TOTALLY UNOFFICIAL PREVIEW OF THE 2024-2025 SEASON: MORECAMBE FC.
ON THE BUS TO OBLIVION?
We start – as always in recent years – with the latest development in the ownership crisis at Morecambe FC:
An Open Letter to Jason Whittingham.
The Board of Directors published the following on May 20th 2024 on the club’s website:
The Board of Directors at Morecambe Football Club have written the following open letter to Bond Group.
Dear Jason,
We are writing this open letter to reiterate what was said to you during the meeting we held with you today, during which you updated us on the critical matters of funding and the sale of the Football Club.
Sadly, your future funding assurances have now failed to come to fruition so often that, in the absence of substantial funds from Bond Group landing in the Morecambe Football Club account, they come across as meaningless, and we must take them as such in order to be responsible.
As for the Middle East-based potential buyer you first told us was interested in buying the Club approximately a year ago, you have provided no tangible evidence or introduction during this time to enable us to consider them serious or credible.
You have one apparently serious offer on the table from a US-based potential buyer which, based on what we know, is the most credible which has been made since you placed the Club up for sale over 20 months ago.
Please accept this second offer now, so that there is a chance that a sale might be completed, and a catastrophic outcome be avoided.
From the Board of Directors of Morecambe Football Club.
That’s pretty strong, heartfelt stuff, isn’t it? This was written almost three months ago. Predictably though, the situation at the club has apparently not changed at all and the `catastrophic outcome’ predicted above is still a very real possibility. There have been rumours swirling around the internet about an imminent take-over of Morecambe FC by various parties and the Board made this further statement on July 6th 2024:
“The Board of Directors wish to provide the following update.
This morning, we spoke to Bond Group who confirmed talks with a prospective owner are at an advanced stage, and submissions to the EFL planned for early next week.
Concurrently, Derek Adams and his team are working hard to build a competitive squad for the upcoming season.
We appreciate the patience of every single fan and friend of the Club, and will provide further updates as soon as it is possible to do so.“
That’s almost a month ago but – to the best of my knowledge – nothing whatsoever has changed since as the Morecambe bus apparently is still bound for oblivion with the Board and supporters trapped on it with no obvious means of either rescue or escape.
The Retained List.
This appeared – again because of the impossibility of either signing or even negotiating contracts because of the EFL embargo the club has been under – really late in the day: May 20th 2024 to be exact. The club’s website announced the following:
Under contract:
Charlie Brown, Gwion Edwards, Stuart Moore.
Option in contract triggered:
Kayden Harrack.
Professional contract accepted:
Saul Fox-Akande.
Offer of an extended contract made:
JJ McKiernan.
Offers made during season but not accepted:
Farrend Rawson, David Tutonda, Donald Love, Joel Senior.
Not offered a contract at this time:
Adam Smith, Jacob Bedeau, Chris Stokes, Max Melbourne, Oscar Threlkeld, Jacob Davenport, Yann Songo’o, Jake Taylor, Brandon Barker, Cammy Smith, Jordy Hiwula, Jordan Slew.
Loanees returning to parent club:
Archie Mair, Nelson Khumbeni, Joe Adams, Ged Garner, Julian Larsson.
There are an awful a lot of `ifs’, `buts and `maybes’ in the above announcement. “Not offered a contract at this time” is a very ambiguous statement: it implies that contracts could be offered at some other time – and that, as we shall see, is exactly what has happened.
It was already excellent news that Gwion had signed – I think he is by far the most skilful player at the club but he has to work on his consistency and fitness in my view. I’m personally really disappointed that neither Farrend Rawson nor multiple award-winning Player of the Season Joel Senior could be persuaded to stay. I’m also slightly surprised that greater efforts were not made to keep hold of Jacob Bedeau. Jacob made a lot of mistakes last season but he also played some really good games in which he led by example as stand-in Skipper. Good luck to him nevertheless. Good luck to all of them…
The Manager.
The Morecambe Board tell us they were inundated with applications to step into the shoes of the departed Derek Adams and Ged Brannan. But on June 3rd 2024, the official website announced the Return of the King. For the third time so far, Derek Adams has been appointed Manager of Morecambe Football Club. This decision has sharply divided opinion among Shrimps’ fans.
Some still haven’t forgiven Derek for leaving for Bradford City after guiding his Morecambe team to League One via the Play-Offs at Wembley three years ago. It didn’t go well for him at Valley Parade. But it never does for any Manager at that venue – ex-Wales boss and Manchester United international Mark `Sparky’ Hughes has been sacked too in the short time which has elapsed since Derek was given his Marching Orders in February 2022.
Still more home supporters are unhappy with the way he left again last season, with the knock-on effect that almost half his first team soon disappeared as well as parent clubs took their Morecambe loanees back again in the wake of his departure. Again, though, Derek’s choice to move – this time back to his former spiritual home Ross County – was a bad move from his point of view. He resigned after just a few weeks and is something of a pariah now North of the Border for the unflattering things he said about Scottish football and particularly his claim that the club he had left behind in League Two was `a hundred times better’ than most of those to be found in the SPFL Premiership.
