COLUMN: Warning signs after a top start

Not Blackburn Rovers, Wigan or Bradford.

What a time to be alive for the Cod Army, even though we are only one game into the campaign.

However, a trip to Northampton tomorrow and a long, arduous season awaits.

After the jubilation of Saturday’s 2-0 opening day win over Rotherham, the Cod Army could be forgiven for dreaming once again of an automatic promotion quest.

The Millers are hotly tipped for promotion and lured Town’s top scorer David Ball in the summer, but it was in the end a comfortable victory for Rosler’s men as they showed their two faces – beautiful attacking ingenuity fuelled by Ball’s replacement Conor McAleny, and an ugly under belly helping them to grind out a result.

Easy this League One lark! But it won’t be and Tuesday night told us that.

Town crashed back to reality in midweek as the harsh truths of football kicked in with a brutal bashing by burly Carlisle.

Obviously it was not Fleetwood’s full-strength side that faced the League Two club but there was some food for thought, especially about the strength in depth at Rosler’s disposal and how Fleetwood’s season could go if – God forbid – something happens to frontman McAleny or midfield maestro Kyle Dempsey.

Even with six changes, on paper that Fleetwood XI should have comfortably knocked Carlisle out of the League Cup.

But they didn’t.

Across the board the replacements did not match up to Saturday’s standards and the introduction of Dempsey and McAleny in the 61st minute – and Town’s subsequent transformation back into the attacking Rottweiler we all know, rather than a toothless Shih Tzu – showed how pivotal they will be to Town’s success.

Keeping those two fit and firing on all cylinders make all the difference to whether Town have a top two or top 10 mentality come May.

But one thing is for sure, it is not going to boring!