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Peterborough United
Peterborough United.svg
Full name Peterborough United Football Club
Nickname(s) The Posh
Founded 1934; 90 years ago (1934)
Ground London Road
Ground Capacity 15,314
Owner Darragh MacAnthony (75%), Kelgary Sports & Entertainment (20%), IRC Investments Limited (5%)
Chairman Darragh MacAnthony
Manager Darren Ferguson
League League One
2018–19 League One, 7th of 24
Third colours

Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system.

Peterborough United formed in 1934 and joined the Midland League. Having won the Midland League title for five consecutive seasons from 1955–56, they were elected into the Football League in 1960. Peterborough immediately won the Fourth Division title in 1960–61, scoring a Football League record 134 goals. Relegated in 1968, they won another Fourth Division title in 1973–74, though suffered a further relegation in 1979. Peterborough were promoted back into the Third Division at the end of the 1990–91 season and reached the second tier with victory in the 1992 play-off final. However they returned to the fourth tier with relegations in 1994 and 1997.

Peterborough won the Third Division play-offs in 2000 under the stewardship of Barry Fry, though were relegated in 2005. They secured a place in the Championship after manager Darren Ferguson led them to consecutive promotions in 2007–08 and 2008–09 and spent three of the next four seasons in the second tier, winning a play-off final in 2011 after relegation the previous year. They were relegated back into League One in 2013, though went on to win the Football League Trophy in 2014. In the 2020–21 season, Peterborough were promoted back to the Championship, though were relegated back into League One the following season.

Peterborough have long-standing rivalries with nearby clubs Cambridge United and Northampton Town, the former with whom they contest the Cambridgeshire derby and the latter the Nene derby named after the river that runs through both settlements. They have spent their entire history at London Road and are nicknamed "The Posh".

History

1934–1990

Peterborough United formed in 1934 at Peterborough's Angel Hotel to provide a replacement for Peterborough & Fletton United, who had folded two years previously. Peterborough's application to join the Midland League was welcomed by the league, however, the representatives from the club did not have the money to pay for the security deposit, entry fee and subscription. Grantham Town loaned the money to The Posh who began selling shares to raise funds.

4,033 fans attended The Posh's first league match which ended in a 4–0 victory over Gainsborough Trinity. William Rigby scored the team's first goal. They won the Midland League on six occasions, including five seasons in a row from 1956 to 1960. The Posh were elected to The Football League for the beginning of the 1960–61 season, winning Division Four.

Following the Fourth Division Championship success in 1960–61, The Posh spent seven seasons in the 3rd Division. They reached the quarter-finals of the 1964–65 FA Cup, beating Arsenal and Swansea Town along the way before going out to Chelsea. They were relegated back to the 4th Division for financial irregularities in the summer of 1968. The club took six seasons to return to Division 3, winning the 4th Division championship.

In 1977–78 the club threatened to go one better until they narrowly missed out on promotion to Division 2 when they drew the last game of the season at champions Wrexham (0–0) when a win was needed to go up. The game was notable for the fact that over 2,000 Preston North End fans travelled to Wrexham to watch the game and cheer on the home side – Preston were the club who went up because Peterborough did not win. The Wrexham defeat cast a long shadow over the club and it fell into a long decline. Relegation followed in 1979 and Posh subsequently spent 12 years back in the 4th division. The 1980s was a long story of mismanagement and false dawns, punctuated by the odd cup run. March 1984 marked the arrival of striker Errington Kelly on loan; after scoring seven goals in eleven appearances, he was made permanent, and went on to have over 100 appearances for Peterborough over five seasons.

1991–2000

In January 1991, Chris Turner, who had played in the 1974 Fourth division championship team took over as manager and the team embarked on a run of 13 unbeaten games that propelled them into the top four. Six players were signed on transfer deadline day, which at the time was a record for the number of players signed by one club on a single day. On the final day of the season, Posh travelled to Chesterfield needing a win to seal promotion. Despite going two goals down in the first ten minutes, the team rallied and drew level with goals from David Robinson and George Berry. However, Posh's closest rivals, Blackpool lost at Walsall and promotion was achieved.

