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Peterborough United F.C.

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Peterborough United
Full namePeterborough United Football Club
Nickname(s)The Posh
Founded1934
GroundLondon Road Stadium
Peterborough
Capacity14,640
ChairmanDarragh MacAnthony
ManagerDarren Ferguson
LeagueThe Championship
2011–12The Championship, 18th
Current season

Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is London Road and the club nickname is The Posh. Peterborough gained promotion to the 2011-12 Football League Championship via the League One play-offs, beating Huddersfield 3–0 in the final at Old Trafford. Their highest finishing position in the Football League ladder was 10th in the Championship.

History

Peterborough United was formed in 1934 at Peterborough's Angel Hotel to provide a replacement for Peterborough & Fletton United, who had folded two years previously.[1] The Posh played in the old Midland League. They won this 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.[2]

Following the 1960–61 Fourth Division Championship success, The Posh spent seven seasons in the 3rd Division before being relegated 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 2000 Preston North End fans came 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.

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. Fortunately Posh's closest rivals, Blackpool lost at Walsall and promotion was achieved.

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 Molby, Steve McManaman, Dean Saunders and Mark Wright. Gary 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.[3]

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. 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. At the start of the 2007–08 season Alexander was sacked after a run of poor form and was replaced by Darren Ferguson. He started well, earning the club back to back promotions from League 2 to the Championship. By November 2009 Posh were bottom of the division and Ferguson left the club,[4] to be replaced by Mark Cooper. In February 2010, after only 13 games in charge, Cooper also left the club[5] and Jim Gannon was appointed in his place.[6] Following confirmation of relegation from the Championship after a 2–2 draw at Barnsley, Gannon was replaced by Gary Johnson.[7]

Peterborough United fans at old Trafford
Peterborough United fans at Old Trafford in 2011

Gary Johnson left the club on 10 January 2011 due to policy disagreement.[8] Two days after Johnson's departure, Darren Fergsuon 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 worse defensive records in the third tier, conceding over 70 goals, but scoring 106; the most for anybody in the Football League that season. Peterborough beat MK Dons in the playoff semifinals. 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.

Nickname

Peterborough United are nicknamed "The Posh", a moniker coined in 1921, after the then 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 Oct 1932 so the current club is the third to be known as The Posh.

Colours and badge

Kit sponsors and manufacturers

Year Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
1983-1986 Patrick SodaStream
1986-1987 Henson Fairview
1987-1988 Henson Wells Ales
1988-1990 Scoreline Perkins
1990-1992 Ribero Perkins
1992-1996 The Posh Thomas Cook
1996-1999 Patrick Thomas Cook
1999-2002 Soke The Posh
2002-2003 The Posh None
2003-2004 Admiral Van Asten
2004–2006 Admiral Hotpoint
2006 August–December Diadora Haart
December 2006–2007 Tempest Sports Haart
2007–2008 Tempest Sports MRI Overseas Property
2008–2010 Adidas MRI Overseas Property
2010 January–May Adidas Sue Ryder,The Free Kicks Foundation & ASBAH
2010 May–2011 May Adidas theposh.com
2011 May-present Nike Peterborough Renewable Energy Ltd.

Stadium

Since their formation Peterborough United have played their home games at London Road. Built in 1913, the ground holds 15,315 people.[citation needed] The stands behind either goal, London Road End and Moy's End, are both still terraced. A 20,000 all-seater stadium to replace London Road has been proposed.[9] The record attendance at the stadium is 30,096, achieved on 20 February 1965 in an FA Cup fifth round game against Swansea Town.[3]

Rivals

According to the Football Fans Census, Cambridge United were considered to be the club's main rival.[10] The Cambridge rivalry has been fought very evenly over the years; both clubs winning 14 games, with Peterborough netting 51 times and Cambridge 52 in the 38 competitive matches they have played each other. However, the two sides have not met since 2001.[11]

Northampton Town are the traditional rival,[10] dating back to when both sides were non-league, and when the city of Peterborough was in the county of Northamptonshire.[12]

More recently, Posh fans have begun to view Leicester City as main rivals. [13] [14] [15] [16]

Players

As of 7 February 2012.[17]

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Austria AUT Robert Olejnik
3 DF England ENG Craig Alcock
4 DF England ENG Shaun Brisley
5 DF Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Gabriel Zakuani (captain)
6 MF England ENG Michael Bostwick
7 MF Scotland SCO Danny Swanson
8 FW England ENG Lee Tomlin
9 FW England ENG Tyrone Barnett
10 MF Scotland SCO George Boyd
11 MF Northern Ireland NIR Grant McCann
12 FW England ENG Emile Sinclair
13 GK England ENG Joe Day
14 DF England ENG Tommy Rowe
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 FW England ENG Dave Hibbert
16 MF Ireland EIR Daniel Kearns
17 MF England ENG Joe Newell
19 DF England ENG Mark Little
20 DF England ENG Nathaniel Knight-Percival
22 FW England ENG Jonson Clarke-Harris
23 MF Ireland EIR Lee Frecklington
24 DF South Africa RSA Kgosi Ntlhe
25 DF England ENG Peter Grant
26 FW England ENG Paul Taylor
29 MF England ENG Dan Lawlor
44 FW England ENG Nathaniel Mendez-Laing

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW England ENG Nicky Ajose (at Crawley Town until 17 November 2012)

Managers

As of 26 June 2012. Only competitive matches are counted. Periods as caretaker manager are shown in italics