But these unforgiving fans overlook several things which go in the Scotsman’s favour. Derek Adams is the most successful Manager Morecambe football club had ever had – bar none. He not only took us to League One on a shoestring budget; when he returned from Bradford, he saved a poor team which had been left in the lurch – and the mire – by his successor at the Mazuma Stadium, Stephen Robinson. Against all odds, he transformed a losing team into one which successfully staved-off relegation in their very first season in the Valhalla of League One. The fact that he was unable to do so for a second time has more to do with the failure of the owners to invest in players Derek had lined-up to save his team’s bacon than it did as far as Derek himself is concerned. Despite more broken promises and an inability to seriously improve another man’s poor choices, the King gave Morecambe a fighting chance to stay in the division and they lost the fight only on the final day when a 3-2 loss at Exeter saw his team relegated for the first time in its 123 year history at the top of the relegation pack. Last season, Derek put together a squad of youngsters, a smattering of veterans and lots of loanees which looked dead certs for at least a Play-Off finish before more broken promises in terms of improving the playing staff were broken by the owner. No wonder he left.
But now he’s back. Nobody – apart from possibly Ged Brannan – knows better than Derek Adams what he is letting himself in for back by the north Lancashire seaside. Last time he returned, Derek had a point to prove – that Bradford had made a mistake letting him go. And this was borne-out by the reception he got from a lot of their fans after Morecambe demolished City 3-0 during August 2023 at the Maz. This time though, he has even more to prove. He failed at Ross County and, in doing so, made himself virtually unemployable in his own country because of the harsh home truths he was honest or perhaps foolhardy enough to speak about the domestic game in Scotland. Building another successful Morecambe team will give him a chance to redeem himself and rebuild his own career at the same time. This is what he said once news of his re-appointment was made in June:
“There is a lot of work to be done over the transfer window to get ready for the start of the new season, and I know the board of directors were looking for a manager who knows the football club and how it works. I’m delighted to come back and try and help the football club move forward again. This will come not only through myself, my staff and the players but the supporters of the football club as well who have been through a really difficult period.”
Part of this work was to shake-up his own management team. The club’s website told us on June 22nd:
Morecambe Football Club can confirm First Team and Senior Professional Development Coach David Fitzgerald has left his role due to the restructuring of new Manager Derek Adams’ technical football staff.
Two days later, they announced the following:
Derek Adams has strengthened his backroom staff with the appointment of Danny Grainger as Assistant Manager.
The former defender spent 12 years as a player in Scotland where he represented the likes of St. Johnstone, Hearts and St. Mirren before a move south to Carlisle United transpired in July 2014.
Five years and 179 League Two appearances later, including two in the 2016/17 play-off semi-finals, the 37-year-old called time on his playing career and became the manager at Workington AFC.
A six-month spell as Assistant Manager at Falkirk followed before a return to Borough Park where he guided the Reds to promotion in 2023. After securing survival in the Northern Premier League, Grainger stepped down following the culmination of the 2023/24 campaign.
Speaking of his arrival at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium, Grainger said: “When the phone call came to work with someone as experienced as the Gaffer, it was a no-brainer; to be able to come in, push on and keep developing my own coaching ability is something I’m excited for.
“I’ve known Derek from playing against his teams as a player and then as a coach, I spoke to him when I first started coaching and he’s always been at the end of the phone for a bit of advice, and we’ve had a good relationship from there.
“Having played at Morecambe numerous times, I know a few people behind the scenes, and I know what the Club is about. Whenever I’ve played there, there’s always been a real family feel around the place and that to me is very important.
“The Gaffer has been successful in this league, I’d like to think I’ve got experience there from being a League Two captain so fingers crossed we can gel together quickly, get the squad ready and make sure we hit the ground running.”
Manager Derek Adams spoke of his excitement at Grainger’s appointment, saying: “I am delighted to have Danny Grainger join Morecambe FC as my Assistant Manager, he will be a great addition to the football staff.”
Cynics – and realists perhaps – might have us believe that if Mr Adams chooses to up sticks and leave yet again, he has set-up a potential new man to step into his shoes. Time alone will tell if this pessimistic view of Danny Grainger’s move to the club proves to be correct.
Whatever, when King Derek took up the reins once more, the club – as we have seen – had only five players on the books.
The Embargo.
As was mentioned in my Review of last season, the club has not covered itself with glory in communicating any information about the Embargo which was placed on it towards the end of the campaign. All we know is that this has come about because of some `misunderstanding’ over VAT payments – how much and how this came about remains a mystery. So we have had to rely on the BBC to actually learn what has happened at our own club. On July 11th 2024, “Auntie” told us the following:
Morecambe have had their transfer embargo lifted by the English Football League but must pay a fine of £5,131.82 for failing to meet their payment obligations.
The League Two side were placed under a registration embargo in March over non-payment of a VAT bill and were deducted three points in April for failing to stick to an agreement with the EFL earlier in the season linked to the late payment of players.
They were subsequently fined in June and given restrictions for the next three transfer windows.
However, the club, which has been up for sale since September 2022, appealed against the ruling and an independent disciplinary commission ruled in their favour while upholding the fine.
Their transfer restriction has been suspended for two years and reduced to one window.
The Shrimps, who finished 15th in League Two last season, are now able to register new players for the forthcoming campaign.
They said in a statement: “All parties recognised the exceptional circumstances, and evidence provided by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs confirmed that Morecambe Football Club had done nothing wrong under HMRC guidelines.
So now you know as much as any Shrimps fan does. It’s a shame that the Board have not deigned to put anything on the club’s website about this subject – this entire fiasco does not reflect well on them if only because of their lack of communication with the supporters. As has been noted elsewhere, thoughts about mushrooms, manure and being kept in the dark spring all too readily to mind…
The Current Squad.
After weeks of total silence about new signings and the Embargo which was put on the club last season, the following article appeared on its website on July 12th:
“Morecambe FC is delighted to confirm the arrival of 15 players as Derek Adams looks to shape his squad ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Following the removal of the embargo by the EFL, we have now been able to sign the below players subject to EFL approval.
