Peterborough Utd v Birmingham City Preview

As Mike is otherwise engaged, the preview has fallen with Russ and I. Russ has done the match bit and I’ve added a Q&A part with John Verrall of the Standing on the Glebe blog.

I have answered some questions for him which can be found here. John’s answers are below.

Anyway over to Russ.

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Cheers Kev, it is an absolute pleasure to be standing in for Mike, particularly as I am still basking in the afterglow of yesterday’s excellent 3-0 victory over Blackpool.  Interestingly, though I didn’t see the altercation up close (bloomin’ BBC not showing the Football League show again! Grrr…) Chris Hughton has suggested Barry Ferguson deserved his marching orders, and Ian Holloway has suggested he didn’t.  It’s interesting as both managers are usually spot on in my opinion.  I’ll take Chris’s side, though, and see what the FA make of Holloway’s appeal.  From my spot on the Garrison Lane Stand (Paddock/Main Stand/Family Stand/Old Stand, whatever) it was just amusing, as one minute we’re all applauding the warming-up Kevin Phillips, then we’re all singing Barry Ferguson’s name as he’s walking off the pitch, then cheering the dismissal of Blackpool’s Boss, as we ran rampant at home.  Not a Chris Wood goal in sight this time around, either!  Needless to say, at 2-0 up, we were always in control of this match, and – to be fair – Blackpool had slightly more of the ball with ten men on the pitch!  3-0 was the least we deserved, and I was thrilled to see Nathan Redmond’s first league goal, which wasn’t as ‘glamorous’ as the one against Nacional, but was much more calmly taken.  Excellent.  Enough of the past, let’s move onto Christmas future, or New Year’s future more accurately.

It’s a weirdly symmetrical season this side of Christmas, as, not too long after we played Blackpool for the second time in a month, we play Peterborough for the second time in two months.  What’s  next, Braga for the third time in three months?  Well, that may have to wait for the ghost of Christmas-grandchildren-might-get-to-see!

King will be looking to score a double I reckon, as he looks to build on his goal against Blackpool AND his goal against Peterborough last November.  My – wasn’t 2011 an interesting year?  It’s 2012’s first game for us Bluenoses, and I think we should be looking to build some momentum in this match.  The starting lineup against the “Posh” last time out was almost identical to the Blackpool lineup.  Wood started in place of Zigic, and you wouldn’t bet against him starting again, as he only had a brief appearance against the Tangerines.  Spector was in the middle instead of N’Daw, and Carr started in place of Spector, so there were only really two different players on the pitch, so a very similar lineup would suit a settled, winning, team.

Following excellent substitute’s appearances from Mutch and Redmond, it’d be a brave Chris Hughton to leave them both on the bench, too, so it’s possible he’ll give Beausejour and Fahey a rest, though N’Daw’s Blues future may hinge on whether he plays against the Posh at London Road.  If he features, you’d have to suspect he’ll stick around.  If not, he may be heading back to France following the successful recuperation of Jordon Mutch.  Certainly, when Burke was taken off for Redmond, he was seen giving “10” to N’Daw as he left the pitch.  A farewell gesture, perhaps??  Carr is pushing for fitness again, but I’d be surprised to see him – or Liam Ridgewell – start, given the strength of our defence in keeping Blackpool at bay (I think they were the second best team on the road until they came to Fortress St.Andrews).  Burke’s 77 minute substitution does suggest Beausejour could start the match with Redmond on the opposite wing, with Burke making do with a rest on the bench!

We haven’t had back-to-back wins since October, which I reckon is when the consecutive away matches, and the Europa fixture congestion took their toll.  With a relatively restful Christmas period, we should be firing on all cylinders, and buoyed by our three goal thriller, which should give us the confidence to turn our dominance into goals, that was all we were lacking in the last Posh match.  In fact, we’ve lost our last three Championship away matches, so a win couldn’t come at a better time, particularly now Southampton and West Ham have shown they’re capable of losing a game or two.  Middlesbrough are actually the team in second spot at the moment, too!   Peterborough have actually managed to score an immense 43 goals so far this season, though their vulnerability is there for all to see, in the 40 goals they’ve conceded, too.  Presently only a point behind us, they’ve played two more games, but they won’t count for anything if we don’t win the games in hand.  The ‘carrot’ for the Posh will be leapfrogging us in the table with a win.  A win for us could potentially see us in 7th, depending on other scores.  It could prove to be a watershed match for our season, as we need to build on being the best home team in the division, and attempt to improve on our meagre two wins on the road thus far this season.

