In historical terms Peterborough United are a young club, not being formed until 1934. In Football League terms they are even younger, elected in 1960 in place of Gateshead. To their credit, however, they do not try to ignore and hide their Non-league origins like some other League clubs that could be mentioned, their Official Site carrying an excellent early history.

The Posh were formed on 17th May 1934 after the city had been without a football club for two years, with Peterborough & Fletton United going bankrupt in 1932. They applied to join the Midland League and made a slow start, placing in mid-table or the lower reaches from then until the normal football structures were suspended for the Second World War. When the leagues resumed in 1945 the club was split over whether it should join the Southern League or stay with the Midland League. The Midland camp won out, so rivalry with Yeovil Town was to be postponed for more than another sixty years. The two clubs did meet in the F.A. Cup in 1946, Posh winning the replay 1-0 at London Road after a 2-2 at Huish, and again ten years later in 1956, the Glovers defeated 1-3 at home. That meeting at London Road saw a then record attendance for the stadium of 8,691 set.

In the league they had now progressed to being an upper mid-table side, until 1953-54 saw them seriously challenging for honours for the first time, finishing runners-up to Nottingham Forest Reserves. It was a turning point in their fortunes and, after a third place in 1954-55, they then went on to win the Midland League title for five seasons in a row. Posh had initially started applying for Football League status in 1947, but didn't pick up their first votes until 1950. By the mid-Fifties they were consistently the highest polling Non-league club every year but always a long way short of cracking the 'old boy' network. It was not until the voting system was changed to a single rather than a regional ballot in 1959 that they came close, Aldershot clinging on by five votes. The very next season Gateshead had the misfortune of being up for re-election. Apart from an inclination to protect their own, the other tendancy displayed by Football League chairmen over the years of the system was that if anyone was to get voted out it was more than likely to be some geographically remote club. Peterborough beat Gateshead by a massive 17 vote margin.

Having reached the Promised Land of Division Four they celebrated by becoming Champions in their first season. In their second Football League season Posh were pushing towards the top of the Third Division, eventually finishing 5th. That was as good as it got, but Posh appeared to have established themselves as a solid mid-table Division Three side - until disaster struck in the 1967-68 season. The club was found guilty of a series of offences including illegal payments to players, heavily fined, deducted 19 points and demoted to the Fourth Division.

Five seasons of mediocrity followed as they tried to recover and rebuild from this humiliation until Noel Cantwell took them to the Division Four title for a second time in 1973-74. Five seasons later they were relegated - this time on the pitch - and entered over a decade of obscurity mostly towards the middle of the basement division pack. It wasn't until the Nineties that Peterborough were on the rise again, taking the last promotion place through the play-offs in 1990-91, then doing the same the following season to reach the dizzy heights of what became Division One in the year the Premier League was formed. They survived two seasons in the second tier, relegated a dozen points adrift in last place in 1993-94. A couple of seasons later they were back in the basement again as enter one Barry Fry, who took them down in his first season as owner-chairman-manager.

Peterborough United's Main Stand. The away allocation is in the right corner. Photo © 2009 Ciderspace

Everyone agrees Fry is a character; disagreement only arises as to what sort of a character he is. The Fry regime brought a promotion in 2000, but when the club were relegated again in 2005 (ensuring they continued to miss the Glovers) he (supposedly) gave up managing the club, bringing in Mark Wright (that was never likely to last), then Steve Bleasdale (who was captured on film resigning an hour before a game in Sky's 'Big Ron Manager'), and then Keith Alexander. With Fry in the Director of Football role and still owner the temptation to dabble and interfere was always going to be too much. However in 2006 he sold the club to Darragh MacAnthony, and relinquished his role as chairman. Fry might have thought he was bringing in a patsy - MacAnthony freely admitted he knew absolutely nothing about football, scarcely having ever even watched a match to that point - but the Irish multi-millionaire hadn't made those millions without knowing how to deal with the Barry Fry's of this world, and after a year or so to find his feet the axis of power at London Road is now clearly the chairman and the new manager Darren Ferguson, who arrived in 2007, with BF a sidelined figure, allowed his token soundbites and media indulgences but increasingly cut out of the loop of real power.

With plenty of money to spend, Peterborough gained promotion in 2007-08, runners-up to Milton Keynes Dons. Continuing to be well bankrolled, the 2008-09 season saw them promoted a second time, again runners-up, this time to Leicester City. Now given that Posh had only previously managed two seasons in second tier football, you'd think that Ferguson's back-to-back promotions might have bought him a bit of time. But by November, Posh were in the relegation zone and that was considered to not be good enough, and he was fired. His replacement, Mark Cooper, was trumpeted loudly upon his arrival, but lasted just 12 games before he too was fired, whilst Jim Gannon's spell lasted just 14 matches. Unsurprisingly, Posh's stay in the Championship lasted just one season.

