The 2021/22 season has certainly been something of a disappointing one for Peterborough United.

Following their promotion from League One last season, the Posh have struggled to re-establish themselves in the Championship this season.

As a result, despite changing manager, with Grant McCann returning to replace Darren Ferguson, the club are still facing the prospect of an immediate return to the third-tier, barring a remarkable turnaround in results in the final weeks of the campaign.

But is that a fair position for the club to find themselves in, based on the level of investment they have put into their squad, in comparison to those they are competing with in the Championship?

Here, in order to find out, we've taken a look at how the cost of Peterborough's current squad matches up with the rest of those in the second-tier this season, according to Football Finance expert Kieran Maguire.

As per Maguire, Peterborough's squad this season is worth £4.6million, which makes it the 21st mose expensive squad in the Championship.

With the club currently 22nd in the second-tier standings, it could be argued that in that sense, it is no surprise that the Posh are looking at that prospect of an immediate relegation back to the third-tier.

Indeed, when you consider the fact that the two clubs currently occupying the automatic promotion places in the Championship - Fulham and Bournemouth - have squads between 40 and 50 million times more expensive than Posh, it is hard to imagine there ever being a way of the club competing with those at the top of the table.

But while in that sense, it can be argued that Peterborough were always going to struggle to avoid relegation, there is other evidence to suggest that the club could still have done more this season.

It is worth noting that the three teams with squad less valuable than Peterborough's at this moment in time - Hull, Blackool and Luton - are all higher up the table than Posh as things stand.

Meanwhile, the three teams who sit directly above them - having invested only slightly more in their squads (Coventry, QPR and Millwall) - are all also in the mix for a top six spot.

Having come up alongside Peterborough from League One last season, Blackpool now sit comfortably in mid-table in the Championship, while Luton, who are now in their third season back in the division, look all but certain to claim a play-off place.

As a result, while the amount invested by Peterborough means this was always going to be a difficult season for them, there is still an argument to be made that the club could have made more out of this campaign, has they used those funds differently.