Why a Peterborough United Wembley winner thought he'd blundered by moving from Wycombe Wanderers to London Road

​It was March, 1997 when Posh boss Barry Fry and his assistant manager Phil Neal collared a fleet-footed winger after watching him playing in a reserve game at Wycombe, and persuaded him move to London Road.

Two months later an ITV documentary detailing Fry’s first year as manager/owner at London Road aired. The Posh financial struggles and subsequent relegation to League Two didn’t make great viewing for fans, or for players with families to support.

"Barry and Phil met me after that game,” Farrell recalled. “As usual Barry just blurted out what he wanted and asked me if I wanted to come to Peterborough. I said yes straight away and the deal was done there and then for me to join in the summer.

"I’d done 18 months at Wycombe after leaving Aston Villa and I was ready to move on even though they were still in League One.

"I then sat and watched that documentary about Barry Fry. I just turned to my wife and said ‘what on earth have I done?’

"But, to be honest, Peter Boizot had become owner by then and the club had settled down, and it turned into a great move for me. I was there for nine years and I loved it, and it helped we enjoyed some success.”

That success included a promotion secured by a win over a big-spending Darlington side at Wembley in May, 2,000. It also included Farrell scoring what has to be the greatest hat-trick in Posh history in a 3-0 play-off semi-final win against Barnet at London Road. All his goals were brilliant finishes from outside the penalty area.

But the Wembley win meant more to him.

"Don’t get me wrong the hat-trick was obviously special,” Farrell added. “I still have the match ball and other momentos from the game in a room at my house, plus shirts and stuff from Wembley.

"But I hated all the attention I received after the hat-trick. The national press and TV all wanted to talk to me and I didn’t enjoy doing all that.

"But playing at Wembley had always been a career goal so to manage that and to win the game was just amazing.

"It had been a weird season. Simon Davies and Matthew Etherington left the club halfway though, but Wayne Turner came in as coach and we rarely looked back again.

"Wayne was brilliant, the best coach I ever worked with and we responded by stringing together some great results.

"We took momentum into the play-offs which is always essential and I never felt we would lose at Wembley even though it turned out to be a backs-to-the-wall performance.

"Mark Tyler made some great saves and he and our centre-backs Si Rea and Andy Edwards won us the game.

"Darlo had Marco Gabbiadini in their side and he shouldn’t have been playing at that level, but his team were very arrogant, thinking they just had to turn up to win, and that drove us on.

"And when Clarkey (Andy Clarke) got on the end of a Jon Cullen header to score that was game over.

“The game had been played in the pouring rain, but it didn’t dampen our spirits afterwards!”

Farrell came to the 2014 EFL Trophy Final when Posh beat Chesterfield 3-1, but will be cheering them on from afar on Sunday.

He’s been Head of Coaching at Swindon Town’s Academy for the last six years – the young Robins made the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup this season – so he’s thrilled to see a young player he coached when working in the Posh Academy leading the side at out Wembley.

"I coached Harrison Burrows when I was with Posh Under 14s,” Farrell said. “He was a top player with a great attitude then. I love seeing local boys do well at their clubs. I was surprised to see him playing left-back through!”