This Posh team of all the talents won the Fourth Division by three points from Gillingham thanks mainly to the only unbeaten home record in the club’s Football League history. Posh won 19 and drew four of their 23 matches at London Road.
That record was confirmed in an effective title decider against the Gills which Posh won 4-2 after a cracking encounter in front of 17,569 fans at London Road.
The only teams to take points off Posh at London Road that season were, Torquay, Bradford City, Chester and Bury.
The current Posh team are also brilliant at home. They have dropped just five points in their first 13 League One matches at London Road (P13 W10 D2 L1).
Posh only used 19 players in Division Four that season (only one sub per game was allowed) and three of them, captain John Cozens, ace midfielder Freddie Hill and winger Tommy Robson played in all 46 matches, while defenders Mick Jones and Jeff Lee missed just one match.
We’ve featured the players with the 12 most appearances below. The other seven to take part in a memorable campaign were Dave Llewelyn, Keith Oakes, Dave Gregory, Jack Carmichael, Dougal McLachlan, Brendan Phillips and Alan Lewis.
McLachlan and Phillips made just one appearance each, while Lewis joined on loan from Derby late on in the season and replaced the injured Keith Bradley.
The only teams to take points off Posh at London Road that season were, Torquay, Bradford City, Chester and Bury.
5.
CHRIS TURNER: Position: Centre-half. 1973-74 apps/goals: 44/4. One of Posh’s most revered personalities. A great player and a magnificent manager who went on to own the club. His statue outside the Posh stadium was well earned. Turner was a star of the title-winning side. He was the toughest of centre-halves and a real threat in the opposition penalty area. Turner was born in St Neots and turned pro at Posh in 1969. He went on to play 364 games for the club and scored 43 goals, a remarkable tally for a defender. Turner left Posh at the end of the 1977-78 season to join Luton for £100k, a record fee at the time for a Posh player. Turner played in the USA and for Cambridge. He also managed the Us until he returned to Posh as manager in January, 1991 and promptly led them to back-to-back promotions and a first appearance in the second tier of English football. Turner passed away in 2015. Photo: Midlands
6.
PAUL WALKER: Position: Centre midfield. 1973-74 apps/goals: 37/2. Walker was a midfield workhorse who complemented perfectly the silky skills of chief Posh playmaker Freddie Hill. Walker played 26 First Division games for Wolves before joining Posh on a free transfer just before the 1973-74 season. Walker didn’t grab the headlines like Hill, Turner and others, but his fellow professionals recognised his talent as they voted him into the PFA Fourth Division team of the year. Walker maintained his high standards the following season as Posh finished a creditable seventh in Division Three, but after 90 games and three goals, he left London Road for Barnsley in the summer of 1975. The tough tackler spent just one season at Oakwell and enjoyed a season in Canadian football with Ottawa Tigers before finishing his Football League career at Huddersfield. Photo: Midlands
7.
FREDDIE HILL: Position: Centre midfield. 1973-74 apps/goals: 46/6. Hill was 33 when Cantwell persuaded him to move to Posh from Manchester City in August, 1973 for a £5,000 fee. It proved to be a masterstroke as Hill was clearly too good for Division Four and he controlled games with ease. Hill, who was an ever-present in his first season, became renowned for his set-piece prowess and he had the honour of scoring the goal at home to Darlington which confirmed Posh’s promotion to Division Three with four games to spare. Hill stayed with Posh for half of the following season when he was released to join a Swedish club. He made 89 Posh appearances and scored six goals. Earlier in his career Hill had been so good for Bolton Wanderers, legendary Liverpool boss Bill Shankley described his as ‘the best midfielder in the country’, but high blood pressure scuppered a dream move to Anfield. Photo: Midlands
8.
BERT MURRAY: Position: Right midfield. 1973-74 apps/goals: 42/9. Manager Cantwell’s ability to throw together several new signings and instantly mould them into a title-winning side was an act of genius. Murray pitched up at London Road in September, 1973 and his class was obvious from his debut onwards. Murray had won six England Under 23 caps and a League Cup winners medal while with Chelsea (he made almost 200 appearances for the Blues) and played alongside the likes of George Graham and Terry Venables, but also played for Birmingham and Brighton before joining Posh. Murray was a right-sided midfielder in the title-winning side, but was playing right-back towards the end of his career which ended at the end of the 1975-76 season after 147 games and 12 goals for Posh. Murray stayed local and became a well-known publican at the Bull in Market Deeping. Photo: Midlands