Fleetwood Mac and Back
This weekend saw us heading to Fleetwood Town’s Highbury Stadium, not to be confused with the old Arsenal ground of the same name.
With the Fishermen also playing in red shirts with white sleeves, I had to research if there was some sort of connection between the two clubs.
Apparently not…
The ground is named after the road on which it stands, Highbury Avenue and the shirt colours changed in 1919.
Originally playing in black and amber, Town changed to red and white at the behest of local trawlermen whose boats were red and white. They told the club they would buy them a new kit if they changed their colours to match the boats.
The things you learn here, eh?
As Fleetwood is a difficult place to get to and back home again in one day, we decided to make a weekend of it and stay in Blackpool, just a short distance down the coast from Fleetwood.
We travelled down on Friday and stayed until Sunday lunchtime.
This is a bit of a lengthy one, I’m afraid, so let’s crack on and see how the Fleetwood Town matchday experience unfolded.
Fleetwood – The Journey
Our weekend started by catching the 08:50 X1 to Newcastle on Friday morning.
As we trundled along towards the Toon, I saw a sight I’d never seen before as we passed through Houghton-le-Spring. A guy riding up the High Street on a Penny-farthing bicycle!
I mean, I’ve seen them at shows, with circus performers etc but in terms of out in the wild, this was a first.
We arrived in Newcastle at 10:00 and slowly wandered to the train station. Our train was due at 10:46, so we grabbed a coffee while we waited.
An incredibly smooth journey followed.
I say incredible because I’m just not used to every train turning up on time, booked seats being available and no cancellations!
We were even regaled by a fellow passenger about her recent escapades of being released from prison, not having to wear a tag and being forced to go through detox – while she sipped her Jack Daniels and Coke.
I should add, that she wasn’t so much telling us, as telling the whole train via her loud phone conversation with a friend…
While everyone else looked at each other with a bemused look on their face, the lady, unironically, even had a finger stuck in her ear so that she could hear the person on the line.
Moving On...
Our train pulled into Carlisle at 12:20, where a thirteen-minute wait saw us pulling away towards Preston.
Arriving at 13:45, we boarded the train to Blackpool North at 14:02 and were in the seaside resort twenty minutes later.
A total journey time of five hours and thirty-five minutes.
Friday in Blackpool
We found our guest house a five-minute walk away and checked in.
The owner of The Molly House was very friendly and welcoming and we were even given an upgraded room due to a cancellation. Score!
After dropping off our bags and refreshing, we spent the rest of the day wandering down the sunny seafront before heading back north and finding a great little pub.
The Mitre is apparently the smallest pub in Blackpool, although it seemed pretty normal-sized to me.
More importantly, there was live music on and we sat and listened to a fantastic singer. He went through a range of acts from Thin Lizzy to the Beatles and REM. His voice changed for almost every song. A real chameleon of a singer.
The pub was also filled with Hearts fans and it was quite amusing when the singer teased them with the intro to the Proclaimers anthem ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’.
As I’m sure you are aware, the Proclaimers are big Hibernian fans and there was little doubt left that the Hearts fans didn’t want to hear it.
Of course, later on in the night, he went through with his threat… It seems the pub owner had asked him to play it and the singer apologised beforehand.
Although the Hearts fans took it in the right spirit, it dampened the mood in the place and not long afterwards, they left the pub.
Shame, that.
We left just after midnight and headed back to the guest house for some well-earned kip.
Saturday
Matchday started with me suffering.
No, not from last night’s beer but a terrible gallstone pain in my stomach.
Anyone who has had this will know how debilitating it is for about six hours. I took a Naproxen, skipped breakfast and napped a while longer.
We lay in until after 11:00 before facing the next couple of hours of discomfort.
We then caught a tram headed for Fleetwood Ferry, from Pleasant Street on the seafront. It cost £3.50 each for the eight-mile journey.
I decided we should go right up to Fleetwood Ferry and past the stop for the stadium. I wanted to get some nice photos of the sea.
