# 2011–12 Peterborough United F.C. season

The 2011–12 season was Peterborough United's 51st season in the Football League, competing in the Football League Championship after being promoted from Football League One, beating Huddersfield Town 3–0 in the Play-off final.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Joe Lewis |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Mark Little |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Matthew Briggs (on loan from Fulham) |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Ryan Bennett |
| 5 | DF | COD | Gabriel Zakuani |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Nicky Ajose (on loan to Chesterfield) |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Lee Tomlin |
| 9 | FW | ENG | David Ball |
| 10 | MF | SCO | George Boyd |
| 11 | MF | NIR | Grant McCann (club captain) |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Emile Sinclair |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Joe Day (on loan to Alfreton Town) |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Tommy Rowe |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Dave Hibbert |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Joe Newell |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Shaun Brisley (on loan from Macclesfield Town) |
| 19 | GK | ENG | Barry Richardson |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Tyrone Barnett (on loan from Crawley Town) |
| 21 | MF | IRL | Daniel Kearns |
| 23 | MF | IRL | Lee Frecklington |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Nathan Ralph (on loan to Kettering Town) |
| 26 | FW | ENG | Paul Taylor |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Craig Alcock |
| 29 | DF | RSA | Kgosi Ntlhe |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Jaanai Gordon-Hutton |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Peter Grant |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Dan Lawlor |
| 44 | MF | ENG | Nathaniel Mendez-Laing |
| — | FW | ENG | Danny Mills (on loan to Kettering Town) |
| — | DF | ENG | Scott Griffiths (on loan to Rotherham United) |

### Detailed overview

| No. | Name | Place of birth | Date of birth | Club apps. | Club goals | Int. caps | Int. goals | Previous club | Date joined | Fee |
| 1 | Joe Lewis | Broome, Norfolk | 6 October 1987 | 200 | 0 | – | – | Norwich City | 8 January 2008 | £400,000 |
| 2 | Mark Little | Worcester | 20 August 1988 | 53 | 1 | – | – | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30 June 2010 | Free |
| 3 | Matthew Briggs | London | 9 March 1991 | – | – | – | – | Fulham | 7 February 2012 | Loan |
| 4 | Ryan Bennett | Orsett | 6 March 1990 | 96 | 7 | – | – | Norwich City | 31 January 2012 | Loan |
| 5 | Gabriel Zakuani | Kinshasa | 31 May 1986 | 107 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Fulham | 1 January 2009 | £500,000 |
| 7 | Nicky Ajose | Bury | 7 October 1991 | – | – | – | – | Manchester United | 5 July 2011 | £300,000 |
| 8 | Lee Tomlin | Leicester | 12 January 1988 | 47 | 11 | – | – | Rushden & Diamonds | 6 August 2010 | Undisclosed |
| 9 | David Ball | Whitefield, Greater Manchester | 14 December 1989 | 21 | 5 | – | – | Manchester City | 31 January 2011 | Undisclosed |
| 10 | George Boyd | Chatham | 2 October 1985 | 215 | 60 | – | – | Stevenage | 1 January 2007 | £260,000 |
| 11 | Grant McCann | Belfast | 14 April 1980 | 45 | 13 | 33 | 4 | Scunthorpe United | 24 May 2010 | Free |
| 12 | Emile Sinclair | Leeds | 29 December 1987 | – | – | – | – | Macclesfield Town | 31 August 2011 | £250,000 |
| 13 | Joe Day | | 13 August 1990 | – | – | – | – | Rushden & Diamonds | 7 April 2011 | Undisclosed |
| 14 | Tommy Rowe | Wythenshawe | 24 September 1988 | 78 | 9 | – | – | Stockport County | 1 July 2009 | Undisclosed |
| 15 | David Hibbert | Stafford | 28 January 1986 | 12 | 1 | – | – | Shrewsbury Town | 31 May 2010 | Free |
| 16 | Ryan Tunnicliffe | Bury | 30 December 1992 | – | – | – | – | Manchester United | 1 July 2011 | Loan |
| 17 | Joe Newell | Birmingham | 15 March 1992 | 2 | 0 | – | – | N/A | 21 April 2011 | Trainee |
| 18 | Shaun Brisley | Macclesfield | 6 May 1990 | - | - | - | - | Macclesfield Town | 9 February 2012 | Loan |
| 19 | Barry Richardson | Wallsend | 5 August 1969 | – | – | – | – | Cheltenham Town | 3 February 2010 | Free |
| 20 | Tyrone Barnett | Birmingham | 28 October 1985 | – | – | – | – | Crawley Town | 21 February 2012 | Loan |
| 21 | Daniel Kearns | Belfast | 26 August 1991 | – | – | – | – | Dundalk | 30 August 2011 | Undisclosed |
| 23 | Lee Frecklington | Lincoln | 8 September 1985 | 57 | 3 | – | – | Lincoln City | 15 May 2009 | Undisclosed |
| 25 | Nathan Ralph | Great Dunmow | 14 February 1993 | – | – | – | – | N/A | 1 June 2011 | Trainee |
| 26 | Paul Taylor | Liverpool | 4 October 1987 | – | – | – | – | Anderlecht | 28 February 2011 | Free |
| 27 | Craig Alcock | Truro | 8 December 1987 | – | – | – | – | Yeovil Town | 7 July 2011 | Undisclosed |
| 28 | Paul Jones | Snodland | 28 June 1986 | – | – | – | – | Exeter City | 24 June 2011 | Free |
| – | Danny Mills | Peterborough | 27 November 1991 | 3 | 0 | – | – | Crawley Town | 24 July 2009 | Undisclosed |
| – | Scott Griffiths | London | 27 November 1985 | 21 | 0 | – | – | Dagenham & Redbridge | 22 January 2010 | Undisclosed |

