AFC Fylde Football Club,

Mill Farm,

Coronation Way,

Wesham,

PR4 3JZ

Rovers will meet AFC Fylde for the first time in FGR’s history this season.

In the 2024 Sunday Times list of best places to live Fylde came 6th, Stroud slipped to third best place – probably all those temporary traffic lights are to blame.

Mill Farm is more correctly known as Mill Farm Sports Village, it is a lot more than just a football ground, being a multi-sport facility located outside Wesham, a town in the Borough of Fylde. There is a stadium that is part of it and that has been the home of AFC Fylde since it opened in 2016.

Away fans are housed in the South Terrace standing area. The West stand has 2,000 seats split up between the home stand (six seating areas) and the away stand (one seating area) which is Block A.

Getting There

By Supporters Coach – The Easiest & Best Way.

For the rest of the season away travel is £5 per person for everybody.

For full details – Away Travel Offer – Remaining games (24/25) | WE ARE FGR

Travel & Ticket information for Fylde click here –

Tickets and Travel | AFC Fylde (A) | WE ARE FGR

The Coach will depart The New Lawn at 9am, with pick-ups at Sainsbury’s at 9.15am, and Stonehouse at 9.30am.

NB Away travel is subsidised by FGR and the Supporters Club.

For full details of Away Travel: –

Click here: – FGR Away Travel – Forest Green Rovers Supporters Club (fgrsc.com)

Away Travel 2024/25 | WE ARE FGR

Book your coach ticket from FGR.

Click – Tickets | WE ARE FGR

In person at Reception or by phone on 0333 123 1889 Monday to Friday (not Wednesday), between 9am and 3pm.

Please try to book as early as you can.

By Public Transport

By train from Gloucester the journey takes up to 4 hours and probably will involve changes at Birmingham & Preston. Please check train times carefully.

The closest bus stop to the Mill Farm is a 5-minute walk from the centre of the site. Kirkham and Wesham Railway Station is a half a mile away, a comfortable walking distance. The station is operated by Northern Rail with approximately six services per hour in each direction. The No. 61 bus service offers a service every 30 minutes and connectivity through Blackpool – Preston – Kirkham. Buses 78, 600, 853 and SF1 all stop near the ground.

By Car

From the Stroud area it is about 175 miles and takes about 3 hours.
Access to the site via the A585 is less than a mile from the M55 Junction 3 to the north, which leads to Blackpool to the west and Preston and the M6 to the east. To the south, the A585 Fleetwood Road forms the Kirkham and Wesham Bypass and connects with the A583 Blackpool Road, a main route between Blackpool and Preston.

Free Parking is available on a first come, first served basis in the North Stand Car Park. Once this car park is full, an overflow car park then operates but this has a charge of £5 per car.

Don’t make the mistake of parking in the nearby Aldi car park as you will almost certainly be fined.

Food & Drink

Outside the Ground

  • Lane Ends Hotel (a pub despite the name) Weeton Road, Wesham, PR4 3DH – 01772 671216
  • Stanley Arms 8 Garstang Rd S, Wesham, Preston PR4 3BL – 01772 469495
  • The Royal Oak– 14 Garstang Rd S, Wesham, Preston PR4 3BL

At the Ground

  • Bradleys Sports Bar, Mill Farm Sports Village, Coronation Way, Wesham, Kirkham, Preston, PR4 3JZ – 01772 598850

On site is an Aldi supermarket, Euro Garages petrol station with a Spar, Gregg’s Bakery, Milano’s Restaurant, Aroma Café, and KFC (Vegan FGR’s arch rivals) fast food restaurant. The stadium features several food kiosks throughout the stadium serving pies, chips, hot dogs and burgers. Alcohol is also served.

How are They Doing

Following their 2022/23 National League North title win, the Coasters returned the fifth tier of English football for the first since 2020. They managed an 18th placed finish – the club’s second-lowest finish in the National League – just three points above the drop zone.

