Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional football club, based in the town of Fleetwood in Lancashire. The club participates in League One, the third tier of English football.

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. After almost sixty years as a Lancashire Combination club, they were made founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968. After winning the Northern Premier League Cup in 1971, the club languished in the lower half of the table, finishing bottom for two successive seasons and folded in 1976 because of financial difficulties.

The club was re-established in 1977 as Fleetwood Town F.C.. Initially placed in Division One of the Cheshire League, they were moved in 1982 to the North West Counties 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 Division One (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 One 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 the Premier Division of the North West Counties League in 1999 and renamed Fleetwood Town F.C. in 2002. Successive promotions as North West Counties League champions in 2005 and Northern Premier League First Division runners-up in 2006 saw the club reach the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The 2007–08 season Fleetwood won the Northern Premier League, gaining promotion to the Conference North.

Fleetwood contested the play-offs in the second season in the Conference North, and after beating Droylsden on penalties in the semi-final Fleetwood won promotion to the Football Conference by beating Alfreton Town 2–1 in the final. For the next season the club made all of its players full-time professionals. The club spent most of the season in or near the play-off positions, eventually qualifying by finishing in fifth place. In the play-off semi-finals, against AFC Wimbledon, a new attendance record of 4,112 was set in the home leg, but Fleetwood lost both games with an 8–1 aggregate scoreline. Fleetwood's 2011–12 season was very successful. In the FA Cup they reached the Third Round for the first time. After beating Mansfield Town, Wycombe Wanderers, and Yeovil Town, they were drawn at home to local rivals Blackpool, but lost 5–1 to the Championship club, with Jamie Vardy scoring Fleetwood's only goal. In the league Fleetwood went on a 29-game unbeaten run and were declared champions with two games remaining, giving them promotion to the Football League for the first time.

The 2013–14 season was another successful one. Having been in and around the automatic promotion places all season and getting to the League Trophy area final, the club narrowly missed out on automatic promotion finishing in 4th place. After beating York City in the play-off semi-final, Fleetwood beat Burton Albion 1–0 from an Antoni Sarcevic free-kick in the play-off final at Wembley on 26 May to win promotion to League One for the first time.

Playing at the club's highest level the 2014–15 season was the club's most successful yet. After three games the club was top of the league for two games and apart from a couple of games remained in the top half of the league all season eventually finishing a very credible 10th place.

