Robbie Savage has made the step into the EFL after being appointed Peterborough United manager on a long-term contract. The 51-year-old leaves National League Forest Green Rovers, where he had been in charge since July 2025.
He takes over a Posh side in the League One relegation zone following the departure of Luke Williams last month. His first game is Tuesday's EFL Trophy tie at home to Ipswich Town Under-21s, and he will keep the club's existing coaching staff.
Savage said the size of the club, its work with young players and, above all, its style of play attracted him to the job. He has said he modelled his approach at previous clubs on the way Peterborough play, and summed up his philosophy simply: "I would rather win games 5-4 than 1-0."
He also acknowledged that some supporters will have reservations, and said he was prepared for the scrutiny that comes with the role.
Chairman Darragh MacAnthony said the board had been impressed by Savage in an extensive interview, and described excitement as something he hadn't felt about the club for some time. Club director Iain Crawford was open about the risk, describing the appointment as a deliberate "big swing" rather than the safe option. Reports suggest the contract runs for around three and a half years.
Williams was dismissed on 19 September after a 2-0 home defeat to Doncaster Rovers left Peterborough 23rd in League One, without a league win in five games.
It was a disappointing end for a manager who arrived in October 2025 with Posh bottom of the table, and who led a strong recovery during the second half of last season. The cup has been a brighter story this time around. Peterborough beat Barnsley on penalties to reach the fourth round of the EFL Cup for the first time since 2009.
As a player, Savage came through the youth system at Manchester United before establishing himself at Crewe Alexandra. He went on to make 346 Premier League appearances for Leicester City, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers and Derby County, winning the League Cup with Leicester in 2000, and earned 39 caps for Wales. After retiring he became a familiar face in the media as a BBC pundit, and he will continue co-hosting 606 on 5 Live alongside the Posh job.
His route into management was an unusual one. Savage helped his friend Rob Smethurst found Macclesfield FC in 2020 after the old Macclesfield Town was wound up, initially serving on the board. He took over as manager in 2024, and the Silkmen won the Northern Premier League Premier Division with 109 points and 109 goals, earning promotion to the National League North.
That success came with significant backing, though. Savage acknowledged at the time that Macclesfield "most probably have the biggest budget in the league", having previously said the club had put between £500,000 and £800,000 into the first-team budget at that level. He pointed out that every player was on a part-time contract and that the money came from the club's own revenue, but it gave Macclesfield a clear advantage over most of the division.
Savage left Macclesfield for Forest Green in the summer of 2025, only weeks after signing a new two-year deal with the Silkmen, which left a sour taste with some supporters there.
At the New Lawn, he oversaw a major rebuild. Twelve players arrived before his first league game, and the turnover continued throughout his time there. Only two first-team regulars pre-date his arrival, and he became known among supporters for bringing in a new player after almost every defeat. Many of those signings were loans or players stepping up from lower levels, with mixed results. Savage did point to reducing the club's wage bill as one of the tasks he was set and one of his main achievements.
On the pitch, Forest Green scored more goals in his first season but also conceded more. They finished seventh and lost to Boreham Wood in the play-offs.
He was never universally popular with the Forest Green support. This season's indifferent start brought growing criticism, and Rovers sit 13th after 11 games, with four wins, three draws and four defeats. Some fans felt he struggled to settle on a side, and when news of Peterborough's interest broke, there was little appetite on supporters' forums for another high-profile appointment.
That said, even his critics credit how he engaged with supporters. He was approachable, fronted up after bad results as well as good ones, and his sides generally played energetic football.
Peterborough is by far the biggest job of Savage's short managerial career, and the step from the National League to League One is a significant one. With the January window still three months away, he won't be able to reshape the squad the way he did at Forest Green, so he'll need to get more out of the players already there.
The appointment has divided opinion among supporters, and Savage knows results will decide how it is judged. If he can bring the attacking football and confidence that defined his Macclesfield side, Peterborough may yet move up the table.
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