Thetownend.com

You don’t win League One with the useless JCH upfront!!! Horrendous signing and the biggest waste of money since Jason Cummings loan fee.

We've got the best (& most expensive) squad in League One & a manager with a famous surname

It doesn't' matter how many we lose. We'll win enough to get promotion.

Interesting that the previous six seasons (not including last year when it was cut short) that the winners of League One ALL lost a maximum of SIX games all season.
After only three matches, we’ve already lost 33% of those.
If winning the league is the aim, then we need to seriously get our arses in gear else the season will be over before it’s even begun.

Szmodics and JCH look like a couple of free transfers and not expensive signings.

We lost. It didn't look good. Sunderland didn't look too good either.

Yep, 3 games in and we can all see it’s going wrong.
We should sack Fergie, re-sign Maddison and bring back Steve Evans, there’s no other way we’re going up this season.

we were probably the better side for much of the game, but with two strikers who both cost, allegedly, over a million quid each, we need to get the ball in the net more often than we concede.
Until Eisa and JCH start contributing what they have been signed to do, we will not get anywhere the play offs, let alone automatic promotion.

All in all, it's a poor start but, as I said, the money invested in this team will be too much for this division....

on current viewing I fear that may not be the case JCH, Eisa, Szmodics, Taylor, Brown, and Ward thus far this season have been woeful at best.

I can fully understand why people who have watched them will have been annoyed at the negative approach to all the games. As has been shown recently in the Premier league particularly the Man City v Leicester result, that the tippy tappy football that we tend to play, has been found out by sides that press and break quickly.

At the moment, the combined fee spent on JCH, Szmodics & Eisa (approx £4m) is looking like three Tyrone Barnett's.
I really hope I am wrong, and the three of them start banging the goals in very soon, but at the moment they look like very expensive League One players. £4m is a huge amount in this league - they should be tearing defenses a new one every game.

Posh are favourites with the bookies to win this game.
I reckon we'll give them a hiding.

Fourth match of the season & already a 'must win'.

Lee Power used to play for them.

Posh fans on the previous few games...
I can fully understand why people who have watched them will have been annoyed at the negative approach to all the games. As has been shown recently in the Premier league particularly the Man City v Leicester result, that the tippy tappy football that we tend to play, has been found out by sides that press and break quickly.

Forgot about his time as manager.
There's one more that played for and also coached at Peterborough and is also a TEFer.

JImmy Quinn

For the first time in ages I can’t watch the game live on iFollow. When is the whole game video put up on the STFC site so I can watch it later?

Here we are again.
Probably won’t try and replicate the away day experience on Saturday by setting the alarm for 04:30 and departing on the 06:10 journey down the stairs, taking about 3 or 4 hours with a couple of stops on the way.
So straight to the comfy chair with the beers lined up for about 10:00 it will be.

Been to Peterborough loads of times and it’s a good day out.
Pleased to see that Charters Bar on the River Nene is open for business.

Going back to August 2013, first game of the season and can remember the ball seemingly sticking to the chunky midfielder who came on as sub in the second half and wondering who he?
Little did Kasim know at the time that one day he would make it onto a Loathed Strangers Podcast.
Have no recollection of one Alex Smith at left back that day. Do remember having high hopes for Tijane Reis.

And Claude Gnakpa should be a contender if ever there was a “Would have been a cult hero but didn’t make it into the first team” thread.

Will happily take a draw on Saturday.
Hoping for a performance that’s sharper than a Darragh MacAnthony suit, brasher than a Barry Fry interview and, if needs must, more dour than a Darren Ferguson post-match interview.

Whatever happens, I doubt that this will feature in the pre match music selection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9UM1DTPgxM

And a not too taxing quiz question to finish.
Which two former Town managers have Peterborough connections?

Looks likely that DJ will be fit by Saturday. Who, if anyone, would drop out to accommodate him?

Same, really, when Lyden is fit again.

Same front 3 as Saturday I would suggest with DJ on the bench. Some option to be able to bring on!

if Wellens wants to get anywhere close to Play offs then need to look at trying to win or draw again Peterborough

Didn't know Nathan Thompson was at the Posh, he'll give us a chance or two...

