Peterborough United 1 – 3 Fleetwood Town
It was a disappointing opening day at London Road for Posh
fans as their side succumbed to a demoralising 3-1 defeat to Fleetwood Town.
Darren Ferguson fielded 7 new signings and ditched the midfield diamond he has
become synonymous with for a flat 4-4-2. A number of Steve Evans signing have
been either side-lined or sold as Fergie continues to transition the side from the
past paced direct playing style under Evans to a more considered, short passing
possession based football. It is fair to say that despite the new signings
aimed at evolving the squad further to Fergie’s methodology more work is
required to get this team ticking. But where did it all go wrong?
Possession not nine tenths of the law for Posh
BBC Sport clocked Posh as having 74% possession. However,
this only translated into 3 shots on target and just three meaningful chances
created with a first half Dembele strike, the goal and a late Mo Eisa header
which was sent well wide being Posh’s only presentable chances. Despite
surrendering near total possession of the ball, aside from one wicked free kick
delivery, the overriding impression watching on was that Fleetwood were always
in near control of the game. Their performance was reminiscent of the way Diego
Simeone’s Athletico can see almost none of the ball but still seemingly have
the opposing side exactly where they want them. Happy for posh to have the ball
outside their own defensive third they sat deep and overloaded the midfield areas
comfortable to trust in their own defensive organisation, something Posh are
seemingly lacking. Despite an abundance of attacking talent Posh barely
threatened to break down this stubborn resistance. It is true that scoring two
early goals (more on that later) allowed Fleetwood to focus solely on their
defensive side of the game rarely venturing forward in anger, none the less the
pattern of this match was unerringly familiar for those still having nightmares
about the football played during the back end of Ferguson’s second spell in
charge.
Despite dominating possession the vast majority of this was
either in their own half or in and around the half way line. Posh’s passing
lacked the speed and precision required to ever ask any serious questions of
Fleetwood or drawer them out of position. As noted in the match report a series
of controlled passes between the back four and deep lying central midfield
pairing would frequently yield little joy and resulted in a frustrated and
rather desperate long ball forward. Admittedly, it was pleasing to see Posh try
to control possession but there is still work to be done for Posh to be able to
translate this dominance of the ball into goals and wins.
Nothing in between the lines
If playing a game of Darren Ferguson post-match interview
bingo one sure fire bet would be to include a comment about breaking teams down
by playing in between the lines. Quite frankly on Saturday Posh offered nothing
in this area. Boyd and Woodyard played deep in possession with Woodyard often
the higher of the two. Woodyard is a player with a number of positive combative
traits but quality on the ball and slick passing is not one of them. Up top
neither Toney nor Eisa seemed capable nor willing to continuously drop deeper
to receive the ball, although Toney probably has the attributes to do so as
demonstrated with one good control and pass with his back to goal to set up
Dembele. This resulted in almost all of Peterborough’s play taking place in
front of Fleetwood’s mass ranks or attempting unsuccessfully to go over them.
Moving forward Posh clearly need to improve their ability to
play either round or through the opposition midfield. An obvious solution would
be for Boyd, should he continue to play centrally, to take up a higher position
in the midfield area and looking for pockets of space between the opposition
midfield and defence, something fans were crying out for on Saturday. This
would present a couple of issues however. There is a clear logic behind playing
Boyd in a more withdrawn position. Boyd’s range of passing from a deep midfield
role looked excellent, and he showed enough to suggest he could grow into a
role as he looked comfortable collecting the ball from the back four and spreading
play. Were he to play higher this would place an onus on either Woodyard, Kent
or Beevers to be able to supply him with a pass through the lines. Woodyard never
looked comfortable last season when receiving the ball from the back four at
the base of a midfield diamond. Beevers had a nightmare debut and will surely
improve given his experience at this level and higher, but he is not a player renowned
for his quality in possession and his passing on Saturday was wayward. Kent
comes with a reputation as a centre back comfortable in possession and despite
his costly error in the build up to the third goal he did look exactly that.
