Fleetwood Town’s leading scorer Adam Warlow received the Blue Square North Player of the Season Award at the Football Conference’s gala dinner, held at Southport Floral Hall on Saturday.
The former Player of the Month for March was thrilled to receive the prestigious award: ‘I was delighted to be honoured above so many really good players in the Blue Square North and it was a brilliant evening. It was great to have my mum, dad and grandma there as well!’
Warlow’s 29 goals from 45 games is an excellent outcome for a player who only started the season on the bench following a hernia operation in the summer: “Twenty-five was my minimum target at the start of the season so 29 is a really good return for me. It would have been nice to get 30 plus and I probably would have done if I’d not missed games but I would gladly have accepted 29 back in August.”
The 23-year-old goal machine remembers each strike clearly: “Every goal is a highlight but some certainly stand out. One would be my second in the home game against Eastwood back in August when I drilled the ball home on the half volley after flicking it over the defender’s head. Another was the second at home to Gainsborough when I struck the ball into the top corner from outside the box. Both goals at Blyth were also special.”
Warlow`s passion for goalscoring is clearly evident as he remembers every strike as if it had happened yesterday. He regards the hat trick goal against Vauxhall Motors in the final game of 2009 as “arguably my best of the season.” Danny Hurst cleared and, following a flick on, Warlow controlled with his back to goal. He turned the defender and scored from a superb left-footed strike from the edge of the area despite a touch from the keeper.
The emotional highlight was undoubtedly the away game at Stalybridge when he came off the bench to hit two late strikes to secure a dramatic victory. The memories remain special three months on: “Stalybridge was unbelievable. Everyone was absolutely buzzing and I don’t think that I’ll experience that feeling again in my career. I didn’t know what to do when I scored the second! I ran to the crowd and was going to jump over into them but the fence was too high so I just turned and seconds later disappeared into a massive huddle!”
Warlow pays tribute to the fellow strikers who have worked alongside him throughout the season, describing himself as fortunate to have struck up a good partnership with all of them: “Both Rogan and Seddon are good players who managed to score goals as well as helping me whilst Lee Thorpe gave the club something different when he came and proved to be a real handful for defences.’
He also acknowledges the role of Steve Pope, the team’s Sports Psychologist, behind the scenes: “Popey’s been a great help to me and I know how much the lads appreciate all he does to improve their attitude and confidence.”
The striker is eagerly looking forward to playing in the Blue Square Premier next season: “I’m really excited to be competing at a national standard and looking forward to testing myself against better players and playing in better stadiums such as Darlington, Luton and Wrexham. I’m confident we can do well.”
After a month’s complete rest, Warlow has started to work towards pre-season and is raring to go, anxious to make an impact from the start of the new season.
A passionate England supporter, he watched the first half of the USA game at the award ceremony and remains optimistic despite the result! Warlow`s many loyal fans may well be wishing that he had been playing for England on Saturday night, confident that he would have put a chance away!
This award is a fitting tribute to a player who has thrilled the Cod Army throughout the season and gained the respect of those in the non-league game for his attacking play. Come August, he will be looking to quickly add to his tally of over 50 goals in the last two seasons for Town and you can rest assured that he will remember every one!
Meanwhile, Warlow is joined in the Blue Square North team of the year by team-mates Alan Wright, Steve McNulty and Sean Clancy.
