Peterborough United
It will be a relatively quick return to London Road, or the Weston Homes Stadium as it is known at the time of writing, as we were there back in January for a Third Round FA Cup tie which saw the Posh win 2-1.
It was a game in which Paul Coutts scored his first Rovers goal, against one of his former clubs, and in which loan signing James Connolly made his first appearance in a Rovers shirt.
The club was founded in 1934 and competed in the Midland League, winning the title in five consecutive seasons in the mid 1950’s.
Elected to the Football League in 1960, they were Fourth Division Champions in the first season, scoring 134 goals along the way.
Relegated in 1968, they were Fourth Division Champions again in 1973/74 before being relegated again in 1979. It wasn’t until 1990/91 that they were promoted again and at the end of the 1991/92 campaign they were promoted to the Second Division for the first time, after beating Stockport County 2-1 in the Wembley play off final.
By 1997, though, they were back in the fourth tier of English football, suffering relegation in 1994 and 1997. They were Third Division Champions in 2000 and relegated again in 2005.
Successive promotions in 2007/08 and 2008/09 saw them back in the second tier (Championship) and after another relegation they were League One play off winners against Huddersfield Town, winning 3-0 at Wembley.
Relegated in 2013, they won the Football League Trophy in 2014. Promoted back to the Championship in 2020/21/ they suffered relegation again last season.
Something of a yo yo club, then, especially in recent years! They like their former managers as well; Darren Ferguson has had three spells at the helm and current manager Grant McCann is in his second stint as boss. Co incidentally, Ferguson and McCann have also both managed Doncaster Rovers!
In the 39 league games we have played against Peterborough, Rovers have won nine, drawn 15 and lost 15, though we have fared better in the FA Cup, winning three of the four meetings. We have also met twice in the FA Trophy with both sides winning once.
Whilst the sides had met in the FA Cup in 1938/39 and 1952/53, the first league meetings came in the 1962/63 season when Rovers were 3-1 winners at Eastville on September 4th 1962 and Peterborough 1-0 winners the following week.
Players to have turned out for both clubs include Bradley Allen, Harry Anderson, Wayne Andrews, Andy Beasley, Aidy Boothroyd, Paul Bradshaw, Guy Branston, Paul Coutts, Jonson Clarke-Harris, Mark Foran, Rene Howe, Nicky Hammond, Giuliano Grazioli, Matt Gill, Jeff Hughes, Graham Hyde, Luke James, Errington Kelly, Josh Low, Ollie Norburn, Scott McGleish,
Erhun Oztumer, Chris Plummer, James Quinn, Scott Rendell, Justin Richards, Graham Ricketts, Ciaran Toner, Lee Thorpe, Worrell Sterling, Elliott Ward, Callum Willock, Mark McKeever and Tom Nichols.
Players who have made their Rovers league debuts against Peterborough include John Brown (1963/64), Jon French (1995/96), Matt Lockwood, Lee Martin and Brian Gayle (all 1996/97), Clinton Ellis and Micky Evans (both 2000/01), Ryan Green, Steve Phillips and Andy Sandell (all 2006/07), Jo Kuffour (2008/09), Will Hoskins, Gary Sawyer, James Tunnicliffe (and Reggie Lambe (all 2010/11), Sam Matthews, Gavin Reilly, Alex Rodman and Ed Upson (all 2018/19).
The first league meeting of the 2022/23 season takes place at The Mem on 19th November, with the return fixture taking place at Peterborough on 29th April 2023.
Peterborough United FC
The Weston Homes Stadium
London Road
Peterborough
PE2 8AL
A round trip to the game, from The Mem, will take in 314 miles
Keith Brookman
(all photos courtesy of Keith Brookman)