Don’t be downhearted Posh fans. You really have never had it so good.
- Mark Salt
- Aug 5
- 5 min read
"You’ve Never Had It So Good" – A Peterborough United Perspective by Mark Salt
In this nostalgic yet timely piece, lifelong Posh fan and former journalist Mark Salt reflects on how far Peterborough United have come over the decades. From the bleak days of the old fourth division and muddy terraces to today’s digital age of fan zones, replica kits, and international live streams, Salt reminds the modern supporter just how privileged they are.
About Me: Mark Salt
Peterborough born and bred, I am a former journalist, having worked for the Peterborough Evening Telegraph, Sky Sports and Sky News.
I now work in corporate communications and support UpThePoshcast with content and articles.
You’ve never had it so good…
I am not sure what age it is when you start reminiscing about times gone by and how life is so drastically different to how it used to be.
But I know for certain that I am well into that bracket.
So, I hope the words that follow may bring a little smile to the current generation of Posh fans.
Not only can they snigger at the black and white lives we used to live not so long ago, but they can also realise that despite last season’s disappointments, that they really have never had it so good.
First the disclaimer
I am not an expert on the current team. I will leave that to the rest of the UpThePoshcast gang.
I probably managed around 10 games last season, balancing the demands of a young (ish) family and work commitments with my son’s desire to be at every match, including the holy grail of away trips.
But I have followed the team for around 40 years with around ten of those with a season ticket, so I am speaking from a position of some knowledge.
The DMAC effect
I will start right at the top. It's nearly 19 years since the motormouth Irishman waltzed into London Road and changed our fortunes.
It is not an exaggeration to say there were many years before that the club lacked a proverbial pot to piss in, never mind challenging for promotion to England’s second tier.
I grew up watching Posh spend most of their days in the old fourth division. Whereas today’s fans have nightmares over dropping into the bottom tier of professional football, it was part and parcel of following this club in the 1980s with things only brightening up a little in the 90s.
It’s not just the leagues we play in; it’s the way the club’s reputation has grown. Through DMAC’s smart self-promotion, Peterborough United and the way we operate is now widely known in the football world.
It's where young and hungry players can make a name for themselves, it's where you come to watch good quality football, and it's where you come to be entertained.
He put Peterborough on the football map.
Maybe that’s why last season hurt so much.
The players
Every generation of Posh fans have their heroes. I remember going with my dad and watching the likes of Billy Kellock and Robbie Cooke.
We were amazed when Micky Gynn leapt from playing in front of 4,000 in the old fourth division to the dizzy heights of the first division and Coventry City.
David Seaman also went on to have a glorious career with Arsenal and England.
But apart from that pair, it was slim pickings compared to the names we’ve had pass through London Road on their way to football’s top table in the last 15 plus years.
We also take it for granted that we have been managed by the son of arguably football’s most successful manager for a large part of this golden era.
No mean feat compared that to the bleak days of Mark Lawrenson at the fag end of the 80s.
Stands, shops and shirts
Watching Posh when I was growing up wasn’t the match day experience it is now.
We moan that the attendances don’t reflect the size of our city, but last season’s average home crowd of over 9,000 is a world away from the 1985 figure of 2,590, including those brave souls standing in the open Glebe Road terrace.
We could never have dreamed of things like a fan zone, comfortable seats, food beyond a manky old pie, let alone a mega-store with everything a Peterborough United fan could ever want from pyjamas to socks and beyond.
An 80s child would have thought themselves very lucky to have a replica home shirt once in a blue moon, not three with different colours and designs at the start of every season.
These days the launch of every club top is a huge marketing event with hundreds of thousands of pounds spent and every young fan eagerly waiting for the slightly tweaked design.
Take the DeLorean back to 1985 and you would be lucky to find Trevor Quow outside the ticket office holding a plain blue SodaStream top.
Living in a digital age
Football lives beyond a Saturday afternoon, with the latest news and action instantly available in the palm of our hands.
We can watch any game from across the globe through a stream or dodgy box, see inside the player’s lives on their social media feeds, and go inside training whenever we want.
And that’s before we get onto transfers. My son comes out of school to a notification of a new arrival on his smartphone before dialling up Posh Plus to see him in all the latest gear and to find out his sock size.
The closest we got to this experience was in the sixth form we were allowed to nip to the corner shop at lunchtime, just hoping that day’s ET had arrived and Swanny could share details of any potential arrivals.
If we were away on holiday, we were in real trouble. We had to wait for the previous day’s national newspapers and hope it carried a full classified results list.
These days we can pop out of the pool anywhere in the world, pick up a phone and watch the latest action.
Sermon over
Like I said, you have never had it so good.
So, when you are moaning on Snapchat or waiting for the next Instagram live to discuss a disappointing defeat or a rare bad season, spare a thought for previous generations.
They were never able to enjoy the great football and footballers the younger generation of Posh fans are able to watch every week, whether it be in an improved London Road or from wherever in the world they are watching.
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