Fleetwood Town F.C.
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| Full name | Fleetwood Town Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | The Fishermen, The Fleet, Cod Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1908 as Fleetwood (Reformed in 1997) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Highbury Stadium, Fleetwood (Capacity 3,497 (currently 1,500) - reduced due to building work)) |
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| Chairman | Andy Pilley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Tony Greenwood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Conference North | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–08 | Northern Premier League Premier Division, 1st (promoted) |
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Fleetwood Town F.C. is an English football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire. On 26 April 2008, the team won promotion to the Conference North, the sixth tier of the English league system, by winning the Northern Premier League Premier Division Championship. This was the team's third promotion in four seasons.
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[edit] History
The current club was officially established in 1997 but, in two previous incarnations, the club's history dates back to 1908. The original club, Fleetwood F.C., were champions of the Lancashire Combination in 1923-24, and registered a hat-trick of Lancashire Combination Cup wins in 1932, 1933, and 1934. Their goalkeeper in the first of those victories was the legendary Frank Swift, then only eighteen years old. After almost sixty years as a Lancashire Combination club, they were made founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968, finishing in 10th place in their first season, and won the Northern Premier League Cup in 1971. However, the club finished bottom of the table for two successive seasons and folded in 1976 because of financial difficulties.
The club was re-established in 1977 as Fleetwood Town F.C., with many of the original personnel. Initially placed in Division One of the Cheshire League, they were moved in 1982 to the North West Counties Football League Division Two in its inaugural year, and promoted to Division One in 1984. They reached the final of the FA Vase in 1985, losing 3-1 to Halesowen Town in front of a 16,000 crowd at Wembley. The club was placed in the First Division (second tier) of the Northern Premier league when the league established a second tier in 1987, becoming the inaugural Division One Champions in 1988. However, by 1996, this second club had also folded.
Re-formed in 1997 as Fleetwood Wanderers, the club was placed back in Division Two of the North West Counties Football League (now the tenth tier of the English League system) and a sponsorship deal saw the club's name immediately changed to Fleetwood Freeport F.C. The club was promoted to Division One in 1999 and renamed Fleetwood Town F.C. in 2002. Current manager Tony Greenwood was appointed in 2003, and soon afterward, Andy Pilley took over as chairman. Successive promotions as North West Counties Football League champions in 2005 and Northern Premier League First Division runners-up in 2006 saw the club reach the Northern Premier League Premier Division.
In the 2006–07 season Fleetwood Town won the UniBond League Challenge Cup beating Matlock Town 1-0 at Witton Albion's ground on 16 April 2007. They missed out on reaching the play-offs for the Northern Premier League Premier Division by five points, after being two points behind the play-offs with two games left to play only to lose the last two games of the season. They finished the season in 8th place with 67 points.
In 2007–08, the club continued its successful run, and from November to April lay second in the division, trailing only long-time leaders Witton Albion. Two goals in the last three minutes to defeat Ossett Town on 1 March began a series of two draws and eleven victories (including a 3-0 win at Witton) leaving Fleetwood one point ahead of Witton going into the last game of the season. A Northern Premier League Premier Division record crowd of 2,666 saw Fleetwood struggle to a 1-1 draw with Frickley Athletic but Witton were defeated at home, thus securing the Championship for Fleetwood. The club gained automatic promotion to the Conference North and the highest position in the club's history since the 1997 re-establishment. The original Fleetwood F.C. finished 10th in the Northern Premier league in 1968-69, when the NPL was one of several leagues immediately below Fourth Division of the Football League, and therefore effectively the fifth tier. In 1990-91 the second incarnation of the club finished 4th in the NPL Premier Division, then effectively the sixth tier.[1]
Fleetwood were by some way the best-supported club in the Premier Division, their average home gate of 721 being 50% higher than that of the next club, Witton Albion.[2]
The original 1908 club played on a pitch next to the North Euston Hotel, where the police station now stands. Apart from two years after World War I when the club played on a temporary ground behind the Queen's Hotel on Poulton Road, they remained at the Euston ground until moving to the present ground next to the Memorial Park in 1934. Fans refer to each other as "Woodies" or "Macs", the latter due to a pun on the famous music group Fleetwood Mac, although in recent years they have become known as the "Cod Army", reflecting the town's history as a fishing port. Fleetwood's Highbury Stadium is not to be confused with the now defunct Arsenal Stadium, which was generally (although incorrectly) referred to as "Highbury". "Woodies" often joke, though, that their Highbury is "The Home of Football" and style themselves as "The Northern Arsenal".
