Southend United v Peterborough United

Last updated : 08 August 2008 By Shrimpers24
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THE BLUES

What a difference a day makes. In T&B We Trust was a headline that was tested over the last few weeks but with the thoughts of Ron at least acknowledging the supporters concerns and the signing of three very promising players, all suddenly looks right with the world.

Betsy and Harding look class acts and surfing the message boards has confirmed that most fans of their former clubs believe we have done some smart business.

The team? Now with everybody reporting fit, how about; Mildenhall, Francis, Clarke, Barrett, Harding, Scannell, Bailey, Grant, Betsy, Furlong, Barnard. Subs; Joyce, Herd, Sankofa, Moussa, Revell.

There are some worries about Bailey's concentration for this game after Charlton's late in the day bid for the player but personally I'm confident he will do the business. Has he actually told anybody he's upset and not being allowed to go? As someone whose been bitten a couple of times by unconfirmed sources my moneys on a 9 out of 10 peformance by our player of the year.

I'm proudly part of the SUFC Exiles sponsoring the Moose and I drop him from my starting eleven with a heavy heart but opening against a team with such a strong attacking line-up needs a more defensive minded player slotting next to Nicky, especially if we play 4-4-2 with two widemen. The Judge, I love that, feels a more natural replacement for Macca than Franck. When the Moose does start, or comes on as a sub, I would rather see him in his favourite position in the centre of midfield that stuck out wide al la Doncaster away.

Tilly may play both, dropping a winger, but I hope not. They have lost their regular left back, nice for someone else to have to worry about that position, Scannell and Betsy swapping wings to have a real go at his replacemnt could be fun. Go with your instincts Tills, try a diamond formation now with two players signed in the last 24 hours is asking for trouble. Let's do what T&B sides have done best during the last five amazing years, attack the opposition and if the luck, and the ref, goes our way, grab a home win on the opening day while, this time around, ending the season with a promotion. 2-1, COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!!

THE OPPOSITION

A great 2007/08 finished with a runner-up place in League Two and promotion. Of course their manager is Fergies boy, Darren Fergurson, where he's been palyer and player manager. While the money man, and he's given them a bit, is Darragh MacAnthony chairman of MRI Overseas Property, so plenty for Ron and Darragh to chat about over their half time cup of tea.

Keeping the spirits up over the last week has been the Barry Fry thread on Shrimperzone. Is he still Director of Football at Posh? There's a Amber Fry as Club Shop Supervisor!

Some of you have long memories. I can still remember rather losing the plot as I heard his interview after the televised goaless draw with Leicester, as well as the nervous excitement before we took on his new club Birmingham on New Years Day 1994 before hammering them 3-1, it could have been 7. The quiet satisfaction when it was confirmed that Birmingham had been relegated after our last day home win 4-3 against Derby County.

Or you can comment, 'Fat Judas scum, he can burn in hell!!!', as Kent Shrimper did.

It's always tough playing teams early that have just got promoted. They are confident they can maintain progress and use Southend's own consequtive promotions as an example of what can be done. They will be up for it as quotes below will confirm. Last season's final league table gives us few clues other than Peterborough had a very good season.

1
Milton Keynes Dons 46117539171832432029107823797+45
2Peterborough United 46144546201445382328810844392+41
3Hereford United 461166341915443822261010724188+31
4Stockport County 461157403013553224241012725482+18
5Rochdale 461148372812744026231112775480+23
6Darlington 461175362211573118221212674078+27
7Wycombe Wanderers 46136429159682727221212564278+14

However, the Posh support do feel they have weaknesses in defence, another reason to play an attacking formation, but Fergurson will keep faith with keeper Joe Lewis and centre half Craig Morgan.

The Peterborough Evening Telegraph reported on Thursday that this was Little Fergies thinking.

Posh boss Darren Ferguson admits he has some real selection posers ahead of the opening League One match of the season at Southend on Saturday. Ferguson has made a liberal use of his entire first-team squad in the club's pre-season friendly campaign which finished with a 2-0 defeat against Manchester United on Monday evening.