When we got there around 13:00, the tide was out… very out!
As we wandered along the seafront, the rain started to come down for the first and only time during the weekend.
I put my raincoat on and thought, is this a Fleetwood Mac, now?
Sorry, I’ll get my coat… ah damn, I just can’t help it, can I?
We followed The Esplanade to the sunken car park before turning down Dronsfield Road.
This led in a straight line via Memorial Park to our first glimpse of Highbury Stadium.
Fleetwood
The coastal Lancashire town of Fleetwood lies on a peninsula eight miles north of Blackpool.
It stands on the banks of the River Wyre in the northwest of England and forms the southern tip of Morecambe Bay. The Irish Sea lies to the west of the town.
With a population of around 26,000, it is the smallest town in England with a Football League club to represent it. An honour the town regained following the relegation of Forest Green Rovers.
The prominent Allen family were the main residents of this coastal area from the Tudor times until the 1830’s. Rossall Hall, where they had lived, came into the possession of Peter Hesketh. He was a visionary, who saw the chance to turn this area into a big transport hub with a rail link to Preston and a seaport link to Scotland.
A Town is Born
After changing his name to Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, he decided to name this new town after his newly acquired name.
By the mid-1850s the western railway link between London and Scotland rendered Hesketh-Fleetwood’s vision as a transport terminus obsolete.
Oh fickle fate!
Fleetwood is the only town in the UK to have three lighthouses, two of which are still operational.
The electric tramline on which we made our way here, was built in the 1890’s and remains fully functional to this day.
In 1910 Fleetwood saw the erection of the last new seaside pier to be built in the United Kingdom.
1922 saw the first fully automated telephone exchange in Britain put into operation in Fleetwood.
Growth as a fishing port was hampered by the Cod Wars with Iceland which hurt the town and saw a decline in the industry.
Over the decades, Fleetwood has lost its railway links, deep sea fishing, ferry services, the loss of tourism to Blackpool and a container port facility.
Devastating stuff for any town.
Today, the town’s biggest employer is Lofthouse of Fleetwood, the makers of the Fisherman’s Friend throat lozenges.
Notable Fleetwood Natives
Darrel Treece-Birch, keyboardist and songwriter with the rock band, Ten.
Jane Couch, MBE, became the UK’s first licensed female boxer in 1998.
John Robb, bassist with the eighties punk band, The Membranes.
Julia Grant, who featured in the hit TV documentary ‘A Change of Sex’. This chronicled for the first time on TV, a person undergoing the transgender process.
Fleetwood in Pictures
Fleetwood Town – Highbury Stadium Exterior
Highbury Stadium is boxed in behind houses and a park but there are one or two notable features on the exterior.
The main stand is on the east side of the ground and contains the official entrance, reception and club shop. The club shop also doubles up as the ticket office.
We headed here first and bought a programme (£3) and a pin badge (£4).
The three immaculately dressed young men behind the counter gave a good impression of the club.
Programme
Fleetwood produced a twenty-eight-page full-colour issue for the friendly game against Hearts.
The pages are thick and glossy with decent content and six full pages of adverts.
A bonus team sheet was available in the club shop, too.
A good effort for a friendly game.
Entrances to the home and away seating sections and hospitality were to the left and right of the club shop.
To walk further around the ground meant heading down Nelson Road and turning right into Hatfield Avenue. On the corner of Hatfield Avenue and Highbury Avenue, is the entrance to the away end.
A few Hearts fans were already trickling through the turnstiles even though it was still early.
Walking along Highbury Avenue brings you to a path that goes past the northern end of the ground and back to Memorial Park.
Before you reach Memorial Park, there is a car park and turnstile entrances to both the Memorial Stand and the Highbury Stand.
Just past these is a bar for people to get a pint and what a great bar it is, too. More on that later.
Fleetwood Town – Highbury Stadium Exterior Gallery
Old Highbury
Of course, this incarnation of Highbury Stadium isn’t the original one, although it does stand on the same site.