Jordan Slew and Yann Songo’o return to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium for the third time, with David Tutonda signing on the dotted line for his second spell.
Another familiar face to Morecambe fans is Callum Jones who joins on a season-long loan from Hull City. The 23-year-old spent the first half of 2021/22 at the Club and made 18 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice.
Defender Luke Hendrie is another player to link up with Adams for the second time in his career after the Gaffer made him a Deadline Day signing at Bradford City back in 2022.
Also bolstering the back line is former Raith Rovers man Ross Millen, Max Taylor, formally of Manchester United and Rochdale as well as Jamie Stott, who won the FA Trophy with Halifax Town back in 2023 and Adam Lewis who left Liverpool in the summer after joining at U6 level. George Ray also joins the Mazuma Mobile Stadium ranks after spending the previous two seasons with Barrow AFC.
The arrival of former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Shrewsbury Town shot stopper Harry Burgoyne has strengthened the goalkeeping department, whereas Tom White and Paul Lewis add competition in the midfield places.
Experienced Barbados international Hallam Hope joins former Portsmouth man Ben Tollitt in adding strength in depth in the final third.
Full details for our signings are as follows:
| Harry Burgoyne (Goalkeeper) | One year contract with option of extra year |
| Luke Hendrie (Defender) | One year contract with option of extra year |
| Ross Millen (Defender) | One year contract with option of extra year |
| Max Taylor (Defender) | One year contract |
| Jamie Stott (Defender) | One year contract with option of extra year |
| David Tutonda (Defender) | One year contract with option of extra year |
| Adam Lewis (Defender) | One year contract |
| George Ray (Defender) | One year contract with option of extra year |
| Tom White (Midfielder) | One year contract with option of extra year |
| Paul Lewis (Midfielder) | One year contract with option of extra year |
| Yann Songo’o (Midfielder) | One year contract |
| Callum Jones (Midfielder) | Season-long loan from Hull City |
| Jordan Slew (Forward) | One year contract |
| Hallam Hope (Forward) | One year contract with option of extra year |
| Ben Tollitt (Forward) | One year contract with option of extra year |
We’d like to welcome all our new arrivals who join Stuart Moore, Kayden Harrack, Gwion Edwards, Charlie Brown and Saul Fox-Akande ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.”
I’m frankly delighted that Jordan Slew has re-signed. This is a man who returned reborn to the club – from a waste of space first time around to our most accomplished attacker last season – he had the lot: the vision; the nous and, most of all, the skill. Yann Songo’o is also a welcome returnee to the squad: his coaching from the sidelines to which his team-mates clearly responded very positively was a constant last season and I see management potential in bucketfuls in this man. I think – for what it’s worth – that David Tutonda was also one of our best players last term and it’s good to see him signing on the dotted line for Morecambe once again.
Whilst warmly welcoming the return of 23-year-old Callum Jones on-loan again from Hull City, it will be interesting to see if any of last season’s loanees can still be persuaded to return this time. (This, of course, depends on the funds at King Derek’s disposal. Things are apparently tighter than ever at the beginning of the new campaign.) But if the money is there to pay for them, Archie Mair, Nelson Khumbeni and Joe Adams would be very welcome in my view and – who knows? – even Michael Mellon might come back for a third time if Burnley believe that he is still not quite ready to stake a claim in their first team for their upcoming Championship campaign.
So what do we know about the new crop?
Goalkeeper Harry Burgoyne is 27. He has played for Wolves in the past and was between the sticks when Wanderers pulled-off a surprise 1-2 win at Anfield in the FA Cup Fourth Round against Liverpool in January 2017. He had played on-loan for several non-league clubs before encountering Derek Adams for the first time as a season-long loanee to Plymouth Argyle in 2018. He didn’t actually play for Argyle because of a serious ankle fracture but he did play fifteen games for Falkirk in the Scottish Championship the following season. He signed for Shrewsbury Town in 2020 and was released by them earlier this summer.
29-year-old defender Luke Hendrie also once played for Shrewsbury Town. He began his career at Manchester United before moving on to Derby County and then Burnley before his stint with the Shrews. He then played for Grimsby Town before King Derek signed him for Luke’s home town team Bradford City during January 2022. He has played for both the England Under-17 and Scottish Under-20s on the basis of his dad’s nationality. (John Hendrie was also a professional footballer who played for Bradford City; Leeds United and Middlesbrough.) Luke was released by the Bantams at the end of last season. If things don’t work out for him at Morecambe, Luke has an alternative career up his sleeve: he has a First Class Honours degree in Sports Broadcasting and Journalism. So Watch Out Derek Quinn!
29-year-old winger Ben Tollitt also has another string to his bow: he is in his final year of a Physiotherapy degree. On the field, the Scouser also played for Tranmere, Portsmouth and Blackpool before dropping into the lower leagues with AFC Fylde and then Oldham Athletic just after they fell out of the EFL during 2022. Oldham released him at the end of last season and the challenge he faces at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium is to up his game to League Two standard.
24-year-old left full-back Adam Lewis was also a free agent after leaving home-town club Liverpool following the end of the Jurgen Klopp era. He has played on-loan for clubs as diverse as Amiens in France, Livingston in Scotland and Newport County in Wales. He has also appeared in England Under-17; 19 and 20 teams, the latter as recently as six years ago.
