Football League guru also answers questions on who could survive in Prem and favourite Scunthorpe moments
Thursday 4 December 2014 17:56, UK
Peter Beagrie is here to answer YOUR Football League questions.
The former winger, who played over 770 games, representing clubs in all four tiers of the English footballing pyramid, including Manchester City, Everton, Bradford, Sheffield United, Scunthorpe and Grimsby, forms part of the Sky Sports punditry team for all the big matches in the Championship, League One and League Two.
So if you have a poser for Peter, whether it's about a team, player, match or incident that has caught your eye, a wider point on the Football League or something a little left field, then send it in via the feedback form at the bottom of the article (skysports.com only).
Read on for this week's column where Beags has his say on Wycombe, Watford, Bolton and who is best equipped to survive in the Premier League if they are promoted...
How have Wycombe transformed themselves from almost getting relegated last season to being top of League Two this time around? Dave A Burin
BEAGS SAYS: Well David, Gareth obviously learned a lot from the adversity of last season’s final day survival on goal difference and has used the experience to educate himself, and the players left from that near disaster, in what is needed to avoid it happening again. He has had a major overhaul of the squad, bringing in a blend of experience and young and hungry players, which has certainly improved the quality, if not quantity, of the group.
Paul Hayes up top and Peter Murphy in midfield are examples of Ainsworth’s man management skills, and making Hayes captain to get the best out of him was a masterstroke.
A lot of clubs were interested in Peter Murphy after an outstanding season at Accrington but your manager talked him into using Wycombe as a stepping stone for possibly a bigger move, something I’m sure will come to fruition if his form continues and will benefit both the player and your club.
Gareth has used his contacts and the loan market while operating by design with a 19-man squad to make sure nobody is more than one injury, suspension or loss of form from the starting line-up while out of the team. He has encouraged a feeling of togetherness, unity and spirit, which wasn’t apparent before and is certainly serving them well and keeping them at the top of the division.
Up next for Wycombe are high-flying Southend, who have won their last four league games in a row and will provide as tough a test as Wycombe have had all season. Good luck David.
Watford have lost four games in a row under new manager Slavisa Jokanovic and he's already under pressure, should he be given more time? David Robinson
BEAGS SAYS: A run of four single goal losses has seen your Watford side go from leading the Championship to outside the play-off places David. Slavisa Jokanovic, your fourth manager this season, has tried to change the quick counter-attacking style which served you well over the last couple of seasons to a more possession-based game, where the build-up is more calculated and controlled, and it isn’t quite happening or as effective at the moment.
Getting Matej Vydra back and also acquiring the services of flyer Lloyd Dyer, amongst others in the pre-season, excited me as far as Watford’s chances of a top-six finish and, until this recent change of manager and dip in form, I was still enthusiastic. For me they are perfectly suited with the players at their disposal to a counter-attacking game, transferring through the thirds at pace when dispossessing opposition who have over committed bodies forward.
Having said that, the last four narrow losses could easily have been draws or victories if Vydra, Troy Deeney and Gianni Munari had been more ruthless with the chances that fell their way. The next four games give the manager a huge opportunity to readdress the balance with Fulham, Wigan, Reading and Wolves their opponents. I will be interested to see how they shape up and what team the manager selects in our live Friday night game at the Cottage. I’m hoping for a free-flowing encounter with plenty of goals.
What do you make of the impact Neil Lennon has had at Bolton? Asa O'Keefe
BEAGS SAYS: Asa, Neil’s impact at Bolton has been immediate. It had to be and it was. The porous defence looks stronger and more organised and with goalkeeper Andy Lonergan at the top of his game the back five now give the team a platform to build off.
Neil has given belief to the boys in front of them to express themselves and play at a high tempo, trusting usually forward-thinking Neil Danns and Darren Pratley - now Mark Davies is injured - to be responsible from a defensive point of view and pick and choose when to support the other three operating behind workaholic centre forward Craig Davies.
Liam Feeney and young Crewe academy graduate Max Clayton occupy the wide positions of this support three for Davies while Chung-Yong Lee, put in his best position centrally behind the big front man, creates chances and provides real moments of magic, which have had Bolton fans purring.
Neil is a big character, passionate and enthusiastic. He also suffers fools lightly, so he has that respect/fear thing going on, which in my experience all top managers have, and in the modern game with player power I feel is a must. Unbeaten at home still, and with a much healthier points haul and league position, Neil’s impact cannot be underestimated.
Which Championship team if promoted do you believe has a chance to survive in the Premier League and not come straight back down, as the teams promoted last year seem to be struggling badly? Chris Brunton
BEAGS SAYS: There is such a gulf, nay chasm, now between the Championship and Premier League that it is very difficult Tom to maintain and then sustain a Premier League existence once promoted. Over the years the promoted teams who have entertained and played an expansive game, such as West Brom, Blackpool and Burnley under Owen Coyle, have come straight back down, while Hull, Stoke and Newcastle have had the structure and defensive strength to stay up.
Swansea and Southampton both with possession-based games have performed heroics, building on what they have had and improving beyond recognition, dealing with comings and goings of both managers and star players and continuing to flourish.
I believe Derby as a club have the infrastructure and a decent chance with investment and several quality additions to provide a good argument for a team who could, given also their manager’s credentials, potentially stay up if promoted.
I could make a case for several other teams based on a number of criteria but it really is a lottery. Who would have thought Stoke City would become permanent fixtures along with Wigan Athletic for many years? Swansea’s league existence was challenged only just over a decade ago, Southampton have gone from their double promotion to rubbing shoulders at the top of the Premier League table while mighty Manchester City have fallen and risen from League One obscurity to enormous wealth and worldwide notoriety.
In football anything is possible. Imagine Bournemouth as the new Swansea, a 17-point penalty then League Two survival to top entertainers in the Championship, and a real threat to their more illustrious competitors as far as an automatic or play-off place is concerned. Could Bournemouth achieve promotion? I say why not.
Bradford and Barnsley, Blackpool and Burnley, all clubs who have done their phoenix from the flames impressions over the years and achieved the unbelievable and reached the promised land of the Premier League. If it’s all in the letter B then we can’t rule out Brentford either. Always remember that this is football and whether you are writing, talking, watching or playing, it is, as far as I am concerned, the best game in the world.
What is your favourite moment when you were a Scunthorpe United player and also watching Scunthorpe play Peter? Matthew SUFC Ironmonger
BEAGS SAYS: Matthew, thanks for your question. My favourite moment playing for Scunny was definitely the win on the last day of the season in League Two at Gay Meadow against Shrewsbury Town. It guaranteed us promotion and signified a fulfilled ambition from a few years’ hard work and the reason I took up Brian Laws’ invitation to join him as his assistant at Scunthorpe. It was even more satisfying as I was into my 40th year and involved heavily in the coaching and recruitment side.
My most enjoyable moment watching was the 3-2 victory at Wembley over a very good Millwall side under Kenny Jackett’s tutelage. A Gary Alexander brace, one an amazing strike, looked set to bring Wembley heartache once more for United after a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy loss seven weeks’ earlier, until Martyn Woolford’s effort won it for them in the 85th minute.
It was a game rich in drama, skill and energy, and played in sweltering conditions. Alexander missing a header at 2-2 to complete a hat-trick before Woolford’s defining strike. Local lad Matt Sparrow getting two goals and Woolford, plucked from non-league York City, outshining the league’s deadly duo Paul Hayes and Gary Hooper to give Scunthorpe a Championship place and send the fans home delirious.