Just before they dropped out of the second tier, they appointed Gary Johnson to their managerial hotseat. Right from the start, we'd wondered how Sir Gary might manage with both Darragh MacAnthony and Barry Fry hardly having a reputation for hands-off management. Gary kept Posh on the edge of the play-offs but even that wasn't considered good enough, and after 33 games in charge, the briefest of all brief club statements declared that Johnson and MacAnthony "could not see eye to eye on policy" - rumoured to be MacAnthony directly disagreeing with Johnson's team selections - and Sir Gary was off. In what appeared to be a prearranged move, Posh moved for Darren Ferguson, who had endured a fairly miserable spell at Preston North End in between. And so they land back at square one, with Ferguson trying to repeat what he did in 2007-08, though hopefully without him being turfed out if their next step into the Second Tier doesn't go as planned.

The London Road terrace, soon to be the only standing area of the ground. Photo © 2009 Ciderspace

Back to Top of Page

Back to Top of Page

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES

CLUB GOALSCORERS

Name

LGE

FAC

FAT

LGC

CC

Total

ATTENDANCE STATISTICS

Highest League Attendance: Not Applicable
Lowest League Attendance: Not Applicable
Average League Attendance: Not Applicable

CURRENT LEAGUE SEQUENCE STATISTICS

Games Without A Win:	0		Games Without A Home Win:	0
Games Without An Away Win:	0		Games Without Defeat:	0
Games Without A Home Defeat:	0		Games Without An Away Defeat:	0
Games Without A Draw:	0		Games Without A Score Draw:	0
Games Without A No-Score Draw:	0		Games Without Scoring:	0
Games Without Conceding:	0		Home Results Sequence:
Away Results Sequence:			Overall Results Sequence:

Back to Top of Page

Back to Top of Page

The South Stand - currently the newest part of the London Road ground. Photo © 2009 Ciderspace

A pay and display council car park, situated immediately by the stadium, (Horse Fair Meadow, 400 spaces) is £3.00 (for up to 3 hours), £4.00 (4 hours) or £5.00 (10 hours) between 7.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m., and £1.50 (for any period of time) between 5.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. The police try to push visiting fans towards the Pleaure Fair Meadow car park (396 spaces and CCTV covered) on Oundle Road (A605) which is about five minutes from the ground - similar charges. There's also on-street parking to be had if you hunt around.

A page on council car parks available in Peterborough can be found here.

By Rail

Peterborough is on the East Coast Main Line out of Kings Cross to Edinburgh. Journey times range from the non-stop services at 46 minutes to the stop-at-every-flea-bitten-hole-including-Stevenage services which take around the hour and a half. There are four trains an hour through most of the day. The last train which will get you back to London without changing is the 22.42, arriving Kings Cross at 00.08.

The stadium is about three-quarters of mile from stadium, so ten to fifteen minutes walk. Turn right out of station and into the long-stay car park. Go under the railway bridge and walk up the path or steps to the main road. Turn right, passing the Evening Telegraph on the left-hand side and then Asda to the right. Turn right into pedestrian shopping area (Bridge Street) and straight on, crossing the Nene by River Bridge, and over a mini roundabout. The ground is on left hand side.

By Bus

There are only occasional services that run from the railway station itself, but the bus station is just across the main road, Bourges Boulevard, and can be reached by footbridge. The Nos. 1, 3, citi6, 7, 25, 31, 32, 33, 46, 407, 415 and 701 all pass close by the football stadium. See here (under 'London Road, Football Ground) for full timetables.

By Taxi

A selection of Peterborough taxi companies can be found here.

The Moyes Terrace - due to be knocked down in the summer of 2011. Photo © 2009 Ciderspace

Back to Top of Page

Local Pubs :

Peterborough is a small compact city. With the stadium just ten minutes or so from the city centre (across the river) there's a wide range of places to eat and drink within a short walk.

Beehive: This one is a bit of a late wildcard entry. It is a long-standing pub that was reopened in January 2010, and so we've yet to see it. However, they're promising a selection of local real ales from Castor Ales of Peterborough, as well as food served between noon and 2.30p.m. and 6.00p.m. and 9.30p.m. whilst opening hours are 12.00 noon until 11.00p.m. from Monday to Saturday. Sundays are a little different if you're stopping overnight - their food runs until 5.00p.m. and the pub shuts at 7.00p.m. except confusingly on the last Sunday in the month when they're open until 11.00p.m. Get the impression the focus is very much upon the food here with restaurant style menus and prices - this certainly isn't pie'n'chips territory. Beehive, 70 Albert Place, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE1 1DD. Tel: 01733 310600. Website: Click Here. Map: Click Here.

Brewery Tap: This is the brewery tap of Oakham Ales. The brewery started in 1993 in Oakham, moving to Peterborough in 1998. The pub naturally features Oakham's Jeffrey Hudson Bitter (JHB), White Dwarf, Bishops Farewell and any seasonals produced. The brewing (in what is now no longer their main plant) can be watched through glass panels in the pub. As well as their own ales up to nine changing guests from other small breweries are stocked, along with a wide range of draught and bottled continental beers and lagers. Thai food is served 12.00 noon - 2.30 p.m. and 6.00 p.m. - 9.30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and all day from 12.00 noon - 10.30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Opening is 12.00 noon - 11.00 Sunday to Thursday, with late extensions on Friday and Saturday. Live music is put on several times a month. There's a large dance floor downstairs. The outlet has received the accolade of National "Best Own Brew Pub" in 2009. Conveniently situated for those arriving by train, being about a hundred yards from the station. Currently a campaign in being fought to save the pub from the city council's development plans for the area. Brewery Tap, 80, Westgate, Peterborough, PE1 2AA. Tel: 01733 358500. Fax: 01733 310022. Email: brewerytap@hotmail.com. Website: Click Here. Map: Click Here.

