ENTERPRISE NATIONAL LEAGUE. TUESDAY, 30th DECEMBER 2025.
Talking Heads were right:
We’re On the Road to Nowhere…
A calendar year without parallel in Morecambe’s over one century-old history ended tonight at Brunton Park as Ashvir Singh Johal and his men tried to finish 2025 on a positive note.
This is what I wrote about familiar hosts Carlisle United earlier this year:
Carlisle United has a long and quite chequered history. During the 1970s they actually reached the then pinnacle of English football – the First Division – for one single season.
I can still remember watching Match of the Day when this happened. As the unmistakable and dulcet tones of Barry Davis explained to viewers where he was and why, the screen pictured a sheep. Then the camera panned-out to show a fell-side full of the woolly creatures until – at last – a river and then a very dilapidated football ground came into view. “This” said Barry, “Is Carlisle United!”
They started off quite well. I was working in London way back then and was at White Hart Lane on the opening day of the season watching Bobby Robson’s fantastic Ipswich Town team giving Spurs a lesson in the arts of the Beautiful Game: they completely outplayed Tottenham and beat them quite badly. But the home crowd was offered at least some cheer at half time by the news that Carlisle were winning against Chelsea – and finally won their first-ever match at this exalted level by two goals to nil at Stamford Bridge. This was on Saturday, 17th August 1974: a day that will live forever in Carlisle folklore. They then won their next two fixtures as well and found themselves at the top of the Division with maximum points after three games. But United’s initial success didn’t last and they were relegated at the rock bottom of the Division at the end of their adventure with the Big Boys of the English game.
Since then, they have found themselves out of the Football League altogether even before last season’s latest relegation and have flirted with the possibility of joining the Scottish League before finally battling their way back into the EFL. Brunton Park – Carlisle’s home for the last 116 years – can be found just 68 miles north of the Mazuma Mobile Stadium in Cumbria’s County Town.
I’ve already mentioned that the ground looked dilapidated even way back in the 1970s. It’s not improved with age – where else would you find awful floodlight pylons like these, for instance? – it looks as if, unable to afford gantries for the light clusters at the top, someone has just attached them willy-nilly to the supports instead – or that the gantries have actually fallen off…
During October 2018, myself and partner Annie went to see Morecambe win at Brunton Park – for a welcome change – by two goals to nil. Apart from the victory, the day was memorable for the weather – Storm Callum was wreaking havoc with the infrastructure of the north-west of England and – with a part of a railway embankment washed away on the West Coast Main Line near Kendal – we were extremely lucky to get back home by train after the game. But it was also memorable for this picture of stalwart Morecambe fans Jordan and his carer Sam:
I took this photo of them struggling against the elements on the bit of waste ground behind one of the goals that Carlisle reserved for disabled fans at the time. After it had been published on the old D3D4 Football site, it went viral. In no time at all, BBC Radio Five was on the case. They changed their schedules to present a programme specifically about disabled spaces at football grounds in England and Anna Foster – now a presenter on Radio Four’s `Today’ programme – did a live interview with Sam in which he spoke passionately but very sensibly about the issue.
The ownership at the club were unmoved. They said that all of Brunton Park basically needed knocking down updating and that visiting disabled fans could basically lump it – or sit with the Carlisle contingent in more sheltered parts of the stadium. When this point was put to Sam on live radio, he explained that the whole point of taking Jordan to football matches was that he could enjoy a sense of belonging – with fellow Morecambe supporters, not with strangers – a point that was clearly lost on the hard-hearted hierarchy at United. The mass of Blues fans were outraged by this, to their considerable credit – and rebelled. This is what the Carlisle United Disabled Supporters Group had to say about it in December 2018:
“The low point of the year had to be the publicity the club received about the treatment of visiting wheelchair fans at the Morecambe game. The match had taken place in torrential rain and photos of a young boy sitting in the rain had, rightly, embarrassed us all.
I went down to Brunton Park on the Monday morning after the match and I was assured that the Morecambe fans were, on three separate occasions, offered the chance to move to a dry area but they chose to remain in the uncovered area in the Waterworks End.
I have to be fair and say the bad publicity was justified. The problem of away fans in an area where there was no shelter had been known about for some time. Now thankfully that problem has been addressed.
The club provided a roofed area for two wheelchairs at the bottom of the Pioneer Stand which was available for use before the next home game. Shelter4lessprovided the club with an excellent shelter free of charge. It arrived flat packed and I would like to thank the groundstaff for their sterling efforts in putting it together and installing it in situ at the Pioneer Stand side of the Waterworks End.”
So next time we went to watch Morecambe at Brunton Park – thanks to their efforts – there was at least a shelter to keep all wheelchair users at least a little bit dry during stormy weather. And someone I can think of was very happy about this…
Anyway: United was founded as the result of the merger or collapse of other clubs in the city in 1904 and started playing at Brunton Park in 1909. They initially played in both Divisions of the Lancashire Combination but then transferred to the North Eastern League during 1910. Less than eighteen years later – after being Champions of the north Eastern League at least once – they were elected to the Football League.