PeterboroughUnitedFC League Performance
Chart of table positions for Peterborough since joining the Football League.

The following season arguably remains the most successful in the club's history. After an inconsistent start the team hit form during the autumn when they knocked Wimbledon and Newcastle United out of the League Cup. The reward was a home tie with a Liverpool team containing Bruce Grobbelaar, Jan Mølby, Steve McManaman, Dean Saunders and Mark Wright. Garry Kimble scored the only goal after 19 minutes prompting wild celebrations and a place in the quarter-finals. In the league, the team went from strength to strength and surged up the table. Middlesbrough ended the League Cup run after a replay and there was further disappointment when the team missed out on a trip to Wembley in the Football League Trophy when they lost to Stoke City over two legs in the area final.

Progress continued in the league and a play-off place was clinched on the last day of the season despite a 1–0 defeat to champions Brentford. The following week, Huddersfield Town came to London Road for the first leg of the Semi-final. Captain Mick Halsall's last minute equaliser levelled the score at 2–2. Three days later, the supporters travelled north more in hope than expectation but they were rewarded when the team came from a goal down to win 2–1 with Worrell Sterling and Steve Cooper scoring the goals. On 24 May 1992, Peterborough United played at Wembley for the first time, against Stockport County in the Third Division playoff final. With Posh winning 2–1 and gaining promotion to the new First division. They played in Football League Division One between 1992 and 1994 and finished 10th, their highest ever league finish, in 1992–93 season.

2001–2010

During the 2005–06 season the club had three managers: Team owner Barry Fry returned to management following former England international Mark Wright's sacking in January 2006. Wright's assistant Steve Bleasdale was then appointed acting manager, but resigned in April. Keith Alexander joined as manager from Lincoln City for 2006–07 but was sacked in January 2007 after a run of poor form and was replaced by Darren Ferguson. He led the club to back-to-back promotions from League Two to the Championship in his two full seasons in charge. By November 2009 Posh were bottom of the Championship and Ferguson left the club, to be replaced by Mark Cooper. In February 2010, after only 13 games in charge, Cooper also left the club and Jim Gannon was appointed in his place. Following confirmation of relegation from the Championship after a 2–2 draw at Barnsley, Gannon was replaced by Gary Johnson.

2011–present

Peterborough United fans
Peterborough United fans at Old Trafford in 2011

Gary Johnson left the club on 10 January 2011 due to policy disagreement. Two days after Johnson's departure, Darren Ferguson returned to the club on a four and a half-year contract. Peterborough finally finished 4th in 2010–11 with one of the worst defensive records in the third tier, conceding 75 goals, but scoring 106; the most for anybody in the Football League that season. Peterborough beat Milton Keynes Dons in the play-off semi-finals. They defeated Huddersfield Town in the final with a 3–0 victory, and gained promotion back to the Championship.

Darren Ferguson led the team to safety in its first season back in the Championship, leading to a finish in 18th. However, the Posh were relegated back the following season, after losing to Crystal Palace 3–2 on 4 May 2013, the final match of the season. On 30 March 2014, the Posh won the Football League Trophy after defeating Chesterfield in the final at Wembley Stadium. Darren Ferguson ended his time as Peterborough United manager on 21 February 2015, following a 3–0 defeat at Milton Keynes Dons.

On 1 May 2021, Peterborough were promoted back to the Championship after an 8-year stay in League One after coming back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 against rivals Lincoln City following a 96th-minute penalty by Jonson Clarke-Harris. On 20 February 2022, Darren Ferguson left Peterborough United for the third time, after offering his resignation to club co-owner Darragh MacAnthony. Ferguson left the club in the relegation zone of the Championship, five points from safety. At the end of the 2021–22 season, Peterborough were relegated back to League One. In the 2022–23 season, Peterborough reached the League One play-offs, but lost in the semi-finals to Sheffield Wednesday. Peterborough won the EFL Trophy in the 2023–24 season, defeating Wycombe Wanderers 2–1 in the final.

