FA TROPHY. SATURDAY, 13th DECEMBER 2025.

FA Trophy Win at Gateshead.

You know, I’ve never watched Eastenders or Emmerdale and have little interest in Coronation Street either. But who needs to watch any Soap Opera when you are a supporter of Morecambe Football Club? – the Plot Twists and Shady Goings-On there put even the most outlandish story lines to be hatched in Albert Square or Weatherfield firmly in the shade.

So what’s the latest?

The club was shaken just over a week ago when the man who has been front-and-centre in Panjab Warriors’ take-over of our club (and was Director of Communications at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium) – Gurpreet Singh Rehal– started making the news instead of reporting on it. He was accused of links with outlawed Indian `terrorist’ groups and sanctioned by HM Treasury, including a ban from being a Director of any business in the UK.

His former associates on the Board at Morecambe disowned him with almost indecent haste and a subsequent investigation by the Shrimps Trust has concluded:

“We appreciate that Gurpreet was visible for key moments such as the sale completion, this is simply as he lived closest to the club and could therefore attend.”

Is it just me who sees this `explanation’ as a bit possibly disingenuous and at least flimsy? There must be more to it, mustn’t there – surely?

Whatever, long-term Directors and former Co-Chairmen of the club, local businessmen Graham Howse and Rod Taylor, have resigned from the Board- for the third time this year. In the week following `terrorist’ rumours at our club, they released a joint statement of which the following is a part (I think I should explain that the word `fiduciary’ is a legal term meaning `involving trust, especially with regard to the relationship between a trustee and a beneficiary’):

“We can no longer continue in our current roles. We are not included in operational, financial, or strategic matters at the club which conflicts with our fiduciary responsibilities as directors of a limited company.

The club is haemorrhaging key staff, the General Manager has resigned, as has the Finance Manager, Head Chef, Academy Manager and now our Senior Safeguarding Manager and HR Consultant, and these roles are yet to be filled. Following the departure of the Commercial Manager, interviews took place for a Business Development lead, yet weeks later, no appointment has been made to fill this crucial role.”

“Who ate all the Pies?” – nobody, apparently – it looks like there aren’t going to be any in the absence of a Head Chef, doesn’t it? All joking aside though, this pretty damning indictment of how Panjab Warriors are running our club provoked the following statement from the owners last Monday:

“AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SUPPORTERS OF MORECAMBE FOOTBALL CLUB.

We took on the responsibility of owning this club because we believe in its potential and in this community. That responsibility requires strong leadership, stability, and decisive action, and over the past few weeks, the club has not met that standard. That must change, and it will.

Dear Shrimps fans,

There has been unacceptable disruption, particularly in key operational roles. The departure of valued staff has created uncertainty, and communication from the Board has not been good enough. We take full accountability for that, and we are acting immediately to restore stability.

We also recognise the impact of the recent resignation of Rod Taylor and Graham Howse. We thank them for their decades of dedicated service to Morecambe FC, and we understand the seriousness of the concerns they raised. We are addressing those concerns directly through stronger governance, clearer leadership structure, and rapid recruitment into critical positions.

To be absolutely clear on one point: an associate who recently appeared around the club had no financial or operational role in Morecambe FC. His involvement has been fully terminated. We will not allow anyone to damage the integrity or reputation of this club.

This is what is happening now:

• Interim operational leads appointed to ensure continuity in Finance, HR and Safeguarding
• Permanent recruitment underway for key roles, with first appointments to be confirmed within the next 3–4 weeks
• A strengthened Board governance structure, with clear oversight and weekly executive reviews
• Full support for the football department, including resources for the January window and performance improvements on the pitch
• Communication reset, including monthly updates and open dialogue with supporters

Our commitment to this club is long-term, and we continue to fund operations while we implement these changes. We are putting in structure where there was none, adding expertise where it is missing, and setting the foundations for a sustainable, ambitious future.

We are not asking for blind trust. We are asking you to hold us to the commitments we are setting out today.

You will see us more.
You will hear from us more.
And you will see improvements quickly.

