Hatters Snap Up Fleetwood

With last week’s deadline-day headlines dominated by Premier League clubs spending millions on improving their squads, astute transfers in non-league football went unnoticed.

Whilst Arsene Wenger was attempting to fix his depleted squad with the signings of Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta, amongst others, Luton Town manager Gary Brabin was completing some tidy business of his own.

As the clock struck 11pm the former Cambridge boss delved into his transfer kitty to snap up Hereford United striker Stuart Fleetwood, for a fee believed to be in the region £40,000.

Fleetwood, 25, made his name with Forest Green when he scored 36 goals to win the Conference Golden Boot in 2008. His flourishing spell in front of goal didn’t slip under the radar and the Welshman sealed a move to Charlton Athletic.

His move to The Valley didn’t work out as planned, though, and after being shipped out on loan to Cheltenham, Brighton and Exeter he was eventually sold to Hereford, the club he played for prior to his Forest Green days.

After an unsteady few seasons Fleetwood played a pivotal role at Edgar Street last term, scoring 18 goals to secure the Bulls’ League status.

But insteadof a constant battle against the drop at the depths of the Football League, the striker has opted to move back into the Blue Square Premier with Luton.

This is obviously a backwards step in terms of divisions but with the teams in the upper echelons of the Conference arguably stronger than the teams languishing at the foot of League Two, the switch could be seen as a step forward.

Luton Town are certainly a team on the up, too, having settled down following years of financial turbulence.

Last season, the Hatters suffered play-off heartache, losing 4-3 on penalties in the final against AFC Wimbledon.

This time around they are, without doubt, one of the favourites to win promotion back to the Football League and with the addition of Fleetwood the odds will be shortened.

Gary Brabin made it no secret that he wanted to add another front man to his squad, despite his team hitting the net 13 times in the opening six matches.

The goals haven’t brought results and although they remain unbeaten, the Hatters find themselves down in ninth after successive draws.

If the new signing can find the form he had back in 2008 at Forest Green, Brabin’s men will certainly be challenging for top spot come April.

Promotion with the Hatters could be what Fleetwood needs to kick-start his career in the promised land of the Football League, somewhere that he, and Luton Town Football Club, should be.

Ryan Percival