Jeff Weston

2 months ago | backpagefootball.com | Jeff Weston

Enough of the experimentation now. Enough of the tinkering with the engine and the snipping of branches. Five games in (W 2, D 1, L 2) – plus a free Boxing Day ‘welcome party’ – Pete Wild, that son of Royton, that surpasser of Paul Scholes, that face and tongue of everyone, has shown Highbury his head coach credentials. He has roughed up and supplanted our normal back five. He has sold Carl Johnston for a decent sum and brought back club legend and master of controversy, Shaun Rooney.

Jan 5, 2025 | backpagefootball.com | Jeff Weston

Strange to see players digging their own graves. Strange to see privileged existences being treated with scorn. But then if we compare this current squad with the one a decade ago – Chris Maxwell, Danny Andrew, Stephen Crainey, Conor McLaughlin, Mark Roberts, Nathan Pond, Gareth Evans, Antoni Sarcevic, Steven Schumacher, David Ball, Ash Hunter, to name just a few – it becomes clear that Fleetwood Town 2024/25 has been monumentally gutted.

Jan 5, 2025 | backpagefootball.com | Jeff Weston

Sad faces. Disillusionment. Mockery. The Cod Army faithful walked away from this latest home league match against Colchester United – Fleetwood Town’s fifth draw in eight Highbury attempts – with a new emptiness, confusion and swelling anger. The team before them looked like a collection of individuals largely content with a mid-table finish and a six-month holiday.

Apr 29, 2024 | backpagefootball.com | Jeff Weston

Players like noise. They look at their careers and gauge where they are via the heart and numbers of the crowd. On Saturday, Burton Albion’s fans didn’t disappoint. They came in great swathes, some dressed as Mexicans, and poured the tequila freely courtesy of their singing voices and general merriment.

Feb 18, 2024 | backpagefootball.com | Jeff Weston

Half a chest bump between wing-back Ryan Broom and striker Promise Omochere before the match against Barnsley said much about the camaraderie slowly beginning to build at Fleetwood Town. Shorn of its identity during the Lee Johnson era, Highbury has a bit of bounce back, a bit of shebang and zing.