Ferguson set for his second tenure at Peterborough

Darren Ferguson has been confirmed as the manager of the London Road club, he joins the club on an initial 4 1/2 year deal. This comes just 14 months after he left the same role by mutual consent with Peterborough and just under two weeks since he was sacked as manager of Npower Championship side Preston North End. He will be replacing Gary Johnson who left his role with the League One side on Monday after leaving the job by mutual consent who according to press releases did not see eye to eye with Peterborough Chairman Darragh MacAnthony. .

Ferguson himself has had several spats with MacAnthony in the past and it is very much a love/hate relationship between the two. Ferguson will also have to deal with Director of Football Barry Fry who was upset when Ferguson left the club and believed the manager was “tapped up”.

Fergusons first spell at the Posh started in 2007 when Peterborough were in League Two and over 2 seasons he led them to back to back promotions to the Championship however by November 2009 they had slid down to the bottom of the Championship and at this point Ferguson left the club.  He was replaced first by Mark Cooper and then Jim Gannon who failed to stop the teams relegation from the Championship to League One.

The fans at London Road will be sure to welcome back Ferguson with open arms when he takes full charge of the team and the prospects of some loan signing coming from Daddy’s side Manchester United will keep them appeased.

Is time running out for Gary Johnson?

Earlier this month we looked at how bad things were looking for the under fire Preston North End boss Darren Ferguson, now it is the turn of the current manager of the previous club he managed; League One side Peterborough United. Since Ferguson left the side Peterborough have been relegated from the Championship to League One.  Now the current Posh boss, Gary Johnson is experiencing his own job threatening problems.

Peterborough have failed to win a league game at home since 16th October 2010, when they managed to defeat Swindon Town at London Road in a close fought 5-4 game. Since then they have lost their last four league games in succession.

Although his side managed a comfortable 4-1 home win in the FA Cup during his sides first round replay game against League Two side Stockport County, Peterborough have been struggling in the all important league. They have already been knocked out of the Carling Cup and the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

Peterborough were crushed last weekend at home in their League One game against promotion chasers Charlton, when the visitors thrashed Gary Johnsons side 5-1. Phil Parkinson’s Charlton team were 4-0 up by the time the first half whistle had been blown, but with only a goal apeice from each team in the second half the three points belonged to Charlton.

Prior to the Charlton result there was talk in the press that Johnson was about to jump ship before he was pushed, but this has been strenuously denied by the manager. However following this terrible result the board must now be considering the managers position. Rumours of an impending sacking were strengthened when Peterborough United chairman, Darragh MacAnthony gave his full backing to Gary Johnson, a process that normally means the end for a manager!

Peterborough replied to the Charlton result at the weekend by again being thrashed, this time defeat was away at the hands of Southampton in a 4-1 drubbing. They next face Leyton Orient at home where they are at odds of 8/11 to win at home with bookmakers Ladbrokes, the draw is 5/2 and an away win for Orient is at odds of 7/2.

Johnson is an experienced Manager in the League system having had successful spells at Yeovil and Bristol City and he will now be charged with taking Posh back into the Championship at the first time of asking. Johnson left Bristol last month after a long spell in charge where he was just unable to lead the club to the Premier league and he will take charge at Peterborough immediately as he becomes the fourth Manager at London Road this season. The team started the campaign with Darren Ferguson in charge who was given the elbow after a couple of months beofre Mark Cooper endured a torrid couple of months at the helm. Cooper was moved on pretty quickly to make room for Jim Gannon but none of them have been able to lead the team away from the bottom of the table.

Gannon was offered a long term deal but has decided to move back north for family reasons which has paved the way for the popular Gary Johnson. The Sack Race believes this is an excellent appointment for Peterborough as long he is given the necessary time to build a successful squad that can perform well in League One which is extremely competitive. He has proven himself a master of promotion with both Britstol City and Yeovil and given the time should be able to do the same at London Road if the chairman Darragh MacAnthony affords him the time needed.

Darren Ferguson was the man who led The Posh to back-to-back promotions but after a a tough start to the season Ferguson was given the elbow in a surprise move back in November. He was then replaced by Mark Cooper but the former Kettering Boss lasted less than three months at London Road before being sacked which led Jim Gannon arriving at the club on a short term deal. Gannon has failed to lead the club to safety but he had impressed the board enough to be offered a four-year-contract but Gannon has turned down that offer for personal reasons leaving The Posh looking for their fourth Manager in under a year.

Gannon has a pregnant partner and is thought to be reluctant to relocate his family down to Peterborough which he would have needed to do had he remained at London Road past this Summer. At this stage though Peterborough are not a particularly attractive looking proposition for a Manager with relegation looking inevitable and the team going through three Managers since November.

Peterborough fans will be hoping for some stability with relegation now looking inevitable back down to League One, any new Manager will need to get the team back to winning ways and will be expected to be pushing for promotion in League One at the first time of asking. The owner Darragh MacAnthony is a man that is expecting success at London Road and has shown in the past year that he is not afraid to act if he believes the club are heading in the wrong direction. That will be a fact that any Manager heading to London Road this Summer will need to be aware of, a fast start is essential if a new man is to be given time to build a squad capable of heading back to the Championship and more importantly remain there.

Gannon will need to produce results straight away

Peterborough have named Jim Gannon as their new boss after the club sacked Mark Cooper following just 13 games in charge. The former Motherwell and Stockport boss has been given the unlikely task of keeping the Posh in the Championship with the London Road outfit rooted to the bottom of the table. Peterborough produced the shock of transfer deadline day when they gave Mark Cooper the elbow and Gannon is the third Manager at the club this season, Gannon had a successful spell at Stockport but most recently left Motherwell in December after contract negotiations broke down.

The club wasted no time in appointing Gannon on the same day that Cooper had been sacked with Gannon bullish about his chances of keeping Peterborough in the Championship this term.

It appears that Gannon was itching for a return south of the border and he has got his wish with Peterborough, he may have bitten off more than he can chew however as the club appear destined for relegation to League One. There is a certain amount of instability at the moment with Chairman Darragh MacAnthony heaping the pressure on the team recently by saying the season ‘had been nothing short of a disaster’, Gannon will be aware of that and will be eager to get off to a good start when he takes charge of his first game against QPR at home on Saturday.

The Sack Race feels that Peterborough is resembling a sinking ship at the current time with relegation looking inevitable, the club have been chasing their tails since Daren Ferguson was given the boot earlier this season and Gannon will be hoping he will be afforded the time to re-build the side whether thats its the Championship or more likely League One.