[Butter]

It’s that time of year again… yes, it’s BOSMAN TIME!!!!! That time of year when a bunch of player contracts reach the 6 months or less remaining mark, and the point at which you can sign them away from their current team so that they’ll join you in time for next year’s training camp.

We’re quite busy on this front. But before we get to the signings, let’s look at who’ll be leaving us come summer:
Departures
DR Dean Holden, $130k per season wage
D/M Paul Carden, $50k
AM/ST Paolo Di Canio, $210k
ST James Quinn, $90k
ST Richard Logan, $70k
MC Andre Boucaud, $75k
AMR Ryan Semple, $55k
AM/F Danny Crow, $45k
D/M Shane Huke, $45k
D/M Andrej Mlinaric, $10k

That’s $790k off the books… combined with the $183k in loan wages that will be gone by next fall, and we’ll be cutting our wage budget by over $950k by not re-signing most of these stiffs. I tried to get Lorenzo Davids and Matt Derbyshire so sign a contract with us, since both are out of contract this summer, but neither one had any interest in coming to Peterborough on a regular basis. I might actually consider signing Crow and Mlinaric if they’re amenable to the idea.

To give you an idea of how that will affect us, we are currently at $2.376M in wages, with a budget of $2.3M. So, our wage budget will be almost $900k under budget once these players all depart.

That gives me quite a bit of leeway to bring in some impact players, and not worry about possibly overpaying one or two of them. The board won’t allow me to offer anyone more than $230k per season, so my hands are tied somewhat… but frankly, that income level should be enough to attract anyone to London Road that would actually want to come here in the first place… especially if we don’t get promoted this season. Plus, I always can use some loans in next season to fill in the gaps.

As far as what positions I’m targeting… well, everywhere. Our injury problems this season have proven that more depth is desperately needed so we can ride out those tough early season stretches that are packed with fixtures.

So, with all that out of the way, let the signings begin!

Our first catch is a big one: 22 year old Spanish keeper Ivan Cuellar will be joining us from the Atletico Madrid B squad. Cuellar lacks only in his command of the area, but should be a step up from Markus Probst, who has been a disappointment this season.

We also make a couple of signings of some African players currently playing in France… but those are pending work permit approval. I will note when those come through.

Our second major signing is picking up 32 year old Bolton reserve AM-LC Khalilou Fadiga. Fadiga is a very skillful player, with barely a weakness in his game. He is aging, but we sign him to just a one year deal.

Jan. 6, Match 28 v. #20 Swindon
Swindon get on the board first, as Probst gets caught out of goal a bit on a long ball, and the striker chips it over him for a goal in the 25th. We tinker a bit at halftime, putting Di Canio on the right wing… Then in the 61st, Jansen’s shot is blocked, but Palmason hits a nice volley straight in past the keeper to put us back on level terms. Di Canio played well enough, but we can’t find a winner later.
Draw, 1-1, remain 10th, 5 pts. out of sixth

Our 3rd signing is another AM-LC, this time 25 year old Cherif Toure-Maman from Togo, who’ll join us from French League One side Metz’s reserve team. Toure-Maman comes over with blazing pace, superb technique, and great off the ball skills.

We still can’t seem to find a right-winger to come to us yet, though.

Antonio Barragan suffers another long-term injury, and I once again terminate his loan deal and send him back to the Reds.

Jan. 13, Match 29 @ #17 Chesterfield
P.R. Palmason picks up an injury very early, and is forced off. We go in at halftime scoreless, despite each team having a couple of good chances. Probst allows in a weak 25 yard shot in the 50th, and Chesterfield is up 1-0. Just 3 minutes later, though, Hagman and Barker play the one-two, and Hagman’s quick shot off the return pass puts us level. Hagman scores again in the 61st, but it’s ruled out for offsides. The defense parts open and allows a wide open 12 yard shot in the 76th, and the Blues take advantage, going back on top 2-1. Just when it looked like things were lost, though, Phil Cave sends a long ball into the box from 55 yards… the Blues’ defender misses the header, and Hagman is able to control the ball… then shoot it past the keeper just inside the far post for the dramatic equalizer!
Draw, 2-2, drop to 11th, 7 points from 6th place

2 serious injuries stemming from our previous match. Palmason picks up a severely injured ankle, and will miss 3-6 weeks. Meanwhile, Honore Kabongo may well miss 2-3 months with a serious hip injury.

