Match Zone

Are Changes Imminent?

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Peterborough United boss Steve Evans came out with a virtual carbon copy of his pre-match interview from last week when talking to the Official Posh website ahead of this weekends match against Doncaster Rovers.

After winning every League game so far, Evans is once again considering changing the starting line-up that has remained unchanged for all five League matches so far.

Why would you change a winning formula? Evans hasn’t been completely happy with the performances despite getting the results with his side seeing less possession than the opposition in all bar one match!!

“Maybe now is the time to freshen things up a bit and make one or two changes to the team. We’ve got one or two players who are working so hard in training to get into the team.”

Don’t get us started on the “doing well in training” quote!! How many times have we heard that over the last few years only to see a poor performance in the next match?

Over the years we’ve seen managers keep selecting players because they’ve done well in training only to put in another sub-standard performance. But the question remains, should you change a side that has won five out of five matches in the League even if there have been things that haven’t pleased the manager during those matches?

If all the players have “done well in training” then surely you should stick with the same side that has claimed maximum points so far?

Admittedly, we do have a younger squad than we have had in previous seasons so we have to make sure players don’t burn themselves out. From the comments of the Grimsby Town fans when we signed Siriki Dembele, he was excellent before Christmas but faded away badly in the latter half of the season. Evans needs to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen this season with Dembele or any of the other players in his squad.

With the season only five matches old, Evans must stick with the team that has brought the club to the top of League One. He will need to manage the players on the pitch as Demebele, in particular, has struggled in the latter stages of some matches and should’ve been replaced slightly earlier than he has been.

If Posh race into another good lead, then, by all means, bring players on earlier in the second-half but to change a winning formula just because players that have yet to start a match are training just as well as the players who have been starting is, in our opinion, madness!

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Photos courtesy of Joe Dent / www.theposhpics.com

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