Posh's top 5 Twitter moments

Although I find myself increasingly at odds with X these days (formerly known as Twitter, and will be referred to as Twitter throughout the rest of this article because I don’t like Elon Musk), it has been the source of some brilliant Peterborough United moments. 

I can remember many days where I have been glued to my phone, refreshing #pufc in fascination with events unfolding on the platform. 

So, I have decided to delve into some of the biggest events on Posh twitter in recent years.

🍻 Drunken Darragh

The inspiration behind this article was ten Heinekens, and a bottle of Christal Champagne consumed by Posh owner Darragh MacAnthony. 

On a bizarre yet utterly brilliant Wednesday evening last week, the ever unique Chairman took to Twitter to engage with his fanbase. 

The night began with this screenshot, in which MacAnthony professed his undying love for manager Luke Williams. In an almost rom-com style, he apologised to Luke for not being able to provide the millions of pounds he deserved, before waxing lyrically about his character.

The really great material came from the hours of Q&A that DMAC then did with those who responded to his post. From ranking the UpThePoshcast hosts, to naming his favourite tunes, there was no question that Darragh would not take on. 

He also gave an insight into his frustrations with Darren Ferguson, Matthew Garbett, and gave fans an insight into what the summer window may look like. 

To be honest, the entire thread was absolute cinema, and it all remains online on Darragh’s Twitter account now, so if you’ve somehow managed to avoid it, please go and read it all for yourself.

♻️ Fergie’s back again 

A historic day, when Peterborough United took over the Twitter timelines of not just Posh fans, but the general football community. 

After leaving his post under a year earlier, Darren Ferguson was back at the Posh helm following the sacking of Grant McCann. 

This represented Fergie’s fourth spell in charge, and the football twitter community were quick to jump on and create memes of the situation, with several content creators and even the beloved videogame Football Manager getting involved!

The hysteria from Posh fans was incredible too. I am not going to pinpoint one single reaction, however the replies to the tweet below (which bizarrely uses the Posh foundation badge in the graphic - although more on media team faux-pas later) should paint a clear picture.

A surreal day to be a Posh fan!

👋 Bye Jonno! Wait, nevermind…

Deadline day can often be a source of drama, but the summer of 2023 took this to a whole new level.

The absolute chaos that ensued when Jonson Clarke-Harris was set to move to Bristol Rovers with just a few hours left until the deadline will live long in the memory of Posh and Gas fans alike.

Posh went from having seemingly no strikers (RJJ was yet to fully convert) at 21:00, to having three by 12:30 the next morning.

In the late evening, it became clear that JCH was set to leave, with Bristol Rovers quickly emerging as his destination.

At 22:28, MacAnthony announced the signing of Jacob Wakeling as one of his replacements, with another forward rumoured to be on the way.

Yet, the 23:00 deadline was hit, and still there was no word from Bristol Rovers on Jonno.

All of a sudden, the story broke. Bristol rovers had failed to submit the paperwork in time, and the deal was OFF.

JCH had to return to Posh, who had signed Malik Mothersille too (they chose to announce him the next day so as not to feed into the hysteria).

That night on Twitter was absolute chaos. I don’t know that we will ever see another deadline day like it.

I wonder how big that moment actually was in Bristol Rovers’ modern history.

🍕 Teasers Gone Wrong #1: New contract?

 

This section covers two very similar Posh twitter events. The launch of the 2023/24 season tickets, and the launch of the Pizza retro shirt going on sale. 

Both of these incidents had significant hype in the build up. The teaser for the Pizza shirt going on sale was Joe Ward opening a pizza box. This was a relatively simple premise, however Ward was out of contract in the summer, with many fans hoping he would sign a contract extension. 

Therefore, when he was the player utilised in the video, Posh fans got all excited about the prospect of him extending his deal, and when the announcement was just a shirt, the reaction was exactly what you would expect. 

🎟️ Teasers Gone Wrong #2: New stadium?

The 2023/24 season ticket launch video was crazy hype. Perhaps a bit too much! 

The announcement was so epic, and so emotive that the teaser convinced fans that Posh were getting a new stadium. When the (very well done) launch video came out and it was just season tickets going on sale, the reaction was once again not overly positive. 

Although the fanbase got over these events quickly, we all got baited for a moment at least. 

Alas, we remain at London Road, Joe Ward is gone, as is the marketing manager in charge of those two events. We spoke to him, and he said:

“I learned the hard way that however creative I could be in terms of coming up with unique ways to tell stories, it was nothing compared to how imaginative Posh fans were when given the smallest amount of information.

“After all these years I can exclusively reveal that it wasn’t an elaborate hoax to troll the fan base. Quite simply we had 30 minutes one Wednesday morning, and Wardy was the one available - and an absolute pro I should add!

“Everyone fixates on the Ward tease forgetting two were shared prior to that - the first featured exclusively the ingredients used to make a pizza, and the second featured a pizza box being carried through a pizza restaurant.

“The contract situation was a REALLY unfortunate red herring, but I’ve never quite understood who watched all of that video and was able to tune out all of the obvious emphasis on pizza.

“Now I like to think I learned my lesson, but of course shortly afterwards the eight second shot of a vintage football in the LRE goalmouth would once again have social media demanding my immediate sacking.

“This was of course a clip from the #Since34 campaign which I maintain is one of the most ambitious and creative in house productions the club has ever pulled off (even if I do say so myself).

“What I was less familiar with, being relatively new in the role at the time, was the politics around the stadium and potential relocation or development, and so unlike Pizzagate where I think fans should meet me in the middle and revisit their workings out - I think this was a perfectly fair and reasonable reaction.

“I’d encourage anyone reading to re-watch that video without the negative sentiment that surrounded it at the time, it was after all, a love letter to the clubs supporters “for all the team sheets changing faces, we in the stands still take our places” and I hope it can be looked back on more fondly than it was received at the time.”