 | ||||
| Full name | Peterborough United Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Posh | |||
| Founded | 1934; 91 years ago (1934) | |||
| Ground | London Road | |||
| Capacity | 15,314 | |||
| Owner(s) | Darragh MacAnthony (75%), Kelgary Sports & Entertainment (20%), IRC Investments Limited (5%) | |||
| Chairman | Darragh MacAnthony | |||
| Manager | Luke Williams | |||
| League | EFL League One | |||
| 2024–25 | EFL League One, 18th of 24 | |||
| Website | theposh | |||
 Current season | ||||
Peterborough United Football Club is a professionalassociation football club based inPeterborough,Cambridgeshire, England. They have spent their entire history atLondon Road and are nicknamed "The Posh". The team competes inLeague One, the third level of theEnglish football league system.
Peterborough United formed in 1934 and joined theMidland League. Having won the Midland League title for five seasons in a row from 1955 to 1959, they were elected into theFootball League in 1960. Peterborough immediately won theFourth Division title in 1960–61, scoring aFootball 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 theThird Division at the end of the 1990–91 season and reached the second tier with victory in the1992 play-off final. However, they returned to the fourth tier with relegations in 1994 and 1997.
Peterborough won the Third Division play-offs in2000 under the stewardship ofBarry Fry, though were relegated in 2005. They secured a place in theChampionship after managerDarren 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 aplay-off final in 2011 after relegation the previous year. They were relegated back into League One in 2013, though went on to win theFootball League Trophy in2014. In the2020–21 season, Peterborough were promoted back to theChampionship, though were relegated back intoLeague One the following season. Peterborough later became the first team to win back-to-back titles in theEFL Trophy, winning in2023–24 and2024–25.
Peterborough have long-standing rivalries with nearby clubsCambridge United andNorthampton Town, the former with whom they contest theCambridgeshire derby and the latter theNene derby, named after theriver which runs through both settlements.
 | This articleappears to beslanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective andadd more content related to non-recent events.(September 2019) |
Peterborough United formed in 1934 at Peterborough's Angel Hotel to provide a replacement forPeterborough & Fletton United, who had folded two years previously.[1] Peterborough's application to join theMidland 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.[2]
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. Theywon the Midland League on six occasions, including five seasons in a row from 1956 to 1960. The Posh wereelected toThe Football League for the beginning of the1960–61 season, winningDivision Four.[3]
Following the Fourth Division Championship success in 1960–61, The Posh spent seven seasons in the 3rd Division. They reached the quarter-finals of the1964–65 FA Cup, beatingArsenal andSwansea Town along the way before going out toChelsea.[4] 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 championsWrexham (0–0) when a win was needed to go up. The game was notable for the fact that over 2,000Preston 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 draw 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 strikerErrington Kelly on loan;[5][6] after scoring seven goals in eleven appearances, he was made permanent,[6] and went on to have over 100 appearances for Peterborough over five seasons.[7]
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 toChesterfield 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 andGeorge Berry. However, Posh's closest rivals,Blackpool lost atWalsall 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 knockedWimbledon andNewcastle United out of theLeague Cup. The reward was a home tie with aLiverpool team containingBruce Grobbelaar,Jan Mølby,Steve McManaman,Dean Saunders andMark 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 theFootball League Trophy when they lost toStoke 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 championsBrentford. The following week,Huddersfield Town came toLondon 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 withWorrell Sterling andSteve Cooper scoring the goals. On 24 May 1992, Peterborough United played at Wembley for the first time, againstStockport County in the Third Division playoff final. With Posh winning 2–1 and gaining promotion to the new First division. They played inFootball League Division One between 1992 and 1994 and finished 10th, their highest-ever league finish, in 1992–93 season.[8]
During the2005–06 season the club had three managers: Team ownerBarry Fry returned to management following former England internationalMark Wright's sacking in January 2006. Wright's assistantSteve Bleasdale was then appointed acting manager, but resigned in April.Keith Alexander joined as manager fromLincoln City for 2006–07 but was sacked in January 2007 after a run of poor form and was replaced byDarren Ferguson.[9] 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,[10] to be replaced byMark Cooper. In February 2010, after only 13 games in charge, Cooper also left the club[11] andJim Gannon was appointed in his place.[12] Following confirmation of relegation from the Championship after a 2–2 draw atBarnsley, Gannon was replaced byGary Johnson.[13]
Gary Johnson left the club on 10 January 2011 due to policy disagreement.[14] Two days after Johnson's departure, Darren Ferguson returned to the club on a four-and-a-half-year contract. Peterborough finally finished 4th in2010–11 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 beatMilton Keynes Dons in the play-off semi-finals. They defeated Huddersfield Town in thefinal 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 toCrystal Palace 3–2 on 4 May 2013, the final match of the season.[15] On 30 March 2014, the Posh won theFootball League Trophy after defeatingChesterfield in the final atWembley Stadium.[16] Darren Ferguson ended his time as Peterborough United manager on 21 February 2015, following a 3–0 defeat at Milton Keynes Dons.[17]
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 rivalsLincoln City following a 96th-minute penalty byJonson Clarke-Harris.[18] On 20 February 2022,Darren Ferguson left Peterborough United for the third time, after offering his resignation to club co-ownerDarragh MacAnthony. Ferguson left the club in the relegation zone of the Championship, five points from safety. At the end of the2021–22 season, Peterborough were relegated back to League One.[19] In the2022–23 season, Peterborough reached the League One play-offs, but lost in thesemi-finals toSheffield Wednesday.[20] Peterborough won the EFL Trophy for the second time in the2023–24 season, defeatingWycombe Wanderers 2–1 in thefinal.[21] They became the first team to retain the trophy the following season by beatingBirmingham City 2–0 in the2025 final.[22]