Ross Millen is a 29-year-old right full-back who has played for a number of Scottish clubs including Dunfermline, Kilmarnock and Queens Park. He also played in England for Scunthorpe United when the Iron was still an EFL club. Ross had been an ever-present in defence for his last club – Raith Rovers – but left under something of a cloud after a wrangle with Manager Ian Murray, who not only dropped him but refused to let him move anywhere on-loan whilst obliging him to train on his own away from the main squad until his contract expired a few weeks ago. He left Stark’s Park with these curious words by the man who had frozen him out – Manager Murray – ringing in his ears: “Yes, I’ll be sorry to see Ross go. I’ve said it a million times, that’s football unfortunately.”
Max Taylor is 24 and went onto the books at Manchester United ten years ago. Shortly after signing his first professional contract during 2018, Max was diagnosed with testicular cancer. A worrying time including chemotherapy then ensued for the young man. So perhaps understandably, he has had a chequered career since then with loan spells at Stalybridge Celtic and Kidderminster Harriers. When United released him in 2021, Max signed for non-league Rochdale, who let him go anew at the end of last season. Having survived the Big C, let’s hope that Max can make a new start to his career as a defender and establish himself at a higher level in exactly the way that several players who have slightly missed their way have under Derek Adams’ tutelage over the years.
For 29-year-old midfielder Paul Lewis, the move to Morecambe is a step sideways rather than upwards. He was shown a Yellow Card as a member of the Tranmere Rovers team which Ged Brannan’s Shrimps memorably beat by the odd goal in five after having gone 2-0 down last season at Prenton Park. He started his career with Macclesfield Town when they were still in the Football League and has also played for Northampton Town and Cambridge United.
Central defender George Ray, 30, played 45 times for Barrow during the season just ended and 71 times for them altogether. If you look him up on the internet, the first thing that appears is footage of a `horror challenge’ on Gillingham’s Josh Walker in Kent last season for which he received a straight red card. So I suppose I should change my characterisation of Mr Ray to an `uncompromising’ central defender. George started his career with Crewe – for whom he made his debut at Wembley and then performed on another 136 occasions. He then played for Tranmere Rovers prior to a brief spell at Exeter City before signing for the Bluebirds two years ago. In the past, he has also played for Wales’ Under-21s.
Midfielder Tom White is 27. He also left Barrow earlier this summer. Tom was plagued with persistent injuries earlier in his career and found himself playing for a number of clubs in and around the Northern League until he was offered a two-year contract by Blackburn Rovers in 2019. In February 2021, he was signed on-loan by Hartlepool United, for whom he played until the end of the season. His next stop was at Barrer, for whom he had played on-loan in the past only for the deal to be ended by a chest infection. Let’s hope he has better luck with his health in the place where – according to the town’s Coat of Arms – it actually abounds.
26-year-old Jamie Stott played in central defence for National League side AFC Halifax last season. He had played for Stockport County up until their promotion back into the Football League, when they released him to travel over the Pennines to the Shay. So the move to the Lancashire seaside is a step-up for Jamie. If he proves to be even half as successful on the field as the last player the Shrimps signed from Halifax – Mr Slew – he should be an excellent addition to the squad.
30-year-old Hallam Hope started his career with Everton, where he won Academy Scholar of the Year in his second year with them. He has subsequently played up-front for Bury when they were still in the EFL and scored loads of goals for them. At the time, his Manager – David Flitcroft – said of him: “His potential is frightening and I love working with him.” He moved to Carlisle United on a two-year deal in 2017 after Manager Keith Curle said of him: “I’ve probably chased Hallam more than I’ve ever chased anyone else through my whole life – ex-wife, ex-partner and current girlfriend included!” His next move was Swindon and he then spent the past three seasons with Oldham Athletic. Hallam’s career hasn’t followed the trajectory his early promise suggested it might and we must all wish for it to pick-up again for him at Morecambe. But with this man in the team, there will always be Hope for a goal, won’t there? (Sorry, Hallam – I am contractually obliged to write such obvious drivel for the benefit of our Sun readers…)
23-year-old midfielder Harvey Macadam has also signed on the dotted line for the Shrimps. Harvey was released by Fleetwood Town at the end of their relegation season, having played 43 times for their first team and scoring two goals. He has played on-loan with Irish Premier League club Waterford FC and had previous stints with AFC Fylde; Ashton Town, Northwich Victoria and Longridge before being signed as part of the Blackburn Rovers Academy.
Lee Angol is another 29-year-old who belatedly signed for Morecambe after appearing as a triallist in the warm-up match against Workington, where he led the line well and won a series of free-kicks for the Shrimps. He started his career as part of the Spurs’ Academy team before playing for Wycombe Wanderers although his time with them was punctuated by periods on-loan to non-league clubs. The same thing happened at Luton Town, when he became The Conference South’s top scorer with 25 goals in just 39 appearances for Boreham Wood, helping them to achieve promotion to the National League by so doing. He refused a further contract with Luton, preferring a three-year deal with Peterborough United instead. Lee suffered a serious ankle fracture whilst with Posh and now has a pin in his leg as a result. He left for Mansfield Town in 2017 and has become a journeyman subsequently, with spells at Shrewsbury; Orient, Bradford and Sutton United, who released him last season when he was sent out on-loan yet again even in their relegation season. So Lee is another player whose career has taken him into the wilderness in recent times. Let’s hope for all our sakes that he takes his latest opportunity to re-establish himself as a top striker during his time with Derek Adams and Morecambe.
Squad Numbers.
