But there have inevitably been signings in Posh history who have been huge disappointments and they are the ones we are remembering here with the help of our readers.
Posh fan and talkSPORT host Adrian Durham, nominated Luke James while others also picked on fairly recent signings Tom Nichols and Jack Baldwin, Others dared to mention the Posh ‘Holy Trinity’ of Craig Mackail-Smith, Aaron Mclean and George Boyd who predictably didn’t match their feats during Darren Ferguson’s first spell as Posh boss when they returned to the club.
Lee Tomlin’s patchy form when he returned last season was mentioned, but it would be Posh heresy to include any of the four superstars.
We have though included a manager who should have done much better.
1.
BILL GREEN. Okay replacing the great Chris Turner after Posh had just missed out on promotion to the second tier of English football in 1978 for the first time in the club’s history was never going to be easy, but hopes were high when manager John Barnwell splashed out a then club record fee of £60,000 on big Bill Green of West Ham United. After all he’d skippered unfancied Carlisle to the top flight and then made 35 appearances for the Hammers, also in the old Division One. He looked the part with his impressive physique, but by golly he was hopeless as Posh were relegated from Division Three after a season of many managers and several mishaps. Typically Green left for Chesterfield after one season and started playing well again. He also helped Doncaster to promotion from Division Four.
2.
TYRONE BARNETT. Posh caused quite a stir when making this powerfully built centre-forward the first million pound signing in the club’s history in 2012. The fee to a Crawley side then managed by Steve Evans was a whopping £1.1 million and the story says Posh boss Darren Ferguson watched Barnett for a half of football and decided he’d seen enough to believe the striker could wreak havoc in the Championship. Barnett scored a late equaliser on his debut at Doncaster and did okay in the early days, but it wasn’t long before he turned from a beast to a baby. He looked so lethargic, lackadaisical and apathetic the fans turned on him and a departure became inevitable. Each of his goals cost of almost £92k! After loan spells at Ipswich Bristol City and Oxford he left on a free to Shrewsbury. He’s now with National League side Eastleigh. Photo: Midlands
3.
PHIL CHAPPLE. This lanky centre-back was a key player in the Cambridge United glory days under John Beck before becoming a far more accomplished player for Charlton Athletic. No wonder Posh boss Barry Fry was thrilled to bits to sign him on a free transfer in 1998, although that excitement didn’t last more than a couple of appearances as it soon became clear Chapple ran as though he was pulling a milk float. Injuries soon arrived and never really left much to the player’s, as well as the fans’, frustration. Chapple was a seriously nice bloke who took a job coaching Posh reserves before he was promoted to first-team coach following the tear-filled departure of Wayne Turner in 2002. Chapple is now a scout. Photo: Midlands
4.
LUKE JAMES. It took a month of hard negotiation to prise this young attacker away from Hartlepool in 2014, before an apparent £600k transfer fee was agreed. It was a staggering sum, but after a debut goal hopes were high that Posh had found another lower league gem. Sadly James, despite some committed, hard-working displays, didn’t score again for six months and rumours were rife ‘I was there when Luke James scored’ T shirts were soon available for sale. James never scored again for Posh, but it took them two further seasons before they unloaded him for good to Forest Green following loan spells at Bradford City, Hartlepool and Bristol Rovers. He scored one goal for Forest Green before moving into the National League with Barrow and now he’s back at Hartlepool. Photo: Midlands