We will be sitting down with the Shrimps Trust podcast as an ownership group, and we will engage directly with fans at the Forum in January. This is your club, and you deserve clarity, honesty and a plan you can believe in.

We are taking control of this situation and driving Morecambe FC forward. Thank you for your passion, your loyalty, and your belief in this club.

Together, we move forward, stronger.

Kuljit Singh Momi
Chairman
Morecambe Football Club

We need to remember that virtually all the promises made above were originally made by now persona (personum?)-non-grata Gurpreet Singh Rehal when the Panjabs took control of the club originally. Will things improve this time? Time will tell…

However, with the latest melodrama being enacted off the field, things continue to go from bad to worse on it. What has been striking by its total absence during the latest shenanigans at Morecambe has been any criticism by the owners of the man they have appointed as apparently invulnerable Manager: Ashvir Singh Johal. He has proved to be a totally disastrous appointment for the club – and rumours of him swearing at a Morecambe fan after the latest humiliation against Boston United last week (a 0-3 home reverse) really don’t help his predicament.

Gateshead’s is a poor team: just a single point above Morecambe in the National League relegation zone (albeit with a game in hand), having lost five of their last six league matches and picking-up a single point in their last six. Last Saturday, they were outclassed at home in the FA Cup by League Two Walsall, who won 0-2 – a score that hardly underlines the Sadlers’ total superiority in the game. Yet this side played the Shrimps off the park, scoring four goals in the opening twelve minutes in the league fixture between them at the Maz last September and finally winning 2-5. It’s worth remembering Manager Ash’s typically complacent reaction to this result after the game:

“The first twelve minutes and the rest of the game were two completely different games. We started very badly. That’s not the sort of team we want to be. Being 4-0 down after 12 minutes: that can never happen again. For everybody that’s paid to watch and support us, that doesn’t represent Morecambe and it wasn’t good enough. We were sloppy; we didn’t win many duels – but after that we were ok.”

Despite this statement, Morecambe’s performances on the field have continued to be sloppy and very far from being even remotely good enough to keep them in the highest level of the non-league Pyramid in English football. Unless the owners act soon to get rid of the Manager or at least move him to one side as an experienced Coach takes over, Morecambe will certainly be relegated for the third time in four years at the end of this season.

So what did our hosts think about the FA Trophy clash prior to it? For enlightenment, I looked on the Facebook feed of HeedArmy.co.uk (eight members). Oh dear – the last posting was in 2011. Heed Army fans’ forum doesn’t even mention Morecambe. And their official webpage and X feed tells us nothing either. So let’s guess this game’s significance from the opposition’s point of view. Gateshead Head Coach Alun Armstong is under pressure. His team keep losing and – at every other club in Britain except ours apparently – that means an inevitable outcome for the man in charge: the sack. So victory for the Heed’s Boss was imperative today – if only to give Mr Armstrong a bit of breathing space.

Morecambe lined-up with a markedly different starting eleven to usual. With goalkeeper Archie Mair apparently `unavailable’ and fellow-stopper Jamal Blackman injured, emergency signing Myles Boney went straight into the team between the sticks. Raheem Conte was chosen in the defence for the first time in ages. Alie Sesay wore the Captain’s armband as well this afternoon.

The Gateshead International Stadium is actually an athletics arena with one huge covered stand and a running track around the playing surface. This huge bowl of a ground provided an almost eerie setting for the handful of spectators who bothered to attend this afternoon. It was grey overhead and pretty windy but at least the rain held off as the Third Round FA Trophy game got underway.

The first chance fell to Rolando Aarons after about three minutes but – all too predictably – a player who has never failed to disappoint in a Morecambe shirt couldn’t get the ball under control and the opportunity was wasted. The visitors then frittered away another chance when Jack Nolan swung the first corner of the game straight out of touch into the side netting with five minutes played.

After a quarter of an hour, Jacob Butterfield took a free-kick for the hosts which defender Kenton Richardson headed wide of the target when he was unmarked and should have done better. And so it went on: a poor game played by two weak teams in a ground totally devoid of atmosphere. Aarons had failed to control the ball on three occasions already after just 22 minutes – and each time, he gave away a free-kick – which must be some sort of record, surely… By the break, he had conceded at least one more and offered nothing whatsoever going forwards as he constantly failed to get the ball under control. You really had to wonder – yet again – why the Manager had started with a man who has always been a liability to his team in the first place.

