Fleetwood Town held a Fan’s Forum at Highbury Stadium last night with plenty of staff and players in attendance ready to answer whatever questions the Cod Army faced them.
With Club CEO, Steve Curwood, joined by Manager Lee Johnson, Assistant Manager Darren Way and two first-team players Brendan Wiredu and Ryan Broom up on the stage throughout the night, it was one to remember for the supporters.
The night started with an introduction from Will Watt before four figures took to the stage in Lee Johnson, Darren Way, Brendan Wiredu, and Ryan Broom before a short break in the middle and then a second section with the manager and the CEO joining up.
In the first half, the players saw the brunt of the questions due to a limited amount of time being there so Wiredu spoke first and confirmed he is back in full training and is hoping to be ready for selection at the weekend, noting that the Blackpool game was a date circled on his calendar.
The manager then stated how impressed he was with the Academy set-up and jumped topics to the reasons he joined the Club. He stressed talent at the club isn’t a problem, Broom then touched on the intensity of the training sessions since the arrival of Johnson by stating the importance of a little change can make a big difference.
Supporters then brought up that they wanted the Club to be more open regarding injuries within the squad, which Lee agreed with, and then he touched on his contract with the Club, stating he is on a two-and-a-half-year deal, that pleased those in the room.
It was brought up how refreshing it was to see the fan connectivity with the management, especially in Lee’s assistant Darren Way, who went on to say how he feels so strongly about that. Win, lose, or draw, he knows the importance of players acknowledging the fans and respecting the support they provide.
When Steve Curwood took to the stage, he gave a summary of where the Club is financially and confirmed that there hasn’t been a reduction in investment this season. All the teams in the Fleetwood Group – Waterford FC, Fleetwood United (Dubai), and Hout Bay United (South Africa) – were taken into account and all were explained to those who attended.
After this, the status of Fleetwood being a selling club was reiterated as it is a way to boost the finances within the business, however, players will only be sold for the right amount of money then and finished off with examples of where we have sold, but also where we have turned down significant offers from clubs from both first team and youth players.
We would like to thank those supporters who attended the night and made it a great evening for all involved.