Archive for August, 2009

Posh 1 Palace 1

Monday, August 31st, 2009
Colin W*nk*r

Colin W*nk*r

So, five games in and just two points to show for it - both home draws, first v Sheffield Wednesday and now v Crystal Palace.

Neil Warnock’s team were dirty, niggly and, most importantly, poor. Posh managed not to concede in the first 45 minutes, but also failed to properly test Palace keeper Speroni, though admittedly neither team was helped by a poor refereee. For the first 30 minutes, you could be forgiven for thinking the FA had decided to take it easy on Mr Warnock’s team, and give them the benefit of the doubt to make up for the ‘phantom goal’ that caused everyone’s favourite anagram to get so worked up recently.

Into the second half and Posh continued to have the lion’s share of the posession, with George Boyd pulling the strings and feeding Shaun ‘Crazy Legs’ Batt for his dynamic opening goal. Posh should have scored more, but continued to fail to test Speroni, then, as is custom, conceded a scrappy, soft goal from a corner. Big Alan Lee (ding with the elbow) tapping in for the visitors, who were reduced to 10 men when central defender Paddy McCarthy received his second yellow card.

Coutts, Lee and Rowe all came off the bench, but a lack of alternative centre forward once more became apparent and the 10 men held out for a 1-1 draw.

Is a slow start to be expected? Will it take Posh a while to adjust and cut out the silly defensive lapses and gaffes that have blighted the season so far? Or do big changes need to be made? The floor is yours, let us know what you think by clicking the forum link over there somewhere –>

Derby 2 Posh 1

Sunday, August 9th, 2009
It was good while it lasted...
It was good while it lasted…

The Sundays fell over themselves to churn out Clough v Ferguson tales in their coverage of this match. They also concluded that Posh, on this showing, would have no trouble surviving in the Championship this season.

George Boyd was picked out for his influence and his equalising penalty after Bywater had upended Batt on the edge of the box. All the commentators agreed; Posh deserved to be level, which was something of a turn around after Derby were blisteringly hot out of their blocks.

In the end Boyd’s goal counted for nothing and a messy goal, conceded from an 85th minute corner, curtailed the four minute Posh celebrations.

If you went to the match remember to rate the players.

Match Preview : Derby (A) 08.08.09

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

Who Are They? Derby County aka “The Rams”

What Have They Ever Done? They won the league in 1972 and 1975 and lost in the final of the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1993.  Last season Derby finished 18th in the division, but with Nigel Clough at the helm a lot more is expected this year.

Shared Players; Derby have an excellent repuatation for developing youth players, both David Langan and Scott Cooksey started their careers at Derby and went on to be legends at London Road.  Well, I say legends but what I really mean is shocking excuse for football players.

Famous Fans; Robery Lindsay, actor who has starred in sitcoms My Family and Citizen Smith as well as acclaimed mini-series GBH.

Fact; When Posh played Forest a few seasons ago, me and a few mates missed our connection in Derby so we nipped into a pub opposite the station called the Merry Widow.  Inside were about a dozen fat bald men listening to some 2 Tone records.  Suddenly an Abba medlay came on the juke box and they all ran into the middle of the pub and started dancing.  The Merry Widow was Adolf Hitlers favourite Opera, so from this we can glean that Derby is home to the largest contingent of Abba loving Nazi skinheads in the UK.

Previous Meetings; Posh and Derby have met 6 times in competitive matches. So far Derby have won 3, Posh 2 and 1 was drawn.  The last time we played at Derby was 11/09/1993, Posh lost 2-0 that day and lined up as Bennett, McDonald, Spearing, Bradshaw, Peters, Welsh, Iorfa (Philliskirk), McGlashan, Adcock, Cooper, Hackett.

How do I get there? Drivers need to take A1 upto Grantham, then follow A52 round Nottingham and over the M1, from here Pride Park should be signposted.

By train take the 10:28 Peterborough to Nottingham train then the 12:08 to Derby.  On the way back take the 17:40 to Nottingham then the 18:34 to Peterborough.  It’ll cost about £20.  The ground is about a 10 minute walk from the station.

Where to Drink; There are bars in the ground apparently, but if you’re looking for somewhere close to the station.  Turn right out of the station and walk up to the Alexandra Hotel or The Brunswick.