John Verall below suggested we’ll be facing a diamond formation, Lewis; Alcock, Bennett, Zakuani, Kennedy, Wootton, Kearns, Rowe, Boyd, Sinclair, Taylor, which would suggest our wide men could be the key.  If they can get by their midfield, they’ll probably have to play a heavily defensive game.  If they nullify our width, then it will be up to our central midfield to step up to the plate, perhaps Hughton will ponder on a 4-5-1 for this very reason, but I’ll be happy with the 4-4-2 or 4-5-1.  The BBC reports Posh striker Lee Tomlin’s return to fitness, so John’s team could see Taylor and Tomlin switching places, time will tell.

Seven away defeats this season has only been matched by Crystal Palace in the top ten of the table, so it’s something we really need to sort out.  I fancy us to do just that, and – against AylesburyBlue’s better judgement – I’m going for a 1-2 Blues win, as opposed to John’s 2-1 home win prediction.  Can’t let the Posh steal our positivity eh?  If he hasn’t got the foresight to predict a draw, neither will I.  Apologies in advance to Barry Fry, but the draw was used up at St. Andrew’s, so there’s only a Birmingham win left.  Heh heh.  I’ll also suggest Wood and King to score, with Posh getting a very late consolation as our Blue boys tire following two games in quick succession.

Keep Right On, and have a Happy New Year!

Russell Dempsey

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Here are John’s answers:

Tell us a bit about where the Posh are up to as a club.

About as far as we can go in the current conditions barring a Blackpool-like season, really. We are the smallest club in this division, in terms of budget and attendances, but we are competing and doing well at this level. Our philosophy of bringing in young, unproven players is paying off massively and there is a lot of talent within this current squad of players.

Is your league position reflective of fan’s expectancy?

No. We are performing miles above what most expected. Going into the season we wanted to simply consolidate. 21st was the aim. Instead we currently sit just seven points outside the playoffs and comfortably clear of relegation at the minute. As long as we get 18 points from our last 22 games we should be safe.

There have been a number of players and staff connected with our clubs over the years including David Seaman, Ken Charlery, and Gary Breen but I guess Barry Fry stands out. He is still a much loved figure with the Blues fans, what about you guys?

Barry Fry is still a controversial figure at the club. A few still stay away in protest to him being here, but since he has stepped into the background – he is now Director of Football – the strong hatred, and I don’t think that’s too strong a word to use, has been less expressed from some Posh fans. I’m not too fussed either way with Barry, I wasn’t around when he was at his most prominent, but understand the frustrations that some fans feel towards him. That said, he has done some decent work in the transfer market recently.

Are you happy with your squad? Do you need any improvement in Jan; if so, where?

Delighted with it, yes. There is a lot of talent, as I said earlier, and most of our players are young. When we won at Forest the average age of our starting XI was 22, with the oldest player in our team being George Boyd. It’s amazing to think how far some of our squad can go and it’s a real testament to our scouting network and policy of signing young players that we have got such a good squad.

January is more about adding squad depth. I think there is a need for another striker and a central midfielder but there are no urgent requirements needed in the starting line-up as everyone is proving they can perform at this level.

Who have been your key players this season and why.

Grant McCann and Gabby Zakuani have been the two stars, really. McCann is our top scorer from defensive midfield and we are particularly reliant on him to impose our style on other teams. Zakuani has been a rock in the defence throughout and has been the foundation from which we have built on.

Which Blues player would you like to see playing for the Posh?

Nathan Redmond, I suppose. It would have to be one of your younger players if we stick to our principles and Redmond looks the most exciting of the lot at the moment to me.

How are you likely to line up and what formation?

We will set-up in the diamond formation: Lewis; Alcock, Bennett, Zakuani, Kennedy, Wootton, Kearns, Rowe, Boyd, Sinclair, Taylor

The score will be?

I’d back us to win. I don’t expect too many goals though, as opposed to our usual style, 2-1 Posh seems the most likely.

What question should I have asked and what is the answer?

I think you’ve covered most things, to be fair.