Colours and kits

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

Tables of kit suppliers and shirt sponsors appear below:

Years Kit manufacturer Kit sponsor
1975–1981 Umbro No sponsor
1981–1982 SodaStream
1982–1983
1983–1986 Patrick
1986–1987 Henson Fairview
1987–1988 Wells Ales
1988–1990 Scoreline Perkins
1990–1992 Ribero
1992–1995 The Posh Thomas Cook
1995–1996
1996–1999 Patrick
1999–2001 Soke The Posh
2001–2002 The Posh
2002–2003 Goal International No sponsor
2003–2004 Admiral Van Asten Logistics
2004–2006 Hotpoint
2006 Diadora Haart
2007 Tempest Sports
2007–2008 MRI Overseas Property
2008–2010 Adidas
2010 Sue Ryder Care
2010–2011 theposh.com
2011–2013 Nike Energy Park Peterborough
2013–2014 Stadium Energy
2014–2020 Mick George
2020–present Puma

Nickname

Peterborough United are nicknamed "The Posh", a moniker coined in 1921, after Pat Tirrell, manager of Fletton United, was reported to say he was "Looking for posh players for a posh new team". Portside Out Starboard Home ( POSH a Pub on London Road founded in 1932 demolished 1990s. When Fletton United looked to join the Southern League in 1923 they added Peterborough to their name to form Peterborough & Fletton United, in an attempt to gain the backing of businesses in Peterborough. Peterborough & Fletton United went bankrupt in October 1932 so the current club is the third to be known as The Posh. However, the term "posh" was used as a derogatory term for the club by the press.

Peterborough & Fletton United were also commonly called "the brickies" in reference to the large brick industry in Peterborough, however the nickname was dropped when the club went bankrupt.

In 2002 Victoria Beckham filed a counter-claim with the UK Patent Office over the club's application to register their nickname of "Posh" for use on merchandise. The former Spice Girl, who was known in the group as "Posh Spice", claimed the "nickname 'Posh' has become synonymous with her on a worldwide basis". She was unsuccessful in her suit.

Stadium

Since their formation Peterborough United have played their home games at London Road. The stand behind the London Road End is terraced while the Moy's End, is a rebuilt all-seater stand, and now known as the GH Display Stand. A 20,000 all-seater stadium to replace London Road has been proposed. The record attendance at the stadium is 30,096, achieved on 20 February 1965 in an FA Cup fifth-round game against Swansea Town.

The ground was renamed as the ABAX Stadium in November 2014 as part of a five-year sponsorship deal with Norwegian company ABAX. In June 2019, the ground was renamed the "Weston Homes Stadium" as a ten-year sponsorship deal, the largest in the club's history, between the football club and the British property developer company.

Rivalries

Cambridge United

According to the Football Fans Census, Cambridge United were considered to be the club's main rival. The Cambridge rivalry, known as the Cambridgeshire derby, has been fought very evenly over the years; Peterborough winning 18 and Cambridge 15, with Peterborough netting 59 times and Cambridge 52 in the 39 competitive matches they have played each other. However, the two sides did not meet each other between 2001 and 2017 when they faced each other in the Checkatrade Trophy, a game which Peterborough won 2–0. They next met in the league on 29 October 2022. A game which Peterborough won 1–0. Peterborough won the latest fixture with a record breaking 5–0 win in the league on 11 November 2023.

Northampton Town

Northampton Town are the club's traditional rival, dating back to when both sides were lower league, and as the city of Peterborough is historically part of Northamptonshire.

MK Dons

More recently, Peterborough fans have begun to view the MK Dons as rivals, partly due to the geographic location, but also due to battling with the MK Dons for promotion from League Two and League One in Darren Ferguson's first two full seasons.

