Time to change

[fulwoodshrimp]

Surely the board needs to take a long hard look at what is going on. Team selections continue to be bizarre: the team is set up not to lose rather than win: there is a reluctance to blood young players; the attacking flair evident earlier in the season has been stifled with an obsession to tighten up in defence: some players don't seem to care: the management team don't seem imo to be able to motivate some of the side. If things are allowed to continue like this we are heading for big problems. We might just avoid relegation this season although that is by no means certain but next season if we lose a couple of our better players and we suffer the budget cut predicted then we are under threat to lose our league status. Something needs to change and quickly before our beloved club is destroyed.

[mrpotatohead]

Where were the ''fans'' who share your views last thursday at the fans forum?

If this was the general view of most ,or even ,quite a few, Morecambe fans, then why did Jim Bentley sit there for 40 minutes twiddling his thumbs , listening whilst fans asked the panel a host of questions regarding commercial management issues, Jims only ''Valid'' question was ''why don't you give the young players a run out'' by CC.

It is easy to see what goes wrong every season , we start off with a small squad of average players, pumped up, raring to go ,and we do ok for a couple of months, then with injuries , suspensions, overwork etc , we run out of steam, with no money to really freshen things up in january the rest of the season becomes an annual limp past the finishing post, we survive, and the cycle continues.

For as long as PMG and Jim Bentley can stomach continuing it.

[Gone_Shrimping]

I also asked a question albeit a written one regarding the defence along the lines of "Is Jim disappointed by the performance of the defence this season particularly the central defenders. Does he regret letting Mark Hughes leave bearing in mind last season the team conceded 52 goals in 46 games compared with 59 so far from 32 games".

I think Jim mumbled that in hindsight etc and the wages cost he thought he had done the right thing.

[mrpotatohead]

No he never mumbled anything, ''he clearly stated that given his budget he had one too many central defender on board, that he thought that the ones he was keeping were the best options, and that at the time , Hughes has been getting a bitof stick from some fans and he didn't hear any objections to letting him go!

[Gone_Shrimping]

No he never mumbled anything, ''he clearly stated that given his budget he had one too many central defender on board, that he thought that the ones he was keeping were the best options, and that at the time , Hughes has been getting a bitof stick from some fans and he didn't hear any objections to letting him go!

52 goals conceded in 46 games would suggest it was unwarranted "stick". I think we are now 62 conceded from 34.
He did say he thought they were the best options but this now doesn't seem to be the case.

[BerlinWaller]

There was a Morecambe FC before Jim and there will be one after it. Its been time for a change for ages now. I never went to the forum, not my thing. I have no desire to be a celebrity fan or to be able to show posts on here to my Director friends. I pay my money week in and week out, always have done and always will.

People complaining about Tactics but nobody dares blame Jim. We get told that there is nobody better out there? How is everyone so sure? How do you know who will apply for the job? We get told that Jim lives and breathes the club, I do not doubt that. What I do doubt is Jims ability to turn this around. I would rather see us go out with a fight rather than this excuse ridden whimper we have to endure nowadays.

If Jim is your mate, the I am sorry. Its time to go.

[SupermarketShrimp]

It is easy to see what goes wrong every season , we start off with a small squad of average players, pumped up, raring to go ,and we do ok for a couple of months, then with injuries , suspensions, overwork etc , we run out of steam, with no money to really freshen things up in january the rest of the season becomes an annual limp past the finishing post, we survive, and the cycle continues.

This, with bells on.

Get a new manager in now, he's going to want 4 new players. Jim probably wants them too and god knows we need it. Will they play for fresh air and orange juice? Probably not.

Get over the line in the division, SELL SOME BLOODY ADVERTISING AND INCREASE COMMERCIAL REVENUE and go again.

[halfwayprawn]

All about opinions, but i thought Hughes gave the ball away too much and took free kicks to quickly, they either went out of play, or too the opposition, putting us on the back foot to many times, also went to ground to quickly instead of shepherding the ball/player out of harms way.Yes he made some great stops and scored some good/vital goals but was found wanting when he went to stevenage. Dugdale has come in and maybe has not yet progressed into the player Jim thought he would.You say players don't seem to care,in your opinion who's the worst culprit.Get over the line in the division, SELL SOME BLOODY ADVERTISING AND INCREASE COMMERCIAL REVENUE is exactly whats needed.

