PETERBOROUGH UNITED
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DONCASTER ROVERS
Welcome back Peterborough! A team who's manager moved on to climes new allowing them to hire someone with no football league experience, Kettering's Mark Cooper. He lasted 12 games, winning just one of them, his first. Next, Jim Gannon was recruited to keep the Posh in the Championship. Gannon lasted two games longer than Cooper before Gary Johnson was brought in in a vain attempt to use the champagne period to avoid a relegation. It didn't work and Peterborough were down.
Don't look now, but this post actully has a chance of being posted when its still relevant! Apologies to regular readers, I've been busy and have struggled all week to catch up.
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| Posh 4 Fergie 4-Eva 2-Gether |
In the meantime, the old guy, Darren Ferguson, had discovered that the grass definately wasn't greener on the other side, being sacked just before the New Year with his team, Preston North End rock-bottom of the championship. But love is indeed a many splendoured thing and on seeing Fergie-Junior was jobless, Johnson was dismissed and Fergie was clasped to the Posh bossom once more.
Posh were promoted and they have all lived happily ever after. Good to have them back!
Posh haven't beaten Rovers for a while. They even managed to lose to Donny at London Road during our last season in the football league before Conference excile, Rovers only away win that season. They won at Belle Vue though, their last victory over a Doncaster side.
A tumultuous week for Rovers with suddenly all and sundry deciding that playing for a small South Yorkshire club with an inexperienced manager is the way to go.
El-Hadji-Diouf was tempted but was more attracted my the larger land area of Russia to spit all over. But we did get Pascal Chimbonda. He seems a good signing on a short-term contract although it seems he may have to wait before starting his time in the shop window. Chimbonda is not yet 100% fit, well at least Dean doesn't think so. Anyway, lets hope he does better than our last "shop window" player, Matt Kilgallon.
Posh were promoted and they have all lived happily ever after. Good to have them back!
Posh haven't beaten Rovers for a while. They even managed to lose to Donny at London Road during our last season in the football league before Conference excile, Rovers only away win that season. They won at Belle Vue though, their last victory over a Doncaster side.
PETERBOROUGH UNITED
Nobody is getting carried away, but it was a good win on Tuesday because we played with a bit more belief or maybe even arrogance - Darren Ferguson
Great start this season by Peterborough, who I think must have been co-favourites with Donny for relegation. Peterborough are rubbishing that status thus far with only the pace-setters, Southampton scoring more goals. OK, seven of their 17 came in one fixture and they have conceded a few but 8th position - not bad and if you look at the link, Darren Ferguson plans to stay there.
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| George Boyd |
The eye-catching 3-2 away win at Portsmouth, featured two goals from Lee Frecklington. The first was very much curtosy of the Portsmouth 'keeper but the second was a much better finish. That said, he owed the goal to a great "never say die" attitude from George Boyd, who definately caught my eye. From the highlights, he had a good game, we saw determination in getting the ball pulled back for what ultimately became Frecklington's second goal and then with some more good play on the left flank, nutmegging defenders; looking a real handfull. I like him! I wonder if Willie MacKay is his agent?
Next up, the 2:1 victory at home to Burnley and I find another little gem, new signing Emile Sinclair. Sinclair bagged both Posh's goals in that game but should have had four. But we saw a great two-touch finish for the first and a nice dance in from out wide to net the second. The two he didn't get were denied by lack of power and lack of accuracy. More power would have prevented a great near goal-line clearance from a Burnley defender and more accuracy would have given him a great solo-goal after a Gazza-esque chip over the cental defender.
Until now, I hadn't seen much to pick at about the defence. Just a tendancy of the right back to allow players to run behind him on the inside. A nasty tendancy that he should look at. I needed to watch them against a side that was playing well. The opportunity was presented by the Brighton game.
Brighton were afforded massive amounts of space at times, especially at the corners of the penalty area between the full-back and centre-back. There was also that sneaking in behind the right-back issue, this time on his outside and I saw some appauling defending around the D, the worst being when a posh defender jumped out of the way to invite a shot.
So a decent side, but get at that defence and they will yield goals.
DONCASTER ROVERS
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| Dean Saunders - No Major Surgery Needed |
El-Hadji-Diouf was tempted but was more attracted my the larger land area of Russia to spit all over. But we did get Pascal Chimbonda. He seems a good signing on a short-term contract although it seems he may have to wait before starting his time in the shop window. Chimbonda is not yet 100% fit, well at least Dean doesn't think so. Anyway, lets hope he does better than our last "shop window" player, Matt Kilgallon.
Dean Saunders has brought a breath of fresh air to Donny Rovers, which is a good thing, not least because it covers the stink produced by Willie MacKay, who seems to be following him around. But in any case, I am all for getting players believing in themselves and I have taken some solace in Deano's comments that major surgery is not needed. I can handle using mercenries like Chimbonda using the club to serve their own needs, as long as it is done in moderation.
Four points out of six since Deano arrived, and we could well see more from the honeymoon period. Players are, at the moment trying to make sure they stay on the new bosses' good side, just the way anyone with any sense would do when a new boss walks in. If they do not like the way their ex-boss was treated, its clear that had nothing to do with Dean. He's their new boss; they have to impress him otherwise it won't look good. This is why homeymoon periods happen.
Against Crystal Palace, it was a game of three thirds. For two of the three, Rovers were terrible, for the other third they were adequate. Against Hull, I watched the highlights and, apart from an great finish by Gillett, completely failed to see what Donny fans were raving about in the second half, which is unusual. Perhaps the highlights under-sold the performance. I can definately say I've watched far better under O'Driscoll, even if it was one-dimensional (sic).
Four points out of six since Deano arrived, and we could well see more from the honeymoon period. Players are, at the moment trying to make sure they stay on the new bosses' good side, just the way anyone with any sense would do when a new boss walks in. If they do not like the way their ex-boss was treated, its clear that had nothing to do with Dean. He's their new boss; they have to impress him otherwise it won't look good. This is why homeymoon periods happen.
Against Crystal Palace, it was a game of three thirds. For two of the three, Rovers were terrible, for the other third they were adequate. Against Hull, I watched the highlights and, apart from an great finish by Gillett, completely failed to see what Donny fans were raving about in the second half, which is unusual. Perhaps the highlights under-sold the performance. I can definately say I've watched far better under O'Driscoll, even if it was one-dimensional (sic).
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