League One newcomers Fleetwood Town are our next focus on as we continue to look at all the teams in League One.
LAST SEASON
The Cod Army started the season off in a very inconsistent fashion winning three and losing two of their opening five matches but the season ended on a high note when they won promotion via the play-offs.
They lost only one of their last eight league matches and that came on the final day of the season when losing 2-1 to Champions Chesterfield and that was despite taking a first-half lead. They finished the campaign in fourth place and came up against York City in the play-off semi-finals.
They won 1-0 at York in the first leg before battling out a goalless draw in the return leg. At Wembley, they faced Burton Albion who finished sixth in the league but beat Southend in the two-legged semi-final.
The final was a close affair which was decided when Antoni Sarcevic’s free kick deceived Burton Albion goalkeeper Dean Lyness to win the game 1-0 and with it promotion to the third tier of English football.
THE MANAGER – GRAHAM ALEXANDER
Alexander played at right back or in central midfield during his playing days and represented the likes of Scunthorpe United and Luton Town. He made over 150 appearances for each of these clubs before moving to Preston North End in 1999.
He spent eight years at Deepdale and is a Lilywhites legend as he was voted their greatest ever right back. He made over 150 appearances for the Lillywhites before making a short journey to Burnley.
Like all the other teams he`d previously played for, he would play over 150 games for the Clarets during which time he helped the club to the Premier League. On leaving Turf Moor he returned to Preston for the 2011-12 season.
Alexander went on to make a further 18 appearances for the club before going out with a bang in his final game. The Lilywhites were awarded a free-kick from 25-yards out in the 90th minute. Alexander took the free-kick and found the back of the net; a kick which was to be the last kick of his playing career.
Alexander took up his first managerial role at Fleetwood in December 2012 after the departure of Micky Mellon. In his first full campaign in charge at Highbury he oversaw Fleetwood’s promotion to League One.
VISITING THE GROUND?
Fleetwood`s home for the last 75 years has been the Highbury Stadium. It is one of the smallest in League One for the 2014-15 season holding just 5,311 fans!
The Percy Ronson Stand, which holds over 800 supporters, will house the visiting fans while visiting supporters will also be allocated 300 seats in the Parkside Stand.
Post Code for SAT NAV: FY7 6TX
Distance from London Road: 200 miles
SUMMER BUSINESS SO FAR
Fleetwood released veteran striker Jon Parkin along with defender Alan Goodall; both of whom played in the play-off win at Wembley, at the end of last season.
Goalkeeper Chris Maxwell is staying after securing a new two-year contract while Northern Ireland international Conor McLaughlin has signed a new three-year deal. Stephen Jordan has also extended his contract by one-year.
The Cod Army`s first signing of the season was former Posh defender Danny Andrew who has stepped up from non-League Macclesfield. Andrew was quickly following by midfielder Keith Southern who signed from Huddersfield Town.
Fleetwood`s third new signing was striker Jamie Proctor who put pen to paper on a two-year contract following his release from Crawley Town.
Blackburn Rovers 22-year-old winger Josh Morris, who spent time on loan last season at Fleetwood, has re-joined them again. He has agreed to join on loan initially until January.
THEY PLAYED FOR BOTH
Only two players have represented Posh and the Cod Army. Defender Kieran Charnock made 12 appearances for Posh between 2007 and 2009 and found himself at Highbury Stadium two seasons later. He joined them on loan initially playing three times, scoring once. He only made four appearances for the Cod Army after signing permanently for them, again he scored one goal.
David Ball is the only other player to have played for both sides and he is still on the payroll at Fleetwood. He has played over 60 times for the Cod Army scoring 15 goals. Posh signed Ball from Manchester City but he struggled to keep a place in the starting line-up. He played over 40 times for Posh though scoring 9 times.
Danny Andrew signed for Fleetwood in the summer and will become the third player to play for both sides when he makes his debut at the start of the season.
PAST MEETINGS
Posh and the Cod Army have never met each other and will come face to face for the first ever time on Saturday, 27th September at London Road.
WHAT THE BOOKIES THINK
Fleetwood are 25/1 to win League One in 2014-15 and 7/1 to get promoted.
They are 7/2 to finish in the top six and 11/2 to get relegated.
UP THE POSH
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Photo courtesy of www.theposhpics.com
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