The Diary has investigated how Posh discovered so much quality in the murky world of lower league football.

GEORGE BOYD

Boyd was at Charlton between the ages of 9-16, but failed to win a professional contract. He then joined Stevenage which was a decent trek from his Kent home.

Boyd found employment in a sweet shop at Hitchin railway station where he was paid £20 a week.

"I was on £4 an hour, but it used to fund my train trips home," Boyd explained.

Boyd soon became widely recognised as the most gifted player in non-league football and Posh Director of Football Barry Fry's contacts book did the rest.

Fry recalled: "I knew there was a clause in George's contract which meant an offer of £250,00 triggered an escape clause so that's what we offered.

"The shop George worked in was owned by an old team-mate of mine, Ray Aggio, so I always knew what he was up to. Signing George will prove to be the best bit of business we've ever done."

CRAIG MACKAIL-SMITH & SHANE BLACKETT

Former Posh boss Lil Fuccillo claimed to have sent Mackail-Smith for a trial at Posh during his days as a fearsome striker at Arlesey Town.

According to Fuccillo, Mackail-Smith played a game for Posh reserves, but the player and the Posh boss at the time, Barry Fry don't remember it! At the time Mackail-Smith was working in a local branch of British Homebase.

Mackail-Smith moved onto Dagenham where his progress, and that of Shane Blackett, continued to be monitored by Barry Fry

Fry said: "I saw the pair of them playing for Arlesey when I was Posh manager. They were outstanding, but we never had any money.

"Luckily when we could afford them, Dagenham were having trouble with the Inland Revenue so we were able to persuade them to sell."

AARON MCLEAN

Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony asked his manager Keith Alexander who the best striker in non-league football was in October 2006.

"I told him it was Aaron Mclean at Grays Athletic," Alexander recalled. "And we went out and got him. We took him on loan initially.

"I first noticed Aaron when he was playing for Aldershot and I always kept tabs on him, but I was never at a club with enough money to buy him until I moved to Posh.

"There are a lot of very good players at that level. A lot of people seem to forget that they call them non-league players but they often have a background at league clubs at some stage, whether it be as YTS or young professionals.

"They are not non-league players in the old-fashioned sense. They know what is required at league level."

Mclean had been at Orient as a youngster, but a couple of broken bones slowed him down and he was released. He joined Aldershot, who were then a non-league club, before moving on to Grays.