Robbie Savage stuns former club as Peterborough win at King Power
Robbie Savage’s first League One match in charge of Peterborough, which also represented his first EFL managerial role, produced a stunning victory at Leicester on Saturday at the King Power Stadium. The result came against his former club and offered a glimpse of his fearless philosophy.
Savage has long been a divisive figure who made his name at Leicester, adopting a jokester persona during his playing days when his long blond hair and combative style saw him become the most booked player in Premier League history. That pantomime-villain image extended into the media after retirement, and he was once fined £10,000 by the Football Association — and two weeks’ wages by Leicester — for using referee Graham Poll’s toilet before a match, an incident he blamed on an upset stomach brought on by antibiotics. Away from the limelight he has constructed a more serious managerial CV, winning promotion with Macclesfield with 109 points — 35 wins from 42 games — and last season taking Forest Green Rovers to the National League playoffs where they lost to Boreham Wood.
Peterborough’s board said Savage won them over in a lengthy interview by laying out his ideas for a young squad; chair Darragh MacAnthony suggested Savage’s character and work rate were required from “top to bottom” at the club. Savage addressed "the doubters" even before they had voiced concerns, citing that he was told he was not good enough when released by Manchester United — described in the interview as one of the forgotten members of the Class of ’92 FA Youth Cup winners — and saying he had battled his way into the Leicester team.
On the touchline at the King Power Savage was highly animated, approaching the travelling Peterborough supporters and pumping his fist before kick-off and later removing his jacket within 10 minutes as he shouted instructions. “I’m exhausted,” he said. “I think I’ve done 10k in the technical area, kicking every ball for my team.” It is no surprise he was handed a two-match ban last season for yellow cards received for over-exuberant celebrations and overexuberant discussions with officials.
The match followed the fast, direct template Savage has used at Macclesfield and Forest Green: when Lucca Mendonça crunched Bobby De Cordova-Reid Savage leapt and punched the air with as much enthusiasm as he celebrated Owura Edwards’s opening goal; later a ball over the top allowed Bolu Shofowoke to round the Leicester goalkeeper before Harry Leonard tapped in. That marauding style leaves them exposed at the back, but Savage doesn’t care. “My philosophy is: the best players are at the top of the pitch,” he said. “If I can get it there as quick as we can, by limiting the passes, but on the floor, through the lines, you can push the full-backs out. At times we were 2-1-1-6. That’s how we play. We are open. But let’s be brave.”
Emil Riis’s back-post tap-in reduced the margin and Savage held his head in his hands after conceding, but the result was a remarkable one for a side that in the league had won once all season, scored four times and gone seven weeks without a victory. “I’m just humble to come up against somebody like Russell Martin, who’s managed in the Premier League,” Savage said. “Two and a half years ago I was up at Hebburn and Stockton, playing in front of 200-300 people. My team have come to the King Power and put in a performance like that. I’m so proud of them.”
At the final whistle Savage hurried around the pitch, where he must have shaken the hand or slapped the back or hugged every player, coach and staff member from both teams, as the Peterborough fans stood and chanted his name. Savage will be entertaining this season. And he might just surprise a few people with his football, too.