Overrated and will probably get sent off

3 - 6
Away win

Didn't know Nathan Thompson was at the Posh, he'll give us a chance or two...

How many times will we see the patented falling over on the ball?

Peterborough 0-0 Swindon

Peterborough 0-0 Swindon

Peterborough 0-0 Swindon

How many times will we see the patented falling over on the ball?

Absolutely no idea. If we can transform the home form to away games, then a 2-1 win. If not a 2-1 defeat  ;D

Hoping not to miss any excitement ;)

I would suggest he will play the same 11 (if fit) but DJ will replace either Grant or Hope on the bench. For me the only change in the 18 matchday squad.

Currently watching a loading spinner on iFollow, which is a little concerning.

Anyone else still spinning

Had the spinning on an old laptop, but ok on a newer Mac.
Just got Radio Cambs blurb though!

Had the spinning on an old laptop, but ok on a newer Mac.
Just got Radio Cambs blurb though!

Click the cog, you can switch between home and away audio

Can’t find a cog

Still spinning here!##

Eighth consecutive different scorer.

Kovar save at near post! 😁

Love the guy but Nathan Thompson is a total liability so far.

Le Wall

Matt Smith with the sexiest ball cross field right smack-bang onto the foot of Stevens. Glorious.

Dembele runs straight into Le Wall

A second goal needed here.

A second goal needed here.

We should have had a hatful by now.

I hope it's not one of "those" games  :(

Bloody hell Baudry!

Peterborough hit crossbar twice!

:soapy tit wank: calm down NMH   :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Always nice to know we have Tyler Smith & DJ to bring on. Great options. I would not want to be a tired FB (Thommo I'm looking at you) with either or both of those coming on with fresh legs.

Grounds is dominant in the air, winning a lot of headers against a forward line that isn't small..

On watching the reply I suppose it was. But then Caddis one in the first half was also a pen.

Well, that to me is game over.

Hmmm. Only 4 games in, good at home, not so good on the road it seems. Pattern for the season?

But we've played well today

Well, that to me is game over.

Baudry is Shite. If he’s not injured he is making cock ups.

He just ain’t good enough

Baudry's having a mare today.

3-1 on the counter. Bloody Kovar encouraged the near post shot as he was way out of position again.

Think that is an over exaggeration in the heat of the moment. Baudry has had a shite 2nd Half but he isn't a shite player. Some on here were wanking over him v Burton only a week ago.

Go and splash some water over yourselves and calm down.

Seriously just stop!

Oh I think he's quite decent, the joke just worked too well to leave it...

Not much from anyone in a Town shirt second half. Maybe Grounds.

Seriously just stop!

Watch the highlights and tell me I am wrong

Every slight thing he’s done wrong you’ve gone after him, I’m totally bored of the scapegoating now.

Every slight thing he’s done wrong you’ve gone after him, I’m totally bored of the scapegoating now.

Essentially we've been undone by a dubious penalty decision

That's a very generous appraisal. Penalty decision(s!) or not we dropped off massively after a great start and Posh improved out of sight once they changed shape.

If not for the 1st dubious decision it could have been a very different game.

That's a very generous appraisal. Penalty decision(s!) or not we dropped off massively after a great start and Posh improved out of sight once they changed shape.

Of course, but you could say the same about us taking any of the three or four open play chances either side of it. I don't think it's reasonable to just take away that we've been done by the ref today, it's at least partially on our own performance.

Defensive mistakes are going to be punished at this level and we’re second half. Ferguson changed tactics and they scored at a great time.

Still confident of a good season based on the first half but our defence is concerning and I think Kovar doesn’t inspire as much as Benda would unfortunately. Likes a punch rather than to catch the bloody thing which can’t help!

Sounded as if that could be Payne, DJ or T Smith

Are you his mum or something? There's only one player you seem to think is immune from criticism. Scapegoating is something else entirely.

The comment about 'if people let him down they wont play' seemed to be levied at outfield players who didn't do what he wanted them to in the second half.