Name From To Record
P W D L Win %
England Jock Porter 9 June 1934 Easter 1936 - - - -
England Fred Taylor Easter 1936 Summer 1937 - - - -
England Vic Poulter Summer 1937 Summer 1938 - - - -
England Sam Haden Summer 1938 14 June 1948 - - - -
England Jack Blood Summer 1948 May 1950 - - - -
England Bob Gurney Summer 1950 Summer 1952 - - - -
England Jack Fairbrother 4 June 1952 January 1954 - - - -
England George Swindin 1954 Summer 1958 - - - -
England Jimmy Hagan August 1958 18 October 1962 - - - -
England Johnny Anderson 18 October 1962 19 December 1962 - - - -
England Jack Fairbrother 19 December 1962 15 February 1964 - - - -
England Johnny Anderson 15 February 1964 2 April 1964 - - - -
England Gordon Clark 2 April 1964 28 September 1967 - - - -
England Norman Rigby 28 September 1967 November 1967 - - - -
England Norman Rigby November 1967 January 1969 - - - -
England Jim Iley 8 January 1969 September 1972 - - - -
England Jim Walker September 1972 9 October 1972 - - - -
Republic of Ireland Noel Cantwell 9 October 1972 10 May 1977 - - - -
England John Barnwell 10 May 1977 9 November 1978 - - - -
England Billy Hails 9 November 1978 January 1979 - - - -
(Managerless) February 1979 24 February 1979 - - - -
England Peter Morris 24 February 1979 June 1982 - - - -
England Martin Wilkinson 30 June 1982 February 1983 - - - -
England Bill Harvey 6 November 1982[18] - - - -
England Bill Harvey February 1983 May 1983 - - - -
England John Wile 1 May 1983 1 November 1986 - - - -
England Lil Fuccillo 1 November 1986 20 November 1986 - - - -
Republic of Ireland Noel Cantwell 20 November 1986 12 July 1988 - - - -
England Mick Jones 12 July 1988 31 August 1989 - - - -
England Dave Booth 31 August 1989 6 September 1989 - - - -
Republic of Ireland Mark Lawrenson 6 September 1989 9 November 1990 64 25 23 16 39.06%
England Dave Booth 9 November 1990 22 January 1991 13 4 5 4 30.77%
England Chris Turner 22 January 1991 1 December 1992 101 48 32 21 47.52%
England Lil Fuccillo 1 December 1992 29 December 1993 59 15 20 24 25.42%
England Chris Turner 29 December 1993 Summer 1994 26 5 6 15 19.23%
England John Still Summer 1994 24 October 1995 67 19 24 24 28.36%
England Mick Halsall 24 October 1995 November 1995 6 3 2 1 50.00%
England Mick Halsall November 1995 31 May 1996 31 10 6 15 32.26%
England Barry Fry 31 May 1996 31 May 2005 483 163 133 187 33.75%
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 30 May 2006 3 1 0 2 33.34%
Saint Lucia Keith Alexander 30 May 2006 15 January 2007 34 14 7 13 41.18%
England Tommy Taylor 15 January 2007 20 January 2007 1 0 0 1 00.00%
Scotland Darren Ferguson 21 January 2007 9 November 2009 145 73 40 32 50.34%
England Mark Cooper 14 November 2009 1 February 2010 12 1 4 7 8.33%
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%
Scotland Darren Ferguson 12 January 2011 Present 76 28 30 18 36.84%
See also: Category:Peterborough United F.C. managers

Notable former players

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

Honours

  • Midland League
    • Winners (6): 1939–40, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60
    • Runners up (1): 1953–54

Records

Individual records

Most League Appearances: Tommy Robson – 482 (440 starts and 42 as a substitute): 1968–1981[3]

Most Consecutive Appearances: Eric Steele – 148 (124 League, 24 Cup):[3] 1973?–1977?

Most League Goals: Jim Hall – 122 : 1967–1975

Most League goals in one season: Terry Bly – 52 : 1960–1961 (also an all-time Fourth Division record)[3]

Record transfers

Highest Transfer Fee Received – £3.5m (rising to £5.5m) from Norwich City for Ryan Bennett, January 2012

Highest Transfer Fee Paid – £1.1m (rising to £1.4m) to Crawley Town for Tyrone Barnett, February 2012

References

  1. ^ "Club History". Peterborough United F.C. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  2. ^ Peterborough United at the Football Club History Database
  3. ^ a b c d e "Peterborough Official – Posh stats and records, updated 16/02/10". Theposh.com. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Posh confirm Ferguson departure". BBC News. 12 January 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Official Club Statement". Peterborough United F.C. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  6. ^ "Peterborough appoint Jim Gannon to replace Mark Cooper". The Guardian. UK. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  7. ^ "Gary Johnson confirmed as new Peterborough manager". The Guardian. UK. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  8. ^ "Official Club Statement". Peterborough United F.C. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  9. ^ Posh Stadium-five sites says Darragh Peterborough Evening Telegraph Retrieved 21 October 2010
  10. ^ a b [1]
  11. ^ "Cambridge United Head-to-Head". statto.com. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  12. ^ Mark Lawford (13 March 2009). "Millwall v West Ham, Brighton v Palace, Aberdeen v Rangers – and more: Sportsmail's guide to illogical footballing rivalries". Daily Mail. London.
  13. ^ http://www.terracechants.me.uk/chant/6311
  14. ^ http://www.terracechants.me.uk/chant/6310
  15. ^ http://www.terracechants.me.uk/chant/5252
  16. ^ http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/sport/football/peterborough-united/championship-fixtures-2012-13-posh-start-with-derby-date-1-3962691
  17. ^ "First Team". Peterborough United F.C. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  18. ^ In charge for a match as Martin Wilkinson was in hospital with appendicitis.

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