Peterborough United are an English professional football team who play in League One, the third tier of the English football pyramid.

They are currently managed by Darren Ferguson who is the son of legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson is currently in his fourth stint as manager of Posh, the same club where he ended his playing career.

Peterborough’s success has mainly been restricted to the lower end of Football League, winning the fourth tier twice in 1960/61 and 1973/74. They’ve also won the EFL Trophy three times in 2014, 2024 and 2025.

They’ve spent most of their recent history in League One, with the occasional foray into the Championship, but have never gone any higher.

Peterborough early history

Peterborough United were formed in 1934 as a replacement club for Peterborough & Fletton United, which had folded two years prior.

They initially joined the Midland League thanks to a loan from Grantham Town which enabled them to pay the required security deposit, entrance fee and subscription.

For the beginning of the 1960/61 season, Peterborough United were finally elected into the Football League and they won Division Four.

In the 1964/65 FA Cup, Posh made the quarter-finals in a run which included victories over Arsenal and Swansea Town. Ultimately, they were eliminated by Chelsea.

In 1968, Peterborough were relegated back down to the fourth tier of English football as a result of financial irregularities.

Six seasons later, Peterborough United won the league, earning promotion back to Division Three.

The 1977/78 season saw Posh push for promotion to Division Two. However, a 0-0 draw to Wrexham in their final game of the season, one which they needed to win, allowed Preston to gain promotion at Posh’s expense.

Peterborough United subsequently fell into a slump and were relegated to Division Four in 1979, where they would spend the next 12 years.

The Barry Fry era

Barry Fry

The early 1990s also saw Posh embark on a mini-revolution of their own, playing swashbuckling football and rising up the ranks.

In the 1991/1992 season, Chris Turner’s Peterborough gained promotion to the new Division One, which by then was the second tier of English football.

They beat Stockport County 2-1 in the promotion play-off final at Wembley to book their place in the competition.

Peterborough played in Division One between 1992 and 1994 and achieved a record league finish for the club, 10th place in 1992/93.

They were relegated in the 1993/94 season and had fallen all the way to Division Three at the end of the 1996/97 campaign in chairman-manager Barry Fry's first full season in charge.

Fry returned the club to Division Two via the 1999/2000 play-offs, beating Darlington 1-0 in the final.

He remained at the helm for the next nine years before stepping down in May 2005, when the club were relegated back to League Two (previously named Division Three) for the start of the 2005/06 campaign.

Fry took up a role as director of football, a position he still holds to this day, and stepped down as chairman in 2006.

The Fergsuon era

Darren Ferguson

Peterborugh cycled through several managers before landing on Darren Ferguson midway through the 2006/07 season.

He led the Posh to successive promotions, taking them out of League Two and all the way to the Championship.

Ferguson left the club in November 2009 with Peterborough sitting bottom of the Championship. They were ultimately relegated at the end of 2009/10.

Ferguson was to return as manager midway through the 2010/11 campaign and he guided Posh to promotion back up to the Championship by the end of the season after beating Huddersfield 3-0 in the play-off final, having finished fourth in the league.

Peterborough finished 18th in their first season back in the Championship, securing their safety from relegation. However, during the following campaign in 2012/13, they were relegated after a 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace in their final match of the season.

Posh won the Football League Trophy in 2014, beating Chesterfield in the final at Wembley Stadium.

However, Ferguson left the club once again the following year after a 3-0 loss to MK Dons and the club became a League One regular.

But Ferguson was to return in 2019 after a mixed spell at Doncaster Rovers.

"The most important relationship at a football club is the one between the chairman and the manager," Ferguson told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire after being hired again in January. "I have a very good relationship with him. He took a gamble on me."

Admitting his surprise at getting his old job back, Ferguson said: "The chairman and I spoke and he said 'look, if we were considering making a change would you consider coming back?' and then we spoke again and the rest is history really.

"It's a big surprise but it's a club I've got a lot of affection for so I'm delighted to be back."

Peterborough United finished as runners up in League One in 2020/21 and were promoted back up to the Championship after an eight season exile.

Ferguson said: “It’s absolutely incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“This club means so much to me and there is no doubt this is the best promotion I’ve ever had.

“I don’t mind admitting I got quite emotional after such a tough couple of seasons. We worked too hard for it to blow it.

“I had all sorts going through my mind at 3-0 down, but what a bunch of players I have.

“To do what they did in a game of such magnitude is absolutely fantastic.

“We’re in the Championship again and we’ll be trying our best to stay there.”

But it was not to be. Peterborough were in 23rd-place in the Championship during the 2021/22 season when it was announced Ferguson had resigned again.

Peterborough turned to former manager and player Grant McCann to save them from the drop but he was unable to work a miracle and the club were relegated in 22nd place, four points from safety.

McCann was sacked in January 2023, with the club five points outside the League One play-offs in eighth.

Unsurprisingly Ferguson got the call again to take the reins at Peterborough, but despite dragging the club into the play-offs they lost in the semi-final to Sheffield Wednesday on penalties.

The following season Peterborough lost in the semi-finals of the League One play-offs again this time to Oxford. However they did lift the EFL Trophy for the second time.

Peterborough became the first side to retain the EFL Trophy in the 2024/25 campaign, but finished a disappointing 18th in the League One table, only five points above the relegation zone. It was their worst league finish since 2005.

Peterborough United fanbase

Peterborough rely on their local support base, as they are not a club that commands support across the world and are of a relatively low profile. Their stadium, the Weston Homes Stadium, has a capacity of 15,314.

Peterborough United rivalries

Cambridge United and Northampton Town are generally considered to be the main rivals of Peterborough United.

The MK Dons have started to become one of their newer rivals in recent years, due to the club’s nearby location, as are Luton and Stevenage.

Peterborough United finances

Irish entrepreneur Darragh MacAnthony is the 75% majority shareholder of Peterborough, with the rest shared between Canadian company Kelgary Sports & Entertainment (20%) and IRC Investments Limited (5%).

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Peterborough United have won the EFL Trophy times but have struggled to make a name for themselves beyond League One level.

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