Sounded as if that could be Payne, DJ or T Smith

I think we must remember that Peterborough are a very good side who almost got promoted last season, and we matched them for thirty minutes. Why we drop off the intensity every game in the second half, I don't know.

We went to one of the sides widely tipped to be there or there abouts this season and played really well for the first 20-30 minutes. We could have been more comfortably ahead but for a lack of composure. They changed shape and both out-fought and out-thought us, consequently we looked poor. Credit to Peterborough on that, changed their tactics and got it right. That will happen in a season of adjusting to stepping up to League 1.

We're not going to brush past sides like we did at times last season, although we've already had two very good home games which give you plenty of confidence we can more than hold our own in this division this season. But there will also be some games, and some teams, that are too much for us. Fans and players are going to have to learn to adjust to that and not fold under pressure from better sides. We were beaten by a better team today. It will happen a bit more this season than last, but we'll be fine.

First half we pressed and dominated, closed them down and they made the mistakes which really should have cost them 3 goals.  3 one on one's which should have been converted. 2 out of those 3 chances and the penalty shout created by Jonny and whilst I accept he was not
100% I thought Wellens got the subs wrong. Danger will come from him in later parts of the match and I really expected Smith to be switched to his normal right wing position and DJ to come into the left with Tyler replacing Pitman as he tired.

The change in Peterborough to a 433 in the second half caught out Wellens but then you cannot legislate for 2 mistakes which led to 2 goals.

Work in progress,  first half outplayed them, need to get smarter in the second half ,  it will come.... on to Tuesday.... :toocool:

No flaming please im biased  :D :D :D

Because people are going after him on everything, he nothing to do with why we lost today. He is clearly being scapegoated and it’s getting boring. Yes he needs to get up to speed but even when we win there’s more posts about him than the performance.

I think that's because most of us are worried that the early signs indicate that he's not ready yet. In each of the games that he has played his positioning has been a little off and decision making a little slow. That may be a confidence thing or it might be something else

What I do know is that we have another keeper in Fryer that we have signed permanently (until January) who we've only seen once. He looked OK at most. Then there is Archie Matthews who doesn't look anywhere near ready.

Will Kovar come good? I don't know, but I think with a frail defence (which I think we have) we need a keeper who is going to pull off a few good saves in most games.

I wonder if Fryer will play on Tuesday? We may be even more worried after that!

PS. We lost because of poor finishing, individual errors and not staying on task. I thought Caddis, Hunt and Grounds did their job. Grant and M Smith faded. J Smith and Stevens tired. Payne and Pitman wasted opportunities. DJ and T Smith were poor. Fryers did well before injury and Baudry was inconsistent - played well but made several horrific mistakes. Kovar nearly got to the penalty.

A game of very fine margins, which is no mean feat at Posh. Could have gone either way, and the pen in Cads is baffling.

Fryers going off really threw Baudry, at fault for all 3 goals. Fryers has been outstanding so far this season.

Rob Hunt much more solid, the 3 behind the striker all did well and Kovar came up with a couple of huge saves.

Grant had an off day though, Baudry was bad as mentioned and Pitman just not quite sharp enough.

Still loads of positives. Back to back home games now. Let's see where we are after 10 but we'll be fine.

It's strange how we all see the game in different ways.  I though Rob Hunt was one of our better players, good defensively and equally as good going forward.  Payne, Stevens and Grounds also very decent.

Disapointed with Bauldry, Grant and Pitman - I thought they were all poor.  Bauldry obvious, Grant getting caught on the ball too often and not as dynamic as usual trying to break up play and win the ball back.  Pitman worries me, he looks lazy.  If he had taken his chances then all would have been forgiven (you can put up with a lazy striker as long as they do what they are paid to do) but it looked to me that he was far too complacent when he got those chances which is a big concern.

Kovar is obviously still getting used to competetive mens football (Benda had the luxury of 4 or 5 weeks to get up to speed before being thrown in) the goals weren't down to him yesterday but he was a little too flappy for my liking and I agree with the puching when not required - hopefully Midenhall/Wellens will knock that out of him pretty quickly.

