A fan’s guide – the club from early doors to today
Based at quaint London Road since the club’s formation in 1934, Peterborough United are looking for a move despite taking up residence in the third tier for most of the last decade.
Young chairman Darragh MacAnthony, barely 30 when he took over from outspoken Barry Fry in 2006, having re-established sole ownership in December 2023, seems intent on the much-vaunted new-build in the city side of the River Nene.
The Irish entrepreneur has also been bold in his managerial choices, giving Darren Ferguson, son of Sir Alex, regular cracks at first-team coaching. Ferguson’s Peterborough have thrice gained promotion to the Championship. Now in his fourth spell, the former Scottish U-21 international last led The Posh out of League One in 2021.
Stints in the second tier, however, rarely last long, Peterborough’s cause hardly helped by a stadium with a capacity permanently reduced at 13,500.
Another strong-minded managerial debutant, Jimmy Hagan, originally led Peterborough to the unchartered waters of full league status in 1960. Created after Peterborough & Fletton United folded in 1932, United had inherited their old ground on London Road and their nickname of The Posh. In those early days, United ran out in green and played in the Midland League.
Hagan, a former mercurial inside-forward for Sheffield United, later to lead Eusébio’s Benfica to three consecutive championships, arrived at London Road in 1958. The Posh were already in the middle of a five-title winning streak in the Midland League and aiming for a place in the newly formed Fourth Division.
With automatic accession to the Football League still a long way off, United were a rare example of a club being elected by committee at the expense of another – in this case, Gateshead. That summer of 1960, Hagan bought the prolific Terry Bly from Norwich, whose record 54 goals (of 134, another record) helped The Posh gain promotion in their first league season.
Though Hagan left for WBA and Bly for Coventry, Peterborough continued to rip up the form book, beating Arsenal to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1965 and losing to Hagan’s WBA in the semi-finals of the League Cup later that year.
Mismanagement and misfortune dogged the next decade, United forcibly relegated in 1968 and missing out on promotion to Division 2 on the last day of the 1976-77 season.
It was a veteran of that campaign, defender Chris Turner, who would lead The Posh to two successive promotions, taking them from the fourth flight to the second, from January 1991 to December 1992. Between the last-day victory over Chesterfield in May 1991 and play-off win over Stockport at Wembley a year later, United beat Newcastle and Liverpool in a memorable League Cup run. Turner’s statue now stands outside London Road.
With Turner moving upstairs, his assistant and former Posh midfielder Lil Fuccillo stepped in to take United to their highest ever league finish in their debut season in the second flight, tenth in 1992-93.
The two-goal hero of the 1992 Wembley play-off, St Lucia international striker Ken (‘King Kenny’) Charlery, returned for 1993-94 but Peterborough couldn’t maintain form.
By the time club owner Barry Fry turned manager in 1996, The Posh were in disarray. Known rather for his foul-mouthed rants in a fly-on-the-wall TV documentary, former Busby babe Fry is rarely given credit for keeping the club afloat while managing the team for nine long years.
With old hand Fry director of football, Darragh MacAnthony the young firebrand chairman and Darren Ferguson the freshman coach, United achieved three promotions, two to the Championship but failure in the 2014 play-offs dented hopes of another go in the second flight.
Selling top scorer, Congolese international Britt Assombalonga, The Posh muddled through in the third tier until the arrival of goal machine Ivan Toney and the second return of Darren Ferguson. Bagging every game and a half, the Northampton-born striker helped United reach a notional seventh place in 2020 before his transfer to Brentford.
Another returnee, Jonson Clarke-Harris, who had had a brief spell as a loanee on Peterborough’s books in 2013-14, filled Toney’s shoes, blasting in goals and notching hat-tricks. It was his brace that put paid to local rivals Lincoln’s bid to wrest United’s automatic promotion berth from them by going ahead 3-0 at London Road in the penultimate game of the 2020-21 campaign – including a stoppage-time penalty that led to wild celebrations among the men in blue.