Versatile defender Shane Blackett, midfielder Paul Coutts and striker Scott Rendell are among the players to have impressed Ferguson so far in friendly action.
Left-back Jamie Day is a definite absentee as he is some way short of full fitness. The manager also feels that new winger Sergio Torres is short of match sharpness so Chris Whelpdale may be preferred on the right wing.

Ferguson said: "The most important factor for me is that most of the squad are fit. I have a few selection posers to wrestle with, but that's a good headache to have. I played Scott Rendell with Aaron Mclean up front against United just to try a different combination, but everyone will have to wait and see if that's what we go with on Saturday. Many players have done well in the friendlies and it's good to see that we have strong competition for places again this season."

It's hard to imagine any other strike pairing than Aaron Mclean and Craig Mackail-Smith at Southend, while winger George Boyd is also assured of his place after recovering from a badly bruised foot and having Big Fergies' praise ringing in his ears.

Charlie Lee and Dean Keates would appear to be Ferguson's favoured central midfield partnership, although newcomer Coutts and the vastly experienced Micah Hyde are also strong contenders.

Chris Whelpdale will probably start on the right wing, especially if Torres is deemed to be short of match practice. Blackett is challenging Tom Williams for the left-back slot in the expected absence of Day.

Goalkeeper Joe Lewis, right-back Russell Martin and skipper Craig Morgan are certain starters, probably alongside Chris Westwood, at the heart of the Posh defence,
in a campaign expected to lead to a second successive promotion push. Posh are generally third favourites for promotion.

Ferguson was unwilling to confirm his starting eleven adding: "The players know who's playing, but everyone else will have to wait and see. But this is just the first game in what is going to be a very long, hard season. Not a single player is guaranteed a starting place here and the players have been made very aware of that fact. We must keep our standards high at all time or we will be punished."

"It's a tough game at Southend to start with, but it's also a good game. They will be one of the teams pushing for promotion so it will be a good marker for us.
We should carry plenty of momentum forward from last season, but we will have to cut out the inconsistency we showed at times in League Two. League One won't offer up any easy games so we will have to keep our standards high."

Captain Craig believes promotion is very much on, with the rest of us should be quaking in our football boots.

Craig Morgan wants Posh to be the team everyone else in League One fears. And the Welsh international centre-back, who has inherited the skipper's armband from Micah Hyde, believes Posh have the ability and confidence to mount a serious challenge for a second successive promotion.

Morgan said: "We are confident we can carry the momentum of last season into this one and challenge for promotion again. We've had a good summer with the manager signing some good players, but we also had the boost of Aaron Mclean staying at the club. We want to be a team that everyone fears especially when they come to our place so keeping the best players is crucial."

"I
t's a tough start for us tomorrow, but the pressure is off us a bit playing away from home and that will help us. We all can't wait to get started and if we don't make automatic promotion we will make sure we get in the play-offs. We will be up against better players and better teams, but we have players worth millions ourselves so we are confident."

PLAYER TO WATCH: George Boyd

THE MATCHES

OVERALL: Played 46: Won 18 Drawn 7 Lost 21.

ROOTS HALL: Played 23: Won 13 Drawn 5 Lost 5.

Fairly even then, in fact very even until the double 1-0 season for Posh of 1999/2000, the last time we came across each other. We even lost the first ever game on Boxing Day 1961, 1-4, Costello getting our consolation. That last match was played on October 23, 1999.

A sad day was travelling on a Grim special to London Road on Boxing Day 1970 in the snow and seeing keeper Lawrie Leslie, still with us at 73, brake his arm and losing 0-4. (Lillian Board died that day, anybody remember her?) Particularly galling, as only 9 months before, on March 28 1970, I'd seen Billy Best got all four in a thrilling 4-3 victory, again in Peterborough.

The happiest memory was probably Sat May 5 1990. A packed away end, a win needed to guarantee promotion from Division Four, David Crown hits a low shot which squirms under the Posh keepers body for an early 1-0 lead. David gets another soon after and we hang on for a 2-1 win. Mass celebrations ending up in The Bell Inn in nearby Stilton where this poor couple had decided to hold their wedding reception. Poor sods, I wonder if they are still together? I worked in Peterborough several years later company meetings were held in the very same pub where it always made me smile to see 'NO FOOTBALL FANS' pasted on the front door. Before that May Day I'd bet they'd never seen a footy fan, let alone fifty or sixty of them all at one go!