## Friendly matches
### Championship
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 16 | Millwall | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 55 | 57 | −2 | 57 |
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 46 | 51 | −5 | 56 |
| 18 | Peterborough United | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 67 | 77 | −10 | 50 |
| 19 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 14 | 8 | 24 | 48 | 63 | −15 | 50 |
| 20 | Bristol City | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 44 | 68 | −24 | 49 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 28 April 2012. Source:

#### Results
### FA Cup
## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 29 April 2012
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Joe Lewis | 12 | 0 | 11+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Mark Little | 37 | 1 | 26+8 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | COD | Gabriel Zakuani | 42 | 1 | 40+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Nicky Ajose | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Lee Tomlin | 40 | 9 | 31+6 | 8 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | David Ball | 24 | 6 | 6+16 | 4 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 2 |
| 10 | FW | SCO | George Boyd | 48 | 8 | 45+0 | 7 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | NIR | Grant McCann | 42 | 8 | 38+3 | 8 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Emile Sinclair | 29 | 10 | 14+14 | 10 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Joe Day | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Tommy Rowe | 45 | 3 | 39+3 | 3 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Dave Hibbert | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Joe Newell | 15 | 1 | 8+6 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Shaun Brisley | 11 | 0 | 11+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Tyrone Barnett | 13 | 4 | 12+1 | 4 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | IRL | Daniel Kearns | 19 | 0 | 5+13 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | IRL | Lee Frecklington | 39 | 5 | 35+2 | 5 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Nathan Ralph | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | ENG | Paul Taylor | 47 | 12 | 36+8 | 12 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Craig Alcock | 44 | 0 | 40+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | ENG | Paul Jones | 37 | 0 | 35+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | RSA | Kgosi Ntlhe | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Charlie Coulson | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Players featured for club who have left: ||||||||||||
| | DF | WAL | Grant Basey | 4 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Ryan Bennett | 35 | 1 | 32+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Matthew Briggs | 5 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Ben Gordon | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Tom Kennedy | 8 | 0 | 6+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ryan Tunnicliffe | 29 | 0 | 10+16 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Scott Wootton | 14 | 0 | 7+4 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| N | P | Name | Championship | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 26 | FW | Paul Taylor | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 | FW | Emile Sinclair | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 8 | FW | Lee Tomlin | 8 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 10 | MF | George Boyd | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 11 | MF | Grant McCann | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 9 | FW | David Ball | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 23 | MF | Lee Frecklington | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 20 | FW | Tyrone Barnett | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | MF | Tommy Rowe | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | DF | Ryan Bennett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | DF | Mark Little | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | MF | Joe Newell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Gabriel Zakuani | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 65 | 0 | 4 | 69 |

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Name | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| 23 | MF | Lee Frecklington | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | Lee Tomlin | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | Grant McCann | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | Craig Alcock | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Ryan Bennett | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | George Boyd | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | Paul Taylor | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Tommy Rowe | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Gabriel Zakuani | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Kgosi Ntlhe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Scott Wootton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Tyrone Barnett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Matthew Briggs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Shaun Brisley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Daniel Kearns | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | Tom Kennedy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Mark Little | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Joe Newell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Emile Sinclair | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | 53 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 57 | 2 |

