Morecambe FC memories thread

[Keith]

This.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRdJJkOzeo8

The Drummie photo, with the crowd on the pitch, is one of my all time favourite photos that I've ever taken. I've got it and the Jimbo applauding the North Stand on my wall.

I also like the two guys at the end, one sat in the dugout and the other in [presumably] his regular seat, both lost in their own thoughts.

[Keith]

I've got so many great memories from supporting Morecambe that I'd come up with different ones each time I was asked!

One that pings to mind as an 'unusual one' was Baz scoring to equalise v Portsmouth! I can't recall ever seeing a keeper score before, Schmeichel for Notts County with an overhead kick was the closest. When Barry scored, we all leaped up!

Which is a problem when you've forgotten that you are disabled and can't stand unaided!

Peter Day, previously sat next to me, now stood, bouncing, had also forgotten that I was disabled! As I was going back down on to my seat, in a rather ungainly manner, he grabbed me and bounced again! I now had Tigger bouncing and cheering and knocking me around, while I tried to work out if it was possible for me to fall in a safe manner rather than headfirst over the seat in front of me! Fortunately, I managed to grab the back of my seat and pull myself towards it when Peter finally let go! Euphoria & terror both experienced in a split second!

[redrobo]

I've got so many great memories from supporting Morecambe that I'd come up with different ones each time I was asked!

One that pings to mind as an 'unusual one' was Baz scoring to equalise v Portsmouth! I can't recall ever seeing a keeper score before, Schmeichel for Notts County with an overhead kick was the closest. When Barry scored, we all leaped up!

Which is a problem when you've forgotten that you are disabled and can't stand unaided!

Peter Day, previously sat next to me, now stood, bouncing, had also forgotten that I was disabled! As I was going back down on to my seat, in a rather ungainly manner, he grabbed me and bounced again! I now had Tigger bouncing and cheering and knocking me around, while I tried to work out if it was possible for me to fall in a safe manner rather than headfirst over the seat in front of me! Fortunately, I managed to grab the back of my seat and pull myself towards it when Peter finally let go! Euphoria & terror both experienced in a split second!

Memories, memories....but oh so happy memories

Wonder if we will ever get another crowd like that....

Maybe when we play the final game of a season that sees us playing for promotion....

[Seasider9601]

How about Andy Green's last minute equaliser at home to Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Trophy in January 1993?

That match saw the new floodlights at Christie Park used for the first time ever having seen the match kick off at 1pm at a murky CP.

Replay down at Wycombe on the Tuesday saw us go down 0-2.

[Potted Shrimp]

Good to see the thread get bumped, thought it would get lost in the analogues of history after some of the nonsense threads started over the last couple of days!

[Slanester]

I've got so many great memories from supporting Morecambe that I'd come up with different ones each time I was asked!

One that pings to mind as an 'unusual one' was Baz scoring to equalise v Portsmouth! I can't recall ever seeing a keeper score before, Schmeichel for Notts County with an overhead kick was the closest. When Barry scored, we all leaped up!

Which is a problem when you've forgotten that you are disabled and can't stand unaided!

Peter Day, previously sat next to me, now stood, bouncing, had also forgotten that I was disabled! As I was going back down on to my seat, in a rather ungainly manner, he grabbed me and bounced again! I now had Tigger bouncing and cheering and knocking me around, while I tried to work out if it was possible for me to fall in a safe manner rather than headfirst over the seat in front of me! Fortunately, I managed to grab the back of my seat and pull myself towards it when Peter finally let go! Euphoria & terror both experienced in a split second!

Some great reading on this thread, but that Keith, is brilliant. I can actually see the whole thing in my mind.

[Brian S]

Dad's collection of bricks & loo signs from the main stand.
Dwight York trying to give me his car keys.
Ralf Little spending a good hour after a charity match talking to fans.
The non-players grabbing all the best biscuits in the press room (portakabin near away end).

[Potted Shrimp]

Dwight York trying to give me his car keys.

interesting? Could you explain more?

