Peterborough United chairman 'outraged' at Ronnie's omission

Jonson Clarke-Harris (left) and Ronnie Edwards. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

Chairman Darragh MacAnthony believes Peterborough United skipper Jonson Clarke-Harris should win the League One player-of-the-year prize by a ‘country mile’.

But he described the omission of teammate Ronnie Edwards from the young player of the year shortlist as ‘outrageous’ on his Hard Truth podcast.

Clarke-Harris is effectively seeking back-to-back League One awards as he won it after scoring 31 goals in the promotion season of 2020-21.

He’s up against Sheffield Wednesday’s highly paid midfield maestro Barry Bannan and Aaron Collins who has contributed to 26 Bristol Rovers goals this season.

The nominees for young player-of-the-year are Plymouth Argyle’s former Posh loanee Bali Mumba, Ipswich Town midfielder Cameron Humphreys and Charlton Athletic forward Jes Rak-Sakyi, the man who escaped a red card after smacking Posh defender Josh Knight in the face at London Road earlier this year.

The winners will be unveiled on Sunday night (April 23).

"It’s outrageous Ronnie hasn’t been nominated,” MacAnthony stated.

"Just look at that England under 20 squad he was in recently. It was full of Premier League players from Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester and then there was a player from little Peterborough.

"But there you go.

"And if Jonno doesn’t win it can only be because a vote swayed by the size of the club players play for.

"Jonno should win by a country mile which would complete an outstanding double.

"He won it and the Golden Boot award two years ago and he’ll probably win the Golden Boot again this season.

"If he reaches 30 goals again this season that would be 75 goals in three seasons and one of those seasons was in the Championship.

"It’s not just his goals and his general play though. It’s also his durability that shines through.

"I reckon they do the awards too early though. They should do them after the season has finished and then have a presentation ceremony. It’s quick to vote and organise in the digital age.”

MacAnthony has revealed Clarke-Harris will receive a ‘five-figure’ bonus for winning the Golden Boot. He has 24 League One goals this term, two more than any other player.

He had a 5-goal advantage before Saturday’s set of fixtures, but a hat-trick for Conor Chaplin of Ipswich in a 6-0 win over Charlton at Portman Road took him up to 22 goals.

Posh host Ipswich on Saturday.