There is no Unlucky Thirteen in this year’s squad. (But no 21; 14 or whatever either…) The numbers are:
1 Harry Burgoyne; 2 Luke Hendrie; 3 Adam Lewis; 4 Tom White; 5 Max Taylor; 6 Jamie Stott; 7 Gwion Edwards; 8 Harvey Macadam; 9 Hallam Hope; 10 Lee Angol; 11 Jordan Slew; 12 Kayden Harrack; 15 George Ray; 17 Paul Lewis; 18 Ben Tollitt; 20 Charlie Brown; 22 Ross Millen; 23 David Tutonda; 24 Yann Songo’o; 25 Stuart Moore; 61’); 27 Saul Fox-Akinde; 28 Callum Jones.
Where are they now?
The following players who were in the Morecambe squad last season have found employment elsewhere:
Jacob Bedeau has signed for League Two rivals Notts County on a three-year contract. Their gain is very much our loss in all senses of the term because a fee for this outstanding talent will not be received by the club. This is because of the inability for Morecambe to offer any player a long-term contract given, yet again, the background of consistent failure to invest by the previous/current owner.
The same applies to Joel Senior – who virtually swept the board with Player of the Year awards at the end of last season. He has signed a two-year deal with League One Bristol Rovers. He will be greatly missed as well.
Personally, I don’t think the same can be said of a certain Mr JJ McKiernan. The club stood by this gentleman when he was badly injured last season; helped him to regain full fitness; offered him not just one but apparently several new deals to stay with us – only for him to accept an offer from Lincoln City and leave. They are welcome to him in my view. I never saw what the fuss was about this footballer, whose main contribution to all the games I saw him appear in was feigning fouls; trying to con the referee into awarding a free-kick – and usually failing. At Stockport almost at the end of the season, he took this cheating to a level which was actually laughable: he must have fallen over every time he received the ball – and absolutely nobody was buying it. Better luck with your Dark Arts in League One mate…
Skipper Farrend Rawson has also signed (in fact, re-signed) for our old pals Accrington Stanley. I suspect we all wondered how many of his former charges Ged Brannan would want to rejoin him at his new club and Faz is one of the picks of those in my opinion. Our Ged’s gain is definitely King Derek’s loss – both on and off the field.
I’ve no idea what has happened to the likes of goalkeeper Adam Smith; his namesake – the striker Cammy – or people such as Jacob Davenport. However, I’m sure we all wish these men better luck in their future careers than they enjoyed when employed by the Shrimps.
The EFL Trophy.
This competition has new sponsors this season and will be known as the Bristol Street Trophy. Morecambe have been drawn in Group C along with Carlisle United; Wigan Athletic and Nottingham Forest Under-21s.
Streaming live Morecambe matches.
Until last season, it was possible to pay the club a tenner and watch any away game played mid-week live via i-Follow. But not any more. The EFL – in its eternal quest for ever more filthy lucre to fill its already vastly inflated coffers – has signed an exclusive deal with Sky to provide the live coverage once carried by i-Follow. Naturally, the EFL polishes-up this typically self-interested deal as progress for everyone concerned, suggesting it is `establishing the League as a “premium partner” with a world-renowned broadcaster in Sky Sports and giving supporters unparalleled access to more EFL action than ever before.’
What it fails to mention is that for punters like myself – who have no interest in watching any of the other matches the satellite broadcaster entitle purchasers of a `Day Pass’ to see – the cost has gone up a staggering 49.9%. The ability to live-stream any Morecambe game has increased from ten quid to £14.99. Progress? Not for the fans in my view. But when have we ever mattered in an industry where Cash is King?
The Shrimps Trust.
It’s over a year now since the Shrimps Trust held anemergency meeting at the Exchange pub in Morecambe. Since then – although their website still urgently needs updating – the Trust has undoubtedly made strenuous efforts to up its game – and this must be both acknowledged and welcomed. It has finally got its act together in terms of communication with its membership and its contact with key players in the current crisis, most notably the Morecambe Board and even owner Jason Whittingham himself.
As an example of how much the Trust has been on the front foot in recent times, they have held Zoom meetings with Jason and publicly criticised him for both failing to turn-up when agreed and then also failing to provide them with specific details he had promised to supply following these exchanges. Attached is an example of the sort of thing they have published in order to embarrass this man (if such a thing is actually possible) and bring this subject to the attention of members, Morecambe fans in general and the wider football community.
Good for them: there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this sort of action has forced Whittingham out of the shadows in a way which showed no signs of happening when the Trust simply sat on the sidelines and twiddled their thumbs. There has also been a very welcome change in the group’s strategic thinking. Key to this has been the recent decision to start to raise funds – however belatedly – not just from Morecambe fans but from the `football family’ in general to create the means to influence the on-going crisis at our club. They have called this campaign “S.O.S. – Save Our Shrimps”. You can read about it here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/SaveOurShrimps
At the time of writing, this appeal has attracted 267 donations which have amounted to £28,555 of a £50,000 target. It will be interesting to find out what the Trust plans to do with this money – and how effective whatever that or those things prove to be. We must all – Trust members or otherwise – wish them luck in this enterprise and await some hopefully positive developments.
Pre-Season Fixtures.
| Saturday 6 July | Kendal Town FC (A) | 15:00 KO |
| Saturday 13 July | Longridge Town FC (A) | 15:00 KO |
| Tuesday 16 July | Burscough FC (A) | 19:30 KO |
| Saturday 20 July | Workington (A) | 15:00 KO |
| Friday 26 July | Blackburn Rovers FC (H) | 19:30 KO |
| Tuesday 30 July | Southport FC (A) | 19:45 KO |
| Saturday 3 August | Burton Albion (A) | 15:00 KO |
Before I put my own fourpenceworth in, let’s start by acknowledging that longer and more detailed accounts of the matches mentioned next have appeared on Morecambe’s website this season, usually followed by gallery photographs of the games concerned. What a contrast to last season, when these warm-up games barely merited a mention. So credit where credit’s due. I said when Matt Smith took over as Media Maestro at Morecambe that great things could be expected from him. He hasn’t let us down and the work he has produced so far – including videos; music; commentary and photography – is a credit to him and the club.
