Fleetwood Town have appointed Simon Grayson as the club’s new manager. Grayson is the permanent replacement for Joey Barton who left the club earlier this month.
Simon Wiles has been in caretaker charge of the first team but has failed to win any of his five league games.
Grayson brings a wealth of experience and will be tasked with firing Fleetwood back into promotion contention. He has agreed a deal at Highbury until the end of the season.
Fleetwood Town Appoint Simon Grayson
#ftfc can confirm the appointment of Simon Grayson as head coach.
Grayson arrives with more than 15 years of first team managerial experience on his CV, which includes promotion winning stints from League One with four difference clubs. #OnwardTogether
— Fleetwood Town FC (@ftfc) January 31, 2021
Grayson Returns to Management After a Year Out of the Game
The 51-year-old brings plenty of experience and is no stranger to League One. He boasts an impressive CV, managing several clubs at this level including Leeds United, Huddersfield Town and Sunderland. He led Leeds to promotion in 2010 and Fleetwood are hoping he can do the same here.
Grayson’s most recent management job was a second spell in charge of Blackpool. However, he was dismissed in February last year after a poor run of results. He is refreshed and raring to go but will be under increasing pressure having managed Fleetwood’s arch-rivals.
Grayson must arrest a worrying slump of form which has seen the Cod Army fail to win any of their last eight league games. Overall, it’s one win from their last 12, which is a real concern. Grayson needs to re-energise a talented squad with play-offs not out of reach.
He joins a Fleetwood side sat in 14th place, nine points off the play-off places. The club are ambitious and want to progress but their season for one reason or another hasn’t come together. The pressure will be on Grayson to ignite their flailing season.
His first game in charge will be against struggling Bristol Rovers next weekend – a great opportunity for him to make a winning start. That could give them a platform to build on, with fixtures against promotion contenders to follow in the coming weeks.
Grayson’s new side will face Doncaster Rovers, Sunderland, Lincoln City, Accrington Stanley and Charlton Athletic in his first seven games. It’s a potentially season-defining run of games for the Cod Army.
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