Phil SumblerFollowing two impressive wins over Cardiff City and West Bromwich Albion, last weekend’s game proved a step too far for the Swans. They lost 2-1 at Birmingham City, in what was their third game in six days. Michael Obafemi scored his first for the club, although that was the only positive in a lacklustre showing for Russell Martin’s men.
Next up, Peterborough United travel to the Swansea.com Stadium. The Posh achieved promotion from League One last season, finishing second. They kicked off this season with a humbling 3-0 loss at Luton Town, before picking up their first win in a 2-1 triumph over Derby County. They drew with Cardiff City, followed by four successive losses to Preston, West Brom, Sheffield United and Reading. They beat Birmingham 3-0, losing by the same scoreline to Coventry six days later. After an impressive draw with promotion-chasing Bournemouth, they lost back-to-back games to Bristol City and Middlesbrough. They beat fellow newly-promoted Hull City, before recording successive wins for the first time this season last weekend, beating QPR at home. This sees them sit in 20th, three points above Cardiff City and three below 16th-place Swansea.
Their transfer window
First team arrivals
Peterborough kicked off their window by signing a former Swansea City player. David Cornell, who spent several years in Swansea’s youth system, joined from Ipswich Town in June. The 30-year-old Welsh keeper has started in each of their last seven games, with clean sheets against Birmingham and Bournemouth.
Next to arrive was Jorge Grant. The 26-year-old midfielder signed from Lincoln City for an undisclosed fee. He has been a regular starter for his new club, missing just two games thus far.
Jack Marriott completed his move from Derby County. His only goal for the club so far came in a 6-2 loss to Sheffield United. He has missed their last seven games with injury and looks set to miss out again this weekend.
Elsewhere, former Leicester youth product Josh Knight returned on a permanent deal. He enjoyed two loan spells at Peterborough in 2018-19 and 2019-20, before spending last season in the Championship with Wycombe Wanderers. Knight has made six league starts, as well as two substitute appearances.
Joe Tomlinson joined from fifth-tier side Eastleigh. The 21-year-old left-back was thrown in at the deep end, starting in their first league game of the season. Since then, he has made just one substitute appearance, coming on for the final four minutes in their 3-1 loss to Reading in September.
Two young midfielders signed from League Two sides, with Kwame Poku and Joel Randall joining from Colchester United and Exeter City respectively. Both have featured this season, albeit sporadically. Randall started in their win over Derby but picked up an injury a few weeks later that he is yet to return from.
Lastly, Oliver Norburn joined from Shrewsbury Town on a permanent deal. The 29-year-old midfielder has been a regular since his arrival. He has also represented Grenada on three occasions.
On Transfer Deadline Day, they completed their first and only loan signing, bringing Conor Coventry in from West Ham United. The Irish defensive midfielder has made three starts and five appearances off the bench.
First team departures
Between 1994-2009, Mark Tyler played 413 league games for Peterborough. He then spent seven years at Luton before return to Peterborough in 2016, initially on loan. He went on to play six league games in that spell, before announcing his retirement this summer, aged 44.
After making his senior debut last season, 18-year-old midfielder Flynn Clarke joined Premier League side Norwich City. The young Scotsman has featured in six games for the Under-23s since his departure.
Frazer Blake-Tracy returned to League One, joining Burton Albion, while Louis Reed moved to Swindon Town.
Formerly at Bristol City and Cheltenham Town, Mo Eisa joined MK Dons after a two-year spell at Peterborough, where he scored 16 in 56 games.
Ethan Hamilton departed the club after just one year, moving to Accrington Stanley.
Peterborough also loaned out two players, with Serhat Tasdemir and Ryan Broom joining Barnet and Plymouth Argyle respectively.
Their captain
Mark Beevers has been a regular at Peterborough since his arrival in 2019.
He started his career at Sheffield Wednesday, playing for the club in the Championship and League One in a seven-year spell. He also enjoyed loan spells at MK Dons and Millwall, before joining the latter on a permanent deal midway through the 2012-13 campaign.
He made 35 Championship appearances in his first season at Millwall, before playing in 28 games in his first full season. In 2014-15, Millwall were relegated to League One, with Beevers featuring in 25 games, scoring twice.
He was an integral part of their side that reached the playoffs at the first time of asking, although they lost to Barnsley in the final. This proved to be his final year at the club. He remained in League One, joining Bolton Wanderers in 2016.
In his first season at Bolton, the northern side were promoted to the Championship as runners up. He remained at the club for two more seasons, before joining his current club in 2019.
He made 32 league appearances for Peterborough in 2019-20. Last season, he missed just one game as the side won promotion to the Championship, finishing second in League One for the second time in his career.