[Lonesome Prawn]

When I was a young lad round about 1960 I went with my mates to a Cub Scout sports evening at Lancaster Road School field. After the event, and boys being boys, we decided to climb over a high wooden fence and when we dropped down on the other side found ourselves in a football ground.
There was a long, low, stand made of wood down one side of the pitch, a shed made of corrugated tin behind one goal and a big banking made of cinders on the side opposite the stand.
When I got home I asked my dad about it and he said it was the Morecambe Football Club ground, and we go along to a match if I wanted. So it was I went with my dad and my best mate to a match against a team called Marine, and started nearly 60 years of supporting the Shrimps.
The first memorable game I can recall attending was the FA Cup match against Weymouth in January 1962 - I remember sitting on the touch line along with all the other young lads and thinking we had equalised, only to find the goal had been disallowed!
Since then there have been loads of highlights with MFC (and lowlights!) topped by two visits to Wembley old and new.

[Keith]

Some great reading on this thread, but that Keith, is brilliant. I can actually see the whole thing in my mind.

How about Andy Green's last minute equaliser at home to Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Trophy in January 1993?

Last minute goals. Not only the Barry equaliser, but what about that incredible Crewe game? Some Crewe fans had to leave slightly early in order to get their train home. Apparently they were told at Lancaster station that they'd lost. They thought it was a wind up!

But my last minute memory goes back to the Lancashire Junior Cup final v Chorley (leading to the programme cover on the previous page). Way back before mobile phones. At Deepdale. Chorley winning. The cup on the touchline, complete with black & white ribbons. Deep in to injury time, Chorley have a corner. One of the two minibuses from The Pier Hotel decided to beat a the traffic and left the ground. The other bus load remaining. Instead of the ball being played short to kill the last twenty seconds, it was knocked in to the area. The ball was hoofed clear to (I think) Keith Galley, who sprinted towards the Chorley goal and equalised. Extra-time and Morecambe win. By the time the second minibus arrived back in Morecambe, it was full of joyful fans, unlike the first, miserable bus, more than an hour earlier!

Never leave early! I wonder if any Morecambe fans missed Barry's late equaliser by leaving early? Or more to the point, if they did, would they admit to it!!!

[Posh]

I remember we scored lots of goals against Altrincham at home that season too.

I think we beat them 6-4 at home in the League Cup (they were 1-0 up after just 10 seconds in the snow at Christie) and then we beat them 7-0 in the league with John Norman being absolutely outstanding.

That, after we lost 0-3 at their place early on in the season and we were utterly woeful.....

That season I tried to get my Dad to come along more often, so when I was up from London I took him to games. Not sure if I get this right but we saw us beat Sheffield FC 7-1, then Kettering 5-3 and then Gainsborough Trinity 6-2 including Coley scoring the fastest ever FA Cup hat-trick. After I went back down South my Dad went on his own for the first time and saw us beat Dover 4-1. I rang him and asked how it was and he said, “not going again, not enough goals.”

[Posh]

So many memories. Obviously one favourite is my first full season after moving back from London.

For a laugh, at the first away game we got a message read out on the tannoy for our friend Stevie Downs. He was 40 odd at the time and we got “congratulations on becoming a Grandad” read out at half time. Queue every single away game without one missing plus one home game and a few others we got him an announcement. Here’s a few I remember:

“Just returned from an expedition to the South Pole”. - Burton Albion
“First male referee in the North West Netball League” - ???
“Norminated for a BAFTA for best short animated film” - Gravesend & Northfleet
“First match after a delicate genital operation” - Leigh RMI
“Carpet Salesman of the Year” - Scarborough
“Celi Webber asks,’will you marry me?’” - Farnborough - Valentine’s Day

Great season.

[Brian S]

Dwight York trying to give me his car keys.

interesting? Could you explain more?

Rovers v Utd and he turned up 15 minutes before kick-off in some very low, noisy sports car. It was my job on the car park so he pulled up, said he needed to get to the dressing room and tried to hand me the keys to park it. Sadly we new he would be late and there was a space by G1 for him. He was coming back from injury, played about 70 minutes then put 3 in against Arsenal on the Saturday.

[Seasider9601]

How about Andy Green's last minute equaliser at home to Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Trophy in January 1993?

That match saw the new floodlights at Christie Park used for the first time ever having seen the match kick off at 1pm at a murky CP.

Replay down at Wycombe on the Tuesday saw us go down 0-2.

A good report from a Wycombe site about the two games. Worth a read for the memories....

"a pitch described as "Morecambe Bay with the tide out"

http://www.chairboys.co.uk/history/1992 ... 1993-1.htm

[Seasider9601]

Morecambe 6 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

Not sure who "Danny Charleton" was.......!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3099713.stm

[Seasider9601]

we saw us beat Sheffield FC 7-1

Yep, that Sheffield win ultimately saw us reach the 1st Round Proper in that 1996/97 season.

