The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Posh fans can still enjoy a season in League One
The arrival of Grant McCann at the Weston Homes Stadium, coupled with some improved performances and results has increased optimism among some fans that Posh could pull off a miraculous escape.
The reality though is that Posh face a tough run-in, in which they would need to overcome a seven-point gap to safety and a much worse goal difference with only eight games to go.
This has got many fans already mentally preparing for the worst, but would it really be so bad?
Ben Jones has found some reasons to be positive about another season in League One.
MORE ENJOYABLE FOOTBALL
No one likes watching Posh struggle and at times this season, the football has been hard to watch.
The Championship has been a disappointment in that it is not full of technically gifted footballers, but instead plenty of big powerful units, who have often enjoyed the freedom to dominate afforded to them by a naive Posh side.
Posh average just 8.6 shots per Championship match, the lowest in the league and have scored just 32 goals in 38 games. A return to League One could mark the return of Posh’s famed free scoring style and they would certainly see a lot more of the ball in attacking positions.
GUARANTEED 12 POINTS
Cambridge are almost certain to retain their League One status and, despite only being able to score set pieces, Northampton are going well in their bid to get back into League One.
If this were to happen, Posh would be able to maintain their dominance over their local rivals.
They are on a six-game unbeaten league run against Cambridge dating back to 1998. Posh have not lost any of their last eight league games against Northampton, going back to 2006.
To find when Cambridge last finished above Posh, you have to go all the way back to the 1999-2000 season, while Northampton have not bested Posh in the pyramid since the 2007-08 campaign.
EMERGENCE OF YOUNG PLAYERS
It’s arguable that Posh don’t need to be in League One for this to happen given the impact that Ronnie Edwards, Harrison Burrows and RickyJade Jones have had this season.
However, these players would have more freedom to express themselves at a slightly lower level of football and with that in mind, fans could also expect to see more of the likes of Joe Taylor, Kwame Poku, Joel Randall (if he can get fit), Joe Tomlinson and other young prospects currently in the club’s Category Two academy.
LOCAL GAMES
All fans love a derby and with the potential of renewing rivalries with Cambridge in particular, which has not happened in a league match since 2001, many Posh will be excited at the prospect of a proper derby once again. There is a whole generation of Posh fans who have never experienced a proper Cambridgeshire derby, EFL Trophy games don’t count.
Along with that one, there could also be short trips to exciting matches against Northampton, Ipswich, Milton Keynes and Lincoln. If Doncaster
could stay up at Fleetwood’s expense, that would be marvellous.
BETTER PRICES
This is another reason Fleetwood need to go but, on the whole, football should be more affordable in League One.
QPR charged Posh fans an extortionate £33 for the courtesy of watching Posh’s victory last time out. Bournemouth also charged Posh fans £30.
£20 is and always should be plenty. Posh themselves are guilty of breaching this, but maybe prices will see a slight decrease with the drop, that could just be wishful thinking though.
BIG GAMES
It is not the Championship, where the big games are week in, week out, but League One is still an exciting league. The race for promotion is not to be missed this season. Fifth down to ninth are separated by just five points and don’t rule out Portsmouth and Bolton making late charges for the play-off spots.
Being in League One would still mean potential games against big clubs such as Derby, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton and trips to some historic grounds.
NEW GROUNDS
If you are into your groundhopping then next season will provide a fresh opportunity to tick off some new stadia.
Forest Green will almost certainly win League Two and this would set up a first ever meeting with Posh. Sutton United are also in the play-off hunt and could win an impressive promotion in their first ever Football League season.
The two sides have met just once before, in the 1987 FA Cup second round. Sutton, then of the Conference, dumped Division 4 Posh out of the cup with a 3-1 win at London Road.
Posh’s promotion-winning campaign was done almost exclusively in front of empty stands too, so it would be a chance to experience what fans missed out on while following the team via streaming.
WEMBLEY?
This is probably the reason to be cheerful that will spark the most debate, but relegation would see Posh readmitted to the EFL Trophy- now known as the Papa John’s Trophy, which does the once great competition no favours.
The competition is a shell of its former self with the addition of an underwhelming group stage, that has succeeded
only in creating a number of dead rubbers games in a competition that has already been disrespected by the addition of Premier League youth sides and as a result, has never recovered from the initial negative reaction of fans, that drove attendance figures right down.
Having said all of that though, it still serves as the best opportunity Posh have of making to it to Wembley and lifting silverware. The victory in the 2014 final against Chesterfield was special and the chance for future days like that should not be dismissed so easily.
The competition also represents the chance to blood younger players, which is now so important to the club.
GRANT MCCANN’S TEAM
Next season will be the first opportunity to properly see Grant McCann’s team in action.
McCann has undoubtedly made an impact in his seven games in change and while keeping the team in the Championship could be beyond him, he has already done the seemingly impossible of sorting out the away form.
With the way Posh were playing on the road under Darren Ferguson, four points
from two games seems scarcely believable. They had taken just four points from 17 games under Ferguson and conceded 45 goals in the process.
Posh have been willing to back McCann, allowing him to bring in his assistant Cliff Byrne and now a new coach in Dale Tonge. The same backing in the transfer market will allow the boss to put together his own team, an exciting prospect given that McCann’s last time in League One ended with his side becoming champions.
NO WINTER BREAK
Winter football is what makes English football great. Due to FIFA’s decision to award the 2022 World Cup to a country in which you can’t actually play football in the summer, a decision I am sure the committee members came to completely free of persuasion, that is under threat.
The dates of the tournament mean that England will be forced to adopt a winter break, which will be implemented in both the Premier League and the Championship. The Championship’s break will run between November 13 and December 9.
What would we do with ourselves for almost a month without watching Posh?