They spent exactly three decades from 1928 in the lowest tier of the EFL: initially the Third Division North and latterly in the Fourth Division after the League was shaken-up during 1958. They actually won this Division in 1956 and then were immediately promoted to the Second Division (what is now known as the Championship.) In 1974 – as we have seen – they went one stage better – to the very pinnacle of English league football; the First Division. But that was as good as it got and they lasted only one season before being relegated again to the Third Division in 1978. After that, they rallied briefly but both 1986 and 1987 saw further relegations which took them back to the bottom Division all over again. Crises and dodgy owners have come and gone since – as Carlisle themselves have come and gone from the EFL. They were relegated for the first time in 2004 but they should also have gone down at the end of the 1991-92 season, when they came bottom of the entire EFL but were saved by the collapse of Aldershot during the campaign.
Last season, the Cumbrians accompanied Morecambe out of League Two with the unwanted distinction of being the second worst team in the entire EFL. This was their second demotion in a row. But one of the contrasts with our club is that – whilst we have spent literally no money whatsoever on transfer fees over the last twelve months (and actually far longer), Carlisle has invested well over a million pounds in its squad. But the city is much bigger than our little seaside resort and the United fan base is several times larger as well. This is reflected in Morecambe’s pretty dire record against the Blues: only five wins in twenty-five major games as opposed to thirteen for United plus other losses for the Shrimps in minor cup competitions and friendlies over the years.
For what purpose, though? You sometimes wonder if the club’s nickname – the Blues – mirrors the effect it has had on its long-suffering fans over the decades. United’s achievements on the field do not reflect the potential imbalance in resources between themselves and a lot of other English clubs. The only competition they have ever thrived in is the Football League Trophy. They reached the Final in 1995; 2003; 2006 and 2001 (losing to Birmingham City; Bristol City; Swansea and Southampton in succession). But they actually won it in 1997 (beating Colchester United on penalties after a scoreless 120 minutes) and then again in 2010 (when they defeated Brentford one-nil.) This season, they will have another go at winning the FA Trophy, which has so far eluded them.
Far too many players have worn both the blue of Carlisle and the red of Morecambe over the years to be listed here. But one worthy of a special mention is Carlisle Captain of last season and former Morecambe Skipper Sam Lavelle. He was a real asset at our club both on and off the field and a real credit to himself and his family (his father, Ben also once played for the Shrimps) into the bargain.
Morecambe will play Carlisle United at Brunton Park onTuesday, 30th December 2025 at quarter to eight in the evening. The return fixture at the Maz will be played on Easter Monday, 6th April 2026.
United were fifth in the league and with hopes of immediately bouncing back into League Two in the summer. They have won three and lost two of their last six league games, emulating their opponents’ performance against Gateshead in the FA Trophy a couple of weeks ago with a similar 0-3 win in the north-east on Boxing Day.
Morecambe’s task, on the other hand, was to simply survive in the National League this term. The signs were not all that promising prior to the game. The Shrimps found themselves only two places above the absolute bottom of the league, a massive 29 points behind this evening’s hosts. Although they acquitted themselves well against leaders Rochdale last time out on Boxing Day, they still ended-up losing 1-2 at home: their fourteenth loss so far this league campaign.
For a welcome change, I can find no pre-match thoughts from the Morecambe Manager anywhere on the internet – not that I looked very hard to be honest. But we already know what these would be: platitudes about work in the video room; mindfulness; tactical awareness and the usual emphasis on theoretical stuff instead of physical fitness or actually playing practice matches against each other. Equally, Carlisle Manager Mark Hughes seems to have been similarly silent about what he expected from his team this evening.
It was dry but perishingly cold as the game kicked-off and the pitch looked more white than green as the game wore on as Jack Frost got his icy fingers into the surface.
The visitors asked nearly all the questions for the first forty-five minutes. The natives grew restless at times as Morecambe pressed United and repeatedly attacked down both flanks. Having said that, United had the first strike on goal as Jordan Jones forced Jamal Blackman to tip his long-range shot over the bar with ten minutes played. The chance was created as Skipper Alie Sesay gave the ball away with a poor pass from the centre of the away defence straight to the Carlisle player: a bad habit he really needs to address because he keeps on doing it. Jack Nolan immediately got away on the Morecambe right but sent a hopeless shot way off target. Home stopper Gabriel Breeze was forced to gather a number of crosses, mostly from the Shrimps’ right, where Emmerson Sutton was active all half. The Carlisle goalkeeper then saved a shot from Ben Tollitt with a quarter of an hour played. But a warning of things to come arrived after 22 minutes when Regan Linney sent a cross from the United left over to Luke Armstrong, who drew an excellent save from Blackman at the cost of a corner. Up the other end, Sutton did really well to reach a long pass upfield on the right shortly afterwards. His low cross into the centre had Breeze scrabbling around on the ground trying to deal with the ball as Rolando Aarons looked on but made no serious attempt to get to it – but Blues’ defenders managed to clear the danger in any case. Emmerson was again involved in the best chance of the game so far. He forced the Carlisle goalkeeper to make an excellent save after 36 minutes and you would expect Tollitt to wallop the rebound home but he inexplicably hit the ball over the bar instead when well placed and unmarked. And so it went on: Morecambe asking almost all of the questions and enjoying the bulk of the possession. Until it all went wrong in injury time…
Linney got away on the Carlisle left and – as Sutton stood too far off him, found an unmarked Armstrong lurking with intent in the away penalty area with a perfect pass to score far too easily. Where was the marking in the centre of the pitch?