And then THIS happened.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU3ov-IL9o8

[Seasider9601]

8 seconds of Morecambe v Hull City footage from the FA Cup at CP in 1991.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlead0WhruA

[Richard Head]

So many to pick from. First away match at South Liverpool in the Lancashire Floodlit Trophy, 1-0 win if I remember correctly. The Senior Cup final win at Christie against an almost full strength Burnley side. FA Trophy win against Dartford. Play off win at Wembley followed a few months later by League Cup wins at Preston and Wolves.

All those and many more plus anytime we beat Lancaster, I've always hated those c*nts

[Seasider9601]

anytime we beat Lancaster, I've always hated those c*nts

+1.

My first ever Morecambe away game was at The Huge Chopper.

Lancashire ATS Trophy Quarter Final in the 1986/87 season.

We beat them 3-2 in front of a massive crowd (for that lot....) of approx. 700.

600 of which were from Morecambe.

[Richard Head]

I've always thought that my first Lancaster match was a Boxing Day 3-0 win at Christie sometime in the 60's but I could be completely wrong.

Then there was the FA cup tie that went to a second replay (the last ever second replay in the FA cup), 1-1 at the shithole then 2-2 and 4-1 at Christie

There was a midweek FA trophy match at Lancaster 2003? that sticks in my mind for some reason. A 1-0 win on a pitch that had a close resemblance to a plowed field

[black morse]

FA Trophy for me. Took my nephew who was about 9 at the time and he was fascinated by a fight between 2 fans at the end

[Seasider9601]

I remember an FA Trophy match at home to Barrow during the 1987/88 season.

First half we were attacking the Christie Avenue end and our fans were congregated behind the goal there.

Behind the other goal - the pre North Stand uncovered terrace -stood the massed ranks of Barrovians and their usual smattering of knobheads.

About 10 minutes into the game, a load of Morecambe's, errrr, knob heads entered the ground where the Barrow lot were stood and it all went off big style. I can distinctly to this very day hear the late Andy Hollins shouting from behind the goal when he saw the Morecambe lot enter the ground at the other end, "don't just stand there!! Get 'em now you soft b@$t@rd$....."

To compound the misery, we lost 2-4.

[Potted Shrimp]

There is a chance, that I may have seen Morecambe even earlier than I thought as I used to watch Horwich RMI (near to home) a few times with my dad at Grundy Hill and he is fairly sure one of those games was against Morecambe.

It would have been one of the first games I would ever watched, I remember distinctively the dramatic sloping pitch and old seated stand, Bolton Wanderers reserves or youth used to play there.

The ground was sold to property developers and the club moved to Leigh and became 'Leigh RMI' who I also used to watch quite regularly - they had a good run in the conference before sliding down the pyramid and pretty much disappearing completely after a brief revival as Leigh Genesis - their crowds even at Conference level were truly appalling and unsustainable.

Did any one here ever go to Grundy Hill, Horwich RMI?

[Alan]

Did any one here ever go to Grundy Hill, Horwich RMI?

Yes..plenty of times to watch Morecambe... and several times to be told the match was off due to unfit pitch!

Somebody will either back me up or correct me, but one memory from Grundy Hill is the arrival of Jim McCluskies first goal for us. After playing quite a few matches Jim had still not scored. It was not as if he was playing badly but every attempt seemed to be saved, blocked on the line or hit the post.
When his goal went in at Horwich I seem to remember most of the sizeable Morecambe following behind the goal invading the pitch to celebrate with him!

[paschahound]

I remember an FA Trophy match at home to Barrow during the 1987/88 season.

First half we were attacking the Christie Avenue end and our fans were congregated behind the goal there.

Behind the other goal - the pre North Stand uncovered terrace -stood the massed ranks of Barrovians and their usual smattering of knobheads.

About 10 minutes into the game, a load of Morecambe's, errrr, knob heads entered the ground where the Barrow lot were stood and it all went off big style. I can distinctly to this very day hear the late Andy Hollins shouting from behind the goal when he saw the Morecambe lot enter the ground at the other end, "don't just stand there!! Get 'em now you soft b@$t@rd$....."

To compound the misery, we lost 2-4.

A couple of their goals in that game were among the best I saw at CP. They were very long range shots from near the half way line.

The game against Barrow a year or two later was more impressive though. It finished 0-0 and we played 10 at the back. Marshal Petain would have been proud that day.