Tables of kit suppliers and shirt sponsors appear below:[23]
| 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 |
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".[24] 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.[25] A pub on London Road, Peterborough, founded in 1932 and originally named The Bridge, was renamed Port Out Starboard Home (POSH) in the 1970s and demolished in the 1990s.[26]
In 2002Victoria Beckham filed a counter-claim with theUK Patent Office over the club's application to register their nickname of "Posh" for use on merchandise. The formerSpice 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.[27]
Since their formation, Peterborough United have played their home games atLondon Road. The stand behind the London Road End is terraced, while the Moy's End is a rebuilt all-seater stand, now known as the GH Display Stand. A 20,000 all-seater stadium to replace London Road has been proposed.[28]The record attendance at the stadium is 30,096, achieved on 20 February 1965 in anFA Cup fifth-round game againstSwansea Town.[8]
The ground was renamed as theABAX Stadium in November 2014 as part of a five-year sponsorship deal with Norwegian companyABAX. 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.[29]
Cambridge United
Cambridge United are one of Peterborough's two main rivalries, being the only other professional football club based in the county ofCambridgeshire. The teams play each other in theCambridgeshire derby considering each to be their main rival according to theFootball Fans Census of 2003.[30]
Like other English football rivalries, theCambridgeshire derby has experienced fan trouble. A smoke grenade was set off within a pub prior to the side'sEFL Trophy match in 2017[31] and trouble marred the first league meeting between the two sides in over 20 years in October 2022, with vandalism and tragedy chanting being among the incidents.
Northampton Town
Northampton Town is the other of Peterborough's two main rivalries and the club's traditional rival,[30] dating back to when the City of Peterborough was part ofNorthamptonshire. The teams play each other in theNene derby. This has also been a reciprocated rivalry, as noted in a 2019 study called ‘The League of Love And Hate’, with both sets of fans considering each other as their main rival.[32]
Historically theNene derby has experienced fan violence, most notably the April 1974 "Battle of Abington Park", when approximately 500 fans clashed before, during and after a derby.[33]
MK Dons
More recently, Peterborough fans have begun to view theMK Dons as rivals, partly due to the geographic location, but also due to battling with theMK Dons for promotion fromLeague Two andLeague One in Darren Ferguson's first two full seasons.[34][35]
Huddersfield Town
Ever since 1992 there has also been animosity between Peterborough United andHuddersfield Town, with Chris Turner's Peterborough progressing to the final and later on winning the play-offs in the1991–92 Football League Third Division, they progressed past Huddersfield winning 4–3 on aggregate in the playoff semi finals.[36] This rivalry further grew in 2011 with Peterborough winning against Huddersfield in the2010–11 League One play-off final 3–0, and in the2012–13 Championship season Huddersfield relegated Peterborough from the championship on the last day of the season with them drawing 2–2 withBarnsley, and with Peterborough losing 3–2 againstCrystal 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.[37][38]
Lincoln City
Peterborough also have shown a certain enmity towardsLincoln City as the city ofLincoln is only fifty miles directly up theA15 from Peterborough and also some southern parts of Lincolnshire are actually geographically closer to Peterborough rather than Lincoln itself .[39] 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 theLincolnshire club to settle for a play-off place.[40]
Pride of Anglia
Many fans consider Peterborough to be a part of thePride of Anglia derby, contested between the professional clubs based in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and sometimes Essex.[citation needed] Matches against these teams often draw large crowds with Posh's highest home attendance of the2019–20 season coming againstIpswich Town with 10,071 fans.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
For a list of notable Peterborough United players in sortable-table format seeList of Peterborough United F.C. players.
As of 20 November 2025. Only competitive matches are counted. Periods as caretaker manager are shown in italics
| Name[45][46] | 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 | 2 April 1952 | 3 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 | 1 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 | 9 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 | 9 February 1979 | 27 February 1979 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.00% | ||
| 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% | ||
| Bill Harvey | 6 November 1982[47] | - | - | - | - | ||||
| Bill Harvey | 1 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 | 1 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 | 9 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 | 7 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 | 7 May 2006 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.33% | ||
 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 | 7.69% | ||
| 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 | 35.00% | ||
 Grant McCann | 6 September 2015 | 25 September 2015 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00% | ||
| Graham Westley | 25 September 2015 | 23 April 2016 | 41 | 18 | 6 | 17 | 43.90% | ||
| Grant McCann | 23 April 2016 | 8 May 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | ||
| Grant McCann | 16 May 2016 | 25 February 2018 | 104 | 41 | 27 | 36 | 39.40% | ||
| David Oldfield | 25 February 2018 | 28 February 2018 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | ||
| Steve Evans | 28 February 2018 | 26 January 2019 | 52 | 21 | 15 | 16 | 40.38% | ||
| Darren Ferguson | 26 January 2019 | 20 February 2022 | 117 | 60 | 24 | 33 | 51.28% | ||
| Matthew Etherington | 20 February 2022 | 24 February 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 00.00% | ||
| Grant McCann | 24 February 2022 | 4 January 2023 | 48 | 18 | 8 | 22 | 37.50% | ||
| Darren Ferguson | 4 January 2023 | 25 October 2025 | 143 | 71 | 27 | 45 | 49.65% | ||
| Luke Williams | 29 October 2025 | Present | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | ||
Best performances
Individual records
Cup
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