Huddersfield Town

Ever since 1992 there has also been animosity between Peterborough United and Huddersfield Town, with Chris Turner's Peterborough progressing to the final and later on winning the play-offs in the 1991–92 Football League Third Division, they progressed past Huddersfield winning 4–3 on aggregate in the playoff semi finals. This rivalry further grew in 2011 with Peterborough winning against Huddersfield in the 2010–11 League One play-off final 3–0, and in the 2012–13 Championship season Huddersfield relegated Peterborough from the championship on the last day of the season with them drawing 2–2 with Barnsley, and with Peterborough losing 3–2 against Crystal Palace, Huddersfield's draw with Barnsley, with both sides willing to see the game out as a draw, caused the latter to leapfrog Peterborough and send them down to League One. This rivalry was played again in the 2021–22 Championship season.

Lincoln City

Peterborough also have shown a certain enmity towards Lincoln City. This rivalry grew on 1 May 2021, as Peterborough United came back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 meaning they secured automatic promotion to the Championship, denying Lincoln a chance at finishing second and forcing the Lincolnshire club to settle for a play-off place.

Pride of Anglia

Many fans consider Peterborough to be a part of the Pride of Anglia derby, contested between the professional clubs based in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and sometimes Essex. Matches against these teams often draw large crowds with Posh's highest home attendance of the 2019–20 season coming against Ipswich Town with 10,071 fans.

Players

Current squad

No. Position Player
1 Australia GK Nicholas Bilokapic
2 England DF Jadel Katongo (on loan from Manchester City)
3 England DF Harrison Burrows (captain)
4 England DF Ronnie Edwards
5 England DF Josh Knight
6 England DF Romoney Crichlow
7 Cameroon MF Jeando Fuchs
8 England MF Ryan de Havilland
9 Jamaica FW Jonson Clarke-Harris
10 England FW Ephron Mason-Clark (on loan from Coventry City)
11 Ghana MF Kwame Poku
12 England DF Vontae Daley-Campbell
13 England GK Will Blackmore
14 England MF Joel Randall
15 England FW Michael Olakigbe (on loan from Brentford)
16 England MF David Ajiboye
17 England FW Ricky-Jade Jones
18 England FW Malik Mothersille
20 England DF Emmanuel Fernandez
No. Position Player
21 England GK Jed Steer
22 Cyprus MF Hector Kyprianou
25 England GK Fynn Talley
27 England MF Archie Collins
28 England FW Jacob Wakeling
33 England GK Jake West
34 England MF Harry Titchmarsh
35 England MF Donay O'Brien-Brady
36 England DF James Dornelly
37 England DF Harley Mills
38 England FW Gabriel Overton
39 England DF Joe Toynton
40 England MF George Holley
41 England DF Noah Freeman
42 England MF Max Beech
43 England MF Will Van Lier
47 England FW Pemi Aderoju

Out on loan

No. Position Player
19 England FW Kabongo Tshimanga (at Boreham Wood until 30 June 2024)
23 Spain FW Kai Corbett (at Scunthorpe United until 30 June 2024)
24 England DF Charlie O'Connell (at Oxford City until 30 June 2024)
England DF Aaron Powell (on loan at King's Lynn Town)

Notable former players

For a list of notable Peterborough United players in sortable-table format see List of Peterborough United F.C. players.

Club officials

Boardroom

  • Chairman: Darragh MacAnthony Republic of Ireland
  • Chief Executive Officer: Dawn Gore England
  • Director of Football: Barry Fry England
  • Directors: Liz Elsom England, Iain Crawford Scotland, Dawn Gore
  • Operations Manager, Leighton Mitchell England

First team

  • First-team manager: Darren Ferguson Scotland
  • Assistant manager: Kieran Scarff England
  • First-team coach : Dale Tonge England
  • Goalkeeping coach: Ali Uzunhasanoglu Turkey
  • Head of sports science: Lewis Keeble England
  • First Team Analyst: Matthew Loades England
  • Physio: Jonathan Chatfield England
  • Kit Manager: Ryan Melton England
  • Club Doctor: Dr Cosmas C.P Nnochiri