Key

Seasons

Year League Lvl Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Position Leading league scorer[1] FA Cup FL Cup FL Trophy
FA Trophy 		Average home
attendance[2][a]
Name Goals Res Rec Res Rec Res Rec
1908–09 PR 0-0-1
1909–10
1910–11 Lancashire Combination
Division Two 		38 14 6 18 72 83 -11 34 14th of 20 EPR 0-0-1
1911–12 30 16 4 10 64 31 +33 36 4th of 16
Promoted
1912–13 Lancashire Combination
Division One 		34 14 7 13 71 69 +2 35 9th of 18
1913–14 34 10 9 15 54 57 -3 29 11th of 18
1914–15 32 9 5 18 65 94 -29 23 14th of 17
No competitive football was played between 1915 and 1919 due to the World War I.
Lancashire Combination switched to a single division.
1919–20 Lancashire Combination 34 15 3 16 67 63 +4 33 12th of 18 PR 0-0-1
1920–21 34 21 2 11 86 51 +35 44 3rd of 18 QR4 4-1-1
1921–22 34 19 5 10 76 43 +33 43 5th of 18 QR3 3-0-1
1922–23 34 16 7 11 66 51 +15 39 6th of 18 QR4 3-2-1
1923–24 38 29 5 4 100 40 +60 62 1st of 20 QR4 4-0-1
1924–25 36 14 11 11 74 59 +15 39 7th of 19 QR2 2-0-1
1925–26 38 19 7 12 87 69 +18 45 4th of 20 QR1 1-0-1
1926–27 38 14 5 19 63 82 -19 33 12th of 20 PR 0-0-1
1927–28 The club resigned from the league after 22 matches. Record was transferred to Prescot Cables. QR1 1-0-1
The club returned to the league after three seasons of absence.
1931–32 Lancashire Combination 36 17 7 12 98 78 +20 41 7th of 19
1932–33 38 21 7 10 97 58 +39 49 5th of 20
1933–34 38 27 4 7 109 60 +49 58 2nd of 20
1934–35 38 25 5 8 99 44 +55 55 2nd of 20
1935–36 40 23 6 11 117 64 +53 52 3rd of 21
1936–37 40 22 5 13 99 82 +17 49 7th of 21
1937–38 42 13 8 21 91 94 -3 34 17th of 21
1938–39 42 18 8 16 85 92 -7 44 10th of 22
No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1945 due to the World War II.
The club missed the first post-war Lancashire Combination season.
1946–47 Lancashire Combination 42 18 7 17 78 72 +6 43 12th of 22
The Lancashire Combination expanded up to two divisions. The club remained in the top division.
1947–48 Lancashire Combination
Division One 		42 23 7 12 73 52 +21 53 5th of 22 QR3 3-1-1
1948–49 42 17 8 17 81 66 +15 42 11th of 22 QR3 3-0-1
1949–50 42 18 9 15 76 67 +9 45 8th of 22 R1 5-0-1
1950–51 42 21 10 11 100 70 +30 52 4th of 22 QR1 1-1-1
1951–52 42 20 5 17 94 87 +7 45 9th of 22 QR4 3-0-1
1952–53 42 16 7 19 76 105 -29 39 15th of 22 QR1 0-1-1
1953–54 40 14 7 19 78 88 -10 35 17th of 21 QR2 1-0-1
1954–55 42 19 11 12 73 69 +4 49 7th of 22 QR2 1-1-1
1955–56 38 12 8 18 65 79 -14 32 14th of 20 QR3 1-2-1
1956–57 38 13 7 18 56 70 -14 33 16th of 20 QR3 2-1-1
1957–58 42 11 10 21 57 82 -25 32 21st of 22 QR1 0-0-1
1958–59 42 20 4 18 72 87 -15 44 10th of 22 QR2 1-0-1
1959–60 42 16 5 21 63 71 -8 37 14th of 22 QR1 0-1-1
1960–61 42 12 5 25 82 110 -28 29 20th of 22 QR2 1-0-1
1961–62 42 11 11 20 84 89 -5 33 16th of 22 QR2 1-1-1
1962–63 42 23 1 18 97 71 +26 47 9th of 22 QR2 1-0-1
1963–64 42 10 13 19 54 88 -34 33 17th of 22 QR2 0-0-1
1964–65 42 14 12 16 68 93 -25 40 12th of 22 QR2 1-0-1
1965–66 42 18 5 19 95 101 -6 41 13th of 22 R1 4-2-1
1966–67 42 22 10 10 103 62 +41 54 5th of 22 QR2 1-1-1
1967–68 42 22 10 10 72 43 +29 54 4th of 22 QR1 0-0-1
Northern Premier League created. Club transferred to the newly created league.
1968–69 Northern Premier League 5 38 16 6 16 58 58 0 38 10th of 20 QR3 3-1-1
1969–70 38 13 10 15 53 60 -7 36 13th of 20 QR4 3-0-1 QR3 0-0-1
1970–71 42 10 11 21 56 90 -34 31 18th of 22 QR1 0-0-1 QR2 1-2-1
1971–72 46 11 15 20 43 67 -24 37 20th of 24 QR2 1-1-1 QR3 2-1-1
1972–73 46 5 15 26 31 77 -46 25 24th of 24 QR1 0-0-1 QR1 0-0-1
1973–74 46 14 15 17 48 68 -20 43 14th of 24 QR2 1-2-1 PR 0-0-1
1974–75 46 5 10 31 26 97 -71 20 24th of 24 QR1 0-0-1 PR 0-0-1
1975–76 46 3 9 34 36 131 -95 15 24th of 24 QR2 1-1-1 QR2 1-2-1
The club folded. Two years later new club named Fleetwood established.
1978–79 Cheshire County League
Division One 		42 17 10 15 70 68 +2 44 12th of 22 QR3 2-3-1
1979–80 38 10 11 17 51 63 -12 31 17th of 20 QR1 0-0-1 QR2 1-1-1
1980–81 38 9 13 16 33 53 -20 31 14th of 20 R1 5-1-1 QR1 0-1-1
1981–82 38 12 13 13 42 55 -13 37 11th of 20 QR1 0-1-1 QR1 0-0-1
League merged with the Lancashire Combination to create the North West Counties Football League.
1982–83 North West Counties League
