Tomlin’s departure from the stage means Tommy Rowe (Doncaster) is the only player from the Posh starting line-up at the League One play-off final at Old Trafford in 2011 to still be active in the Football League.
Two unused subs from that day Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Derby) and Joe Newell (Hibernian) are also still going strong at senior level, while goalkeeper Paul Jones is playing in the National League North for King’s Lynn Town.
Tomlin was a true maverick. A player who didn’t have the body shape of the modern footballer, but had more natural ability in his big toe than the athletic robots who populate the sport these days.
Tomlin was as flawed as he was gifted. His 45 goals in 177 Posh appearances were accompanied by seven red cards – the most in the club’s Football League history – mostly for acts of irritating impetulance.
He also famously trashed manager Darren Ferguson’s office after a move to Celtic was denied him.
But the bad moments were far outweighed by the moments of sheer delight which included a hat-trick in a 7-1 Championship win over Ipswich in August 2011.
Tomlin was a star of the League One promotion campaign the previous season when his vision, his improvisation and his finishing were key to the success of one of the greatest Posh teams.
He went on to play for Middlesbrough, Bournemouth, Bristol City, Cardiff, Nottingham Forest and Walsall. He was playing well for Doncaster in League Two this season, but injuries have caught up with him.
Tomlin said: “I have days when I can’t pick my daughter up for more than two minutes because of my hip or my back. It’s not a way of living and not a way I want to live.”
Tomlin was arguably the best of these Posh ‘maverick’ players. All of them talented and all of them free spirits….
1. DOMINIC IORFA
Unfairly dubbed a ‘waste of pace' by some, this lanky, speedy and hugely entertaining striker was capable of outrageous moments on the field, most notably a classy chip in a 5-2 Division One win over Sunderland in 1992 and a 35 yard screamer into the top corner to win a relegation battle at Oxford the following season. He made 68 appearances for Posh (36 as a sub) and scored 10 goals. Legend has it he once joined Falkirk thinking it was a Greek island. His son, also Dominic, is a central defender at Sheffield Wednesday. Photo: David Lowndes
2. JIMMY BULLARD
A hyperactive midfielder who carried a pretty poor Posh team in the noughties before he was sold for a song to Wigan after ace negotiator Barry Fry was cut out of negotiations by club owner Peter Boizot's family members. Bullard, a renowned dressing room prankster, joined Posh on a free transfer from West Ham United in 2001 and made 77 appearances scoring 14 goals. Photo: Adam Fairbrother
3. DEREK DOUGAN
A striker who once asked for a transfer from Blackburn on the morning of that club’s appearance in an FA Cup Final! Then quit football altogether after a falling out with Aston Villa and was holed up in Germany when Posh persuded him to move to London Road in 1963. Too good for Posh, but stayed for two seasons, scoring 46 goals in 90 appearances before going on to much bigger and better things, most notably with Wolves. Photo: s
4. BILLY KELLOCK
A brilliant attacking midfielder signed from Kettering who starred in the entertaining Posh teams managed by Peter Morris in the late 1970s/early 1980s. He was also aggressive, outspoken and single-minded and moaned at the club’s lack of ambition before moving onto to Luton in 1982. Kellock made 156 appearances for Posh and scored 48 goals. Photo: David Lowndes