We should end on a Roots Hall game and many may remember the 3-0 home win on August 28 1993 when Bretty Angell got a brace, with Andy Ansah grabbing the other.

THE HISTORY

The club was formed in 1934 at a meeting held in Peterborough's Angel Hotel in order to provide the town with a replacement for Peterborough and Fletton United, who had folded two years previously. They were first admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead F.C. The side play at the London Road ground in Peterborough. The club nickname is The Posh.

Opinion is split as to who Peterborough United's main local rivals are. Older fans tend to point to Northampton Town, a rivalry which has endured since the 1960s. However, the majority of fans consider Cambridge United to be the club's main foes — this game is known as the Cambridgeshire derby. ("There is only one team in Cambridgeshire", try singing that!)

MK Dons are now also considered a new rival for Peterborough, due to both teams promotion battle last season. This looks set to continue into the new season as both look to impress in League One.

Peterborough's greatest ever player is arguably Terry Bly. He scored 52 goals in the club's first season as a Football League club, as they sealed the Fourth Division championship.

The club also had a proud tradition of producing successful young players, those to have recently come through the youth academy have included Simon Davies (now at Fulham), Matthew Etherington (now at West Ham United) and Adam Drury (now at Norwich City).

The Posh were elected to The Football League for the beginning of the 1960-61 season, joining and winning Division Four. They played in Football League Division One between 1992 and 1994 and they finished 10th, the best position of them, in 1992-93 season.

During the 2005-06 season the club had three managers: team owner Barry 'Fat Boy' Fry returned to management following former England international Mark Wright's sacking in January. Wright's assistant Steve Bleasdal was then appointed acting manager, but resigned in April. Keith Alexander joined as manager from Lincoln City for the 2006-07 season.

On September 18, 2006 Peterborough United announced the "biggest signing in the club's history", new chairman Darragh MacAnthony chairman of MRI Overseas Property. MacAnthony has purchased 200 shares in PUFC and has stated that his goal is to become the sole owner of the Club. As of yet, no more details have been announced. In its AGM of 05/09/2006 the Posh Supporters' Trust stated that it owned 1390 shares in PUFC. The deal was delayed as of November 2006 when the owners of the Ground Peterborough United Holdings Ltd (PUHL) refused to accept the sale until they receive planning permission their proposed development of the Moyes End Terrace and building of 135 Luxury flats. Despite this MacAnthony has said he will not walk away from the club.

With the prospect of rich new ownership a £1m bid for striker Izale McLeod was rejected by his club, MK Dons. They have since signed George Boyd from Stevenage for a reported fee of around £260,000, Aaron McLean from Grays Athletic for a figure expected to be around £150,000 and Josh Low from Leicester for a fee rising to £100,000.

They have also signed 32 year old central midfielder Micah Hyde for £75,000 (raising to £100,000 if Peterborough get promotion) from Burnley and goalkeeper Shwan Jalal from Woking for an undisclosed fee to continue their bid spending.

While Alexander had some success in the role, leading the club to its best-ever start to a season and keeping them in the play-off positions for most of the 2006-07 season, he was nonetheless sacked in January due to a run of six defeats in a row, and his long-ball tactics met with disapproval among fans even when the club was near the top of the table. After a brief caretaker spell by Tommy Taylor, Darren Ferguson was installed as player-manager.

Ferguson had a good start to his managerial career, and was unlucky to only gain 1 point from his first 3 games after some good performances. Ironically, the first win in his managerial career was against his former club, Wrexham.

Ferguson appointed Kevin Russell as his assistant, and Ben MacKenzie as fitness coach.

Peterborough United Chairman Darragh MacAnthony has proposed a 15,000 all seater stadium to replace the current London Road stadium which has a capacity of 15,314.

On the 19 April 2008, Peterborough were promoted to the Coca-Cola Football League 1 after Dean Keates header secured a 1-0 victory against Hereford United.

On Friday 18 January 2008 it was announced that Peterborough United will enter in to a 3-year sponsorship deal with adidas to supply new kit from the season beginning 2008-09.

(Many thanks to the usual suspects for all their help with this article. Great to be back and enjoy your day on Saturday with a result to match.)