How Big Ron Manager brought Darragh MacAnthony to Posh
Darragh MacAnthony bought Peterborough United for one pound months after watching the 2006 Sky series Big Ron Manager while living in Spain. The fly-on-the-wall show embarrassed the cash-strapped club, yet its passion and Barry Fry’s character sold him on a takeover. He is still chairman 20 years later.
According to the Peterborough Telegraph, it is no contradiction to call the series one of the most embarrassing episodes in club history and also one that helped save Posh from oblivion. For more celebrity sports fallout, see our Celebrity Breaking News hub.
Key Takeaways
- Darragh MacAnthony watched Big Ron Manager in Spain with his father and was drawn to the club’s passion.
- He bought Peterborough United from Barry Fry for £1 in September 2006 and remains chairman two decades on.
- The 2006 documentary followed Ron Atkinson at cash-strapped Posh under rookie boss Steve Bleasdale.
- A Big Ron Manager reunion on 3 September 2026 will raise funds for a Tommy Robson bronze statue.
What was Big Ron Manager and why did it embarrass Posh?
In 2006, then-chairman Barry Fry accepted a Sky offer to film a warts-and-all documentary with former Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson troubleshooting life at London Road. Atkinson spotted plenty of problems but struggled to fix them.
Posh were short of cash and ignored warnings from Swindon Town, which had scrapped a similar project after four weeks as too intrusive. Mark Wright had left for gross misconduct, leaving rookie boss Steve Bleasdale in charge. Atkinson had not managed a club for seven years.
Five hour-long episodes aired and remain on YouTube. Editing left Bleasdale looking incompetent, Sean St Ledger arrogantly rude, and Danny Crow moody. St Ledger and Crow later said they were misrepresented. Bleasdale resigned on air, wrecking any chance of compensation, and later moved into wedding photography.
The show still won a Royal Television Society award for Best Sports Show, cited as “a hugely entertaining entry into a sporting world that sometimes beggared belief.”
How did Darragh MacAnthony end up buying the club?
One viewer loved every chaotic minute. MacAnthony watched in Spain with his father and later recalled being “in stitches” at people falling over themselves, rowing and fighting. What hooked him was the passion and Fry’s status as a well-known football character.
He bought Posh months later for a quid. A related Peterborough Telegraph report puts the September 2006 deal at £1 from Fry. MacAnthony is still there after what the paper calls a largely golden period. Fry remains his wise right-hand man.
Why is Big Ron Manager back in the headlines now?
A reunion evening with Fry and Atkinson is set for Thursday 3 September at 7:30pm at The Fleet Community Centre in Peterborough, hosted by former BBC Radio 5 Live reporter Pat Murphy. Tickets are £25.
Organisers say it is the final fundraiser for a bronze statue of Posh legend Tommy Robson at London Road. Robson, who died in October 2020, holds the club appearance record with 559 games and received the Freedom of the City in 2020. More than £100,000 has already been raised, following a similar project for Chris Turner.
Two decades on, the show that once mortified London Road is being celebrated for the unlikely takeover it inspired—and for helping bring a club icon home in bronze.