Self-destruction and chips.
22 November 2025: Fleetwood Town 3, Shrewsbury Town 1.
Fleetwood: Lynch; Holgate; Bolton [Y+Y/R]; Hughes; Neal (Bonds 74’); Ennis (Medley 74’); Virtue-Thick; Helm; McCann (Mullarkey 81’); Graydon (Davies 41’); Evans (Coughlan 74’).
Unused substitutes: Harrington; Morrison.
Scorers: Graydon (24’); McCann (56’); Virtue-Thick (72’).
Shrewsbury: Brook; Anderson; Stubbs; Boyle; Kabia; McDermott (Perry 66’); Ruffels; Clucas; Sang (Hoole 66’); Scully; Marquis (Aneke 66’ [Y]).
Unused substitutes: Harrison; Benning; England; Gray.
Scorer: Kabia (83’).
Match officials: Referee – Mr M Coy; Assistants – Mr D Guest & Mr A Gray; Fourth – Mr G Fyvie.
Attendance: 2,731.
For the A Large Grouse Travel Club a trip to Fleetwood means only one thing: chips! To be more precise, ‘The Highbury Chippy’ that occupies a prime location less than a golf umbrella’s throw from the away end turnstiles. The staff are always most welcoming – which should not surprise as football supporters must provide a significant proportion of their income. A sign on the counter politely suggests a preference for payment in cash, with an explanation that not having to pay too many card transaction charges contributes to keeping their prices low. Being an obliging fellow, I was quite happy to pay for my pie and chips with a banknote and coins of the realm to the value of £5.75p (fish fork included).
An indulgent pre-match treat is an allowance to the fact that Fleetwood Town FC is not my favourite football jaunt. There is an air of pretentiousness about the club that is not really to my taste. To draw on the old 1970’s Whitbread Trophy Bitter advertising slogan: “It is a pint that thinks it’s a quart”. Although the club was originally established in 1908, on three occasions (1928, 1977 and 1997) financial difficulties led to it folding and having to be re-established. In 2004 the club was taken over by businessman Andrew Pilley who bankrolled an advance up the English football pyramid. On the impressive main stand, a list of promotions since 2004 – from the North West Counites Football League Premier Division to winning the League Two play-offs – are listed along a banner fixed to the upper tier of seating. At the end, a space has been conspicuously left with a question mark, presumably to be filled in when promotion from the third tier is achieved. Given Fleetwood are now back in the League Two it could be quite a while before the local sign writer is back at Highbury Stadium.
On the back wall of the home supporters’ terrace a red banner proudly pays tribute to the club’s benefactor: “ONE ANDY PILLEY”. That there is only one Andrew Pilley will be most welcome news for the victims of the multi-million-pound fraud that the former Fleetwood chairman perpetrated and for which he is currently serving a thirteen-year prison sentence. On delivering the sentence Judge Knowles KC referred to Pilley’s criminal actions as being “a sordid tale of squalid lies, greed and fraud.” With Pilley’s imprisonment clearly marking him as not being a ‘fit and proper person’ own an EFL club, Fleetwood Town acquired new owners – a company headed by current chairman Jamie Pilley (very much a relation).
Salop’s recent record at Fleetwood has been very respectable, having won on the last three visits. Delving further back, however, I can recall quite a few horrible performances. That Fleetwood’s current home form is good (only one defeat in eight games) and Salop’s away record this season being at best described as indifferent, there would not be many punters pluming putting their money on an away win. Michael Appleton opted for an unchanged starting line-up, although with his small squad being fully stretched now, his options are very limited. The good news, if that is not to overstate things, was that Taylor Perry and Chucks Aneke were now fit enough to occupy a place on the bench.
It was not long into the game that it became very apparent that the hosts had sufficient pace up front to put Salop’s stately back three of Anderson, Boyle and Stubbs on the rack. With five minutes gone the hosts cut down the right and a largely untroubled Ethan Ennis was able to deliver a cross that Lewis McCann headed over from relatively close range. Within minutes Matty Virtue-Thick was in sufficient space to drive a shot at goal that Will Brook did well to save. Sam Clucas was the first Salop player to get an effort on target, but the visitors did not look comfortable in possession and fell back on long-diagonal balls as their best attacking option, eschewing any thoughts of trying to pass the ball through the middle third.
Fleetwood’s opening goal materialised out of nothing. From a goal kick the ball was flicked on the Virtue, who fed a pass through the Salop defence which was seized on by Ryan Graydon who evaded a flat-footed Boyle and lifted the ball over the approaching Brook into the net. As is traditional on the Fylde peninsular, the home goal was celebrated with a burst of the Captain Pugwash theme music that cut through my body like a dagger.
The hosts had control of the game and Salop’s efforts to try and supply Ismeal Kabia, unquestionably the most potent attacking threat, with the ball were easily frustrated. The visitor’s best opportunity came at the end of added time when they finally managed to get the ball into the opposition penalty area and John Marquis set up Anthony Scully for a clear shot at goal, only for Town’s number eleven to fire his effort wide.
The second half got underway with Salop chasing the goal required to get back into the game. Kabia appeared to have been pushed into the centre forward position, and it did seem to help visitors generate a bit of a threat. From a free kick the ball fell to Clucas who fired in a shot that was narrowly wide. Fleetwood then attacked getting the ball down to be goal line on the left flank, where Mark Helm fed the ball to McCann who cut inside and executed a rather tame looking effort at goal that Stubbs managed to deflect into the roof of the net. Another burst of the Captain Pugwash theme icily cut through my body.
Appleton now had to roll the dice and decided on a triple substitution: Marquis came off to a chorus of boos from the away terrace (probably not an expression of disgust at the decision to take the striker off), with Chucks Aneke replacing him; Tom Sang (more boos) was replaced by Luca Hoole; and Tommy McDermott (stoney silence) made way to allow Taylor Perry an opportunity to put on a show. It is too easy to mock Perry, but to be fair to him he was instrumental in the next goal; unfortunately for Salop supporters it was his lettuce leaf strength defensive clearance that fed the ball to Virtue-Thick on the edge of the area, allowing the Fleetwood player to score from distance. Another burst of the Captain Pugwash theme and a body of disgruntled away fans headed off in the direction of the exit with Salop looking to be heading for a real drubbing.
Fleetwood are a formidable proposition at home, but Salop had made it very easy for them with a series of defensive blunders. This made the final passage of play more disappointing, as Salop made a spirited effort to retrieve something from adversity largely of their own making. The last ten minutes saw Town create three good opportunities, one of which allowed Kabia to net his first football league goal. In a final twist, Fleetwood were reduced to ten men. James Bolton – he of Hurst’s nearly team – got into a tangle with Aneke and fouled him. The two players seemed unable to pull apart from each other, and a frustrated Aneke eventually lifted Bolton up like a rag doll. Bolton responded squaring up to the Salop striker and nodding his head towards him. The referee yellow carded both players – which meant a red card for Bolton as he had also been booked in the first half.
Salop’s results might have improved, but they have not turned into a good team overnight; there remain weaknesses that opposition with pacy attackers can easily exploit. This performance was the inevitable result of conceding soft goals combined with not making enough of their scoring opportunities. There is a fine line between picking up a point at Oldham and a dismal defeat at Fleetwood and to make progress Salop need to stay the right side of this line.