It was announced in March 2007 that the Football Section of Fleetwood Gym would be joining Fleetwood Town, at the end of the 2006-7 season, to create the Fleetwood Town Football Academy, Harry Mills took over as manager in January and has so far seen an upturn in performances[3] with teams ranging from Under 7's to Under 17/18's.[4]
[edit] Highbury Stadium development
In February 2007 the new Percy Ronson Stand was opened. A £500,000-plus development the stand is all terracing, and holds 1,243. making the ground suitable for the Conference National if they should get promoted in future. In July 2007, further plans for the stadium development were announced which included three new stands. The plans were finalized in December 2007 and in March 2008, planning permission was given for the first phase, construction of the north and west terraces. Construction began in May 2008, and will be complete by the opening game of the 2008-09 season.
[edit] Current squad
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[edit] Management
| Position | Name | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| Team Manager | Tony Greenwood |  |
| Assistant Manager | Nigel Greenwood | |
| Physio | Danny Moore | |
| Reserve Team Manager | Steve Edwards | |
| Reserve Team Assistant Manager | Stuart Harris | |
| U18's Youth Team Manager | Mike Summer | |
[edit] Honours
[edit] 1997 foundation
- Peter Swales Memorial Shield
- Winners 2008
- Northern Premier League Premier Division
- Champions: 2008
- Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
- Winners: 2007
- Northern Premier League First Division
- Runners-up: 2006 (promoted)
- North West Counties Football League Division One
- Champions: 2005
- North West Counties Football League Division Two
- Champions: 1999
- North West Counties Football League Division Two Cup
- Winners: 1999
[edit] 1976 foundation
- Northern Premier League First Division
- Champions: 1988
- Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
- Runners-up: 1989
- F.A. Challenge Vase
- Runners-up: 1985
- North West Counties Football League Division Two
- Champions: 1984
[edit] 1908 foundation
- Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
- Winners: 1971
- Lancashire Combination
- Champions: 1924
- Runners-up: 1934, 1935
- Lancashire Combination Cup
- Winners: 1926, 1932, 1933, 1934
- Runners-up: 1953, 1967
[edit] Records
- Attendance
- 6,150 v Rochdale - 13 November 1965 - FA Cup 1st Round, 1965-66
- 3,112 v F.C. United of Manchester - 15 September 2007 - FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round, 2007-08 (highest since 1997 re-establishment)
- 2,666 v Frickley Athletic - 26 April 2008 - Northern Premier League Premier Division (highest league attendance)
- Appearances
- 416 - Percy Ronson (1949-64)
[edit] Notable former players
- Herbert Jones - former Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers player. Capped six times for England.
- Frank Swift - former Manchester City goalkeeper. Capped nineteen times for England. Died in the Munich Air Disaster on 6 February 1958.
[edit] References
- ^ England - Northern Premier League. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (2006-04-02). Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
- ^ Unibond League Premier Division Average Attendances - Home Matches. footballwebpages.co.uk (2007-04-26). Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ a b Fleetwood Town News Archives. March 2006/07 - A Significant Day in the History of Fleetwood Town. Fleetwood Town F.C. (2007-03-08). Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
- ^ News in full: Major Partnership Announced at Fleetwood Town. Unibond League (2007-03-08). Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
[edit] External links
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