Youth team

  • Under 23s Manager: Ryan Semple England
  • Under 23s Assistant Manager: Vacant
  • Under 18s Manager: Jimmy Unwin England
  • Under 18s Assistant Manager: Hugh Alban-Jones England
  • Senior Professional Phase Lead Coach: Anthony Limbrick Australia
  • Youth Lead Phase Coach: Ryan Semple
  • Head of academy coaching: Tony Cook England
  • Head of Player Care: Michael Harriman Republic of Ireland
  • Academy manager: Dan Robinson England

Managers

As of 10 April 2024. Only competitive matches are counted. Periods as caretaker manager are shown in italics

Name From To Record
P W D L Win %
Jock Porter 9 July 1934 10 April 1936 71 25 17 29 35.21%
England Fred Taylor 11 April 1936 22 April 1936 6 2 1 3 33.33%
England Fred Taylor 23 April 1936 30 June 1937 49 21 6 22 41.82%
H J (Bert) Poulter 1 July 1937 2 June 1938 45 8 15 22 17.78%
England Sam Haden 3 June 1938 1 May 1948 179 88 27 64 49.16%
England Jack Blood 3 May 1948 4 February 1950 83 37 11 35 44.58%
England Jim Smith 05 February 1950 05 March 1950 10 6 4 0 60.00%
England Bob Gurney 6 March 1950 1 April 1952 87 37 25 25 42.53%
The Board 2 April 1952 3 June 1952 9 3 3 3 33.33%
England Jack Fairbrother 4 June 1952 9 January 1954 82 41 22 19 50.00%
The Board/Trainer/Captain 10 January 1954 1 February 1954 3 2 0 1 66.67%
England George Swindin 2 February 1954 4 July 1958 217 144 44 29 66.36%
England Jimmy Hagan 20 August 1958 18 October 1962 202 130 36 36 64.36%
England Johnny Anderson 18 October 1962 31 December 1962 12 8 1 3 66.67%
England Jack Fairbrother 1 January 1963 15 February 1964 56 17 14 25 30.36%
England Johnny Anderson 15 February 1964 21 April 1964 12 7 3 2 58.33%
England Gordon Clark 22 April 1964 28 September 1967 173 71 40 62 41.04%
England Norman Rigby 28 September 1967 30 November 1967 12 5 2 5 41.67%
England Norman Rigby 1 December 1967 8 January 1969 58 22 15 21 37.93%
England Jim Iley 8 January 1969 15 September 1972 182 66 47 69 36.26%
Jim Walker 16 September 1972 11 October 1972 7 0 3 4 00.00%
Republic of Ireland Noel Cantwell 12 October 1972 10 May 1977 252 105 72 75 41.67%
England John Barnwell 10 May 1977 9 November 1978 80 32 30 18 40.00%
England Billy Hails 9 November 1978 20 November 1978 3 0 0 3 00.00%
England Billy Hails 20 November 1978 5 February 1979 9 1 3 5 11.11%
England Billy Hails 9 February 1979 27 February 1979 2 1 0 1 50.00%
England Peter Morris 27 February 1979 3 June 1982 178 76 48 54 42.70%
Martin Wilkinson 30 June 1982 28 February 1983 38 14 11 13 33.84%
England Bill Harvey 6 November 1982 - - - -
England Bill Harvey 1 March 1983 15 May 1983 16 7 3 6 43.75%
England John Wile 16 May 1983 1 November 1986 178 69 55 64 33.15%
England Lil Fuccillo 1 November 1986 20 November 1986 4 1 2 1 25.00%
Republic of Ireland Noel Cantwell 20 November 1986 12 July 1988 90 38 22 30 42.22%
England Mick Jones 12 July 1988 31 August 1989 59 18 15 26 30.51%
England Dave Booth 31 August 1989 6 September 1989 1 0 1 0 00.00%
Republic of Ireland Mark Lawrenson 6 September 1989 9 November 1990 68 26 24 18 38.24%
England Dave Booth 9 November 1990 22 January 1991 17 4 8 5 23.53%
England Chris Turner 22 January 1991 18 December 1992 116 56 35 25 48.28%
England Lil Fuccillo 18 December 1992 29 December 1993 58 15 19 24 25.86%
England Chris Turner 29 December 1993 7 May 1994 28 5 7 14 19.23%
England John Still 9 May 1994 24 October 1995 72 21 25 26 29.17%
England Mick Halsall 24 October 1995 11 December 1995 9 5 2 2 55.56%
England Mick Halsall 12 December 1995 31 May 1996 31 10 6 15 32.26%
England Barry Fry 31 May 1996 31 May 2005 488 167 133 188 34.22%
England Mark Wright 31 May 2005 24 January 2006 35 12 11 12 34.29%
England Steve Bleasdale 24 January 2006 22 April 2006 14 6 1 7 42.86%
England Barry Fry 22 April 2006 7 May 2006 3 1 0 2 33.33%
Saint Lucia Keith Alexander 30 May 2006 15 January 2007 34 14 7 13 41.18%
England Tommy Taylor 15 January 2007 21 January 2007 2 0 0 2 00.00%
Scotland Darren Ferguson 21 January 2007 7 November 2009 145 73 32 40 50.34%
England Mark Cooper 14 November 2009 1 February 2010 13 1 4 8 7.69%
England Jim Gannon 2 February 2010 6 April 2010 14 4 1 9 28.57%
England Gary Johnson 6 April 2010 10 January 2011 33 15 4 14 45.45%
England David Oldfield 11 January 2011 11 January 2011 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Scotland Darren Ferguson 12 January 2011 21 February 2015 222 88 41 93 39.64%
England Dave Robertson 21 February 2015 6 September 2015 20 7 5 8 35.00%
Northern Ireland Grant McCann 6 September 2015 25 September 2015 2 1 1 0 50.00%
England Graham Westley 25 September 2015 23 April 2016 41 18 6 17 43.90%
Northern Ireland Grant McCann 23 April 2016 8 May 2016 2 2 0 0 100.00%
Northern Ireland Grant McCann 16 May 2016 25 February 2018 104 41 27 36 39.40%
England David Oldfield 25 February 2018 28 February 2018 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Scotland Steve Evans 28 February 2018 26 January 2019 52 21 15 16 40.38%
Scotland Darren Ferguson 26 January 2019 20 February 2022 116 59 24 33 50.86%
England Matthew Etherington 20 February 2022 24 February 2022 1 0 0 1 00.00%
Northern Ireland Grant McCann 24 February 2022 4 January 2023 48 18 8 22 37.50%
Scotland Darren Ferguson 4 January 2023 Present 80 48 12 20 60.00%

