Written by Max
Ground #24
Highbury – Fleetwood Town FC
Saturday 16th October 2021 – EFL League 1
Fleetwood Town 3-0 Crewe Alexandra
Attendance: 2,917
Entry: £22
There has been a side representing the Town of Fleetwood since 1908, although after folding a couple of times, the current carnation was formed just 23 years ago in 1998. Starting in the 10th tier of English Football and after one promotion, were bought by current owner Andy Pilley in 2003.
Since then, with his money invested, a rise which has probably never been seen before in English Football began. In 10 years, the club rose from the 10th tier North West Counties Division 1 all the way to the Football League and now find themselves in the 3rd tier! Crowds have grown along the journey and the ground has been improved along the way to what is now a pretty little football league standard ground that I’m sure everyone at the club is extremely proud of.
Today’s game saw them come up against a struggling Crewe side who would have been looking to kickstart their season in what was looking like an early season relegation 6 pointer! The game began with both teams struggling to show much quality proving their lowly positions in the table weren’t false at this time. The hosts though began to grow into the game and if it wasn’t for some heroics in the Alex goal from keeper Will Jaaskelainen would have taken the lead. The Alex were really struggling to get anything going and I can’t really remember anything of note going forward.
That theme continued in the second half with Fleetwood hitting the post and finding Jaaskelainen once again in top form keeping them out. On the hour mark though, they finally broke the deadlock with a free header from a corner. Around ten minutes later was a moment that could have changed the game as after a Fleetwood player reacted badly to a challenge from a Crewe midfielder getting up and grabbing him by the neck. This resulted in a mass coming together from players from both teams and 2 yellow cards a piece were given in the aftermath. The ref must have left his red card at home…
Even if the hosts had been down to 10 men though, wouldn’t have changed the fact Crewe had been flat all game and even against 10 I would have been surprised if we had been any better. A second went in just 5 minutes later and all remaining hope was lost as the atmosphere amongst the 1,000 plus traveling fans became almost as flat as the performance itself. As if things weren’t bad enough, every Fleetwood goal was followed by the theme tune to Captain Pugwash being played over the speakers. As the Jolly theme tune played out for the 3rd time after a stoppage time cherry on the cake from a Fleetwood perspective it was time for us to get back on the tram and to the nearest Blackpool pub to drown our sorrows
As a Crewe fan, this is going to be a long season!
Now to rate our day by the seaside in Fleetwood:
Location: 6/10
Fleetwood itself doesn’t have its own Train Station, but there is a tram which takes you from Blackpool seafront to a stop very close to the ground. This is great but as the Tram stops every 200 yards or so takes a frustratingly long time to travel what is a relatively short distance.
We arrived early at the game and did a loop of the ground before getting fish and chips nearby. Strangely during this 20 minutes or so of walking we didn’t pass a single pub, although as you’ll see later on, this was more than made up for by the clubs own offering.
Kit: 8/10
Fleetwood’s kit this year consists of a red body with white sleeves and sides. On a closer look (which is difficult to see on our photos) the red fades to black at the top of the kit which is a great small detail. As this years kit is made by Hummel it also contains their trademark chevrons on the sleeves
A really nice shirt and one that if I was a Fleetwood supporter I would have definitely bought this year!
Facilities: 10/10
Yes you have read that right! Our 24th ground brings our first ever perfect score of 10/10!!!
As mentioned above, we had struggled to find pubs near the ground so decided to try ‘Jim’s Sports Bar’ which is located within the ground with entry behind the Home Terrace. I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting much but wow was I wrong! As we walked in, Sweet Caroline was being blasted out of the wonderful sound system with a mix of both home and visiting supporters singing along making for a great pre game atmosphere.
The bar itself was modern, with LED lights in the ceiling, and the walls were adorned with pictures from throughout their rise up the leagues. All around were Large screens showing the early kick off, and a great selection of drinks were available form behind the bar.
I must say one of the best pre game bars I have been in yet and I would definitely recommend anyone that visits the ground to get there early and make the most of it! The bloke on the PA played a great mix of songs to get fans of both teams ready for the game, with the odd bit of banter with both teams supporters thrown in. There was also an appearance from Fleetwood’s 2 Mascots with a lot of fans getting photos with the ‘Codheads’
Look: 6/10
This is probably the hardest part to rate for me since starting this blog. As a fan of non league and lower league grounds, I really liked this stadium! Terraces in the football league are getting fewer and fewer and it was great to get the chance to stand behind the goal. The main stand to our right was a really nice modern curved design and to our left was a large LED scoreboard.
I also liked a nod to the clubs rise up the leagues with the dates of their 6 promotions in 10 years proudly adorned onto the main stand. On the opposite side there was a sign of their nonleague past with the old stand still in place behind the newer all seater, and a small building which would have been the clubhouse back in the day. These still remaining really brought home the enormity and speed of Fleetwood’s rise up the leagues and whether you like how it has been done or not, you can’t help but be impressed with the ground today.
I must also mention the pitch which was in perfect condition for today’s game
After all that I’m sure you are wondering, why only 6/10? Well sadly for Fleetwood we aren’t comparing their ground to their past leagues, but the present, and when they now compete in a League which also contains grounds like The Stadium of Light, Hillsborough and The Valley, we have to be realistic and compare it fairly!
Food and Drink: 5.5/10
As mentioned before, we made the most of our trip to the seaside and went to nearby Fish & Chip Restaurant ‘Pisces’ for our pre match meal. The food was great and ridiculously cheap so I would recommend a visit to anyone. As we walked up to the restaurant it seemed deserted and we were slightly worried walking in, but it turns out that the windows are tinted on the outside (for some reason) and once you get inside it is much nicer than we initially thought so don’t let the exterior put you off!
For the sake of the blog though, we will only be rating the food and drink available within the ground itself. As we had just eaten a full meal we decided to share a cheese and onion pie once in the ground. The Pie wasn’t your usual Pukka pie and was Homemade by a local butcher. It wasn’t the biggest pie we had ever had (which was probably for the best following our fish and chips!) and the cheese wasn’t as strong as others we have had, but seeing as they are made by a butcher we assumed the meat ones would have been much nicer.
Sadly no alcohol was available in the away end as the food bar was in view of the pitch but, as mentioned earlier, Jim’s Bar within the ground had a great selection of drinks available including Dark Fruits so the bonus half point is given!
TOTAL SCORE
35.5/50
The 90 minutes of football aside, we really enjoyed our trip to the Fylde Coast enjoying a weekend in Sunny Blackpool. Fleetwood’s Ground itself is a decent design and I wouldn’t hesitate to visit again if both sides are in the same division once again next season.
The story of Fleetwood Town is a pretty amazing one and it shows that with the right ambition and investment a side as low as step 6 of nonleague does have the chance to get to the football league no matter how slim, and thats why the English football pyramid is the best in the world! theres hope for anyone, even Ollerton!
If you’d like to see where this puts Highbury on our leader board click here: THE 92
And if you would like to see our non league league leader board click here: NON LEAGUE
Emma’s Ground Guide 