Football Season Review

The majority of Fleetwood fans did not know what to expect going into the season, with the club having made the controversial move to give former Premier League star Joey Barton his first managerial job. Barton is a man whose playing career was frequently marred with controversies, and was no different in his first season as a manager, with a reported bust-up between him and Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel near the end of the campaign, giving the Cod Army a lot of unwanted media attention. However, things were not that bad when it came to on-pitch issues, as Barton got his side to play a modern, attacking-minded brand of football. The Cod Army started the season very strongly and looked like play-off candidates, and had patches of excellent form after that. Barton maintained that his side could battle for a play-off place until very late in the season, but the Cod Army were always in upper midtable places but never managed to get close enough to the top six. Long-term injuries suffered by key men Craig Morgan and James Wallace proved costly, but Barton did not shy away from replacing them with youngsters in a season that saw numerous players make their first team debuts. Barton will probably feel that he has something to build on, but a lot will depend on whether the club will manage to keep hold of some of their crucial attacking weapons, such as Paddy Madden, Wes Burns and Ched Evans.

Player of the Season: Patrick Madden