RECKLESS GUIDE TO PETERBOROUGH UTD

PETERBOROUGH UNITED

Carabao Cup
Tuesday 8th August 2017

Kick Off 7.45pm

Stadium: ABEX Stadium, London Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE2 8AL

Telephone: 01733563947

Club Colours: Blue & White
Nickname: The Posh

Key Personnel:

Grant McCann is the current Manager of Peterborough. Belfast born Grant was a Youth at West Ham before enjoying a playing career with notably, Cheltenham Town, Scunthorpe United and Peterborough. He was capped 40 times for Northern Ireland. He took the reins at London Road in May 2016 and this is his first taste of Management.

Brief Directions By Road:

The A1 and A1 (M) to junction 17 and take the A1139 signposted Peterborough. This road is known as the Fletton Parkway. Follow it until its junction 3. The club then recommend turning left onto the A1260 Nene Parkway and then turning right into Oundle Road (A605) where you will see the signs for the ground. My preference is the A1 until its junction 16 and onto the A15 (London Road) were you simply follow your nose staying on this road until you see the floodlights on your right. This route can be a little stop and start but it allows you plenty of scope for a stop for a bit to eat or a pint or two.

Car Parking:

According to my spies there is now no parking available to visiting fans at the ground.

Pleasure Fair Meadow council and Railworld car parks are opposite the stadium 

There are other Pay and Display Parks locally over the River Nene otherwise street parking is available on side streets on Oundle Road although please check carefully for restrictions.

Directions By Train:

This will be a preferred travel option for a goodly number of Bees fans as trains from New Barnet or Potters Bar will take about an hour and a half but might involve a change at Hitchin. From Kings Cross the journey is around 45 minutes and direct. Peterborough station is north of the ground and is about a 20-minute walk - head for the river bridge and look out for the floodlights on your left.

Eating And Drinking Locally:

The club’s own catering facilities at the main entrance to the ground are held in high esteem by many visiting fans and are well worth a visit if my sources are reliable. The normal everyday fast food outlets as always infest the local area.

The Palmerston Arms and the Peacock are the two pubs closest to the ground as the old favourite Cherry Tree has now closed.

Another option of course is Charters Boat Bar and Restaurant which offers Oriental Cuisine in a separate restaurant on an upper deck and a great selection of beers and interesting bar snacks below deck. It can be found moored by the town bridge 10 minutes walk north of the ground.

No alcohol is on sale to visiting fans in the ground and in the past there has always been a strict no away fan policy in the Posh Social Club before the game.

Ground Description:

Two sides of London Road epitomise football ground design from the 1950’s. The main Grandstand was built in 1956 holds around 6,000, and is a more modest version of the main stands still found at St Andrews, Birmingham and Elland Road, Leeds. To the right is the London Road end, a sturdy covered terrace which was identical to the other end where the Moyles Road end use to stand before the single tier all seated Motorpoint stand which went up in 2014. We will sadly no longer more and more be able to enjoy this once common place type of terracing at a football ground. Opposite the main stand is the Glebe Road stand. It is now called The Family Stand, has seating for around 5,000, was completed in the summer of 1996 and replaced a shallow open terrace. London road was one of only a handful of Football League grounds that had covered terracing at both ends and an open side terrace. The Valley and The Goldstone Ground were similar. We won’t count Lower Mead Wealdstone! The stand has clean lines, and row of executive boxes.

Rivals: Cambridge Utd

Admission Prices:

Adults £23, Over 60's/Under 22's £14, Under 18's £10.

Our Last Meeting & Memories:

The last visit to London Road was in February 2008 for a Coca Cola League 2 fixture where it was a wet journey home having lost 0-1.

Giuliano Grazioli has now been completely forgiven for his 5-goal haul in the 9-1 mauling in 1998, as has Barry Fry as he will always have a huge space in his heart for Barnet FC. Keeping the Barnet/Posh connection going, ex manager the late Keith Alexander spent a very successful two seasons at Underhill in the late 1980’s teaming up with Dave Sansom and Nicky Evans up front, while the likes of Andy Clarke, Kenny Charlery, Lee Harrison, Ian Hendon, Greg Heald, Chris Plummer and Mark Arber have also represented both clubs. John Still has managed both clubs. The Posh kit Manager for years was Gordon Ogbourne – Oggie was the kit man at Underhill for nearly 10 years and of course Liam Hatch made the £150.000 move from Barnet to Peterborough – nice one Barry. 

Oggie

The 1999/00 playoff semi final tie was heartbreaking but The Posh have generally held the upper hand in meetings between the two clubs over the years. Two home defeats in the FA Cup in 1977 and 1980 in front of bumper attendances are very vivid memories for me and I can still see the packed Underhill terraces and unfortunately recall the eras habitual crowd trouble.

Celebrity Watch:

1960’s pop idle Cat Stevens “Loves Walking His Dog” when “Morning Has Broken” in the London Road. Once the worlds strongest man Jeff Capes lived just a shot putt from the ground and his neighbour was actor and singer Paul Nicholas, although they were only “Just Good Friends”. You also might just hear Bees fan 'Westy' joined by local celeb actress Ruth Maddock for his Hi De Hi rendition at the game while the ghost of “wife number two” Anne Boleyn has been roaming around the grounds of Peterborough Cathedral since 1536 but be careful as she is not quite right in the head.

Jeff Capes