All I want for Christmas is…

Dear Santa, 

I am pretty sure that I have been a good boy this year and deserve a place on the nice list. 

Photo Credit : Peterborough Telegraph

I don’t want much. In fact  all I want for Christmas is for Peterborough United to capitalise on a really winnable set of festive fixtures, and begin a run of form which sends us surging up the table. 

Posh have just beaten Reading, a result which stops the rot of a four game losing streak.

The win moves Posh within six points of the top ten, and 11 away from the play-off positions (with a game in hand). 

There is still a small beacon of hope for Posh that this could be a good season. 

Hopefully Santa Williams will deliver these three things to make that happen.

Capitalise on Christmas

Between now and the new year, Posh have three home games, all against sides within the bottom 13 of League One. 

London Road in the winter can become a proper festive fortress. Luke Williams must get his players to harness this and collect maximum points from the visits of Northampton (15th), Leyton Orient (12th), and Reading (17th). 

In the middle of this, there is a must-win trip to rock bottom Port Vale. With cheap ticket pricing, I am expecting a good away following for that clash. 

The Nene Derby is particularly important, after the Cobblers did the double over us last season. It is important that the players recognise the importance of the occasion, and match it with an aggressive and high-tempo game. 

Time for rotation 

Williams will have to rotate his squad well in order to maintain freshness in the group. You’d expect David Okagbue, Tom Lees and Tom O’Connor to be utilised in a number of different partnerships to maintain energy at the back. 

Midfield is a physically demanding role under Luke Williams. I expect Brandon Khela, Ben Woods, Archie Collins, Matthew Garbett and Jimmy-Jay Morgan all to start games at some point between now and the new year. 

The area of concern for me is left back. I am a huge advocate for Harley Mills, however I am sceptical of his ability to play every single minute over the festive period. We are unsure when we will see the return of Jacob Mendy, and so Carl Johnston could be utilised as cover. 

I hope to see a better side of Gustav Lindgren over this period. Although Leonard is a nailed on starter, the Swede’s fresh legs could become crucial towards the end of games. I hope he can make more of an impact.

Get the ‘big three’ going 

This is the first time I have used this term ‘big three.’ 

This is because it has occurred to me recently that there are three players within this Posh squad who should be the best players in the team - I feel that if Williams can get all three of these players going, we could be in serious business. 

The first player of the ‘big three’ is Harry Leonard. He is already cooking nicely under Williams, putting in a game-defining performance against Reading. He must remain amongst the goals and constantly threatening for this system to work. 

I hope Luke Williams has seen the error in his ways when he dropped Leonard last month, and will now consistently utilise him as the angel on top of his tree. 

The second is Declan Frith. He was signed as the direct replacement of Kwame Poku, and was expected to tear League One apart this season. 

His increasing fitness is a great Christmas present for Williams, however he needs to start showing his evident quality on a consistent basis now. 

If his output can increase over the festive period, it will undoubtedly help Posh win games. 

The last of the trio is Matthew Garbett. He is a player with abundant quality, significantly above League One level. Recently however, he has struggled to grab games by the scruff of the neck as you’d expect him to. 

I think this is partly down to him not yet having a clear role within Williams’ midfield set-up, which I hope will be nailed down in the coming weeks, but I also think there has been a lack of quality from Garbett himself which must be remedied. 

If these three players can fulfill their full potential though, I feel they will instantly become one of the best in their respective positions in League One.  

Please Santa 

Not too much to ask for Santa…

Just help Luke Williams perform a Christmas miracle, and pick up maximum points from the next four fixtures. 

Then who knows what the future could ho ho hold. 

I’ll even promise to be good again next year! (Well, within reason)

Charlie 

PS. I am not sure if Ash, Lodz, Max, Harry and John have been good this year. Some have been called a naughty word by our club chairman.