Peterborough United Deadline Day Summary

A deadline day during which no players headed for the London Road exit demonstrates a real statement of intent for the Posh hierarchy and should be regarded as a major success. It must have been tempting to take the 4million on offer for Toney however the damage this would have done to both morale amongst supporters and a strike force already low in depth following the sale of Matt Godden to Coventry City would have been almost irreparable. If it is also true that Posh turned down a seven figure sum for Maddison, a player with less than a year left of his contract, then this decision represents a financial gamble but one which is probably worth taking given the potential riches on offer for promotion and the high profile sales over recent years which should leave Posh with a bit of FFP flexibility.

Keeping hold of the best players at the club is by no means a guarantee of success. This season Portsmouth, Sunderland, Ipswich and Rotherham should all be strong contenders for promotion, alongside sides such as Lincoln, Burton, Oxford, Coventry, Blackpool and dare I say MK Dons who will all fancy their chances of mounting a push for the playoffs. But in holding onto Posh’s key assets McAnthony has given Darren Ferguson the best possible chance of success this season. And while there is still work to be done in terms of getting some players of the books and bringing in a player to add depth in attack, both Darragh and Barry Fry should be applauded for their work in the transfer market thus far. Both men have come in for criticism from certain sections of Posh fans who have become weary of Darragh’s outspoken nature and Posh’s failure to sustain a promotion push following promising starts. While perhaps the most frustrating occurrences at Posh lately has been the regular chopping and changing of managers without any clear consistently philosophy with regards to playing style and ethos leading to rather dramatic squad overhauls in the past two summers. But for the time being let’s give credit where credits due, Saturday was disappointing but yesterday should be seen as a win by Posh fans and help rejuvenate the sense of optimism sweeping through the club during the summer.