Peterborough’s Nightmare Start: What’s Going Wrong?

Peterborough’s Nightmare Start: What’s Going Wrong?

Five weeks, eight games, 12 hours of football, not a single win and just four goals scored - only two in League One. Peterborough United have truly experienced a real-life nightmare in the opening to their 2025/26 campaign.

The Posh currently brood at rock bottom of League One, with no indication of any improvement. For a team that were so recently Championship competitors and playoff regulars, now is an extremely concerning time in Cambridgeshire.

It is impossible to even bring up the model ‘lack of investment’ excuse either; owner Darragh MacAnthony has attracted 32 signatures in the last eighteen months. Whilst they have lost multiple key players in the meantime, millions upon millions have been spent in replacement and yet there is nothing to show for it.

Now the summer transfer window is over, panic has really started to ignite in Peterborough. They need points and they need them fast.

Season Breakdown

The first sign of concern came last season. Peterborough had just come off the back of back-to-back playoff semi-final defeats and had lost a plethora of gems, including Harrison Burrows, Ronnie Edwards, Ephron Mason-Clark and Josh Knight.

Sheffield United have won the race for Peterborough defender Harrison Burrows. Move should be sealed this week. Big signing for the Blades. #sufc #pufc pic.twitter.com/oO5BS2w7oO

— Pete O'Rourke (@SportsPeteO) July 22, 2024

Ultimately what followed was an extremely dismal season. The Posh finished 18th, with some minor threat of relegation throughout the campaign. The only time Darren Ferguson’s men had anything to cheer about was when they won a second consecutive EFL Trophy at Wembley back in April.

Little did they know it was only going to get worse from there.

The new campaign came on a clean slate. Peterborough still lost a few stars in and amongst the transfer window, but not as heavily as the year prior. Kwame Poku, Ricky-Jade Jones and Malik Mothersille all waved goodbye, but Boro still equipped well.

However, the club’s frantic future was epitomised in their opening three games - Cardiff, Luton and Accrington Stanley.

Posh lost to Cardiff on opening day, despite taking the lead through a Bradley Ihionvien penalty. They then lost 2-0 to Luton at home, which followed with a 2-1 defeat to Accrington mid-week in the EFL Cup.

Circumstances needed to change, but they still didn’t. Two more troubling games against both Wigan and Barnsley in League One meant Posh were four league matches in without a single point or open play goal.

Posh suffer a narrow 1-0 defeat at the Weston Homes Stadium.

Bradford are the next opponents in PE2 on Saturday afternoon.

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🎩 0-1 🔴 | #pufc pic.twitter.com/e3jt5KVyge

— Peterborough United (@theposh) August 19, 2025

Then came Bradford at home. Peterborough found themselves 1-0 down right until the 91st minute, when Cian Hayes equalised to get his club’s first open play goal of the season and first point on the board. Although since then, the Posh have been thumped 3-0 by Exeter and 3-1 by 10-men Leyton Orient in the EFL Trophy.

Ferguson’s side are now eight games in, with seven losses and only one point from six games in the league. Their last victory ironically came at Wembley Stadium in the EFL Trophy final against Birmingham almost five months ago.

What Has Their Business Looked Like?

From one glance at Peterborough’s player investments and expenditure, it becomes utterly shocking how torrid their season has been so far.

The Posh were League One’s fourth highest spenders last season, with over £3 million, and are currently the third highest spenders for this season with approximately the same number forked out.

(League One Transfer Income & Expenditure (Some Transfers Undisclosed): Transfermarkt)

Albeit, Peterborough have received over double those figures in the last two years just through the mass of star players that were grabbed off them. But you have to ask whether those funds have been splashed in the right areas.

MacAnthony had already dipped his hand in his pocket plenty prior to the season’s commencement. However, following the sheer panic of the club’s first handful of games, more and more signings arrived at London Road.

On Deadline Day especially, Peterborough brought in four more players. Three of which are loans, but the other was £1 million man Harry Leonard from Blackburn Rovers.

If these saving graces don’t come in and hit the ground running, Peterborough’s season is certainly in limbo.

What Next?

Staggeringly, jeers for Darren Ferguson to be given the sack have only started surfacing as of their last two matches, when usually a change of manager is the first port of call in such a crisis.

The son of Sir Alex Ferguson is currently occupying his fourth spell with the Posh, which have each spanned across the last 18 years. His current stint was reprised back in January 2023 and has had a fair bit of joy since.

(Darren Ferguson Managerial History: Transfermarkt)

Overall, the Scotsman is idolised in Peterborough. He’s the club’s most successful manager, having won three EFL Trophies and a handful of promotions, which may be the reason he’s not under as much pressure.

However, if results aren’t picked up soon, a managerial decision does need to be acted on fast.

As for fixtures, they don’t get much easier for Posh. They will travel to Huddersfield this weekend to play the league’s sixth place occupants. Then it is both Wycombe and Plymouth who haven’t exactly kicked things off with a bang either, but everyone knows that there is a strong team within each of them that has yet to be unlocked.