The season has not gone to plan. Results define clubs, managers, and players, and right now the results simply haven’t been good enough. Huddersfield come to town this Saturday, one of the so-called “big clubs” in League One. POSH have already fallen to Cardiff and Luton—teams tipped to be near the top of the table—and the margin for error is shrinking. But beyond the fixture list and all the hoopla about who’s a heavyweight this season, Peterborough have three opponents more dangerous than any other side they’ll face.
The first opponent: TIME
Time is undefeated. Once you fall behind it, there’s no catching up. Fixtures pile up, injuries take longer to heal, and before you know it the table has moved on without you. The best you can do is stay even with it—by using it wisely, refusing to waste it, and squeezing every ounce from the moments you have. POSH don’t need to panic, but they can’t afford to drift either.
The second opponent: BELIEF
Lately, belief has been in short supply. A couple of late concessions, a missed chance here, a poor call there, and suddenly doubt creeps in. Unlike time, belief can be rebuilt—but it requires intent. A big goal, a clean sheet, even a gritty draw can flip the script. The new signings may provide a spark, but belief has to run deeper than fresh faces. It has to settle into the squad and spread through the stands until both players and fans expect results rather than hope for them.
The final opponent: FOCUS
Focus should be the easiest win, but it’s the one most under attack. Missed referee calls, restless supporters, the lure of bigger contracts elsewhere, the endless chatter online—it’s all noise. Lose focus for five minutes and a match slips away. Win the moments, though, and the matches will take care of themselves. Success will come not from chasing the grand statement but from doing the smallest things well, over and over, until they add up.
As the season wears on, I still believe Darren Ferguson is the right man to guide this side. He’s faced these invisible opponents before and knows how to rally a squad when belief wavers. His track record at POSH—multiple promotions, a knack for rebuilding squads on the fly—proves he understands the climb. With time managed wisely, belief restored, and focus sharpened, I think it’s only a matter of time before things come good.
Up the POSH!
Pete
Soccer in the United States is gaining undeniable momentum in American culture. While the progress of the sport in this country has been slow, its impact is becoming more widespread. Through the various parts of this “Manifesto”, I will plead a case for the reasons for the proliferation of the sport and the impacts on the country at large. Physical, social, psychological and philosophical outcomes can be reaped through the more widespread acceptance of soccer as a national force. It may be a difficult argument to the general public because as Tom Weir of USA Today wrote in 1993, “Hating soccer is more American that apple pie.” While this sentiment may be changing, a deep dive into the facets of a transition is in order.
As we progress even further into a new century and millennium, several of the rigid systems of the past are crumbling under the pressure of technology and the democratization of information. The old systems are being replaced for the very same reasons that they thrived a century ago. Cheap/efficient labor, mechanization, standardization and a consumer culture brought forth prosperity to the US. Now, cheap labor is found elsewhere or replaced entirely by machines. Standardizing of products has made many of them generic where cost and convenience become the most sought features rather than quality and craftsmanship. The model of consumerism has left many bankrupt financially, depressed emotionally and weighed down physically. The mantra “that’s the way we’ve always done it!” is the calling card of those primed for a fall to irrelevance or extinction.
The traditional American sports do not fit as effectively into this new economic paradigm. The industrial model of tracking productivity in order to become more efficient in the name of progress does not hold. The measure of a good worker in the new economy is not a mindless cog that produces more than the other cogs. It requires a mixture of technical ability mixed with the emotional intelligence to make decisions based on varying factors. In the traditional American sports, these decisions were made solely by the coach, quarterback or point guard. Most other players were doing their assigned job as a part of an orchestrated unit. Divergence from the rules of the system was not desirable. The new economy needs more decision makers rather than rule followers.
Huryk Unlimited 