Although there was little evidence of whether he possesses the ability to carry
the ball out of defence or play more adventurous passes through the lines. Posh
are not blessed with an abundance of options in central midfield. Louis Reed is
a player who is comfortable both dribbling and passing the ball forward,
however has failed to establish himself as a regular starter and you could say
similar about Callum Cooke if he is not sold. New signing Serhat Tasdemir
should bring quality on the ball and creativity but pairing him in a central
midfield position alongside Boyd would surely leave Posh too lightweight at the
back. The resigning of Josh Knight provides one potential solution. He is a
player comfortable is possession and could act as the deeper of the two in the
midfield area allowing Boyd to roam further forwards. He does however not possess
the same range and quality of passing as Boyd, and should Peterborough’s woes at
the back not be resolved he may be required to fill in in central defence.
The clear and obvious inability for posh to transfer
possession from back to front, Fergie’s obsession with passing football and
breaking lines alongside the recent sale of Matt Godden and a suggestion
Ferguson is not completely set on a 2 up front formation may therefore lead to
a tactical reshuffling.
Potential Change of Formation
There are probably three potential routes Ferguson could
take here. Although the fullbacks were disappointing on Saturday and Posh
struggled defensively it is highly unlikely Ferguson will switch to a three man
defence given his track record of preferring a back four and placing an
emphasis on signing full backs this summer. This therefore leaves the likely
changes, if any are made, being a switch to a three man midfield, 2 attacking
wide players and a lone central striker in a 4-3-3/4-5-1, a 4-2-3-1 with a 10
and two attacking wide players operating in between 2 deep lying central
midfield players and a lone central striker, and, (sigh) a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond.
Let us start by analysing the diamond, a formation much
maligned by Posh fans given both Ferguson’s, and successor McCann’s, insistence
of operating the formation despite clear deficiencies in the players ability to
execute the formation. The biggest pro, in theory, is that it allows Posh to
get both their expensively purchased strikers, Eisa and Toney on the pitch at
the same time. Despite both coming at high price tags, roughly a combined £2m,
the jury is out as to whether they can operate effectively as a pairing. On
Saturday there was zero evidence of chemistry between the two. And whilst they
did bag a number of goals in preseason this must be put on the context of A)
being against primarily lower league opposition and B) IT WAS PRESEASON (anyone
remember Chris Kanu?). Whether the focus should be on getting both Eisa and
Toney on the pitch together, or finding a formation so that two from Ward,
Maddison and Dembele can operate in more attacking positions, potentially
alongside the additional creativity of Boyd or Tasdemir is that for up for
debate and something which will be considered more later. The only other case
that can be put forward for the formation is that A) it is a formation Ferguson
knows well and should therefore be comfortable coaching and B) at times in
previous Ferguson reigns Posh have executed the formation with breath-taking
results, think second leg of the playoff semi-final against MK Dons.
That being said a move to the diamond formation would surely
be a step backwards. Despite some stellar performances in the formation there
were many more derisory ones. In the formation Posh often looked slow, ponderous
and lacking width, key issues on Saturday which such a switch would fail to
address. Frequently it looked as though the formation did not suit the players
at the manager’s disposal and with Maddison and Dembele, arguably Posh’s two
must dangerous and exciting players, most comfortable on the wing and no
obvious contender to play at the base of the diamond it most certainly does not
suit the players currently in the first team squad. The formation looked best
when Posh had attacking full backs such as Mark Little and Tommy Rowe to
provide some much needed width and currently both Mason and Buttler would have
to do a lot of persuading to prove they can fulfil such a task.
Thus, this brings me to the case I will put forward to Posh
switching to a formation with an emphasis on two attacking wide players
operating high up the pitch. Dembele was the sponsors, and surely most other
peoples, man of the match on Saturday although admittedly the competition for
the award was hardly stiff. He is also a terrific dribbler and full of tricks.