Later gaining a solitary Jamaican cap, Clarke-Harris lost his goalscoring touch as United struggled in the second tier, Ferguson making way for former Posh midfielder Grant McCann but to no avail. Nearly 13,000 crammed into London Road for the crucial game with Nottingham Forest which sent the hosts back down to League One.
Captain of the promotion-winning side of 2011, McCann only lasted halfway through the campaign to repeat the feat in 2022-23, Clarke-Harris hitting 29 goals in all competitions. A returning Ferguson managed to lift Peterborough into a play-off place, four unanswered goals against favourites Sheffield Wednesday sending a near capacity crowd at London Road home happy and planning for Wembley.
It wasn’t to be. In one of the craziest play-off games in the history of these deciders, a treat for Owls and neutrals, the hosts clawed back the overall deficit then sent Hillsborough into a frenzy when Scottish cap Liam Palmer pinged in a 98th-minute aggregate equaliser in a packed and desperate penalty box. United struck back in extra-time, conceded soon afterwards and lost out in the penalty shoot-out by the width of the crossbar.
Reaching the same stage in May 2024, Ferguson’s men failed to overcome Oxford and resigned themselves to another season in League One. Behind the scenes, Darragh MacAnthony re-established himself as the club’s majority owner from the partly Canadian entrepreneurship of Kelgary Sport.
While his team’s form dipped in 2024-25, the Irish mover and shaker forged ahead with plans to build a new stadium by the River Nene, a potential concert arena given the name of The Embankment. MacAnthony kept fans informed in forthright and entertaining fashion in his regular podcast, The Hard Truth, exposing the grim reality of day-to-day life at the coalface of the football industry.
Ground Guide
The field of dreams – and the story behind it
The Weston Homes Stadium, still known by its original name (and location) of London Road, has been the home of Peterborough United since the club’s formation in 1934.
Before, this council-built and council-owned ground was used by United’s predecessors, Peterborough & Fletton United. The new club soon set out its aim to gain full league status, buying the ground from the council and building covered stands at each end, and a part-seated one to replace the solitary wooden grandstand that had stood on the sideline since 1913.
By the time Peterborough accessed the Football League in 1960, there were floodlights and, in time, TV facilities.
The main stand was converted to all-seating in the early 1990s and further modernisations saw capacity reduced to 14,100 – more than twice that stood here for the FA Cup tie with Swansea in 1965, London Road’s record attendance of just over 30,000. Currently the ground can welcome 13,500.
The home London Road Stand remains a classic terrace end thanks to rail seating introduced in 2022-23. Opposite, the GH Display Stand is still all-seated, accommodating away fans behind the goal depending on demand. For all games, too, visiting supporters are also allocated Blocks A and B, Upper and Lower (gates 2-4), of the Main Stand, nearest Moy’s End. The club shop and main ticket office sit behind here. Opposite, the Meerkat South Stand is the family area.
In 2020, an agreement was signed for The Embankment on the city side of the river to be developed, which will include a new 19,500-capacity stadium. Projected completion date is later this decade. when plans call for London Road to be demolished and the site used for housing.
getting here
Going to the ground – tips and timings
London Road is about a 10-15min walk from Peterborough station – turn right as you exit, then onto the main road, past the Great Northern hotel. Keep following the main road, past the Park Inn by Radisson hotel and Rivergate shopping centre. Bear right into Rivergate, over the river and the ground is ahead on the left.
The stadium is also served by Stagecoach citi buses from Queensgate bus station just the other side of the main road from the train station. Routes 1, 5 and 6 run to the nearest stop of Fletton, Town Bridge Corner, journey time 5-6mins.
The sat nav code for London Road, possibly referred to as the ABAX or Weston Homes Stadium on certain devices, is PE2 8AL. The only match-day parking near the ground is at the rebranded Vines at the Peacock pub at 26 London Road (PE2 8AR), which offers pre-paid parking at £5.
