Fleets added to strikeforce

Much sought after striker Stuart Fleetwood is the latest player to sign forms for Eastleigh FC. Manager Richard Hill captured the striker following his release from Luton Town despite the attempts from Football League and Football Conference Premier League sides to tempt the striker to their squads for the fast approaching 2013/14 season.

27-year-old Fleetwood signed a new one year deal today and will be included in the squad for the clubs home pre-season friendly with Aldershot on Saturday.


Fleetwood started his career with Cardiff City making eight Football League appearances for the Club. Qualifying to play for Wales through his father’s birthrights, Fleetwood made ten appearances for the Welsh Under 17 side and also five for the Welsh Under 21s.

Meanwhile back to Club football, Hereford United was the next step in his career starting with four goals in his first five games helping Hereford to a Conference Play Off Final victory to regain the Clubs Football League status. Scoring the Clubs first Football League goal on their return was followed by a hat trick in the League Cup against Coventry City before Fleetwood contracted a virus that saw the player laid low for several months.

Following a loan spell with Accrington Stanley, Fleetwood was offered the move to Forest Green Rovers where a season’s return brought 28 goals in forty one league appearances. The season’s performance brought about a move to Charlton Athletic though despite loan spells at Cheltenham Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Exeter City, Fleetwood left Charlton without making a league appearance for them.

Stuart's next step was to return to Hereford United this time helping the Club to survive a fight for relegation from the Football League being the Clubs top goalscorer for the season. In August 2011 Fleetwood moved on to Luton Town as ‘The Hatters’ looked to put their promotion back to the Football League as a high list priority. Fleetwood was the clubs leading goalscorer in the 2011/12 season campaign but fell out of favour at Luton Town midway through last season.

With their latest arrival, Eastleigh now boast a strike force of Craig McAllister, Ben Strevens and Fleetwood along with the goalscoring talents of Jai Reason and Damian Scannell.

Richard Hill commented: "The one position I felt we needed was a left sided player. We knew Fleetwood was speaking to clubs in the Conference, albeit a little bit further north than he would have wished so I turned my interest towards another couple of left sided players.

"It then became evident that Fleets didn’t want to move up north and he made it known to me through Chris Todd that he would be delighted to come and play for Eastleigh FC. 

"We are seeing a shift now in the esteem that the club we now are as the players of this calibre want to come and play for Eastleigh."

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