Peterborough United F.C. facts for kids

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Peterborough United

Full name	Peterborough United Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Posh
Founded	1934; 89 years ago (1934)
Ground	London Road Stadium
Ground Capacity	15,314
Owners	Darragh MacAnthony (50%) Kelgary Sports and Entertainment (50%)
Chairman	Darragh MacAnthony
Manager	Grant McCann
League	League One
2018–19	League One, 7th of 24
Third colours

Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing rivalry with nearby club Cambridge United, with whom they contest the Cambridgeshire derby. They have spent their entire history at London Road and are nicknamed "The Posh".

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.

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.

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 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 Football League One 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 playoff 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 stoppage time penalty by Jonson Clarke-Harris.

On the 20th 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 Sky Bet Championship, five points from safety. Matthew Etherington was placed in temporary charge of the club's upcoming games on Tuesday 22 February. It was announced that his former Posh and Tottenham Hotspur teammate Simon Davies would be assisting him.

On 23 April 2022, Peterborough were relegated back to the EFL League One following a 1-0 defeat at home against Nottingham Forest. During the 2022-23 League One Season, Peterborough were for the first time in over 20 years sharing a division with local rivals in Cambridge United, with the home fixture ending with a 1-0 win for Peterborough.

Colours and kits

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

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". 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 DESKGO 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. The first game at the renamed ground was against Bristol City, which City won 3–0. 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.

Rivals

According to the Football Fans Census, Cambridge United were considered to be the club's main rival. The Cambridge rivalry has been fought very evenly over the years; Peterborough winning 17 and Cambridge 15, with Peterborough netting 54 times and Cambridge 52 in the 38 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.

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.

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.

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 playoffs 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 Playoff 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 is set to be played again in the 2021-22 Championship season.

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. For the return fixture, Peterborough sold out their initial 1,900 ticket allocation.

Peterborough also have shown a certain enmity towards Lincoln City. This rivalry grew as on 1 May 2021, 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 2nd and forcing the Lincolnshire club to settle for a play-off place.

Players

Current squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Lucas Bergström (on loan from Chelsea) 2 DF Kelland Watts (on loan from Newcastle United) 3 DF Dan Butler 4 DF Ronnie Edwards 5 DF Josh Knight 6 DF Frankie Kent 7 MF Jeando Fuchs 8 MF Jack Taylor 9 FW Jonson Clarke-Harris (captain) 10 FW Ephron Mason-Clark 11 MF Kwame Poku 12 DF Nathan Thompson (vice-captain) 13 GK Harvey Cartwright (on loan from Hull City) 14 FW Jack Marriott 16 MF Harrison Burrows 17 FW Ricky-Jade Jones 18 MF Oliver Norburn

No. Position Player 20 DF Emmanuel Fernandez 21 DF Joe Tomlinson 22 MF Hector Kyprianou 23 MF Joe Ward 24 MF Ben Thompson 26 MF Joel Randall 27 FW Joe Taylor 28 GK Will Blackmore 29 DF Benjamin Mensah 35 FW Kai Corbett 40 GK Will Lakin 42 FW Gabriel Overton 44 DF Harry Titchmarsh 45 MF Roddy McGlinchey 48 MF Bayley McCann

Out on loan

No. Position Player 19 MF David Ajiboye (at Sutton United until 30 June 2023) 31 DF Aaron Powell (at Welling United until 26 January 2023) 33 GK Christy Pym (at Mansfield Town until 30 June 2023) 36 DF Charlie O'Connell (at Woking until 2 January 2023) 37 FW Andrew Oluwabori (at Yeovil Town until 7 January 2023) 43 DF Ashton Fox (at Dereham Town until 26 January 2023)

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
• Interim Chief Executive Officer: Leighton Mitchell
• Director of Football: Barry Fry
• Directors: Randy Stewart Thompson, Dr Jason Neale & Leighton Mitchell

First Team

• First Team Manager: Grant McCann
• Assistant Manager: Cliff Byrne
• First Team Coach : Dale Tonge
• Goalkeeping Coach: Mark Tyler
• Head of Sports Science: Lewis Keeble
• Physio: Steve Hockham
• Kit Manager: Christian Sansam
• Club Doctor: Dr Cosmas C.P Nnochiri

Youth Team

• Interim Under 23s Manager: Ryan Semple
• Interim Under 23s Assistant Manager: Danny Walker
• Under 18s Manager: Jamal Campbell-Ryce
• Youth Lead Phase Coach: Ryan Semple
• Head of Player Care: Michael Harriman
• Academy Manager: Kieran Scarff

