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Posh Diary: Posh's best loan recruits
POSH manager Darren Ferguson has put persuading loan star Gaby Zakuani to remain at London Road on a permanent basis at the top of his priority list.
POSH manager Darren Ferguson has put persuading loan star Gaby Zakuani to remain at London Road on a permanent basis at the top of his priority list.Zakuani has yet to sample defeat during the first half of his three-month loan deal from Premier League club Fulham.
His form prompted the Diary desk to come with a Posh team made up of the club's best-ever loan recruits:
GOALKEEPER
Lee Harrison
Became a Posh record-breaker after joining on loan from non-league Barnet in the 2001-02 season by keeping clean sheets in five successive away games.
Harrison later became a permanent Posh player after being manager Mark Wright's first signing in 2005, but he returned to Barnet at the end of that season after failing to oust Mark Tyler.
RIGHT BACK
Dean Hooper
Tough-tackling right back had a disciplinary record to rival Vinnie Jones, but was a sound loan signing by Mick Halsall in 1995.
Injury cut short his stay but Hooper would later return to Posh for a largely successful five-year stint between 1998 and 2002.
LEFT BACK
Tom Williams
This footballing boomerang can't stop coming back to London Road.
Williams is now in his third spell as a Posh player and remains a popular figure at the club.
He needed only a couple of appearances in a loan spell from West Ham at the end of the 2000-01 season to earn a permanent deal and he spent the second half of the 2003-04 campaign back on loan at London Road.
CENTRE BACK
Ian Ross
The former Liverpool star formed a smashing defensive partnership with club legend Chris Turner after arriving on loan in 1976 from Aston Villa.
His move was swiftly made permanent and Ross enjoyed two more successful campaigns at London Road.
He was captain for the 1978-79 campaign which proved to be his last as a player before moving into the coaching world.
CENTRE BACK
Guy Branston
The uncompromising shaven-headed defender (below) became an instant success during a fine few months here at the end of the 2003-04 season.
He rejected a permament move in favour of joining Sheffield Wednesday, but returned again on loan after failing to make the cut at Hillsborough the following season.
Finally became a permanent Posh player under Keith Alexander but couldn't impress boss Darren Ferguson and now plying his trade with surprise Conference packages Kettering.
MIDFIELD
Andre Boucaud
This 'midfield magician' proves that loan quality doesn't always lead to success.
Twice arrived on temporary duty from Reading and displayed some dazzling footwork. Sadly he performed nowhere near as well when making a permanent move.MIDFIELD
Darren Morgan
The Millwall midfielder was one of six signings made by boss Chris Turner on transfer deadline day in March 1991.
He was a member of the team that clinched promotion from the old Fourth Division at Chesterfield but couldn't be tempted to return the following year.
MIDFIELD
Paul Shaw
A class act who was generally brilliant after being borrowed from Arsenal for three months of the 1995-96 season.
Made his debut in John Still's final game as boss and scored in Mick Halsall's first match in the hotseat. Went on to enjoy a successful career.
MIDFIELD
Andy Legg
The long-throwing Welsh livewire could operate anywhere on the left or in the centre of midfield.
Played five times in the 1998-99 season and had to wait five years to become a permanent Posh player and returned for a third time as assistant manager at the end of a stormy 2005-06 season.
FORWARD
Leon McKenzie
A debut double in a victory at Cardiff and a derby winner against Cambridge United made McKenzie a fans' favourite, but Posh didn't have the money to make his injury-interrupted loan move in the 1998-99 permanent.
The club's supporters were kept waiting until October 2000 to catch another glimpse of the speedy striker and he became their darling until moving to Norwich in December 2003.
FORWARD
Jason Lee
The butt of jokes of cult TV show 'Fantasy Football' and much maligned for a poor scoring record, but Lee was an instant Posh success.
His arrival as the club's first signing of the new millennium – after a typically turbulent Posh Christmas – sparked a massive improvement that ended in a second Wembley play-off triumph in May 2000.
Four more years at Posh followed before he resumed his nomadic career with stop-offs in Scotland and Northampton. Lee is still going strong for Mansfield in the Conference.
Other honourable mentions...
Steve Cooper – the late striker will always be a Posh legend for 'that' goal at Huddersfield in 1992.
Ronnie Jepson – old-fashioned frontman who struck five times while here in 1990.
Ian Feuer – giant American keeper was a star performer during a late season turnaround in 1994-95.
Steve Morrow – famous for breaking his arm amid celebrations after scoring winning goal for Arsenal in the 1993 League Cup final. Steady player for Posh following the sale of Adam Drury in 2001.
Ricky Otto – one of the few bright spots of a miserable 1996-97 season that ended in relegation.
Calum Willock – Once boasted he could beat Fulham team-mate Louis Saha in a sprint. Worryingly he could probably beat him in an injury competition as well.
n WHO was your favourite loan signing at Posh? Text your views to 81800 or e-mail alan.swann@peterboroughtoday.co.uk
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