Division Two 		8 38 12 8 18 54 80 -26 32 12th of 20 QR1 0-0-1 PR 0-0-1
1983–84 34 24 8 2 73 24 +49 56 1st of 18
Promoted 		QR1 1-0-1
1984–85 North West Counties League
Division One 		7 38 18 8 12 84 57 +27 44 8th of 20 QR1 0-0-1
1985–86 38 21 10 7 70 34 +36 50 5th of 20 QR1 1-1-1
1986–87 38 16 13 9 61 49 +12 45 8th of 20 QR2 2-0-1
Northern Premier League Division One created. The club joined the new division.
1987–88 Northern Premier League
Division One 		7 36 22 7 7 85 45 +40 73 1st of 19
Promoted 		QR3 2-1-1
1988–89 Northern Premier League
Premier Division 		6 42 19 16 7 58 44 +14 73 7th of 22 QR4 3-3-1 R1 3-3-1
1989–90 42 17 12 13 76 66 +7 63 8th of 22 QR1 0-2-1 QR1 0-0-1
1990–91 40 20 9 11 69 44 +25 69 4th of 21 R1 4-0-1 R1 3-0-1
1991–92 42 17 8 17 67 64 +3 59 10th of 22 QR2 1-0-1 R1 1-1-1
1992–93 42 10 7 25 50 77 -27 37 19th of 22 QR2 1-0-1 QR3 0-0-1
Club changed name to Fleetwood.
1993–94 Northern Premier League
Premier Division 		6 42 7 7 28 55 114 -59 28 22nd of 22
Relegated 		QR1 0-0-1 QR1 0-0-1
1994–95 Northern Premier League
Division One 		7 42 12 11 19 51 74 -23 44 18th of 22 PR 0-0-1 QR3 2-1-1
1995–96 40 7 10 23 41 81 -40 31 20th of 21 PR 0-0-1 QR2 1-0-1
The club folded and reestablished one year later under the name Fleetwood Freeport.
1997–98 North West Counties League
Division Two 		9 40 15 11 14 73 55 +18 56 12th of 21
1998–99 36 21 8 7 102 34 +68 71 1st of 19
Promoted
1999–2000 North West Counties League
Division One 		8 42 21 10 11 75 45 +30 73 7th of 22 QR2 2-0-0
2000–01 42 26 4 12 90 50 +40 82 5th of 22 QR2 2-2-1
2001–02 44 13 13 18 70 86 -16 52 14th of 23 QR1 1-0-1
Club changed name to Fleetwood Town.
2002–03 North West Counties League
Division One 		8 42 17 9 16 73 70 +3 60 10th of 22 PR 0-1-1
2003–04 42 26 8 8 84 51 +33 86 3rd of 22 QR2 3-1-1
Level of the league decreased after the Conference North and South creation.
2004–05 9 42 31 6 5 107 42 +65 99 1st of 22
Promoted 		QR2 3-1-1
2005–06 Northern Premier League
Division One 		8 42 22 10 10 72 48 +24 76 2nd of 22
Promoted 		PR 0-0-1 QR3 2-0-1 466
2006–07 Northern Premier League
Premier Division 		7 42 19 10 13 71 60 +11 67 8th of 22 R1 4-0-1 QR1 0-0-1 537
2007–08 40 28 7 5 81 39 +42 91 1st of 21
Promoted 		QR3 2-0-1 QR2 1-1-1 721
2008–09 Conference North 6 42 17 11 14 70 66 +4 62 8th of 22 R2 4-1-1 QR3 0-0-1 920
2009–10 40 26 7 7 86 44 +42 85 2nd of 21 R1 3-1-1 R2 2-0-1 1,319
Promoted after winning the play-offs.
2010–11 Conference
Premier 		5 46 22 12 12 68 42 +26 78 5th of 24 Magno Vieira 22 R1 1-1-1 R1 0-0-1 1,748
Lost in the play-off semifinal.
2011–12 46 31 10 5 102 48 +54 103 1st of 24
Promoted 		Jamie Vardy 31 R3 3-2-1 R1 0-0-1 2,265
2012–13 Football
League Two 		4 46 15 15 16 55 57 -2 60 13th of 24 Junior Brown
Jon Parkin 		10 R2 1-0-1 R1 0-0-1 R1 0-1-0 2,856
2013–14 46 22 10 14 66 52 +14 76 4th of 24 Antoni Sarcevic 13 R2 1-1-1 R1 0-0-1 AF 5-0-1 2,819
Promoted after winning the play-offs.
2014–15 Football
League One 		3 46 17 12 17 49 52 -3 63 10th of 24 David Ball
Josh Morris
Jamie Proctor 		8 R1 0-0-1 R1 0-0-1 R1 0-0-1 3,522
2015–16 46 12 15 19 52 56 -4 51 19th of 24 Bobby Grant 10 R1 0-0-1 R1 0-0-1 AF 2-3-0 3,308
2016–17 46 23 13 10 64 43 +21 82 4th of 24 David Ball 14 R3 3-3-1 R1 0-1-0 GS 1-0-2 3,272
Lost in the play-off semifinal.
2017–18 46 16 9 21 59 68 -9 57 14th of 24 Devante Cole 10 R3 2-2-1 R1 0-0-1 R4 5-0-1 3,140
2018–19 46 16 13 17 58 52 +6 61 11th of 24 Ched Evans 17 R3 2-0-1 R2 0-1-1 GS 0-1-2 3,165
2019–20 35 16 12 7 51 38 +13 60 6th of 24 Paddy Madden 15 R3 2-0-1 R1 0-0-1 R3 2-2-1 3,130
Lost in the play-off semifinal.
2020–21 46 16 12 18 49 46 +3 60 15th of 24 Callum Camps 8 R1 0-0-1 R3 2-0-1 R3 3-1-1 – [b]
2021–22 46 8 16 22 62 82 -20 40 20th of 24 Gerard Garner 7 R1 0-0-1 R1 0-0-1 R2 2-0-2 3,228
2022–23 46 14 16 16 53 51 2 58 13th of 24 Jack Marriott 8 R5 4-1-1 R2 1-0-1 GS 0-1-2 3,497
  1. ^ Average home attendance calculated using league games only
  2. ^ COVID-19 prevented fans from attending games

External links

References

  1. ^ "Fleetwood FC club details". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  2. ^ "English non-league attendances archive". EFS. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
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