Managers

As of 24 May 2022. 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%
Fred Taylor	11 April 1936	22 April 1936	6	2	1	3	33.33%
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%
Sam Haden	3 June 1938	1 May 1948	179	88	27	64	49.16%
Jack Blood	3 May 1948	4 February 1950	83	37	11	35	44.58%
Jim Smith	05 February 1950	05 March 1950	10	6	4	0	60.00%
Bob Gurney	6 March 1950	1 April 1952	87	37	25	25	42.53%
The Board	02 April 1952	03 June 1952	9	3	3	3	33.33%
Jack Fairbrother	4 June 1952	9 January 1954	82	41	22	19	50.00%
The Board/Trainer/Captain	10 January 1954	01 February 1954	3	2	0	1	66.67%
George Swindin	2 February 1954	4 July 1958	217	144	44	29	66.36%
Jimmy Hagan	20 August 1958	18 October 1962	202	130	36	36	64.36%
Johnny Anderson	18 October 1962	31 December 1962	12	8	1	3	66.67%
Jack Fairbrother	1 January 1963	15 February 1964	56	17	14	25	30.36%
Johnny Anderson	15 February 1964	21 April 1964	12	7	3	2	58.33%
Gordon Clark	22 April 1964	28 September 1967	173	71	40	62	41.04%
Norman Rigby	28 September 1967	30 November 1967	12	5	2	5	41.67%
Norman Rigby	1 December 1967	8 January 1969	58	22	15	21	37.93%
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%
Noel Cantwell	12 October 1972	10 May 1977	252	105	72	75	41.67%
John Barnwell	10 May 1977	9 November 1978	80	32	30	18	40.00%
Billy Hails	09 November 1978	20 November 1978	3	0	0	3	00.00%
Billy Hails	20 November 1978	5 February 1979	9	1	3	5	11.11%
Billy Hails	09 February 1979	27 February 1979	2	1	0	1	50.00%
Peter Morris	27 February 1979	3 June 1982	178	76	48	54	42.7%
Martin Wilkinson	30 June 1982	28 February 1983	38	14	11	13	33.84%
Bill Harvey	6 November 1982		-	-	-	-
Bill Harvey	01 March 1983	15 May 1983	16	7	3	6	43.75%
John Wile	16 May 1983	1 November 1986	178	69	55	64	33.15%
Lil Fuccillo	01 November 1986	20 November 1986	4	1	2	1	25.00%
Noel Cantwell	20 November 1986	12 July 1988	90	38	22	30	42.22%
Mick Jones	12 July 1988	31 August 1989	59	18	15	26	30.51%
Dave Booth	31 August 1989	6 September 1989	1	0	1	0	00.00%
Mark Lawrenson	6 September 1989	9 November 1990	68	26	24	18	38.24%
Dave Booth	09 November 1990	22 January 1991	17	4	8	5	23.53%
Chris Turner	22 January 1991	18 December 1992	116	56	35	25	48.28%
Lil Fuccillo	18 December 1992	29 December 1993	58	15	19	24	25.86%
Chris Turner	29 December 1993	07 May 1994	28	5	7	14	19.23%
John Still	9 May 1994	24 October 1995	72	21	25	26	29.17%
Mick Halsall	24 October 1995	11 December 1995	9	5	2	2	55.56%
Mick Halsall	12 December 1995	31 May 1996	31	10	6	15	32.26%
Barry Fry	31 May 1996	31 May 2005	488	167	133	188	34.22%
Mark Wright	31 May 2005	24 January 2006	35	12	11	12	34.29%
Steve Bleasdale	24 January 2006	22 April 2006	14	6	1	7	42.86%
Barry Fry	22 April 2006	07 May 2006	3	1	0	2	33.34%
Keith Alexander	30 May 2006	15 January 2007	34	14	7	13	41.18%
Tommy Taylor	15 January 2007	21 January 2007	2	0	0	2	00.00%
Darren Ferguson	21 January 2007	7 November 2009	145	73	32	40	50.34%
Mark Cooper	14 November 2009	1 February 2010	13	1	4	8	07.69%
Jim Gannon	2 February 2010	6 April 2010	14	4	1	9	28.57%
Gary Johnson	6 April 2010	10 January 2011	33	15	4	14	45.45%
David Oldfield	11 January 2011	11 January 2011	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Darren Ferguson	12 January 2011	21 February 2015	222	88	41	93	39.64%
Dave Robertson	21 February 2015	6 September 2015	20	7	5	8	35%
Grant McCann	6 September 2015	25 September 2015	2	1	1	0	50%
Graham Westley	25 September 2015	23 April 2016	41	18	6	17	43.9%
Grant McCann	23 April 2016	8 May 2016	2	2	0	0	100%
Grant McCann	16 May 2016	25 February 2018	104	41	27	36	39.4%
David Oldfield	25 February 2018	28 February 2018	1	1	0	0	100%
Steve Evans	28 February 2018	26 January 2019	52	21	15	16	40.38%
Darren Ferguson	26 January 2019	20 February 2022	116	59	24	33	50.86%
Matthew Etherington	20 February 2022	24 February 2022	1	0	0	1	00.00%
Grant McCann	24 February 2022	Present	15	4	4	7	26.67%

Honours

• Football League 3rd Tier (Currently Football League One):
  • Runners up: 2008–09, 2020–21
  • Play-off Winners: 1991–92, 2010–11
• Football League 4th Tier (Currently Football League Two):
  • Winners: 1960–61, 1973–74
  • Runners-up: 1990–91, 2007–08
  • Play-off Winners: 1999–2000
• Midland League
  • Winners: 1939–40, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60
  • Runners up: 1953–54
• FA Cup
  • Best result: Quarter Final – 1964–65
• Football League Cup
  • Best result: Semi-final – 1965–66
• Football League Trophy
  • Winners : 2013–14

Records

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 1967–75

Most League Goals (incl. Non-League): Dennis Emery—195: 1954-1963

Most League goals in one season: Terry Bly – 52 : 1960–1961 (also an all-time Fourth Division record)

Record transfers

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