It has been another successful year for our Academy, and we are looking at the growth of the those who have graduated from the Academy and those 17 players who have featured this season.
With 17 players making league appearances for the first-team since July 2022, we are going to dive into those players and check out how their careers have gone whether it has been at Town, or elsewhere due to transfer moves.
Most recently, young goalkeeper Stephen McMullan made his Town debut against MK Dons – where he kept a clean sheet as Fleetwood Town claimed all three points on home soil. McMullan joined the Cods in August last year, and signed a long-term deal in January just days after his 18th birthday.
Sam Glenfield, Kyle White, Pharrell Brown, George Morrisons and Josh Edwards are players who have made their debuts this season. Glenfield came off the bench in the EFL Cup tie against Everton at Highbury, with Brown making a cameo late on against Accrington Stanley in the 5-2 victory in East Lancashire.
Carl Johnston has been ever-present since making his debut for Town back in 2020 – in Fleetwood’s 3-1 win away at Carlisle United in the Papa Johns’ Trophy. He featured in 18 games last season, which ended early due to injury, but has gone on to make 29 this season with two games to go.
The Northern Ireland Under-21 international scored his first goal for the club in the 2-1 win away at MK Dons ast the back end of 2022 - a moment the young defender / midfielder will cherish forever.
Overall, 153 appearances have been made by Academy Graduates this season – who will be the next to come through the ranks and make their Fleetwood Town debut?
Below is a list of all the Academy graduates who have made an appearance in the 2022/23 season in all competitions for the Cods:
Carl Johnston – 29 appearances in all competitions
Cian Hayes – 43 appearances in all competitions
Harrison Holgate – 24 appearances in all competitions
Sam Glenfield – Five appearances in all competitions (Debut made vs. Everton)
Dylan Boyle – Two appearances in all competitions
Drew Baker – 12 appearances in all competitions (Debut made vs. Everton)
Stephen McMullan – One appearance in all competitions (Debut made vs. MK Dons)
Ged Garner – 20 appearances in all competitions*
Kyle White – Four appearances in all competitions (Debut made vs. Plymouth Argyle)
Shayden Morris – One appearance in all competitions*
George Morrison – One appearance in all competitions (Debut made vs. Oxford City)
Ben Thompson – One appearance in all competitions
Max McMillan – Four appearances in all competitions
Josh Edwards – Three appearances in all competitions (Debut made vs. Barrow)
Connor Teale – One appearance in all competitions
Akiel Raffie – One appearance in all competitions
Pharrell Brown – One appearance in all competitions (Debut made vs. Accrington Stanley)
*Players have been sold and are playing in various levels of the footballing pyramid.
**All stats are correct as of Tuesday 25 April 2023 at 12pm.