The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Finding a finisher looks like a top Posh priority
Managers say they don’t take any notice of league tables until 10 games have been played. Well we’re at that point now. Here’s what ALAN SWANN has learnt so far, what he believes Posh need to do to get into the top six and whether or not he believes they
1) Grant McCann didn’t think much of the attacking legacy left behind by previous Posh boss Graham Westley. He’s dumped Westley signings Aaron Williams and Jordan Nicholson. He is trying hard to get rid of Shaquile Coulthirst and Adil Nabi, two more players brought to the ABAX by Westley.
Posh sold a player in Jon Taylor who scored a hat-trick in 12 minutes in his last appearance for the club and another in Harry Beautyman who played with promise in the second-half of last season.
Posh remain well enough offforgoalscoringmidfielders (Gwion Edwards and Marcus Maddison have been exceptional andGeorgeMoncurwill bewhenplayedintherightposition) but a lack of depth in out-and-out strikers is a huge concern.
Lee Angol’s broken leg has not helped obviously, but that injury occured in July and yet Posh seem happy to get by with Tom Nichols, who has only scoredintwoLeagueOne matches, and a 17 year-old in Deon Moore.
It’s a gamble (as is assuming Angol will kick on from a promising first season) andso far it hasn’t paid off. 2) People who believe Tom Nichols is the next Luke James (an expensive young flop) are way off the mark.
Hismovementisexcellent, hetakesupbettergoal-scoring positions than Conor Washington often did, but clearly he needs a goal - even if it’s off hisbacksideasmanagerGrant McCann states elsewhere in this paper. 3) Is it possible to play George Moncur and Paul Taylor in the same side effectively? I’m not so sure as they both like to occupy the same space behind a striker, or pair of strikers.
Moncur scored twice and looked a class act against Port Vale, a game in which Taylor started on the bench.
Taylor has qualities, but if McCannwantstheballmoved quickly in and around the oppositionpenaltyarea, Moncur is the better bet. 4) Despite their forward failings, Posh remain the third highest scorers in League One with 17 goals from 10 games.
Defensively they’ve done okay (13 goals conceded) but clumsy penalty concessions, avoidableerrorsandredcards are hindering progress.
RyanTafazolli’s redcardon Tuesday was awful timing as he and Michael Bostwick will be a tough central defensive pairing in time.
McCann has not bought into claims that Ricardo Santos is a star of the future. His signing of Andrew Hughes suggests he has a good eye for a defender. 5) Fans need more than gentle persuasion and unlucky draws to return to the ABAX.
Average attendance at five home games in League One is a pitiful 4,711, the 15th highest in the division just ahead of Shrewsbury and over 1,000 behind Northampton. Winning and winning well at home will change this dispiriting fact. 6) Posh have a keeper who catches crosses and saves penalties. This is a vast improvement on recent times.