Posh 0 - 0 Blackpool
Attendance 4142
By Tony H
If you went to the game, you might as well not bother reading this. If you didnt go, it isnt good.
Posh were truly dire from start to finish against a team who are already lined up for relegation. Blackpool were rubbish last season when Posh thumped them 4-1 to confirm survival in Division 2, and with Scott Taylor losing his scoring touch, they are doomed. Martin Bullock is a talent, and Richie Wellens can play, but they are very very average, and Posh made them look a damned site better than they are.
Fry picked a more balanced side than the pathetic one that started at Huddersfield, with Farrell back in the team but on his unfavoured right wing position with, oh on - Andy Legg gets picked again after playing crap shock - Legg on the left wing. What a dire performance the player/coach put in. Back to his worst of last season when he spent the whole game bollocking team mates. Curtis Woodhouse had to put the little welshman in his place a couple of times, waving his arms around like he was flagging a Jumbo jet in to land.
Why he conotinues to get selected is beyond me. Ok, one decent game against Brentford, and a lot of poor ones. Legg has played left back, left wing back, centre half, sweeper, centre midfield, and left wing. He has only to play up front or in goal, and it will be a full house. If that doesnt tell you something........
Mind you, Legg wasnt the only one on the pitch not doing their job. Rea and Ireland might be hard to beat defenders, but the ball has started to be lumped from back to front with alarming regularity recently, mainly from Rea as Ireland at least tries to seek out a pass. Why dont we get the ball out wide to the full backs who can play a bit, or get the midfield to drop deeper and pick it up? Its all going long ball chaps, like it or not, thats the only way Gould and Fry seem to know.
Strangely, Posh have played far far better in recent games when they have kept the ball down and knocked it about - at Bradford, against Brentford and at Huddersfield - there were some very nice moves and good possession, but I am afraid that when you create chances and dont score, you have to look at the front line.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Clive Platt and Andy Clarke. Is that the best we have really got? I dont think so.
Mr Platt, for all his honest endeavour and massive improvement, is a big man who we can simply boot the ball up to. He does very well in the air, but no one can seem to play alongside him, with the exception of maybe Willock. Sadly, Platt isnt going to score more than 10 goals in my opinion. I hope i am wrong, but he just doesnt look like a natural goalscorer.
In one bizarre incident, he pinched the ball outside the box after a mix up between the keeper and defender, and passed to Clarke instead of looking for goal. Not a bad idea maybe, seeing as Clarke was clear and had a full sight of the empty net, but not such a good decision when you watched in horror as Clarke drilled the ball high and wide of the gaping goal. What a miss.
Clarke also wasted another 2 good opportunites, one forcing a good save from the keeper, but he shouldnt have been given the chanct to stop it.
Farrell had his moments, and looked threatening every time he had the ball, but Posh stopped passing to him.
Woodhouse had another quiet game, and he scuffed 2 efforts whenh well placed, and noticebaly he chose not to pass to Legg on his left when it was 2 against 1, but dragged his shot wide.
Posh were poor. The passing had gone, the ball was thumped forward towards the big man and the old man far too often, without the midfield support in the right place, and for whatever reason, Legg was all too often miles out of position. He was supposed to be left midfield, but was all too often the furthest man forward and the last one defending.
As for the tactics of bringing every single player back to defend set pieces, I no longer find this amusing. We have NO out ball, and are inviting the opposition on to us more and more. It is garbage, negative and is not working. Everyone in the ground can see it, except the 2 people who can do something about it. Something needs to change here.
Fry made the inevitable changes to try and force the issue, but Kanu on the right wing didnt offer much more, althoufh Farrell was livened up by moving to the left.
Thompson appears to be Fry's current scapegoat. He wasd dropped at Huddersfueld, and didnt have the greatest of games today, but he misplaced one pass too many and on came Sonner. Neat and tidy, yes. But he couldnt do anything to improve things.
Constantine replaced Clarke, and not before time. Clarke and Legg should both now be dropped after a pair of terrible performances. Clarke will bounce back, but I have said ti before - he should not start games now at his age. He cant do it for more than half an hour.
Another clean sheet at home and unbeaten at home in the League is scant consolation for a dire and miserable display against the Leagues current worst team. Something has to be dont to revive matters, and getting Willock back to full fitness is the best we can seemingly hope for. Apart from the continuing fantastic form of Adam Newton at right back.
TONYS MARKS:
Tyler 7 - one save to make, and comfortable all afternoon.
Newton 9 - outstanding in defence, pace often saves the day and showing plenty of fire and spirit.
Rea 4 - too slow and has resorted to banging the ball forward without looking.
Ireland 6 - better than Rea but needs a pacey partner.
Kennedy 5 - his worst Posh display so far, although some of his crossing was good.
Farrell 5 - average on the right, better on the left, but not given the ball enough. Our main threat.
Thompson 5 - being dropped must have affected him - too many misplaced passes.
Woodhouse 5 - quiet and often anonymous. Looks like he is palying with an injury maybe.
Legg 2 - Poor game, and poor attitude in berating others for his own misgivings.
Clarke 3 - offered little threat and missed all 3 chances he was given.
Platt 5 - dominated first half, hardly won a header second half.
SUBS USED:
Kanu 6 - did ok, looked to get forward
Sonner 6 - neat and tidy passing.
Constantine 5 - didnt get one sight of goal.
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