The original Highbury was built in 1939 and if you look closely, there are still remnants of it visible.
The most obvious being the old main stand behind the new Highbury Stand.
I spotted it while chatting with a Leeds fan who runs a community project at Fleetwood. Inside a shipping container covered in graffiti are a number of computer games and chairs for kids to enjoy before a game.
I’m a big fan of anything that encourages kids to get behind their local teams and often wonder what it would take to truly make local teams the only ones that kids are interested in following.
After ten minutes chatting with our new Leeds friend, we went to take a look at what can still be seen of the old stand.
It seems it was left standing due to asbestos content and the expense involved in having it safely dismantled.
I also got a couple of pictures after the game from the other side of the stand, including one of the old players’ tunnel in the centre.
The only other place I can think of with this kind of nostalgia on the doorstep is Rotherham with their still intact Millmoor close by.
Fleetwood Town – Highbury Stadium Interior
Getting In
We entered the ground via the Highbury Stand turnstile in the northwest corner.
Our tickets were purchased online via the Fleetwood Town ticketing website, costing £16.00 each plus a £1.20 admin fee.
After self-scanning our digital tickets, we entered Highbury Stadium.
Highbury Stand
We were located in the Highbury Stand and that’s where I will start.
This is a covered stand with six rows of seating. It stretches from the northwest corner to just beyond the halfway line.
The old main stand is situated directly behind it at the halfway line end of it.
Beyond the end of this stand is the Highbury Sports & Social Club, which extends to the southwest corner.
I’m not sure if this club is still in use but I guess it has been replaced by Jim’s Bar in the Memorial Stand?
If you know for sure, please drop a comment below.
Memorial Stand
The northern end of the ground, known as the Memorial Stand, is a shallow covered terrace for home supporters.
I imagine during non-friendly games, this would be where the more vociferous members of the Cod Army congregate.
A few flags decorate the rear wall, including, ironically, one that states ‘Fleetwood Town – McCod Army – Edinburgh’.
Parkside Stand
The new main stand at Highbury Stadium is a lovely, unique-looking effort.
It’s not big but it is pleasing to the eye.
A curved roof covers fourteen rows of seating. There is also an upper tier of seats but I believe these are for the guests in hospitality which is directly behind them on the upper level.
FTFC is emblazoned across the red seats in white lettering, on either side of the players’ tunnel.
Home fans are seated on one side of the players’ tunnel, while Hearts fans were congregated on the other side.
The Percy Ronson Stand
Which brings us neatly to the Hearts fans.
What a tremendous turnout from Edinburgh. A sold-out allocation of 1,400 Jambos had made the long trek down from the Scottish capital.
The away end itself, the Percy Ronson Stand, consists of a low, covered terrace that stretches from the southeast corner to just beyond the six-yard box on the southwest side.
A toilet facility takes up the rest of the space at the south end.
Highbury’s playing surface is a natural grass and a floodlight is positioned in each corner of the ground.
Before rebuilding and renovations were completed in 2011, the old incarnation of Highbury saw a record 6,150 spectators when Rochdale came to town for an FA Cup 1st round game in 1965.
Nowadays, Highbury Stadium has a total capacity of 5,327, with 2,672 seated.
Fleetwood Town – Highbury Stadium Interior Gallery
Fleetwood Town Tidbits
The Fleetwood Town Football Club was founded as recently as 1997.
This is the fourth version of a club representing the town, with Fleetwood being the first in 1908.
Fleetwood resigned from the Lancashire Combination League in 1928 due to financial difficulties.
They were replaced by Fleetwood Windsor Villa. When the Northern Premier League was founded in 1968, Villa became a founding member. However, it was short-lived and they folded in 1976.
The first club to be called Fleetwood Town began its path in 1976 in the Cheshire County League. Promoted to the North West Counties League in 1982, they reached the FA Vase Final in 1984/85 before folding in 1997.
The new club was originally called Fleetwood Wanderers before changing its name in 2002 to the now-familiar Fleetwood Town.
