Tommy Cooper pulls it off at Peterborough Sports....just like that! And the club’s remarkable rise in the last decade

Peterborough Sports visionary Stephen 'Tommy' Cooper with manager Jimmy Dean (left) and assistant manager Dan Ruscillo (right).

A flippant remark in January, 2011 from former Peterborough Sports chairman Stephen ‘Tommy’ Cooper has become a remarkable reality.

Cooper ensured a local newspaper headline by claiming the ultimate ambition for a club then playing in the second tier of the Peterborough League was step three football.

Most readers would have dismissed it as bravado. If you’d said the club would achieve a place in a division just three below the Football League within nine years you’d have been branded a fool.

Cooper. who is now an advisor to the club’s board of directors, didn’t necessarily believe it himself. Five promotions later it’s become a fact thanks to a dominant campaign this season which has yielded the Division One Central title in the Evo Stik Southern League.

Peterborough Sports with the Evo Stik Southern League Division One Central trophy. Photo: James Richardson.

“It was a somewhat flippant comment and to achieve it we have had to overcome many hurdles,” Cooper said.

“We managed to get out of the Peterborough League only because Netherton withdrew their promotion application and getting out of UCL Division One was not straightforward, but we had some forward momentum and the decision to appoint Jimmy Dean as manager (four seasons ago) would be one of the better ones I made as Chairman.

“We duly won Division One, albeit with the second biggest budget in that League as well as three cups and then the Premier Division the year after which was with just about the biggest budget. You never get proper recognition in that situation, but the fact is we were only just ahead financially of Yaxley & Wisbech, but won the league by a country mile. What we have got with Jimmy’s signings has been value for money

“Last year was a huge learning curve and our second half of the season form was worthy of the play-off’s in what was a far tougher league as we got some of our injured players back and made some subtle additions.

Peterborough Sports fans celebrate promotion. Photo: James Richardson.

“This season it is therefore hugely gratifying to win the league knowing we have the fifth biggest budget at best. So many of our players have come to us having been let go by their former clubs and we are now going to be operating higher than those clubs next season. When you add in the likes of ‘keeper Lewis Moat, who joined us from the Peterborough League, we have to be immensely proud of how we have shifted the emphasis of our recruitment

“I have been able to enjoy this season a bit more with the appointment of Grant Biddle as chairman and Paul Venters as vice-chairman. Grant has taken some of the load off me, particularly financially and next season we are committed to matching each others input as it stands. It’s difficult to predict how we might do, and increasing the budget will be down to how well we perform with Paul in the Commercial role and maintaining the upward trajectory in crowd size.

“We hit the 200 target this season and need to be adding another 50 to that minimum next season - 200 would be pretty much the lowest average in the league above, so in so many ways we will be a small fish, and crazy to think we will now be operating above the likes of Stamford & St Neots.

“But I am naturally as pleased as punch to have achieved what I set out to do, and thankful for the enormous support we have had along the way from so many people.

“Not sure we have stopped yet and we are not looking to rest on our laurels - if a another promotion opportunity presents itself in the near future then why not!”

THE RISE & RISE OF PETERBOROUGH SPORTS OVER THE LAST DECADE.

2009-10 10th Peterborough League Division One

2010-11: 2nd Peterborough League Division One. Promoted.

2011-12: 3rd Peterborough Premier Division.

2012-13: 3rd Peterborough Premier Division. Promoted.

2013-14: 16th United Counties Division One.

2014-15: 5th United Counties Division One.

2015-16: 1st United Counties Division One. Promoted.

2016-17: 1st United Counties Premier Division. Promoted.

2017-18: 12th Evo Stik Northern League (Senior East Division)

2018-19: 1st Evo Stik Southern League (Division One Central). Promoted.

Sports also won . . .

2010-11: PFA Challenge Cup; 2015-16: Northants Junior Cup, Hinchingbrooke Cup, UCL Cup (the only Division One side to ever lift the trophy); 2016-17: Hinchingbrooke Cup.