As I said in the feed yesterday, I din't think ours was a penalty, but I didn't think theirs was either - if you are going to give one you have to give the other - lower league inconsistent referees which we should be used to by now - VAR would have given both penalties with the current rules.

I actually think Grant has been pretty poor this season so far.

I said pre-season that I was a bit concerned Grant might not be up to league 1 standard this season. I don’t think he’s been too bad but nowhere near last season’s form.....yet

I got shouted down for saying the same thing. He was totally missing yesterday and the game passed him by.

Should we be expecting Pitman to be match sharp yet? He's only started 2 games.

Is the reason that Grant isn't shining because of M Smith? It seems to me that Smith is doing alot of the good things that Grant was doing last year. Grant is then just covering him so that he can press.

From what I have seen, it looks as if Grant is still working hard, but just not doing the eye catching stuff.

Last season, pretty much the same defence got away with it. One reason was most other sides were shit scared of Doyle and our attacking play in general. This season sides don’t give a fuck who we’ve got up front and we’re being put under pressure much more regularly.

Saying that, we certainly could have been out of sight against Posh and been a goal or two up at Blackpool.

Learning curve and all that, but a couple of players don’t look up to the task in L1.

Funny how a lot of people spent pre season going on about how they didn’t see much difference in standard between L1 & L2 because they watched a play off game or two.

Due to player turn over we had to rebuild our attack pretty much from scratch and a good chunk of the midfield too. We had little turnover in defence so have gone in with mostly the same defenders up a level. Should have at least partially rebuilt the defence too.

Only Wellens would know but as above Martin was in a similar position and he's hit the ground running

How many goals has Martin scored in the league so far out of interest?

Who?
Peter ‘State my opinion as fact’ Venkman by any chance?  :D

The comment about 'if people let him down they wont play' seemed to be levied at outfield players who didn't do what he wanted them to in the second half.

Sounded as if that could be Payne, DJ or T Smith

Peter ‘State my opinion as fact’ Venkman by any chance?  :D

Our season is becoming very predictable now isn't it? Blistering start every game.

Got a feeling if we're not 3 or 4 up at half time we're gonna find games tricky. Defensively we are terrible! Not gonna get too upset about it, we're very good going forward and to be honest, I wasn't expecting us to mount a serious promotion challenge and given the circumstances maybe a midtable season isn't too bad. Long way to go mind.

DV never has a dig at me so no I believe that wasn't aimed at me......oh wait...

And if anyone states their opinion as fact it is Chang!

Our season is becoming very predictable now isn't it? Blistering start every game.

Got a feeling if we're not 3 or 4 up at half time we're gonna find games tricky. Defensively we are terrible! Not gonna get too upset about it, we're very good going forward and to be honest, I wasn't expecting us to mount a serious promotion challenge and given the circumstances maybe a midtable season isn't too bad. Long way to go mind.

No doubt at some point in TEF history your opinion has been wrong, same for others.

Our season is becoming very predictable now isn't it? Blistering start every game.

Got a feeling if we're not 3 or 4 up at half time we're gonna find games tricky. Defensively we are terrible! Not gonna get too upset about it, we're very good going forward and to be honest, I wasn't expecting us to mount a serious promotion challenge and given the circumstances maybe a midtable season isn't too bad. Long way to go mind.

Swindon are a decent team, we can’t expect to steam roller everyone we play and we must expect games where the opposition play well and dominate us for parts of the game.

Second half we were mostly dominant and deserved the win.

Swindon passed the ball superbly, played with determination and pace and we just couldn't get into the game. This sort of thing happens in nearly all games.

There are 2 teams in every game and you have to give Swindon credit for the way they played in the first half, it was a bit like us last week against Sunderland. They had 3 excellent chances and a good penalty shout, we can’t just put that down to bad play by us, there are other good teams in this league and we can’t expect to just turn up and win every game because we’ve spent millions.

......  players are able to go completely off the boil and the tempo can switch in a game much easier than with fans pushing a team on or laying into them.   ......