The MacAnthony Era – Part 2 (Finally, It’s Official)

This post is part 2 of a series documenting how the club has transformed since Darragh’s arrival. Part one can be found here: http://posh.footballblog.co.uk/macanthony-era-part-1.html 

A Ferguson at Posh? It wasn’t his father, potentially the greatest manager ever to live, granted, but it was still a Ferguson. If he could have half the dynasty that Sir Alex has produced at Manchester United this was going to be special. However, Darragh insisted that Darren had been hired because he did not mention his father in the interview process. He wanted to be “his own man”. The Ferguson legacy is a special one but Darren didn’t want to live in his father’s shadow. He was just another young, ambitious, manager starting a footballing management career.

For a first job this was not an easy one for Darren Ferguson. The squad had improved and so had the professionalism of the team but, on both counts, there were still many issues that needed rectifying. Ferguson realised this too – on his initial statement after signing he stated that “everything has happened so quickly and we have a big job of work to do here a Peterborough.” He had inherited a squad bereft of confidence after going on a poor run of results and one where the gulf between the standard of the top players in the team [Aaron McLean, George Boyd et al] and the weaker players [Simon Yeo, Adam Smith – for example] was vast. There were also rumours of unprofessional habits off the pitch too.

Thrown in at the deep end Ferguson’s first game was in-front of an expectant London Road crowd against Lincoln. Unfortunately it didn’t start in ideal fashion. A 1-0 loss, albeit after a slightly improved performance, meant that Posh’s season looked as if it would be one where they continued to sit in mid-table mediocrity – they were now sitting in 13^th position. MacAnthony would have hoped that the new investment that he had put into the club would have provided a basis for Posh to build but it appeared to have had little effect on where the club would finish at the end of the season.

Another two games passed before Ferguson finally got his first taste of victory. A 3-0 win against Wrexham stopped a run of 9 games without a win. Two of the scorers on the day: George Boyd and Aaron McLean (the other was an own goal). However, if Posh fans hoped that this would kick-start a late revival to fire the club back into promotion contention they were about to be disappointed. A draw at home to Boston United and then a defeat to Macclesfield meant that Peterborough United were left closer to relegation than the promotion spots. In-fact, relegation did even appear a possibility. With a run of 1 win in 11 games small fears began to grow – Posh were only 12 points off the bottom two and with another 13 games remaining it was a possibility. What if Posh didn’t improve? Could the hope that had been provided at the start of the season all have been for nothing? Would Peterborough United be a non-league club in 2007?

But before the relegation worries started to grab hold Posh were revitalised. Ferguson’s impact had been remarkable. The Posh ended up losing just 2 of their last 13 fixtures and comfortably sat mid-table. The run had given hope. Things were picking up. A fresh start next season and if the club could continue this form they would be promoted. The quality had began to shine through too. Boyd and Mackail-Smith had seemed raw, talented but inconsistent, in the initial stages of their Peterborough careers but Ferguson was harnessing the talent they had and the duo were firing on all cylinders, scoring 13 goals between them in Posh’s run of form.

 

So, as Peterborough entered the 2007-2008 season it was one that was being treated with optimism. Perhaps this wasn’t a false dawn. Ferguson certainly had made the desired impact, MacAnthony had provided funding and the team had some real talent within it. Talent that had not been seen at London Road for quite some time.

The summer saw the arrival of more new players. It was Ferguson’s first full transfer window as a manager and he was keen to add his own influence on the Peterborough United squad. A collection of young players (Charlie Lee, Rene Howe, Chris Whelpdale, Shane Blackett) and Football League journeymen (Dean Keates, Chris Westwood) joined Peterborough’s ranks and meant the squad had a very different feel to the one of the previous season. Indeed, only 5 of Peterborough United’s starting XI for the first game of the 2007-2008 season – a 3-0 win over Rochdale – had played in Posh’s final game of the previous campaign.

MacAnthony’s funding of the club was finally rewarded during the summer. On the morning of Monday 13^th of August Darragh MacAnthony officially became owner of Peterborough United football club. A series of protracted negotiations had meant that the deal had taken a long time to be finalised but it now was and Peterborough fans could relax.

On the same day Posh took on Southampton in a League Cup game and the programme had “The MacAnthony Era has arrived” emblazoned across it. Underneath stood a message from the new Chairman. MacAnthony’s short term and long terms goals were set out:

• A League Two title this season
• An average attendance of 5,500 this season.
• A good F.A Cup run this season.
• A Wembley final in the Johnson’s Paint Trophy.
• Promotion from League One next season with an average crowd of 7,000.
• Two years of consolidation in the Championship and a building of the fan to 10,000 average.
• Premiership in year fix with regular crowds of 20,000.

For Posh fans these aims came as a shock. They were staggeringly ambitious. But it was a breath of fresh air. For too long now the club had lacked any ambition and was stuttering, heading in a downwards spiral towards non-league oblivion. Now Peterborough had a goal. Realistic? Perhaps not but no-one could question Darragh’s desire. Just below, seemingly realising these aims would be greeted with questionable glances, Darragh stated “people question bold aims like this and my constant optimism but again, I make no apology for this. If you do not know where you are going, how will you ever get there?” And finally, it seemed Peterborough United football club did know exactly where it was going.

On the pitch things went well too. The Posh pulled off a shock cup upset knocking out Championship out-fit Southampton. In-front of the television cameras Peterborough had announced their intentions for the future. The MacAnthony era was off to the perfect start…