Peterborough United‘s fortunes have been tipped to worsen as they continue to prop up League One.
Darren Ferguson’s side have endured a dreadful opening few months of the season and currently sit rock bottom of the table. They have followed on from last season, where they underperformed with an 18th-placed finish despite back-to-back play-off appearances in the two years prior.
A busy summer saw no less than 16 new arrivals, although Posh did have to contend with the exits of first team regulars such as Kwame Poku, Ricky-Jade Jones, Hector Kyprianou and Emmanuel Fernandez. It took a while for the new look squad to gel, with a 1-1 draw against Bradford City their only point up until mid-September.
They appeared to turn a corner when they picked up they first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Wycombe Wanderers on September 13th. This was followed by an excellent 1-0 triumph at Plymouth Argyle a week later. However, reality hit when they were outclassed by Lincoln City, falling to a 3-0 defeat at the Weston Homes Stadium.
Peterborough Destined For League Two
This weekend’s clash against league leaders Stevenage was postponed due to international call-ups, which may be a welcome reprieve for the manager. Although expected, a 2-1 loss at Bolton Wanderers last Saturday can be put right when they travel to fellow strugglers Burton Albion next weekend.
Whatever the outcome at the Pirelli Stadium, Peterborough are still given little chance to turn things around though. Data experts Opta have calculated that relegation now looks a formality and have given them a whopping 62.96% chance of dropping into League Two.
That is over 10% higher than their nearest rivals, which is coincidentally the Brewers. Furthermore, Blackpool are tipped to finish just outside the relegation places, with the Tangerines given a 65.16% chance of survival.
Tipped to finish bottom of the table, Posh are expected to pick up 47 points, which is the same number that Burton achieved last year as they just avoided demotion to the fourth tier.
MacAnthony Losing Patience?
With his side in a precarious position, owner Darragh MacAnthony recently hit out at the squad following their heavy defeat against Lincoln. Speaking on his Hard Truth podcast, he said:
“It was d******. I watched the game and I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t expect that at all. It’s the biggest kick in the b******** I’ve had in a long time.
“I thought with this group we have a lot of experience, and we spent a lot of money. We brought in players we thought were promotion winners and everything else, I just didn’t see this coming.
“Fair play to Lincoln, good for them and whatever, but we shouldn’t be losing 3-0 at home to anyone in League One.
“They came out strategically, started the game differently where they came at us instead of trying to give us possession, and they started fast. I thought we’d start fast, and we just didn’t.
“The worst part of the game is the three chances we missed were probably easier than the ones they scored. They were three absolute sitters.
“The worst part was we come out second half, and they scored the second goal, and the players just had no belief.”
Writer’s View
It certainly doesn’t look good for Peterborough but they are still in a position where things can change in the blink of an eye. If they were to beat Burton next weekend, things would certainly look rosier and would give them a good chance of moving not just off the foot of the table, but out of the relegation places altogether.
Darren Ferguson will be hoping that the extended break will give his players the chance to reset and work on recapturing the kind of performances that saw them beat Wycombe and Plymouth. Although still early in the season, he knows that the trip to the Pirelli Stadium is a must-win.