Andrew Pilley (more on him here) took control in 2002 and invested significant funds into the club.
Although Pilley has a criminal record, I’m sure the Cod Army will forever be grateful to him for their rise up the leagues.
By the end of the 2011/12 season, the Fishermen had risen from the tenth tier of English football to EFL status and were promoted as champions.
The club were promoted to League One in 2013/14 and had been there up until the start of this season.
Remarkable progress.
Following Pilley’s conviction for fraud in 2023, he put the club up for sale and resigned as chairman.
Don’t worry, the new owner won’t hold it against him… it is his father after all.
Jamie Pilley took control of the club in May of 2024 and you can read more on that here.
Fleetwood Town had a disastrous campaign last season and were relegated to League Two. They will be hoping to bounce straight back up this season under manager, Charlie Adam.
Notable Players
Wes Burns – Amari’i Bell – Stephen Crainey – Tom Barkhuizen – Conor McLaughlin – Dean Marney – Anthony Barry (current Bayern Munich assistant manager) – Ross Wallace – Ched Evans.
Of course, you can’t look at past Town players without mentioning the most famous of them all, Jamie Vardy.
He joined the Fishermen from Halifax Town in a bargain £170,000 deal in 2011/12. After scoring an amazing 31 goals in 36 games, Vardy earned himself a move to Leicester City and never looked back.
Fleetwood did alright out of it, too. Turning that £170,000 investment into a nice £1.7 million return.
I’m sure we would all like 10x profit on any investments we make!
Fleetwood Town – Pre-Game View of Highbury Stadium
Fleetwood Town v Hearts – The Game
Form
Last season, Fleetwood Town were relegated to League Two amid some pretty dire form.
Opponents, Hearts, finished third in the Scottish Premier League. Admittedly, they were seventeen points behind second-placed Rangers and a whopping twenty-five behind Champions, Celtic.
That aside, I came to this game fully expecting to see a Jambos victory, along with pretty much everyone else in the stadium.
I predicted a 3-0 win (yay!) for Hearts (oops!)
Kick-Off
Summary
From the outset, Fleetwood pressed Hearts and gave them little time on the ball.
In fact, on the ball, Fleetwood looked the better and more dangerous team, too.
The first goal came in the nineteenth minute via the Town Mayor. If that isn’t Danny Mayor’s nickname, serious questions need to be asked!
It was a really nicely worked goal and Mayor was instrumental in the build-up, as well as the finish. The ball was worked from right to left inside the Hearts half before Mayor took hold of it and ran at the Hearts defence.
They parted like the Red Sea for Moses, allowing him to enter the box where he played a quick one-two with Tommy Lonergan before firing it into the opposite top corner from the corner of the six-yard box.
Sublime stuff!
Okay, a little setback but I’m still expecting Hearts to grasp the game and go on to win…
Just as importantly, the Captain Pugwash theme song was played after the goal.
Childhood memories of racing home from school to watch that fabulous cartoon were stirred. I wonder how many kids’ cartoons nowadays would get away with having characters called Master Bates and Seaman Staines?
The second Town goal came just four minutes later. A scrappy goal, poked in by Ronan Coughlan, but neither he nor the Cod Army cared about how it looked.
The first boos arose from the away end and the noisy singing that had accompanied the start of the game, disappeared into the ether.
A brief spell of pressure for Hearts before the break led to nothing and at half-time, the Fishermen led 2-0.
Second Half
Lawrence Shankland was the man the Cod Army had feared before the game. To be honest, he was quiet and largely non-existent in the game.
In the 55th minute, he was through on goal with just Harrington to beat, but the keeper saved well and the chance was gone.
The sort of chance he would normally bury.
Fleetwood made it three via Mayor a couple of minutes after the Shankland chance and it was game over.
I managed to get this one on camera and it was almost as good as the Town Mayor’s first goal.
Fast forward to 1:40 if you just want to see the goal.
Fleetwood’s third goal led to a bit of an exodus among a further chorus of boos from the away end.