Saturday, 6th July 20.
What was actually Stewart Drummond’s Academy team took-on our old pals (as Netherfield FC in particular) Kendal Town in the first official warm-up game of the season. The young side is no stranger to the Parkside Road Stadium, having played their last seven `home’ games at this venue. On the day, the team’s performance mirrored the weather: sunny in parts with longer showers of heavy rain.
Kendal has been forced by the FA in its infinite wisdom to play in a geographically remote league this season for the first time: the Northern League. Having finished sixth in the North West Counties League earlier in the year, The Mintcakes now find themselves having to travel to clubs such as Whitley Bay; Redcar Athletic and North Shields along with fellow nominally Cumbrian sides such as Carlisle City and Penrith. You can just hear the London-centric old fossils who run the Football Association saying to each other: “North West Counties; Northern League – what’s the difference?: it’s all Up North isn’t it?” To these relics of a bygone age, the distinction between north west and north is the distance between St John’s Wood and the even posher Hampstead Garden Suburb, just a few miles apart. But the new league Kendal is now in obliges the club to fund return trips of an average of about 160 miles: the trip to North Shields, for instance, is nearly 180 miles there and back. It is an absurd ruling which could put the club out of business. Could you imagine these same overpaid Old Boys of Eton, Winchester and Harrow in their Ivory Tower at Wembley forcing a team in Brighton to play in a South Midlands League? – of course not: they know where Brighton actually is! What’s the difference, though? But the FA always knows best and it has rejected Town’s appeal against its utterly brainless decision. So good luck to the Mintcakes this season – they are going to need it!
Once the match started, the hosts fell behind to a well-taken Lennon Dobson goal but fought back in the second half against a young team which was clearly tiring to win the game 2-1. For the record, this was Morecambe’s line-up:
1 Alfie Scales; 2 Nathan Snowball; 3 Adam Fairclough; 4 Lennon Dobson; 5 Andy Evans; 6 Joe Sowerby; 7 Callum Stewart Coonney; 8 Nathan Mercer; 9 Saul Fox Akande; 10 Jack Craine; 11 Billy Whaite. Subs: 14 Cory Goodyear; 15 Oscar Wright.
Saturday, 13th July 2024. Longridge Town 0:1 Morecambe.
Today provided the first chance Morecambe fans had to watch Derek Adams’ latest incarnation of a Shrimps’ first team as they travelled to Longridge to take-on Lee Ashcroft’s Town side. It was virtually all Morecambe against the North West Counties Premier League side in the first half, with Ben Tollitt’s header hitting the crossbar; Gwion Edwards having a shot cleared off the line ; Hallam Hope getting the ball in the net only for the linesman’s flag to go up for offside and home goalkeeper Jordan Gidley making several good saves. In the second half, Edwards scored what proved to be the winning goal with a powerful strike. King Derek shook things up a couple of times and Stuart Moore- returning from a very serious injury which has seen him out of contention for months – pulled-off an excellent save with twenty minutes left.
Morecambe: 1 Harry Burgoyne (C) (Stuart Moore 62’); 2 Luke Hendrie (Yann Songo’o 62’); 3 Adam Lewis (Lennon Dobson 76’); 4 Max Taylor (Charlie Brown 62’); 5 Jamie Stott (Ross Millen 62’); 6 Tom White (George Ray 62’); 7 Jordan Slew (Adam Fairclough 76’); 8 Callum Jones (Andy Evans 76’); 9 Hallam Hope (Nathan Mercer 76’); 10 Ben Tollitt (David Tutonda 76’); 11 Gwion Edwards (Kayden Harrack 62’).
Sub not used: Paul Lewis.
Tuesday, 16th July 2024. Burscough FC 1:2 Morecambe.
The Shrimps next took-on another North West Counties Premier League side in the shape of Burscough FC. Last season’s meeting at this venue ended in a 1-10 romp for the Shrimps but things were a lot closer on this occasion.
The game was goal-less at half time but Paul Lewis netted in the fifty-fourth minute for the visitors. Four minutes later, Ben Tollitt added a second and then Derek made mass changes to the starting line-up at exactly the same time he had done on the previous Saturday: after sixty-two minutes. The shuffled line-up could not add to the score though and Burscough – `The Linnets’ – actually had the final say in the game, pulling a goal back with six minutes left to play.
Morecambe: Stuart Moore (C) (Harry Burgoyne 62’); Ross Millen (Luke Hendrie 62’); David Tutonda (Adam Lewis 62’); Kayden Harrack (Max Taylor 62’); George Ray (Jamie Stott 62’); Yann Songo’o (Callum Jones 62’); Lennon Dobson (Tom White 62’); Paul Lewis; Charlie Brown (Hallam Hope 72’); Ben Tollitt (Gwion Edwards 72’); Adam Fairclough (Jordan Slew 40’).
Saturday, 20th July 2024.Workington FC 1-1 Morecambe.
Morecambe travelled to the Cumberland coast for their next game to visit ex-Football League ground Borough Park. This is the home of Workington FC, who are now plying their trade in the Northern Premier League. Last season, current Assistant Manager to Derek Adams – Danny Grainger – was in charge of the Reds, so this was a nostalgic visit for him at least.
For the Shrimps, new acquisition from Fleetwood – Harvey Macadam – went straight into the fray just 24 hours after signing on the dotted line for Derek Adams’ team. And very impressive he looked, too. For whatever reason though, Gwion Edwards and Hallam Hope were both missing from today’s squad.
