Who Are Ya? - Peterborough United (a)

The last time The Imps faced today’s opponents Peterborough United at London Road was on Saturday 1st May 2021. This match finished 3-3, and the less I say about it, the better.

Ahead of today’s match against Peterborough United, we have done a Q&A with one of their supporters, so thank you to Stuart for answering our questions! You can discuss the answers HERE!

Not going to the match today? You can get involved with our Peterborough United v Lincoln City Match Thread, as well as get involved with our pre-match threads: You can post your score predictions, discuss the starting XI and post your attendance predictions!

How long have you supported Peterborough United?

Since the 1980s (too long).

Where did you finish last season?

Third bottom, I think. There was only lingering hope of staying up because of some teams’ points deductions. In reality, we were well adrift (of course, these cheating clubs should have a bigger penalty, but that doesn’t stop us from deserving to go down and is an argument for another day).

What do you think of your manager?

A bit mixed. He was a fine player for us, but not one I ever warmed to – but I’m very much in the minority there. My first stint as manager was decidedly average. The second time around has started promisingly – suggesting he’s learned plenty whilst he’s been away, but I have a lingering concern he doesn’t know his best formation – or that he’s trying to be too cute. Our players are in League One for a reason and tactical flexibility is part of that reason.

What are your hopes and expectations for the 2022/23 season?

To enjoy some games. It’s pretty dispiriting being a tiny club in a league that’s a bit too big for you. Of course, Lincoln knows all about that in League One ;-).

Seriously, though, I’m hoping for another promotion and we’re in a good place to achieve it.

One(s) to watch?

Ronnie Edwards has to be the one. He spent the summer pretty much representing the EFL in the England u19 Euro winning squad. He’s a fine player and was POTY in the Championship, but not one who’s likely to benefit from being dragged down to League One.

Which teams do you think will finish in the top six in League One?

It’s hard to look past the big clubs – Ipswich, Sheff Wed, Pompey, Charlton, etc. – but at least one will fail spectacularly. I expect us to be in and around there, too.

Which teams do you think will finish in the bottom four in League One?

No surprises, I don’t think. Morecambe, Cheltenham, possibly Shrewsbury. We can, of course, all hope for MK Dons.

What are your thoughts on Lincoln City?

I live near Lincoln and my wife supports the club, so I’m no stranger to Sincil Bank and I’m always keen for the team to do well (one place below the Posh in perpetuity would be perfect). I do enjoy our rivalry, too, but with Cambridge in L1 this year, this game has been returned to the regular fixtures list.

What do you think the score will be?

I think both clubs have had a decent start and it’s a tough call. An early goal in our favour and it ends up 5-0 to Posh. The longer it stays goalless, the more I can see a 1-0 to Lincoln.

Peterborough United (a - 20/08/22): Will The Imps Win, Lose or Draw?

Win

Lose

Draw

Random fact about your Club?

We have just installed extremely unsafe safe-standing. It’s an absolute mess.

If you could steal one Lincoln City player for your own team, who would it be and why?

Is this before or after Anthony Scully signs next week?

What are your proudest and most embarrassing moments as a Peterborough United supporter?

I tend to think of this kind of thing away from the pitch. We’ve had some decent performances over the years (so if pushed, I’d say knocking Liverpool out of the League Cup in 1991), but actually, my proudest moments are when we go to an away game and enjoy a decent drink with the home fans.

The embarrassment would be along the same lines, but with different behaviour and often happens against Lincoln.

Who would you say is your most underrated player?

Most are pretty well known. Perhaps Harrison Burrows – youth team product. He certainly has one of the higher ceilings and can really turn it on.

Do you have a Supporters Trust and what role do they play at the Club?

Yes, but it’s limited to oversight, as far as I’m aware. Ready to step in when the Canadian venture capitalists supporting McAnthoney call it a day.

Which was your favourite match involving Peterborough United?

Beating Derby 3-2 away in the league in 92/93. It was our first season in that division and it was just as they’d become the second richest club behind Blackburn. Came back from 2-0 down after ten minutes and pulverised them all afternoon (except on the run back to the station).

Which was your least favourite match involving Peterborough United?

When we lost to Crystal Palace to relegate us from the Championship with 54 points in 2013. To pre-empt the question below, anything other than conceding two goals in the last five minutes might well have seen us establish ourselves as a Championship club. We were ahead of the game on the buy low/sell high model at that point and this killed us.

Do you have a Former Players Association at Peterborough United?

Not that I know of. The club does plenty with older ex-players, but I don’t know of anything formal.

There is every chance you’ll be up there challenging for promotion again come May. If you go back up though how do you cut the yo-yo string and stop coming straight back down again?

As I said above, the model we used so, so nearly worked. Unfortunately, we’ve been trying to replicate that, whilst other clubs have not only copied us, but done a better job of it. A complete rethink is possibly required, but changing too much might not be enough to get us up in the first place. There really isn’t an easy answer, but the one thing we always seem to lack in the Championship is a physical presence (even the skillful players are bigger and faster at that level), so that might be the place to start. The one thing I am grateful for is that we’ve never gambled the future of the club on staying up. I’d rather we came back down than overspent on journeymen.

Now that you’ve sold Szmodics, which one of your players can we shout at for 90 minutes on Saturday? Is anyone else likely to jump into one of our players in the last minute to get a ridiculous penalty?

Hmmmm. I should say at this point that Brennan Johnson in particular won numerous penalties and fouls throughout that season with outrageous dives – so that penalty, ridiculous though it may have been, was really the chickens coming home to roost for Lincoln. That being said, I would boo Johnson Clark-Harris if I was you – he scored it, after all. And I’d love to see someone try to confront him. It wouldn’t last long.

Barry Fry: club legend or self-publicist and man you’d not buy a 2nd hand car from?

I can’t stand the man – he crossed a line with the fans from which there is no coming back. I remember us getting a drubbing at Sincil Bank in the late 90s (I think). It was a particularly tense day and there had been a lot of trouble. In order to rile us further, the Lincoln fans started chanting a song about Fry, only to be met with a round of applause from the Posh fans. Plenty love him, but those of us that can’t forget mostly ignore and tolerate him these days. He’s certainly paid for his crimes and has played his part in our successes.

What are your memories of the players that left Lincoln to come to you with Big Keef?

To be honest, I had to check I was talking about the right people (I forgot Butcher and Stirling). The only one who ever gets talked about these days is Ben Futcher and that’s whenever we’re debating the worst ever Posh XI. To be fair, he was a reasonable player elsewhere, but terrible for Posh.

Simon Yeo and Richard Butcher were competent but forgettable and Jude Stirling had a long throw and not a lot else. I did like Peter Gain (although I think he came before Keith) – but he wasn’t great.

The problem most of these players have is they played for the club just before the most successful period in our history. They were cleared out for some of our greatest ever. So when you put them in that context, it’s easy to forget them and hard to form any bond. They were all there, though, to help steady the club and provide a base for the better things to come, so all of the players from that season (and very much the manager) deserve some credit.