The Posh Weekly - 28-July-2018 - Vital Peterborough

Welcome to the next Posh Weekly of the summer as we look at the latest news coming out of Peterborough United, what their rival teams in League One are up to and general footie news.

THE FINAL ONE

Posh play their first and last home match of pre-season today when they entertain Championship side Bolton Wanderers.

Posh have won all their pre-season matches bar one and while the standard of opposition hasn’t been that great for many games, it has given the new look Posh squad a chance to get to know each other and understand how boss Steve Evans wants them to play.

Whereas Posh have played eight games in pre-season, Wanderers have only played four matches with mixed results. They started by playing a youthful side against non-league neighbours Atherton Collieries and had to come from behind to share the spoils. Their first real pre-season friendly of the summer came at FC Halifax Town which they won 2-1 thanks to goals either side of half-time from Adam Le Fondre and Sammy Ameobi. Following a goalless draw against Genoa, Wanderers played their last match before the Posh game at Guiseley. Fielding a mixture of youth and experience, Wanderers went down to a 3-1 defeat! However, boss Phil Parkinson expects the side he picks against Posh could be the side with the odd tweak that starts their League campaign against West Bromwich Albion.

There will be a number of faces Posh fans will recognise in the Wanderers squad but whether they start is another matter. Goalkeeper Ben Alnwick was Bolton’s Player of the Season last season will almost definitely start. Right-back Mark Little is also expected to start at right-back but the Turkish Messi, Erhun Oztumer, must sweat on whether he will be included or not.

MARRIOTT FINALLY DEPARTS

We’ve known all summer that midfielder Marcus Maddison and striker Jack Marriott are expected to leave the club and while Maddison is still at the club, Marriott has finally completed a move to the Championship.

After over three weeks of negotiations, a deal was finally struck with Derby County with the striker signing a three-year deal.

The fee was undisclosed but there were a lot of rumours ranging from £2 million rising to £5 million including add-ons. Chairman Darragh MacAnthony described many of these reports as fake news.

STRIKER HUNT CONTINUES

Posh are still on the hunt for another striker and while the style of player wanted was a “target man”, this may now have changed after failing to get any of the players they wanted. Posh have seen bids rejected for players such as Mo Eisa, Charlie Wyke, Josh Magennis, John Marquis and Eoin Doyle.

The style of player they now want is one with “power and pace”! Speaking to the Official Posh website, boss Steve Evans said: “I would like another forward, but I wouldn’t necessarily describe the ones I want as ‘targetmen’.

“I want a striker with power and pace. Most clubs would want a striker like that.”

ONE OR TWO MORE PLAYERS?

Could that player with “power and pace” already have arrived but not announced?

Darragh MacAnthony teased fans on Twitter last night saying that fans will get their first chance to look at the 15 or 16 new players at home! Bearing in mind we’ve only signed 14 players so far, could that be a hint we’ll have another new player playing against Bolton today? Trialist Anton Rogers is obviously one of those extra players so could we have that 16th player as well?

Tomorrow we debut the new pitch ????not to mention 15 new players on home turf for the first time or is it 16 ????. Anyhow free game for all ST holders & cheap for all others. Come say hello @theposhofficial fans & @OfficialBWFC fans ????????

— Darragh MacAnthony (@DMAC102) July 27, 2018

He did play down the numbers when questioned by saying it was a mistake and that he wouldn’t be announcing a new signing…but we all know the games MacAnthony likes to play!

COMINGS AND GOINGS AT THE ABAX STADIUM

Players to have departed or arrived at the club since the end of the season are:

ARRIVALS

: Aaron Chapman

: Rhys Bennett

: Colin Daniel

: Mark O’Hara

: Alex Woodyard

: Matt Godden

Aaron Chapman – Goalkeeper – Accrington Stanley – Free Transfer
Rhys Bennett – Central Defender – Mansfield Town – Free Transfer
Colin Daniel – Left Back / Wing Back – Blackpool – Free Transfer
Mark O’Hara – Midfielder – Dundee – Training Compensation
Alex Woodyard – Midfielder – Lincoln City – Undisclosed (Rumoured £225,000)
Matt Godden – Forward – Stevenage – Undisclosed (Rumoured £400,000)
Jason Naismith – Right Back – Ross County – Undisclosed (Rumoured £200,000)
Louis Reed – Midfielder – Sheffield United – Undisclosed
Siriki Dembele – Winger/Forward – Grimsby Town – Undisclosed
Adam King – Midfield – Swansea City – 6-month Loan
Tyler Denton – Left-Back – Leeds United – Season-long Loan
Josh Yorwerth – Central Defender – Crawley Town – Undisclosed (6-figures)
Jason Cummings – Forward – Nottingham Forest – Season-long Loan
Isaac Buckley-Ricketts – Winger – Manchester City – Undisclosed