Rain started to fall heavily just before kick-off and caused the 413 fans who turned-up to watch this practice game to scatter for the cover of the stands.
The Reds looked lively right from the off and produced the first good save of the match after 24 minutes from Harry Burgoyne. He did well to stop a point-blank effort from Steven Rigg after his own defenders had got in a tangle and actually presented the Workington striker with the ball. The Morecambe Skipper was lucky later on, though, when he allowed the wet ball to squirm through his hands only to see it hit the post and bounce straight back to him – on another day, it would have gone in.
A re-shaped Morecambe started brighter in the second half and put the Workington side under concerted pressure for a while. Adam Lewis forced a fine save from goalkeeper Alex Mitchell, who had to dive full-length to his left to keep out a vicious strike. Then Jordan Slew missed a sitter with the goal at his mercy as a cross came in from the right and he failed to connect with it on the goal-line. This was after an hour and by that time, the Reds had put the ball in the back of the net only to see what looked like a perfectly legitimate goal to me at least chalked-off for offside. Undeterred, the hosts took the lead with a simply phenomenal strike by Josh Galloway with 79 minutes on the clock. From all of about 30 yards out, he unleashed a screamer which flew into the top right hand corner of sub Stuart Moore’s net despite the goalkeeper’s best endeavours to keep it out – nobody could have stopped a strike as perfect as this one was. But the home team’s lead lasted only three minutes. Charlie Brown took a free-kick from the Shrimps’ left and Jamie Scott met it imperiously to head home an excellent equaliser. So it ended one goal each.
At the end of the day, current Workington Manager Mark Fell must have been very happy with his team’s efforts. They were probably marginally the better team over the ninety minutes and certainly had the better chances. And as for Josh Galloway’s goal – I doubt any of us will see a better one this season. Sign him up, Derek!
Morecambe: 1Harry Burgoyne (C) (Stuart Moore 45’); 2 Luke Hendrie (Ross Millen (45’); 3 Adam Lewis (Kayden Harrack 73’); 4 Max Taylor (George Ray 45’); 5 Jamie Stott; 6 Tom White (David Tutonda 60’); 7 Jordan Slew (Yann Songo’o 73’); 8 Callum Jones; 9 `Triallist’ (actually Lee Angol, who played for the King at Bratfud); (Charlie Brown 45’); 10 Ben Tollitt; 11 Paul Lewis (Harvey Macadam 45’).
Friday, 26th July 2024. Morecambe 1-1 Blackburn Rovers.
Next up for Morecambe was a first home fixture against what was basically a mix of Blackburn Rovers’ Academy and reserve sides, including someone called Tom Bloxham (not the one who played for Morecambe last season on-loan from Shrewsbury.) (Blackburn’s Championship likely starting eleven were due to face Wigan a few hours later.)
Morecambe drew first blood in the summer sunshine when a Ben Tollitt shot was deflected by a Rovers’ defender and visiting goalkeeper Joe Hilton could only parry the ball into the path of Gwion Edwards, who made no mistake from point-blank range. But by half-time, the Rovers’ youngsters were level and one-each was the final score.
Morecambe: 1 Stuart Moore (C) (Harry Burgoyne 76’); 2 Ross Millen (Luke Hendrie 61’); 3 David Tutonda (Adam Lewis 61’); 4 Yann Songo’o (Kayden Harrack 61’); 5 George Ray (Jamie Stott 61’); 6 Max Taylor; 7 Harvey Macadam (Jordan Slew 61’); 8 Callum Jones; 9 Hallam Hope (Lee Angol 76’); 10 Ben Tollitt (Tom White 76’); 11 Gwion Edwards (Charlie Brown 76’).
Att: 2,236 (916 from Blackburn.)
Tuesday, 30th July 2024. Southport FC v Morecambe. Cancelled.
Football and everything it can mean to people was very much put into perspective by the mass knifings of very young girls by a seventeen-year-old lunatic in Southport on Monday, 29th July. The senseless slaughter left the town – and the country – in shock and the Shrimps’ game the next day against Jim Bentley’s National League North team was cancelled as a mark of respect. Southport’s next scheduled friendly – against FC United of Manchester – went ahead the following Saturday with both clubs paying their respects to six-year-old Bebe King; Elsie Dot Stancombe – who was just a year older – and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, who was only nine. These three utterly defenceless little kids were murdered during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class: an act of horror almost beyond belief. Southport FC responded with this official statement:
“The club can confirm that during Saturday’s fixture, we will be raising funds for Alder Hey Children’s Charity. To do this, the regular matchday 50/50 will operate slightly differently, with every penny raised from every ticket purchased acting as a donation to Alder Hey (Children’s Hospital) rather than a raffle entry. The club can further confirm that majority shareholders Big Help Group will match every penny raised during this fundraiser, to ensure maximum support is provided to continue Alder Hey’s life-saving work. Finally, the club wishes to pay special tribute to the emergency responders whose selfless dedication and heroism this week has been an inspiration to us all.”
What a contrast between these selfless men and women and the thugs of the self-styled `English Defence League’, who used this tragedy as an excuse to further terrify the population of Southport the same evening that Morecambe were supposed to play there by rioting.
Burton Albion 2:2 Morecambe. Saturday, 3rd August 2024.
The Shrimps’ final warm-up game of pre-season was in east Staffordshire at Burton Albion’s Pirelli Stadium: a repeat of the Brewers’ first-ever game in the EFL. This was probably Morecambe’s most serious test so far against a League One club which fielded a strong team on the day. The game was a lot more competitive than others had been so far. During the first half alone, two bookings were collected by the home team and one went to Hallam Hope.