### Penalties

| Date | Penalty taker | Opponent | Competition |
| 9 August | Lee Tomlin | Stevenage | League Cup Round 1 |
| 20 August | Grant McCann | Ipswich Town | Championship Match 4 |
| 18 October | Grant McCann | Cardiff City | Championship Match 12 |

#### Suspensions served

| Date | Matches Missed | Player | Reason | Opponents Missed |
| 22 October | 3 | Lee Tomlin | vs Leeds United | Watford (A), Southampton (A), Derby County (H) |
| 1 November | 1 | Lee Frecklington | vs Southampton | Derby County (H), Birmingham City (A), Middlesbrough (H) |

## Transfers
### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| 13 | GK | Day | 20 | EU | Rushden & Diamonds | Transfer | Summer | 2015 | Undisclosed | BBC Sport |
| 28 | GK | Jones | 24 | EU | Exeter City | Transfer | Summer | 2013 | Free | BBC Sport |
| 7 | FW | Ajose | 19 | EU | Manchester United | Transfer | Summer | 2015 | £300,000 | BBC Sport |
| 27 | DF | Alcock | 23 | EU | Yeovil Town | Transfer | Summer | 2014 | Undisclosed | Sky Sports |
| 21 | MF | Kearns | 20 | EU | Dundalk | Transfer | Summer | 2014 | Undisclosed | Sky Sports |
| 12 | FW | Sinclair | 23 | EU | Macclesfield Town | Transfer | Summer | 2014 | £250,000 | Peterborough United |
* Total spending: ~ £550,000+

#### Notes

    $^1$Although officially undisclosed, The Evening Telegraph reported the fee to be £300,000.

### Loans in

| No. | P | Name | Age | Loan club | Started | Ended | Start source | End source |
| 16 | MF | Tunnicliffe | 31 | Manchester United | 1 July | 29 February | BBC Sport | |
| 6 | DF | Wootton | 20 | Manchester United | 1 July | 23 January | BBC Sport | The Posh Site |
| 20 | DF | Thompson | 20 | Celtic | 9 August | 18 January | Sky Sports | The Posh Site |
| 18 | DF | Gordon | 20 | Chelsea | 18 August | 2 January | BBC Sport | Soccerbase |
| 30 | DF | Kennedy | 26 | Leicester City | 30 September | 1 January | Sky Sports | |
| 4 | DF | Bennett | 21 | Norwich City | 31 January | 29 February | BBC Sport | Evening News |
| 3 | DF | Briggs | 33 | Fulham | 7 February | 7 March | BBC Sport | |
| 18 | DF | Brisley | 22 | Macclesfield Town | 9 February | 30 June | BBC Sport | |
| 20 | FW | Barnett | 26 | Crawley Town | 21 February | 30 June | BBC Sport | |

### Out

| N | P | Name | Age | Type | Moving to | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Apps | Goals | Source |
| 17 | DF | Nana | 21 | Free Transfer | Northampton Town | Summer | Free | 16 | 0 | BBC Sport |
| 21 | MF | Davies | 27 | Released | Northampton Town | Summer | Free | 28 | 1 | BBC Sport |
| — | MF | Green | 21 | Released | Dagenham & Redbridge | Summer | Free | 31 | 2 | BBC Sport |
| 18 | MF | Whelpdale | 24 | Transfer | Gillingham | Summer | Undisclosed | 143 | 13 | Gillingham F.C. |
| 12 | FW | Mackail-Smith | 27 | Transfer | Brighton & Hove Albion | Summer | £2.5m$^1$ | 212 | 99 | BBC Sport |
| 6 | DF | Lee | 25 | Transfer | Gillingham | Summer | Undisclosed | 177 | 16 | Gillingham F.C. |
| | FW | Howe | 24 | Transfer | Torquay United | Summer | Free | 15 | 1 | BBC Sport |
| | MF | Geohaghon | 26 | Free Transfer | Barnet | Summer | Free | 19 | 1 | BBC Sport |
| 21 | MF | Wesolowski | 23 | Free Transfer | Oldham Athletic | Summer | Free | 39 | 2 | BBC Sport |
| 18 | DF | Piergianni | 19 | Free Transfer | Stockport County | Summer | Free | 1 | 0 | BBC Sport |
| 3 | DF | Basey | 23 | Transfer | Wycombe Wanderers | Winter | Free | 13 | 1 | The Posh Site |
| 24 | DF | Langmead | 26 | Free Transfer | Northampton Town | Winter | Free | 41 | 4 | The Posh Site |
| 4 | DF | Bennett | 21 | Transfer | Norwich City | Winter | £3.2m$^2$ | 96 | 7 | BBC Sport |
EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; N = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); Age = age on the day of the signing; Moving from = only indicate the club the player was playing before start playing for this club in this season, for the type of the moving see Status column; Moving to = only indicates the club the player is going to play next, for the type of the moving see Status column; Ends = when the player's current contract ends; n/a = Not applicable.
* Total income: ~ £5,700,000+