Pele Smith was brought on for his home debut with fifteen minutes remaining. Announced (if I heard correctly) as fifteen years old!
Surely, a bright future awaits that young man.
Hearts fans will desperately be hoping this performance was just a pre-season “minutes in the legs” job and not a pre-cursor of the season ahead.
Apart from a couple of chances where they were through on goal and denied by Harrington, they produced very little of note.
The Cod Army, on the other hand, will be thrilled with this performance against one of Scotland’s biggest teams. They largely dominated and looked much more threatening than Hearts.
If this game had finished 5, or 6-2 nobody in the away end could have complained.
You can read a full Match Report here, courtesy of the Fleetwood Town website.
Attendance – Unknown (please comment if you know the official attendance.)
Entrance Fee – £13.00
Programme – £3.00
Up Next
Next up for Fleetwood Town is a friendly at newly-promoted Wrexham on August 3rd.
Their League campaign kicks off a week later with the visit of Grimsby Town. A tasty League Cup encounter against West Brom (13th) is followed by a return to league action at Notts County (18th).
The month is seen out with Gillingham visiting Highbury on Aug 24th, before a trip to AFC Wimbledon on the 31st.
Meanwhile, Hearts will be hoping to put this pre-season game behind them quickly. They will need to because they have to face Rangers in their opening SPL fixture.
The Tynecastle crowd will be up for that game and I’m sure they will play much better than they did today.
Successive away trips follow, with visits to Dundee (10th), Falkirk (League Cup, 17th), and Motherwell (24th). They return to home soil for the visit of Dundee United on August 31st.
Fleetwood’s Gaffer
As a Stoke fan, I will be interested to see how Charlie Adam does at Fleetwood in his first full season in charge.
A sublime player with a superb left foot during his time with the Potters. His weak link was the inevitable yellow/red card he picked up in most games.
Indeed, we used to have a game on Twitter called Charlie Adam yellow card bingo, where we guessed the minute he would be booked.
Will he bring that feisty demeanour to Highbury?
Based on what we saw today, he will be fielding a good pressing side, who are comfortable on the ball and dangerous going forward, while also looking solid at the back.
If they play like this all season, it could mean a swift return to League One for the Fishermen, although let’s remember, this was just a friendly.
Jim’s Bar
Following the game, we went into Jim’s Bar behind the Memorial Stand.
This is a superb clubhouse and home and away fans alike are welcome. Hearts and Fleetwood fans sat happily discussing the game and the atmosphere was very friendly, despite the result.
In fact, the Hearts fans were a credit to the club, coming down in big numbers and embracing Fleetwood’s fans as friends, rather than anything else.
Football as it should be!
It was in Jim’s Bar that we met up with Ross, a fellow groundhopper (and Hearts fan.)
He messaged me on Twitter (X) asking if we fancied a pint at the ground and it was nice to meet up with him.
After saying hi before the game, we ran into him again after the game. I love meeting new people at football and it’s one of the joys of groundhopping, sharing tales and experiences.
Thanks, Ross!
Near the door is a food kiosk for the usual wares. We bought a chicken balti pie and chips and a hot dog and chips, costing a total of £12 to take into the match with us before the game.
The club itself is a large, single room, tastefully appointed with a bar on the left-hand side.
There are TVs and Fleetwood Town pictures on the wall enshrouded in plastic and all in a red hue, accentuated by the red light in the middle of the room.
We bought a Kopperburg cider and a Madri for £10.75… I hate the price of alcohol these days!
Fleetwood Town Thoughts
Fleetwood isn’t the most accessible of towns when using public transport but once at Highbury Stadium, the problems are over.
A modern ground with decent facilities and friendly folk.
It was wonderful to get a glimpse of the old Highbury, too, with the old stand. There just aren’t many places that have keepsakes of that nature.
Even though it will have to be pulled down at some stage when money is more readily available, I for one, will be sad to see it go.