The hosts had the first chance of the game and Stuart Moore pulled-off an excellent save after half an hour to keep out a strike by Ben Whitfield. Two minutes later, Stuart’s Opposite Number Max Crocombe did equally well to get down to his right to save from Harvey Macadam. But the visitors weren’t going to be denied for much longer. With thirty-two minutes on the clock, Gwion Edwards made good progress down the Morecambe left and found Ben Tollitt with a fine cross which Ben tapped home from close range. Jamie Stott then headed wide of the target when well placed before Tollitt doubled his tally for the day when Crocombe’s wayward clearance fell to him and he sent it back from whence it had come, leaving the home goalkeeper red-faced and way off his line. This was right on the stroke of half time and the visitors went back to the Dressing Rooms with a well-deserved 0-2 lead.
Derek shook-up the pack again in the second half, which saw Billy Bodin pull a goal back for Albion when he caught Moore out of his ground from the half way line in the seventieth minute. Then Burton equalised in the third minute of injury time when substitute Rumarn Burrell was played-in one-on-one with fellow sub Harry Burgoyne and slipped the ball past him. So it ended-up two goals each and we will leave the final word with Mark Robinson, the Burton Manager:
“The thing I’m happiest with is the challenge Morecambe gave us – it was absolutely perfect. Today we have come up against a really, really well-organised; well-structured side: it was ideal.”
Morecambe: 25 Stuart Moore (C) (1 Harry Burgoyne 83’); 2 Luke Hendrie (22 Ross Millen 79’); 23 David Tutonda (5 Max Taylor 79’); 12 Kayden Harrack (20 Charlie Brown 83’); 15 George Ray; 6 Jamie Stott; 18 Ben Tollitt (11 Jordan Slew 66’); 28 Callum Jones (24 Yann Songo’o (Y) 79’); 9 Hallam Hope (Y) (3 Adam Lewis 66’); 8 Harvey Macadam (4 Tom White 79’); 7 Gwion Edwards (10 Lee Angol 66’).
The Fixtures That Matter.
This is what is lined-up for the new season; everything obviously EFL League Two and 15.00hrs kick-off unless otherwise stated:
August
Sat 10 – Walsall (A)
Tues 13 – Carabao Cup Round One; Huddersfield Town (A); 19.45 k.o.
Sat 17 – Gillingham (H)
Sat 24 – Doncaster Rovers (A)
Wed 28 – Carabao Cup Round Two19.45 k.o.
Sat 31 – Newport County (H)
September
Sat 7 – Crewe Alexandra (A)
Sat 14 – Colchester United (H)
Wed 18 – Carabao Cup Round Three19.45 k.o.
Sat 21 – Fleetwood Town (A)
Wed 25 – Carabao Cup Round Three19.45 k.o.
Sat 28 – Notts County (H)
October
Tue 1 – Bradford City (H)
Sat 5 – Accrington Stanley (A)
Sat 12 – Barrow AFC (A)
Sat 19 – Milton Keynes Frauds (H)
Tue 22 – AFC Wimbledon (A) 19.45 k.o.
Sat 26 – Chesterfield (H) 12.30 because of Sky Sport coverage
Wed 30 – Carabao Cup Round Four19.45 k.o.
November
Sat 2 – Emirates FA Cup First Round Proper
Sat 9 – Harrogate Town (A) 12.30 because of Sky Sport coverage
Sat 16 – Port Vale (H)
Sat 23 – Swindon Town (A)
Sat 30 – Emirates FA Cup Second Round Proper
December
Tue 3 – Tranmere Rovers (A) 19.45 k.o.
Sat 7 – Grimsby Town (H)
Sat 14 – Cheltenham Town (A)
Wed 18 – Carabao Cup Round Five19.45 k.o.
Sat 21 – Bromley (H)
Thu 26 – Carlisle United (A)
Sun 29 – Salford City (A)
January
Wed 1 – Tranmere Rovers (H)
Sun 5 – Newport County (A) moved from Saturday because of Sky Sport coverage
Wed 8 – Carabao Cup Semi-Final (1) 19.45 k.o.
Sat 11 – Doncaster Rovers (H) / Emirates FA Cup Third Round Proper
Sat 18 – Crewe Alexandra (H)
Sat 25 – Colchester United (A)
Tue 28 – Bradford City (A) 19.45 k.o.
February
Sat 1 – Fleetwood Town (H)
Wed 5 – Carabao Cup Semi-Final (2) 19.45 k.o.
Sat 8 – Notts County (A) / Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round Proper
Sat 15 – Accrington Stanley (H)
Sat 22 – Walsall (H)
March
Sat 1 – Gillingham (A) / Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round Proper
Tue 4 – AFC Wimbledon (H) 19.45 k.o.
Sat 8 – Milton Keynes Plastics (A)
Sat 15 – Barrow AFC (H)
Sun 16 – Carabao Cup Final
Sat 22 – Port Vale (A)
Sat 29 – Swindon Town (H) / Emirates FA Cup Quarter-Final
April
Tue 1 – Cheltenham Town (H) 19.45 k.o.
Sat 5 – Grimsby Town (A)
Sat 12 – Carlisle United (H)
Fri 18 – Bromley (A)
Mon 21 – Salford City (H)
Sat 26 – Chesterfield (A) / Emirates FA Cup Semi Final
May
Sat 3 – Harrogate Town (H)
So the season starts seven days from now at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium.
See you there everybody!
shrimplythebestfootball 