Reserve striker Richard Logan signs with Rushden & Diamonds of League Two, and I let him go for no signing fee. Dumping his $70k salary bumps us back under our wage budget.

Jan. 20, Match 30 v. #3 Sheffield Wednesday
We come out today in a new formation. A 4-2-3-1, with 2 defensive midfielders, N’Galula and Sanou playing around the center circle, and retreating to help in defense when needed. The 3 withdrawn attackers are Jansen on the left, Tiberkanine in the middle, and Di Canio on the right. The lone striker is Matt Derbyshire, who is finally back and healthy. We go with attacking tactics… let’s see what happens.

In the 13th minute, Di Canio finally flashes some brilliance, dribbling past a defender on his way to the end line, then cutting it back for Matt Derbyshire, who finishes with his 15th goal of the year. Then, just 3 minutes later, Derbyshire slips behind the defense after a Tiberkanine clearance, and beats the keeper after a long run. 2-0 Posh after just 15 minutes. Later, N’Galula with a great through ball to Matt Derbyshire, and he nets his hat-trick before the stroke of halftime! We successfully keep Sheffield Wednesday out of our net in the second half, despite being down 2 men by the end due to injuries to Sanou and Sno following our use of all 3 subs. Possibly our most dominant win of the season!
Win, 3-0, up to 9th place, 5 pts. from 6th

Evander Sno’s injury is not serious from the last match, but Firmin Sanou will miss 4-7 weeks with a badly sprained ankle.

The board is very pleased with our win, while Owls’ striker Paul Dickov notes that their manager ripped them a new one following this defeat.

We make our biggest Bosman signing yet, and possibly the biggest of my tenure next: 27 year old striker Malcolm Christie will join the Posh from Middlesbrough next season. Christie signs for a whopping $150k signing bonus, and $240k per season through 2009. Christie is not blazing fast, but is not slow either. His finishing and touch with the ball are deadly, and his movement without the ball is outstanding. He only lacks a bit in strength, but that can be helped.

That will end our foray into free agency right now, I think. Although I am still on the lookout for more defenders and right wing players.

Jan. 27, Match 31 @ #21 Rotherham
Derbyshire gets clean through on goal in the 22nd… but he decides to lay it off for Jansen… he hesitates and his initial shot is stopped… but his follow-up is on target! 10 minutes later, Derbyshire is through again, and this time he shoots… but his shot hits the post! Just after halftime, Derbyshire nips past a defender and gets a good shot in… it is stopped, but the rebound falls perfectly to Whittington, and he finishes the chance! In the 63rd, Rotherham pull one back on a cross and header past Probst. In the 80th, though, we put the game beyond doubt, as N’Galula’s long ball finds Barker… he draws 3 defenders and the keeper, but is able to toe poke the ball to Di Canio, who scores into an open goal! Di Canio’s first Posh goal. And we top things off with a Floribert N’Galula goal off a Jansen cross. Matt Jansen picks up a 10 rating in this match.
Win, 4-1, remain 9th - 2 pts. out of 6th

This tactics switch has been absolutely sensational so far. We are dominating the ball, keeping it out of our defensive end, and keeping it in the hands of our skilled attacking forwards and defensive midfielders.

I’m not sure why but our attendance has been through the roof of late. We drew over 10,000 to the Sheffield Wed. match a couple of weeks back, and as a result our earnings are shooting through the roof now. I notice that so far this season, we’ve made a better than $1.5M profit through January 27th, largely thanks to increasing gate receipts. Our average attendance early in the season was around 4,500, but it has shot up to over 6,000 with some recent games drawing over 8k.

We finish January a strong 4-2-0 in the league, and are now contenders for the playoffs... whereas just a few weeks ago I thought we were dead and buried.