The community aspect is clearly in evidence on the Highbury Stand side of the ground and that should always be applauded and encouraged. Children are the future and it’s important for smaller clubs to attract kids to their club at an early age.
Our view from the seats was outstanding. An unimpeded view and close to the action, bang on the halfway line. The traditional terraces at either end of the ground are a win in my eyes, too. It encourages more atmosphere than seated sections in my experience.
Jim’s Bar is an excellent social club, roomy and friendly.
Presumably available to hire for weddings etc? Easy revenue for the club and a perfect place for any Fleetwood fan to make their big day perfect.
The food and drink wasn’t the cheapest but was of a decent standard.
It was a nice touch when the PA announcer thanked the travelling Hearts fans and the whole stadium applauded them.
As a nod to the past, it would be nice to see Fleetwood’s away shirts in black and amber as the original team in town wore.
Overall, the Highbury matchday experience was enjoyable and I have no problem recommending it to anyone who has yet to visit.
Fleetwood – After the Game
After leaving Jim’s Bar, we headed off to catch the tram and spoke to a small group of Hearts fans waiting.
Like every other Hearts fan we had spoken to, they had really enjoyed the weekend/day out, despite “only the football spoiled it!”
I’m a big fan of watching football in Scotland and we have been made welcome wherever we have visited. It was nice, therefore, to see Scots receiving the same kind of welcome in England.
I’m all for banter and a bit of rivalry, but that’s as far as it should ever go. At this stage, we all have a bit of Scot, or English blood in us and we share the same island. Be nice, folks!
The 18:20 tram back to Blackpool was crowded, as expected after a game but it was manageable. Both myself and a couple of Hearts fans gave up their seats for elderly ladies, which was nice to see.
We arrived back at Pleasant Street in Blackpool North around 19:00.
The rest of the evening was spent in a very boring but relaxed manner, lying around reading and chomping on snacks from the local shop.
As the night drew on, we were awoken by the sounds of gorillas fighting over who was the hardest ape on that part of the street. We had seen a couple of skirmishes developing in and outside the Mitre last night, too.
Blackpool is always pretty lively… one way or another.
Sunday
Our day started with a great full English breakfast (one of the best we’ve had!) and plans to go down to the Pleasure Beach.
We received a polite text around 11:30 asking if we knew we only had the room booked for two days…
WHAT?!
Yes, I had completely confused myself into thinking we were here until Monday. The guest house owner was perfectly fine with us being late to leave and luckily, our train wasn’t due to leave until 13:51.
A lucky escape. That could have cost us dearly if he hadn’t sent that text.
Hurriedly packed bags on our shoulders, we went down and apologised for our mistake and set off towards Blackpool North train station.
After being allowed to board the earlier 13:17 train to Preston, we arrived at 13:40.
We then sat around waiting for the 14:54 to Carlisle, listening to announcements about cancelled and delayed trains.
Luckily, ours was not among that number and we boarded the Eventually West Coast train on time (Shocking!)
We arrived at Carlisle Station at 16:05, before settling in for another long wait for the 16:52 to Newcastle.
It also arrived on time and we were soon back on the now-familiar Carlisle-Newcastle route.
We arrived at Newcastle Central at 18:25 and quickly made our way to the bus stop.
The X1 arrived at 18:38, getting us home at 19:35. A total travel and waiting around time of six hours and twenty minutes.
Another hour and twenty minutes and we could have flown to New York from Edinburgh in that time!
Next Up for Hoppers Guide
After an Auld Enemy friendly between Fleetwood and Hearts, we next turn our attention to an England versus Spain encounter.
Painful memories of the Euro’s still fresh…
Tickets for league games at Elland Road are hard to come by, so the chance to watch them play Valencia and do a review of the famous old ground is not one I was going to pass up.
Again, plans are in place to meet up with another Twitter pal and I look forward to meeting Marc, a died-in-the-wool Leeds fan.
It’s a ground I have visited a few times as an away supporter in years gone by, but it will be a new experience sitting with the Leeds faithful.
Looking forward to it…
Onto the next!