Charters: 176ft converted barge moored on the River Nene by Town Bridge, five minutes from the stadium. Stocks 12 real ales (around 500 different ones a year), with Oakham Ales providing JHB, White Dwarf and Bishops Farewell as the regular 'house' beers, a real cider and a serious range of continental draught and bottled beers and lagers. This is down on the lower deck. Here mainly Thai style food is served lunchtimes only, from 12.00 noon to 2.30 p.m. Meanwhile on the upper deck there's a huge 100 seater oriental restaurant featuring dishes from Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China, which opens lunchtimes and in the evening from 6.00 p.m. to 10.30 p.m., and a reasonable list of thirty different wine. Finally the place has late night live music (mainly Blues, but not exclusively) on Fridays and Saturdays on the lower deck, with sets starting from 11.00 p.m. Opening times are 12.00 noon until late Sunday to Thursday, 12.00 noon until very late Friday and Saturday. Charters, Town Bridge, Peterborough, PE1 1EH. Tel: 01733 315700. Email: manager@charters-bar.co.uk. Website: Click Here. Map: Click Here.

Coalheavers Arms: Back street local five minutes from the stadium. A constantly changing selection of guests supports the Milton Brewery (founded 1999) range of beers. There are eight hand pumps, plus a significant range of foreign beers and lagers including genuine Czech-brewed Budweiser Budvar. There's usually a real cider on. The small pub has a large garden with a marquee covered smoking area. There are two beer festivals held each year. Food is rolls and baguettes, made available Friday through to Sunday. There's free wireless internet access should you wish to post comments after the match - just ask at the bar for the password. However apart from that there's no subservience to the modern world: no music, no television screens, no beeping flashing games machines. Opening is: 5.00 p.m. - 11.00 p.m. Monday to Wednesday; 12.00 noon –2.00 p.m. and 5.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. Thursday; 12.00 noon - 11.00 p.m Friday and Saturday; 12.00 noon – 10.30 p.m. Sunday. Coalheavers Arms, 5, Park Street, Woodston, Peterborough, PE2 9BH. Tel: 01733 565664. Website: Click Here. Map: Click Here.

Drapers Arms: Significantly above average Wetherspoon about 400 yards from the railway station and roughly on the way to the stadium. Ten hand pumps serve the chain's basic stable but additionally this one has interesting and frequently changing guests, often from local breweries. There's also a real cider. Apart from that, the usual Wetherspoon format: cheap prices, food all day, never enough staff, open 9.00 a.m. - 12.00 midnight Sunday to Thursday, 9.00 a.m. - 1.00 a.m. Friday and Saturday. This one has no outside area so it's into the street for a smoke. Drapers Arms, 29–31, Cowgate, Peterborough, PE1 1LZ. Tel: 01733 847570. Map: Click Here.

Goodbarns Yard: Modern looking pub set back from the road on the edge of the city shopping centre and close by the market. Around ten minutes walk from the football ground. Ales are dispensed by gravity, with the regulars being Adnams Broadside and Caledonian Deuchars IPA. There are several changing guest beers too. Has own parking (access via Pipe Lane), is wheelchair friendly and serves food lunchtimes and evenings. Opening times are 11.00 a.m. - 11.00 p.m. weekdays, 11.00 a.m. - 12.00 midnight at weekends. Goodbarns Yard, 64, St Johns Street, Peterborough, PE1 5DD. Tel: 01733 551830. Map: Click Here.

Palmerston Arms: Recently refurbished, this was a cracking pub when we used it a few years ago. Owned by Batemans so it has three or four of their beers on, it also stocks up to another ten or more ales from small and micro breweries at any one time. There's usually a couple of real ciders and sometimes a perry. Everything is dispensed by gravity. On top of this there's an impressive range of Belgian and German bottled beers. No food, but they will provide plates and cutlery if you bring in your own takeaway. Has an outside smoking shelter. Five minutes walk from the ground. Opening is 3.00 p.m. - 11.00 p.m. Monday to Wednesday, 3.00 p.m. to 12.00 midnight Thursday and Friday, 12.00 noon - 12.00 midnight Saturday, 12.00 noon - 11.00 p.m. Sunday. Palmerston Arms, 82, Oundle Road, Peterborough, PE2 9PA. Tel: 01733 565865. Email: karen@palmerston-arms.co.uk. Website: Click Here. Map: Click Here.

Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You :

First time they have seen us in Peterborough since 1946 so we should be something of a novelty. The common view on the travelling football fan circuit is this is a pretty friendly place and ground to visit, except if you're a Cobbler perhaps.

Top-Tip :

If Barry Fry should shake your hand, count your fingers after.

Back to Top of Page

Back to Top of Page