Unfortunately the majority of his dribbling took place in the midfield third of
the pitch, which was too deep for it to regularly trouble the Fleetwood
defence. Dembele has the skillset to trouble any defence at this level,
although Posh must found a way to allow Dembele to employ that skillset higher
up the pitch. With, in my opinion, Dembele being a guaranteed starter on one
flank the opposite side could be filled by one of Maddison, Ward, Cooper or
Boyd. Maddison would be the obvious choice should Posh choose to employ a 4-3-3
formation. His talent at this level is immense as proven once again by his
delivery from the free kick for Posh’s goal. In a 4-3-3 the extra midfielder
would lighten his defensive workload, something he is hardly famed for,
allowing him greater freedom to roam and create. A 4-3-3 would also allow Ward,
a player you want to start as many games as possible given his unbelievable
levels of consistency, to operate on the right hand side of a midfield three
where his work rate and stamina should see him excel in a box to box role. Boyd
would also be a natural fit for the left hand side of the midfield three. The
extra man in midfield would allow him to both drop deep to receive the ball
from the back four and also drift forward to find pockets of space higher up
the pitch. Having two more technically gifted players on either side of the
midfield should enable Woodyard to utilise his obvious tenacity and ball
winning capabilities (as demonstrated in the build up to Dembele’s first half
chance) whilst releasing him of any of the creative burden.
Should Ferguson decide he wants to release George Boyd’s
skillset higher up the pitch he could surely fulfil the number 10 role in a
4-2-3-1 formation. Such a switch would likely see Ward and Maddison competing
to play on the opposite wing to Dembele. In the deep lying roles Woodyard’s
defensive skillset could be complemented by the dribbling and passing of Louis
Reed bringing balance to the deep lying midfield roles. The execution of this
formation would largely revolve around how Ferguson views the role of George
Boyd, a player in whom he clearly has great faith. Boyd was never a player
blessed with great pace so his advancing years should not have done too much to
dampen his attacking threat. Were Ferguson to however see him as a player whose
attacking skillset was on the wane and therefore more suited to play in a deep
lying role then the presence of three attacking midfield players ahead of him
should complement Boyd’s obvious vision and range of passing with Tasdemir the
likely candidate to take up the number 10 role.
A switch to either the 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation would
surely aide Posh’s attempts to play slick passing football, dominate possession
and break down deep lying defences. Such a switch would both allow them greater
control of, and more options in, the midfield third whilst it should also suit
the talents of the players at Ferguson’s disposal. The obvious drawback of such
a switch would be that it would mean leaving one of Posh’s two expensively
assembled strikers on the bench (plus presumably whoever is brought in to
replace Matt Godden). Such a decision would also likely ruffle a few feathers
amongst the Peterborough money men who have spent around £2m to deliver to
Peterborough what they clearly believe is a fearsome attacking duo. And whilst
Toney’s physical presence, ability to score and run in behind while also
linking play suggests he has the potential to fulfil the lone striker role, it
is yet to be seen whether such a position would suit Mo Eisa. Leaving Eisa on
the bench this early in the season after taking such an expensive gamble on him
in the summer would, despite his largely anonymous debut, be a huge call for
Darren Ferguson to make, even if he has suggested he would be willing to take
such a decision. It should also be stressed that this was one match, and one
should not generally rush to make wholesale changes after one performance no
matter how bad. I would still however argue that a 4-4-2 formation does not
maximise the talent Posh have at their disposal and the recent sale of Matt
Godden makes a switch to a one up front formation more likely especially if he
were not to be replaced.
Issues at the back
Where to start on this on? Surely, SURELY the defence will
approve after shipping three goals to a Fleetwood side who showed little
attacking intent. All three goals were, to a large extent, of Peterborough’s
own making and none of the new look back five looked completely assured in
their role.
Pym was not blameless for any of the three goals. Despite looking
composed in possession and having generally positive distribution it was his
misplaced clip to the right wing which set in motion the events that led to the
first Fleetwood goal whilst a more commanding goalkeeper would surely have
tried to influence a corner delivered inside the six yard box. Whilst it must
be accepted that if Posh are to try to play out from the back and place an
emphasis on Pym contributing to this then mistakes will occasionally occur in
regards to distribution, his unwillingness to come for the cross would probably
be of greater concern. If Pym is not going to be an aerial presence with balls
into the area then it will place a greater emphasis on the centre backs dominating
in the air. One would have presumed that Beevers was signed to excel in this
area of the game however the ease with which he was beaten to the ball for the
first goal was concerning. The second goal can probably be chalked up to
miscommunication between Pym and Beevers. Yes Pym was caught out of position
however he was probably anticipating a header back from Beevers and certainly
takes much less of the blame than the Posh centre half. The third goal is
probably where he must take the highest proportion of fault. Admittedly the
free kick was well struck, however it was a long way from goal and not
particularly close to the corner. Pym has demonstrating himself to be an accomplished
shot stopper in pre-season however on this occasion he positioned himself too
far to the left of his goal and should have taken a step or two to address this
when it became apparent the kick would be taken left footed with Andrew likely
to favour the right hand corner of Pym’s goal given the such an angle would
give him to curl the ball round the wall. The number one jersey was one which
neither O’Malley nor Chapman managed to nail down last season and Pym has
enough positive attributes at this level to suggest he should grow into the
role as the season progresses.