He started their first three games this season but picked up an injury in their draw with Cardiff, which ruled him out of the next eight games. He returned to the side in October and has since started in all three games since his recovery.
Their manager
Since 2019, Peterborough have been managed by Darren Ferguson, son of the legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. While his father won 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues, among countless other honours, Darren has enjoyed a more modest career.
He began his playing career at Manchester United. After rising through the ranks, his father picked him in their first 15 games of the inaugural Premier League season in 1992-93, enough to earn a title winner’s medal.
A year later, he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers after his first-team opportunities became limited. He spent five years at the Midlands club, making over 100 league appearances before completing a brief move to Sparta Rotterdam in 1999.
This spell was short-lived, with Ferguson moving to Wrexham later that year. He enjoyed a lengthy spell at the Welsh club, making 310 appearances and scoring 51 goals. He also captained the side as they won promotion to the second tier in 2002-03, before leading them to the Football League Trophy in 2004-05.
He became player-manager at Peterborough in 2007, guiding them to back-to-back promotions. However, he was sacked in November 2009, with the club struggling in the Championship.
Ferguson took over at Preston less than two months later but departed within a year after a run of poor results.
A fortnight after his sacking at Preston, Ferguson returned to Peterborough. They were several points adrift of the playoffs when he arrived, but an impressive end to the season saw them finish fourth. They knocked out MK Dons in the semi-finals, before securing a 3-0 win over Huddersfield to clinch their return to the Championship. The final also saw Ferguson return to Old Trafford.
They spent two seasons in the Championship, before an agonising defeat to Crystal Palace saw them relegated in 2012-13. A year later, they lost to Leyton Orient in the play-off semi-finals. A poor run of form the following season saw Ferguson lose his job. He departed by mutual consent in February 2015, with the club sat in 15th place.
Eight months later, he returned to management, taking the Doncaster Rovers job. They were relegated from League One that season but bounced back immediately after a third-place finish in League Two. He resigned a year later, after finishing 15th in the third tier.
In January 2019, Ferguson returned for his third spell as Peterborough boss. After guiding them to back-to-back seventh-place finishes, Ferguson’s side won promotion to the Championship last season. They finished second with 87 points, securing their return to the second tier after an eight year absence.
Previous meetings with Peterborough
While Swansea have met most of their Championship opponents this season in recent years, you would have to go back as far as the 2009-10 season for Swansea’s last league meeting with Peterborough. The two sides met in a League Cup game in 2016, with Swansea walking away as 3-1 victors. They won by the same scoreline in the League Cup in 2010.
Saturday 5th December 2009
Swansea’s last league visit to Peterborough came in 2009, under Paulo Sousa. Swansea’s side that day featured the likes of Ashley Williams and Angel Rangel, while Nathan Dyer, Lee Trundle and then-record signing David Cotterill made appearances off the bench. Leon Britton, Joe Allen and Peterborough’s current keeper David Cornell were unused substitutes that day.
The hosts opened the scoring through Chris Whelpdale. The midfielder struck from close range in the 55th minute for the bottom of the table side. In the 70th minute, Lee Trundle replaced Cedric Van der Gun. Trundle equalised 14 minutes later, before giving Swansea what looked like the winner in the 92nd minute.
However, the hosts struck in the dying embers of the game, equalising through an Aaron Mclean strike in the 95th minute. This draw kept Peterborough in 24th, while Swansea missed the chance to move into the play-off places, sitting in seventh with 29 points.
Full time – Peterborough United 2-2 Swansea City
27th February 2010
A little less than three months after their previous meeting, promotion-chasing Swansea welcomed 24th-place Peterborough to South Wales. The Swans were sat in fourth-place with 53 points, while the visitors were rock-bottom with 24.
Swansea entered the game unbeaten in 11, taking the lead before the 20th minute. David Cotterill struck from the penalty spot after being fouled by Charlie Lee. This proved to be the only goal of the game, with Swansea picking up all three points.
Full time – Swansea City 1-0 Peterborough United
Match Preview
Last weekend’s result was disappointing, but a first goal for Michael Obafemi should give the young striker a confidence boost after a tough start to life in South Wales.
Swansea missed Flynn Downes last weekend, but the 22-year-old midfielder has been cleared for this weekend’s game. This gives Russell Martin a fully fit squad to choose from.
Elsewhere, Jack Marriott, Joel Randall and Ricky-Jade Jones are all set to miss out for Peterborough with injury.
Expect Swansea to boss possession again, with a fully fit squad available. Michael Obafemi could make his second start of the season alongside Joel Piroe, with Paterson looking to continue his impressive form.
After this weekend, Swansea travel to Coventry on Tuesday. Coventry find themselves in fourth place after an excellent start of the season.