[BoroRedShrimp]

I have got to the point like others that I have stopped caring. Unless things change on and off the pitch quickly we are heading back to the national league. Unless things change, I can't see how we are going to get out of this mess. It is not about being negative on here it is about sharing your concerns about the direction this club is going and for the future.

[KenH]

SELL SOME BLOODY ADVERTISING AND INCREASE COMMERCIAL REVENUE is exactly whats needed.

I fully agree, but it's still not enough. We're losing an average of half a million per year. You're not going to meet that deficit with more advertising and commercial revenue. Yes, it'll help and go someway towards reducing the losses, as will building offices in the Berlin wall and a new bar etc behind the Omega, but even then, half a million quid a year - dream on!

At the fan's forum, it was said that they'd break even with average crowds of 2,000. That sounds good, but that means presumably on the current low wages budget, so even with larger crowds, Jim wouldn't see much (if any) of a rise in his budget, meaning the same old, same old. (Not that average crowds of 2,000 would ever happen with the current playing style and results).

Losing half a million per year is a huge amount and we're running out of land/buildings to sell to cover it, and even if we start to break even, there are still the loans and debts to pay off from past years which financed previous losses. It's a very perilous state of affairs. A good cup run each year would make us far more money than a few more bookings in the W&L, a few extra advertising boards, or renting out a few offices.

I'm not at all sure a change in team management will cut it. I think the finances are dictating things and that a massive influx of new money is needed. If PMG can't fund it or can't raise it via partnerships, then it's probably time for him to sell up to someone who can. Break-even is a nice idea, but even if it happens, it's still same old, same old, as the playing budget just won't increase enough (if any) - if more was spent, then it'd be back to losses rather than break even.

It's the football that has to improve to get the crowds back, to get some decent money making cup runs, and in turn, with more spectators and the occasional televised game, it'd be a lot easier to sell advertising and sponsorship. However good are the marketing dept, it's ever harder to sell advertising hoardings and sponsorship in a ground that's getting emptier each season with precious few TV minutes. No doubt that's why it's hard for them to find a ground sponsor.

[sandgrown]

There was a Morecambe FC before Jim and there will be one after it. Its been time for a change for ages now. I never went to the forum, not my thing. I have no desire to be a celebrity fan or to be able to show posts on here to my Director friends. I pay my money week in and week out, always have done and always will.

People complaining about Tactics but nobody dares blame Jim. We get told that there is nobody better out there? How is everyone so sure? How do you know who will apply for the job? We get told that Jim lives and breathes the club, I do not doubt that. What I do doubt is Jims ability to turn this around. I would rather see us go out with a fight rather than this excuse ridden whimper we have to endure nowadays.

If Jim is your mate, the I am sorry. Its time to go.

good post, I'd had enough of the excuses after the Dagenham disgrace !

[RedRedWine]

No he never mumbled anything, ''he clearly stated that given his budget he had one too many central defender on board, that he thought that the ones he was keeping were the best options, and that at the time , Hughes has been getting a bitof stick from some fans and he didn't hear any objections to letting him go!

52 goals conceded in 46 games would suggest it was unwarranted "stick". I think we are now 62 conceded from 34.
He did say he thought they were the best options but this now doesn't seem to be the case.

Jim also said having the benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing; but at the time he made what he felt was the best decision for the club with regards to the squad and managing his budget. There is no hiding from it, our defence has been terrible all season long. It is costing us dearly. The only players who can take any credit so far are McGowan and Conlon (loanee from Burnley), everybody else needs to pull their finger out.

He also mentioned Amond as another example of a player he let go - stating that he felt at the time Barky was a better option for us.

[BoroRedShrimp]

There was a Morecambe FC before Jim and there will be one after it. Its been time for a change for ages now. I never went to the forum, not my thing. I have no desire to be a celebrity fan or to be able to show posts on here to my Director friends. I pay my money week in and week out, always have done and always will.

People complaining about Tactics but nobody dares blame Jim. We get told that there is nobody better out there? How is everyone so sure? How do you know who will apply for the job? We get told that Jim lives and breathes the club, I do not doubt that. What I do doubt is Jims ability to turn this around. I would rather see us go out with a fight rather than this excuse ridden whimper we have to endure nowadays.