In the 34^th minute, the tedium was finally relieved as Jack Nolan latched onto a good pass and walloped the ball low past home stopper Preston Leech possibly via a slight deflection to put the Shrimps ahead in a really poor match when any skill or even a decent move was a rarity. An exception arrived with 41 minutes on the clock when the visitors went further ahead. Miguel Azeez played a superb ball to Ben Tollitt, who got away down the Morecambe left and sent over a cross which George Thomas controlled with his back to goal. The Welshman then spun and shot in one movement to leave Leech clutching at thin air as the ball swept past him into the net.

So the Shrimps returned to the Dressing Rooms in a really unusual position – actually winning a football match. Gateshead proved that things could be even worse than they already are at Morecambe with a truly feeble display which saw them booed-off at half time.

A two-goal lead became three for the Shrimps just ninety seconds after the re-start when Azeez scored direct from a corner. Boney made a good stop with his leg when he made his first save of the game following a shot from Kain Adom after fifty minutes. Paul Lewis should have scored after he was presented an open goal after Leech had made a good save from Aarons of all people with 55 minutes played. Instead, he blasted the ball over the bar.

The Heed hit the crossbar with a header by Richardson from a corner which Morecambe’s debutant goalkeeper got a key touch to with 72 minutes gone. Boney also made a good save from substitute Callum Bone with about ten minutes left. But he must have been very happy to go back to the Dressing Rooms with a Clean Sheet in his first game.

So Morecambe cruise through to the Fourth Round draw next week. It’s difficult to get excited about a victory against as poor a team as Gateshead are at the moment. But nil-three is a really good score and the players must be congratulated for their performance today.

Was it the start of a renaissance by Ash and his men?

I personally think it’s far too late for that and the Morecambe Manager emphasised afterwards that `a lot’ of the work he had done with the team in preparation for today’s fixture was effectively in the classroom rather than on the training ground. In doing this, he showed yet again that determination – or perhaps pig-headed arrogance – that it’s his way or the Highway as far as tactics and strategy are concerned. He also talked – as has become his habit – about what might have been, rather than how they actually were at the end of the game. So clearly, his way of doing things and even talking about them is not going to change. This is what the Ash said about the actual game once it was over:

“I thought defensively we were solid. From the start of the game to half-time we were a little more aggressive and defensively, we won a lot of duels. That was a big improvement from last week. In the final third today, the quality of the players showed. How can we reset and stay focused? – that was part of the plan today. In this game, we created lots of chances. We could have created more; we could have scored more. We could have scored two more goals.”

Gateshead: 13 Preston Leech; 3 David Ferguson; 4 Aidan Elliot-Wheeler; 5 Kenton Richardson (C); 7 Kain Adom; 9 Dom Telford (14 Frank Nouble 60’); 10 Jacob Butterfield (17 Josh Home 69’); 11 Tyrelle Newton (21 Kyle Hurst 45’); 20 Fenton John (22 Curtis Edwards 69’); 27 Kian Pennant; 34 Max Melbourne (35 Callum Bone 78’).

Subs not used: 15 Ibrahim Bakare; 31 Ben Williams.

Morecambe:  41 Myles Boney; 2 Lewis Payne; 3 Raheem Conte (Y) (5 Maldini Kacurri 62’); 6 Ludwig Francillette; 8 Miguel Azeez (Y) (29 Elijah Dixon-Bonner 71’); 12 Rolando Aarons; 14 Alie Sesay (C); 17 Paul Lewis (Y) (19 Ma’Kel Bogle-Campbell 76’); 18 Ben Tollitt (38 Elijah Vilchez 87’); 32 George Thomas; 36 Jack Nolan (28 Emmerson Sutton 81’).

Subs not used: 25 Alfie Scales; 9 Harrison Panayiotou.

Ref: Unknown.

Att: 363 (103 from Morecambe).