: Jason Naismith

: Louis Reed

: Siriki Dembele

: Adam King

: Josh Yorwerth

: Tyler Denton

DEPARTURES

Callum Chettle – Released
Michael Doughty – Swindon Town – Free after agreeing to leave via Mutual Consent
Leo Da Silva Lopes – Wigan Athletic – Undisclosed (Rumoured £1,000,000 + add-ons)
Chris Forrester – Aberdeen – Undisclosed (Rumoured £200,000)
Alex Penny – Hamilton Academical – Undisclosed
Andrew Hughes – Preston North End – Undisclosed (Rumoured £200,000)
Ricky Miller – Port Vale – Undisclosed
Adil Nabi – Mutual Consent
Liam Shephard – Forest Green Rovers – Undisclosed
Idris Kanu – Port Vale – Season Loan
Brad Inman – Rochdale – Free Transfer
Steven Taylor – Wellington Phoenix – Undisclosed
Junior Morias – Northampton Town – Undisclosed
Gwion Edwards – Ipswich Town – £700,000 plus add-ons (worth around £2 million)
Danny Lloyd – Salford City – Undisclosed

Morgan Penfold – Grantham Town – Loan (until January)
Jack Marriott – Derby County – Undisclosed (rumoured to be £5+ million)

PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES

The following are the confirmed pre-season friendlies that have been announced so far…

Peterborough United Fixtures

Date	Time	Home	v	Away
Wed, 4th July	19:30	Stamford	1 v 5	Posh
Sat, 7th July	12:30	Bedford Town	2 v 4	Posh
Tue, 10th July	19:30	Peterborough Sports	0 v 9	Posh
Sat, 14th July	15:00	St Neots	0 v 4	Posh
Wed, 18th July	10:00	CS Maritimo	1 v 0	Posh
Sat, 21st July	11:00	Louletano	2 v 5	Posh
Tue, 24th July	19:30	Gainsborough Trinity	0 v 1	Posh
Tue, 24th July	19:30	Potton United	0 v 2	Posh
Sat, 28th July	15:00	Posh	v	Bolton Wanderers

POSH SNIPPETS AND RUMOURS

Win the chance to be in the 2018/2019 Posh squad photo;

Ticket Information – Rochdale away;

Ticket Information – QPR away;

NON-POSH FOOTIE RELATED ROUND-UP

Former Posh midfielder Michael Doughty, who left the club in pre-season after cancelling his contract, has signed for his former loanee club Swindon Town. He had been doing the rounds at various clubs with the intention of getting signed up by a Championship club, but having failed to do that, he has looked further down the Football League ladder. He had most recently been impressing on trial at League One rivals Oxford United but as soon as Swindown showed an interest, he quickly agreed a deal.

Despite telling experienced former Posh midfielder Toumani Diagoraga that he is free to look for a new club, Fleetwood Town boss Joey Barton now says his midfield is looking “young” and needs some experience!

Sunderland have upped their bid for one-time Posh target Charlie Wyke. The Black Cats have now put in a bid around the £1 million mark for the Bradford City striker. Championship side Bolton Wanderers are also still interested in the 25-year-old.

Another Posh striking target has moved to the Championship. Cheltenham Town’s Mo Eisa has joined Bristol City.

Former Posh forward Paul Taylor could link up with former Posh boss Grant McCann at Doncaster Rovers after being given a trial. He scored in their recent friendly down the road at Deeping Rangers in midweek.

With the season kicking off in just one week, Barnsley have finally made their first signing of the summer! Midfielder Kenny Dougall from Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam has signed on an initial two-year deal. They must be completely happy with the squad that saw them relegated from the Championship last season!

Former Posh loanee Florent Cuvelier is currently having a trial at Scunthorpe United. He was released at the end of last season by former Posh midfielder Dean Keates who is now in charge at Walsall.