Alongside the goalkeeping situation the fullback area was
one where no player ever truly convinced last season. In Mason and Buttler
Darren Ferguson would have hoped he has signed two players who would offer both
defensive solidity and contribute to the attacking threat of the team. Mason
showed little intent to go forward in possession while Buttler, who made
reputation for dashing up and down left flank at Newport, delivered poorly in
the first half and then played more centrally in the second. A lack of dynamism
from both fullbacks left Posh desperately lacking width and a threat out wide,
more on that below. Defensively Mason looked less convincing than Buttler,
frailties which were amplified by his conceding the corner for the first goal
and the free kick for the third. Both have work to do to prove they are the
solution to Posh’s long standing issues at fullback.
In central defence Frankie Kent did showed signs of promise.
He looked generally confident in possession without doing anything extravagant or
complex although his willingness to look for a forward pass should increase as
his confidence builds following more game and with hopefully having more options
in front of him. He however demonstrated his tendency to make telling errors in
his rather comical failure to deal with an aerial ball suggesting Posh may have
a player in a similar ilk to that of former Posh player Jack Baldwin. Next to
him Beevers had a debut to forget. Bullied for the first goal then caught
unawares of the threat from his left hand side for the second his defending
will surely improve going forwards. He was a hugely popular player at Bolton
given his faultless commitment to what was a seemingly lost cause last season.
Potentially of more concern was just how uncomfortable he looked on the ball
often passing erratically when under little pressure. Whether Beevers will be
able to adapt from the direct playing style at Bolton to the style of football
that Darren Ferguson wishes to employ will be a question to be watched as the
season progresses.
Rather than any individual performance the most disconcerting
element of the defensive performance was a collective inability to cope with
long balls forward. All three Fleetwood goals originated from an inability to
deal with aerial balls knocked forwards from relatively deep positions, while
Fleetwood’s only other real chance of note came from a long ball played down
Posh’s right flank. This is an area which must be addressed as a priority.
Allowing opposing team’s chances from relatively innocuous balls forwards is a
trait Posh must stamp out if they are to be successful this season.
Lack of Width
One of the key reasons Posh struggled to break down a
compact Fleetwood side stemmed from a lack of natural width necessary to
stretch an organised opposition. With Dembele being a right footed player on
the left and keen to cut inside there will be an onus on Buttler to overlap and
offer both width and quality deliveries from the left. In the first half Buttler
did take up some promising positions but delivered poorly, while in the second
he played far more centrally in possession, almost as an auxiliary deep lying midfielder,
a move that was presumably put in place to counteract Fleetwood’s overload in
the midfield area and provide even greater control/stop counter attacks but which
also further exacerbated the lack of width on show.
On the right hand side in the first half Joe Ward was a
willing runner as always but lacked support from Mason who demonstrated am
surprising lack of desire to get forward. And while the arrival of Maddison
brought greater threat of a meaningful final ball and creativity, it left Posh
with two inverted wide players. Maddison is a player whose defining quality is
his delivery from wide areas, and in Ivan Toney Posh have a player who should thrive
on his deliveries. Since the arrival of Dembele however he has predominantly
operated either on the right hand side or centrally behind a main striker. In
both positions he looks far less of an attacking threat and on Saturday it was
too easy for Fleetwood defenders to marshal him given their knowledge of his desire
to cut inside to use his left foot. Finding a balance between allowing Dembele
freedom to roam and cut in while also getting Maddison into dangerous crossing
positions will be a key dynamic to Posh’s attacking threat this season. A
switch to a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 should help in this regard providing greater cover
in midfield areas allowing the full backs license to get forward, occupy
opposition players and support attacks while also providing greater license for
players such as Dembele, Ward and Maddison to take up dangerous positions
higher up the pitch.
