Was Darragh right? Revisiting our chairman’s wildest predictions

Peterborough United owner and chairman, Darragh MacAnthony, is no stranger to hot takes.

Photo Credit : Joe Dent / Peterborough United

The self-styled "El Presidente" is a one-man hype machine that changed Posh forever when he kicked open the door, threw a cool £5,000,000 on the table and promised goals, thrills and promotions.

His first aim was to get us to the Premier League.

Many thought he was nuts, but the laughter faded after back-to-back promotions to the Championship.

There's no doubt that Darragh is a gifted salesman and will always aim high.

Still, his more recent predictions have felt increasingly detached from reality.

But, if we revisit three of them through the lens of a new manager and re-energised squad, are they that outrageous?

Let's take a look.

Prediction One: We'll be a different animal.

The start to this season has been awful. 

A lot of senior talent left over the summer, and replacements were initially thin on the ground.

The management team were confident that we'd be fine with our young and inexperienced squad. 

This plan fell apart quickly due to injuries and a lack of firepower up front.

In a bid to avert disaster, Darragh invested heavily at the end of the window to bring in experience and proven winners.

In August, he said:

"We will be a different animal by the time the transfer window closes. I'll put my chairmanship of the club on the line about that."

Fans were hopeful given the quality of the signings, but quickly turned to despair as our poor run of form continued, leaving us rooted to the bottom of the table. 

The different animal appeared to be dead on arrival. 

However...

The players signed are experienced, some with multiple promotions under their belts, and it's becoming clear that they weren't performing under Ferguson. 

With Luke Williams at the helm, we do look like a different team. 

We are more like the Posh we know and love, embodied by fast-attacking football. 

The verdict: Darragh was right.

Williams has turned the fortunes of our club around in a short space of time.

The signings were good picks, and our new manager has transformed them.

Prediction Two: Gustav Lindgren will be a Golden Boot winner.

The Swedish striker was brought in during the 2024/2025 winter transfer window from Degerfors IF.

At the time, Darragh went on record via his podcast "The Hard Truth" saying:

"Gustav makes runs that Championship and Premier League players make. It was the same with Dwight Gayle when we watched him playing for Dagenham. Gustav will be a player who comes good. I'm certain of that. He will be a Golden Boot winner, and we will sell him for millions."

Dwight Gayle had pedigree, but Lindgren has failed to live up to the hype.

With a single League One goal from thirteen matches last season, the Golden Boot has never looked further away.

However...

Darren Ferguson struggled to get service to his strikers regardless of who was up front.

Luke Williams has reverted to a 4-2-3-1, which allows Posh to pepper the box with crosses and through-balls.

Lindgren immediately profited from more service when his speed and tenacity helped him bag a brace against AFC Wimbledon.

The Verdict: The jury is still out.

While Lindgren will not be winning a Golden Boot anytime soon, there's a chance he could be developed into a decent striker.

Conor Washington had a slow start before returning a respectable 15 goals and 4 assists from 31 games, leading to his sale for £3m to Queens Park Rangers.

Darragh loves to aim for the moon, and this is a classic case of that.

If Luke Williams can find a way to get Lindgren scoring consistently and his confidence builds, then there's no reason he can't contribute well this season and be a future big-money sale.

Prediction Three: We're one win away from something special happening.

"I sometimes feel I'm losing my mind as I don't feel we are as awful as some have been making out.

“The fans might not believe it, but we are one win away from something special happening."

Darragh said this on another episode of his podcast in August.

Yet, we wouldn't win a game for another month until Wycombe.

While it did feel like a turning point, especially after grinding out a win against Plymouth, we went on to lose the next two games.

Even though we won at Burton, it felt like a loss and proved to be so for Ferguson, who was sacked not long after.

However...

Luke Williams' first game in charge against Cardiff in the FA Cup did feel special.

For the first time in a long time, it felt like Posh were back, and this feeling compounded after thumping AFC Wimbledon 5-0.

The verdict: Darragh was right

I don't expect the rest of the season to be perfect, and we may lose games, but we have something special happening under the new manager.

It only takes a good win or two to build belief, install confidence and reset expectations.

We are very likely to “fly up the table” now.

In summary

It has been easy to criticise Peterborough United this season.

I know I have.

Signings haven't worked, and our chairman’s continued proclamations of success while tumbling to the bottom of League One have raised questions about his sanity.

However, what if the problem wasn't his instincts, but his manager?

It's still very early in the Luke Williams reign, but already we're seeing the potential that Darragh saw when making signings and future predictions.

No one was more frustrated than our owner during the endless losses and gutless performances.

Things are looking better, so much so that Darragh recently joked about promotion.

In fairness, it's a feeling many fans share and may prove prophetic.