Fylde are currently in 23rd place (second bottom) with 36 points (@ 19th  March).

Current Form 8 match tables:-

Overall FGR =  12th with 10 points  , Fylde = 17th with 8 points.

Fylde current home form = 20th with 7 points.

FGR current away form = 17th with 8 points.

Reverse Fixture

FGR 3 (McCann, Robson, Bunker)   Fylde 0 (10 Sept 24)

March Results

Fylde 1 Sutton 2

Ebbsfleet 1 Fylde 0

Fylde  0 Braintree 2

Fylde 2 Hartlepool 1

Gateshead 1 Fylde 1

Action from the reverse fixture in September 24 which FGR won 3-0 with a couple of late goals.

Manager

Third Fylde manager of the season – David Longwell.

Former Sunderland and England striker Kevin Phillips was appointed head coach of AFC Fylde in October 24. He replaced Chris Beech after Fylde picked up just one win from their opening eight National League games of the season. Phillips left by mutual agreement in February 25 with Fylde in the relegation places.

Kevin Phillips was South Shields manager when FGR played them in the FA Cup but the former England international is best remembered for scoring the winning goal in the Championship Play-Off Final which took Palace back to the Premier League.

David Longwell was named as  interim head coach of AFC Fylde for the rest of the season. Longwell stepped into the role along with goalkeeper coach Chris Neal after Kevin Phillips departure.

Longwell, who served as academy manager at Shrewsbury and worked in the first team set up under Steve Cotterill, even taking charge during Cotterill’s illness in the Covid-19 pandemic, joined the Fylde in January 25 as assistant head coach.

Manager No 1 – Chris Beech.

Manager 2 – Kevin Phillips.

Ones to Watch

Nick Haughton

Despite a low finish in the league, goals were no issue for the Coasters finding the net seventy-four times with eighteen of those coming from attacking midfielder, Nick Haughton. The 29-year-old was confirmed the club’s top scorer last campaign netting four times in his final six games whilst also chipping in with seven assists in forty-three appearances. He has scored 16 times this season.

 

Rovers Connections

Frome born Chris Stokes had 2 spells at FGR. 2010-15: 133 appearances and 7 goals. 2020-21: 39 appearances and 2 goals.

He joined Fylde in January 2025.

Club History

Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wesham in 1988, the club adopted its current name in 2008 after winning the FA Vase

In 2007, the club announced the goal of reaching the Conference National by 2017 and the EFL by 2022, the latter objective being printed on club shirts. The club won four promotions between 2007 and 2017 to earn promotion to the fifth tier of English football for the first time. The club experienced two play-off campaigns in their first two seasons in the National League, with the second seeing Fylde miss out on promotion to the Football League after losing to Salford at Wembley in the play-off final. However, the Coasters returned to Wembley a week after their defeat for the 2019 FA Trophy as they managed to beat Orient.

Although Fylde were relegated back to the National League North after finishing second-from-bottom of the National League the following season, they were National League North champions in 2022–23 and promoted straight back to the National League.

Fylde became the first team to lift both the FA Trophy and FA Vase in 2019 under Dave Challinor. They were called Kirkham & Wesham when they won the Vase and Fylde when they won the Trophy so maybe that doesn’t count?

FGR were the first team to appear in a FA Vase & FA Trophy Final and although they won the former, they lost both their appearances in the Final of the FA Trophy.

Famous Local Residents

  • Keith Harris (1947–2015), ventriloquist, lived in Poulton-le-Fylde.
  • Tessie O’Shea(1913–1995), actress and Music Hall entertainer,
  • Andy Summers born 1942),  musician, guitarist with The Police.
  • Paul Stewart (born 1964), former professional footballer who played for C Palace amongst other teams.
  • Tony Green (born 1946) former professional footballer who played for Scotland.
  • Jenny Éclair, comedian.
  • Stephen Tomkinson, actor.

Mascot

Fylde mascot Syd the Seagull.

Places to Visit in Fylde