Mark Cooper sacked as manager of Peterborough United

Today, it was announced that Peterborough United manager Mark Cooper has been sacked from his managerial position at London Road (http://www.theposh.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10427~1951570,00.html)

Cooper has been in-charge for just 79 days at London Road, and this is now Peterborough’s second managerial sacking of the season, following Darren Ferguson’s departure.

Mark Cooper picked up just 7 points in his 11 League matches, an average of 0.58 points per game. In comparison with Ferguson’s record this is a back-wards step for Peterborough United, Ferguson’s was averaging 0.69 points per game in his spell managing Posh in the Championship.

With the departure of Cooper who the club turn to next it anyone’s guess, MacAnthony has always turned to appointing, managers and players that are ‘young and hungry’ but this policy has been shown up this season with the club 11 points away from safety as it looks like League 1 is the only possibility for the club who’s dramatic rise up the divisions was well documented. Fans are left wondering whether MacAnthony will this time turn to a more experienced Championship manager or will the current policy stick and again a young, up and coming, lower league manager be appointed at London Road?

The former Kettering Town managers departure is certainly a more popular one with the fans than the Ferguson sacking, there has been pressure on Mark Cooper’s job for a few weeks now with fans criticising his more direct tactics and the fact that the club were not creating the chances that they were under Ferguson, the figures show this too, under Ferguson Aaron McLean, Craig Mackail-Smith and George Boyd, the three players generally regarded as Posh’s best attacking threats, collectively scored a total of 22 goals in 20 matches. Their figures under Cooper are dramatically decreased, with just 5 goals scored between them in 13 games and with the club only scoring 1 goal in 2010 so far.

Popular choices for the next manager at Peterborough with the fans are Aidy Boothroyd formerly at Watford and recently appointed Colchester manager, Steve Cotteril the ex Burnley manager and Jim Gannon, the ‘gaffer’ who worked wonders with a Stockport side. However question marks loom over all of these men, Boothroyd has only just got the Colchester job, Cotteril has been out of management for over 4 years now and someone of Jim Gannon’s character is unlikely to want to work with Barry Fry, another ‘larger than life’ character.

Whatever happens this season, unless dramatically turned around, is one Posh fans are wishing to forget, the club has faltered and now looked doomed to be heading back down the leagues and losing most of their top talent with it, the stability of the club since MacAnthony’s arrival has gone and now The Posh find themselves in a mess the need to get themselves out of fast. Whoever gets the new job as manager of Peterborough United no doubt has a challenge on their hands.