Just across London Road, Pleasure Fair Meadow (PE2 9PB) offers plenty of spaces for £4/day. Alternatively, there’s parking at nearby Riverside (PE1 1EJ) by the Premier Inn on the city side of the Nene, £4.10/up to 3hrs, £2.50/from 5pm. Both are open 24hrs.
getting in
Buying tickets – when, where, how and how much
Tickets are made available around a month or so in advance, with Early Bird discounts (usually £1 off the online price) on offer until midnight on the Wednesday before a weekend game, midnight Sunday before a midweek fixture.
Average gates are under 9,000 – availability shouldn’t be a problem.
The ticket office (Mon 10am-5pm, Tue-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4.15pm & afterwards on match days) is behind the Main Stand. You may also purchase over the phone (01733 865 674, £2 charge) or online, with print-at-home or collect options.
Admission costs £28 (£30 if purchased in person) for a seat, £24/£26 to stand in the London Road terrace. Over-65s receive a £3-£5 reduction, 18-23s are charged around half-price, 14-17s pay around a third, under-14s pay £3-£5.
It’s an attractive pricing policy that should pay dividends in the future – the club should be congratulated for getting as many through the gate as possible, without fleecing them.
what to buy
Shirts, kits, merchandise and gifts
Behind the Main Stand, the club shop (Tue-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-3pm, match nights) reflects Darragh MacAnthony’s ambitions now that he has reassumed majority ownership of Peterborough, merchandise ranged around a superstore that would do a mid-table Premier League club justice.
The current iteration of the home shirt superimposes a street map of the city, centrepieced by London Road, onto the storied blue. Collars are black, side vents white. The eminently collectable second kit features navy collars and cuffs on a white top, the logo replaced by the word ‘POSH’. The sponsors’ name, The Urban Penguin, is a Peterborough-based software developer.
The third kit reverts to a disappointing black with lettering in shocking pink and sky blue.
Among the souvenirs is a Rubik’s Cube, a 1,000-piece jigsaw of the stadium and retro kits from the mid-1990s – but sadly the line in top hats has long been discontinued.
Where to Drink
Pre-match beers for fans and casual visitors
Bearing in mind that the town centre isn’t far either, London Road is one of the best grounds in England for decent pre-match pubs. Set on a century-old Dutch barge, moored by London Road, Charters is Britain’s largest floating real-ale emporium, with live music every weekend and a pan-Asian restaurant on the upper deck. Alongside is Peterborough’s largest beer garden.
Across the river, half-a-dozen venues are within a 10min walk of the ground. Slightly closer to the ground on Oundle Road, the Yard of Ale offers half-a-dozen brews, live sport and live music at weekends. Later in 2025, guest rooms should be open for an easy stopover a short stagger from London Road.
The Palmerston Arms serves some 14 real ales from the barrels you’ll see behind the bar, from local Batemans brewery in Wainfleet. Away-friendly on match days, it also displays an enviable collection of Posh programmes from the 1950s.
Tucked down Grove Street, the suitably Alpine-looking Swiss Cottage changed its name to Charlie’s after a revered regular, Ilija Obradović, whose footballing daughter Marija oversaw this pre-match favourite. Though operating hours are erratic, it usually welcomes away fans with regularly changing real ales, TV football and pool.
Also slightly hidden, on Park Street off London Road, the Coalheavers Arms is well worth the trek, a home-from-home mecca for real ales, eight on the pump from the Milton Brewery in Cambridge. Real ciders, Czech and Belgian beers also available, plus Indian street food. Vinyl nights might persuade you to stay this side of the river post-match rather than venture into town.
Further up London Road, the nearest pub to the ground is the recently rebranded Vines at the Peacock, welcoming sensible home and away fans with street food and a covered beer garden. Over-18s only. Paid parking (£5) also on offer.
Around the ground, it’s cashless payments only, for Carling and (preferably) Madri beer.
