Simon Grayson: Why deadline day was stress-free for Fleetwood Town

Deadline day is normally a day filled with stress and tension for football clubs – but Simon Grayson admits that was not the case for Fleetwood Town on Tuesday.
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The Cod Army made no moves on the final day of the transfer window as they felt comfortable with the work they had done throughout the summer.

Town brought in a double-figures total of new players and rounded off their business by adding striker Joe Garner on Monday. Grayson is pleased with the signings that have been made and feels the clear communication on what was possible was important in that.

Simon Grayson was able to watch Tuesday's Papa John's Trophy win over Leicester City Under-21s without worrying about the approaching transfer deadlineSimon Grayson was able to watch Tuesday's Papa John's Trophy win over Leicester City Under-21s without worrying about the approaching transfer deadline
Simon Grayson was able to watch Tuesday's Papa John's Trophy win over Leicester City Under-21s without worrying about the approaching transfer deadline
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Town’s head coach said: “It was one of the first deadline days where we knew we weren’t going to have anything to do. We’d done our business.

“Joe Garner got done on Sunday into Monday and that’s been in the pipeline for a long time, so we knew we weren’t going to do anything.

“It was a nice and relaxed for the CEO (Steve Curwood), Andy (Pilley, owner) and James Wallace, the head of recruitment.

“I think we’ve had a really good window, right from when we released the players we did. We recruited knowing we could spend ‘x’ amount of money, what slots we had to fill and how many we had to fill.

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“We’ve got some good experienced players as well as a couple of younger ones, who do have experiences as well but also exuberance and are willing to learn.

“We also have the academy players who have been coming through for a number of years. All in all, we’ve got a good group we’re looking to work with until January and the end of the season.”

There are still spots available but those are being left open as a pathway for academy players. Chairman Pilley wants to see more opportunities for young talent and some return on his investment in the set-up, and Grayson is more than happy with that.

Town are still able to bring in free agents but their head coach has confirmed that will not be happening.

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He said: “Our younger players will get plenty of opportunities this year, without a shadow of a doubt.

“There won’t be any free transfers. We’ve done our business now and won’t be doing any more.

“We got offered loads of players over the last 48 hours of the window. Real good Championship players wanted to come to us but we’d done our business, knowing exactly where we were. That’s why it was relaxed and it will be until January.”

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