#### Notes

$^1$Although officially undisclosed The Evening Telegraph reported the transfer fee was £2.5 million.
$^2$Although officially undisclosed The Evening Telegraph reported the transfer fee was £3.2 million.

### Loans outs

| No. | P | Name | Age | Loan club | Started | Ended | Start source | End source |
| — | FW | Mills | 20 | Tamworth | 8 August | 1 January | BBC Sport | Soccerbase |
| 24 | DF | Langmead | 26 | Northampton Town | 9 August | 5 January | Sky Sports | The Posh Site |
| | FW | Ball | 21 | Rochdale | 31 August | 12 October | BBC Football | BBC Sport |
| | DF | Griffiths | 26 | Crawley Town | 8 September | 1 January 2012 | BBC Football | Soccerbase |
| 7 | FW | Ajose | 20 | Scunthorpe United | 22 September | 29 November | BBC Sport | Soccerbase |
| 13 | GK | Day | 34 | Alfreton Town | 6 October | 30 June | BBC Sport | The Posh Site |
| 3 | DF | Basey | 23 | Wycombe Wanderers | 6 October | 31 December | BBC Sport | Soccerbase |
| | DF | Griffiths | 38 | Rotherham United | 10 January | 30 June | The Posh Site | |
| | FW | Mills | 33 | Kettering Town | 13 January | 30 June | The Posh Site | |
| 25 | DF | Ralph | 31 | Kettering Town | 13 January | | The Posh Site | |

### Contracts

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Status | Contract length | Expiry date | Source |
| 5 | DF | Zakuani | 25 | Y Signed | 3 years | June 2014 | BBC Sport |
| 4 | DF | Bennett | 21 | Y Signed | 4 years | June 2015 | BBC Sport |
| 14 | MF | Rowe | 22 | Y Signed | 3 years | June 2014 | BBC Sport |
| 23 | MF | Frecklington | 26 | Y Signed | 1.5 years | June 2014 | BBC Sport |
| 17 | MF | Newell | 18 | Y Signed | 4 years | June 2016 | The Posh Site |
| 10 | MF | Boyd | 26 | N Rejected | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | The Posh Site |
| 26 | FW | Taylor | 24 | N Rejected | 4 years | June 2015 | BBC Sport |
| 28 | GK | Jones | 25 | N Rejected | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Sky Sports |

## Overall summary
### Summary

| Games played | 49 (46 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Games won | 14 (13 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Games drawn | 11 (11 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Games lost | 24 (22 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Goals scored | 70 (66 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 4 League Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 84 (77 Championship, 2 FA Cup, 5 League Cup) |
| Goal difference | -14 |
| Clean sheets | 4 (4 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Yellow cards | 57 (53 Championship, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Red cards | 2 (2 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Worst discipline | 5 , 1 Lee Frecklington & Lee Tomlin |
| Best result | 7–1 vs Ipswich Town |
| Worst result | 0–3 vs Portsmouth & Millwall |
| Most appearances | Ryan Bennett (34) |
| Top scorer | 12, Paul Taylor |
| Points | 50 |

### Competition summary

| Competition | Started round | Current position / round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| 2011–12 Football League Championship | — | 18th | | 6 August 2011 | 28/29 April 2012 |
| 2011–12 Football League Cup | 1st Round | — | 2nd Round | 9 August 2011 | 24 August 2011 |
| FA Cup | 3rd round | — | 3rd round | 8 January 2012 | 8 January 2012 |
Updated to match played 24 August 2011 Source: Competitions