produced arguably the best football of his career.
In stark contrast to the signing of the experienced Boyd, is the arrival of 18 year old attacking midfielder, Serhat Tasdemir. An Azerbaijan U19 international, Tasdemir certainly has a lot of potential, but the club may be looking for him to play a part this season after forking out a substantial six figure fee to prize him away from National League side AFC Fylde.
With all the focus on this summer’s new signings, it should also be noted that Posh will need an improvement from some of last year’s signings if they’re going to be in promotion contention come May.
Matt Godden and Siriki Dembele are two that did enough last term to justify keeping the faith in them for this upcoming season. But both could do with improving their goal contributions tally, especially in a system that is tailor made for attackers such as themselves.
On the other hand, two players who excelled last season and will be crucial for Posh to keep hold of are Marcus Maddison and Ivan Toney. Both have been linked with moves away this summer but MacAnthony has been particularly bullish that them leaving won’t be an option.
And It’s not hard to see why MacAnthony is so keen to keep hold of the duo, with the pair registering a staggering 64 goal contributions between them. (Maddison 10G, 23A and Toney 23G, 8A)
On paper the attacking options at Ferguson’s disposal are on par if not better than the rest of the division’s and you could easily see them finishing as the league’s top scorers.However, a devastating attack can bring about its own problems and you wonder how well Posh will do defensively this season.
Another concern for me would be over the man in the dugout. I believe there’s a danger that MacAnthony let his heart rule his head by handing the Scot a three year deal back in March. Posh were in the playoff places when Steve Evans left the club and the fact that they missed out on 6th place should have set alarm bells ringing at London Road.
In March, MacAnthony was keen to insist that Ferguson’s reappointment was not about current form but instead about “the long term aspirations of the football club”and the Peterborough faithful will certainly be hoping that he’s made the correct call, otherwise a fair amount of money and smart recruitment might well go to waste.
Though, if Ferguson gets it right and manages to blend an exceptional array of attacking talent with a sturdy defence then I would not be at all surprised to see Posh as automatic promotion contenders this season.
“Posh were in the playoff places when Steve Evans left the club and the fact that they missed out on 6th place should have set alarm bells ringing at London Road.”
There is absolutely no reason alarm bells should ring. DF took over from Evans with the team full of tall, athletic journeymen footballers, playing a horrible long-ball style, and some unable to adapt to the way Darren wanted them to play – hence the departures at the end of last season. DM’s eye was on the future when he brought back Darren Ferguson, who has now assembled a squad with the right mix of youth and experience, players comfortable on the ball, playing out from the back with pace and skill on the wings, and upfront, plus players such as Boyd able to dictate play in midfield. There is no guarantee Posh will be promoted, but it will not be for the want of trying – an exciting season ahead for Posh fans