If Jim is your mate, the I am sorry. Its time to go.

good post, I'd had enough of the excuses after the Dagenham disgrace !

+1. I agree we can't carry on like this. Jim is a legend but for him to take us to the football league then back to the national league, it would be a disaster. Think we need some positive news in the summer break, regarding investment.

[skeletor]

I too have lost faith since the Daggers defeat,it was the best chance for years to progress in the f a cup and raise some cash.But we threw it away!I find it hard now to get motivated to attend home games as I now expect to see another defeat each time and having been a supporter for nearly fifty years that is hard to come to terms with.Not many on here seem to think we are going to be relegated this season,but if teams put runs together as Yeovil are doing we are in great danger.I am seriously considering whether to renew my season ticket.

[Seasider9601]

We've never been relegated in our history. 96 years worth of NEVER being relegated.

We will not go down this season either.

I WILL be renewing my season ticket.

We take the rough, with the smooth.

[skeletor]

I recall a lot of rough times back in the 1970s/80s,but don't think we have ever had such a bad home record.this is the main reason why support is falling.I don't care about having a roof to stand under or a nice drinking area or anything,just want to be entertained and not lose so many games at home.

[BoroRedShrimp]

We've never been relegated in our history. 96 years worth of NEVER being relegated.

We will not go down this season either.

I WILL be renewing my season ticket.

We take the rough, with the smooth.

If we carry on losing like we are and York get a few wins in between we cannot guarantee staying up. We need a win quickly before the rot starts to set in.

[marky No.1]

I put this on the other thread

I am really worried where our next win is coming from.... and more worryingly, given the form we in, most of them still need to play us!

If the next 9 games pan out the same as the last 9, then the table will be like this with 3 games to go:

Newport.50
Yeovil...49
Stevenage..41
Morecambe..37
Hartlepool 34
York..........33
Dagenham..27

Our last 3 games are Stevenage, Exeter and York

[BerlinWaller]

If the next 9 games are anything like the previous 9, we will be playing in front of crowds of 600-700.

I love the way people know things on the forum. A new Manager will want to bring four players in. Would he? How do you know this?. A new manager would be like a new broom and sweep some of the dead wood away and bring in some fresh faces. This is Jims squad, regardless of budget, he has put it together. He picks the team, sets them up all week and sends them out to play. When we win its all "Jim is great and how dare you doubt him". When we lose its down to not selling enough advertising and we should get rid of everyone except Jim.

We are sleep walking towards the Conference. If it is not this season it will be next. Time we got our priorites right, stop playing at being a Commercial manager and worry about where our club is going!

[halftimeresults]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980%E2%8 ... ier_League
we could end up losing as many as this season

[Seasider9601]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980%E2%80%9381_Northern_Premier_League
we could end up losing as many as this season

Burton Albion finished 6th that season.

Whatever became of them??

[marky No.1]

Macclesfield were safe in 2011/12 with 10 games to go and got just 2 more points, sliding all the way from 14th in mid January. We were 13th on the 19th of January by the way

14 of the teams that season are no longer in L2

Can we have a win from somewhere please

[Seasider9601]

Those free coaches to Dagenham which were mentioned at the forum (but were so quickly dismissed and the subject changed rapidly) might become needed after all??

[jona77]

I personally think Jim has to shoulder a fair amount of responsibility for the teams performance. Does anyone really think that he knows his strongest 11 if everyone is fit and the correct formation? Yes we have a small squad and a low budget but you can't argue that Jim has made some strange decisions regarding starting lineups and substitutions. I also think some people don't think we are in a relegation fight. Personally I agree with other posters who suggest to play a more positive game and don't start a game playing for a draw. We haven't got the defence to manage this! I think another 12 points should see us safe but if we carry on playing this way I can't see us achieving anywhere near this! I have supported Morecambe for 30 years but I must admit I have skipped a few midweek games where I don't feel like I want to shell out £17 to watch the usual turgid crap on offer. Everyone wants to be entertained and unfortunately our attacking play is definitely being stifled in favour of a more defensive approach which plainly hasnt worked! I think it's time to try a more attacking approach as the defensive one has and is failing!

[George Dawes]

everybody, where all just repeating ourselves with these threads every week.