So United returned to the Dressing Rooms with a lead they barely deserved. But – crucially – they took their big chance when it arrived – and Morecambe didn’t.
The hosts played a lot better during the second half and their victory never really looked to be in serious doubt despite another good save from Breeze to deny Sutton with 66 minutes on the clock. United got the ball in the net again shortly after the re-start only to have it ruled-out for a foul on the visiting goalkeeper, who I thought had actually misjudged the flight of the ball and collided with one of his own players: Jack Nolan. Blackman then made several good saves from Armstrong, Harvey Macadam (playing against his former club) and repeatedly from Linney as the match grew ever older. But he was beaten all ends up by a looping shot from distance by substitute Stephen Wearne which bounced off his crossbar to his left during the eighty-third minute. By this time, though, the game was already won.
Once again, this wasn’t a totally shambolic performance by the men in the whitish strip. But it wasn’t good enough either. Playing for almost seventy-minutes without an effective centre forward yet again does not make any sense – but Ashvir Singh Johal persists in playing Rolando Aarons even though this player offers little or nothing game after predictable game, week after depressing week. You can’t play with ten men and expect to win – so why does the Manager keep doing it? Another persistent fault in Morecambe’s performances under Ashvir is their obvious inability to play at full throttle for ninety minutes. In the second half tonight – as the temperature continued to drop well below freezing – the Shrimps never once were able to replicate the tempo with which they had competed throughout the first. The individual players clearly aren’t fit enough to do so. Half way through a season, this is unacceptable. But nothing changes: this is yet another obvious problem with his players which Mr Johal simply does not address. With him and his unchanging tactics at the helm, Morecambe remain well and truly on the road to nowhere: they will be relegated without any doubt next year if this man remains in charge. Despite the loss, Morecambe remain in twenty-second place in the National League tonight. Carlisle go up to fourth in the table.
So how did Ash attempt to justify yet another loss – the fifteenth out of twenty-five league matches so far – this time? He did it with the predictable mix of wishful thinking and avoidance of any culpability which we have become accustomed to. He said of the goal that decided the match:
“I think it changed the dynamic of the whole game. We were on the front foot before they scored. We were the dominant team. We could have scored more than one goal. The game was all in their half. In the second half we had the ball around their box a lot. There were moments when we could have created chances and scored. We can take a lot of positives from the performance today. Overall, I’m pleased about the number of clear-cut chances we limited them to. We were quite solid today. The players have given their all. We’re close to having a real good game.”
So that’s it: the end of another turbulent year in the life of Morecambe Football Club. I think the only way to get your head around what’s happened during the last twelve months is to try to see the funny side of it. Here’s my attempt, with a second- and final – instalment tomorrow; New Year’s Eve:
Carlisle United: 1 Gabriel Breeze; 5 Morgan Feeney (C); 6 Aaron Hayden; 10 Regan Linney (Y) (26 Bevis Mugabi 95’); 14 Elliot Embleton (16 Stephen Wearne 67’); 18 Jack Ellis; 20 Alex Gilliead; 21 Jordan Jones (8 Callum Whelan 45’); 22 Josh Williams 29 Luke Armstrong (9 Georgie Kelly 76’); 37 Harvey Macadam.
Subs not used: 25 Harry Lewis; 7 David Ajiboye; 15 Sam Murray.
Morecambe: 40 Jamal Blackman; 5 Maldini Kacurri (Y); 6 Ludwig Francillette (Y); 8 Miguel Azeez; 12 Rolando Aarons (11 Admiral Muskwe 65’); 14 Alie Sesay (C) (3 Raheem Conte 85’); 18 Ben Tollitt (Y); 33 Arjan Raikhy (17 Paul Lewis 74’); 28 Emmerson Sutton (15 Ben Williams 85’); 32 George Thomas (26 Elijah Dixon-Bonner 75’); 36 Jack Nolan.
Subs not used: 1 Archie Mair; 2 Lewis Payne.
Ref: Aaron Bannister.
Att: 8,356 (639 from Morecambe.)
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