Records and statistics

Best performances

  • Best FA Cup performance: Quarter-finals, 1964–65
  • Best League Cup performance: Semi-finals, 1965–66

Individual records

  • Most league appearances: Tommy Robson, 482 (440 starts and 42 as a substitute), 1968–1981
  • Most consecutive appearances: Eric Steele, 148 (124 League, 24 Cup), 1973–1977
  • Most league goals: Jim Hall, 122, 1967–1975
  • Most league goals (incl. non-League): Dennis Emery, 195, 1954–1963
  • Most league goals in one season: Terry Bly, 52, 1960–61 (also an all-time Fourth Division record)
  • Highest transfer fee received: A fee around £7m (rising to £10m) from Brentford for Ivan Toney, August 2020
  • Highest transfer fee paid: A fee exceeding £1.25m to Bristol City for Mo Eisa, June 2019

Honours

Source:

League

  • Third Division / League One (level 3)
    • Runners-up: 2008–09, 2020–21
    • Play-off winners: 1992, 2011
  • Fourth Division / Third Division / League Two (level 4)
    • Champions: 1960–61, 1973–74
    • Runners-up: 1990–91, 2007–08
    • Play-off winners: 2000
  • Midland League
    • Champions: 1939–40, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60

Cup

  • Football League Trophy / EFL Trophy
    • Winners: 2013–14, 2023–24

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Peterborough United Football Club para niños

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