Our keeper.

[Phoenix Shrimp 2017]

BR when fit is our No 1 keeper. No ifs and buts he has served us well for several seasons and is No 1. Mark has been a revelation since Barrys' injury and has performed heroics at times. Without doubt he is one of the reasons we are now looking safe for another season.However he was brought in from the nether regions of non league to be a solid number 2 and has filled that role superbly. I would guess he is disappointed but philosophical at losing his place today. Hopefully he will still be with us next season giving us a very solid base at keeper, but having raised his profile who knows someone may come in for him and if he does leave he goes with our heartfelt good wishes and respect.

[mrpotatohead]

Mark came here as deputy keeper, when his opportunity to play arose, he took it, Baz has recovered but has patiently waited until the manager saw fit to bring him back in, none of us know what Jim's plans are regarding the number one shirt next season, or indeed if Mark or Barry will be here or not, comments about being "disgusted" are pathetic as Barry is fully entitled to a bit of loyalty the club given his ability and track record.

[redrobo]

Not going to change my thoughts on this subject.

If Mark had played badly week in, week out then ok. But he deserved a bit of loyalty after the numerous man of the match performances.

Almost to a man the decision didn't meet with approval on our pre match table.

[Gone_Shrimping]

The right decision to restore Baz in my humble opinion.

Jim sees them both in training so can gauge how they are both shaping up.

It's good that we have a deputy who can really push Baz compared with some of the reserve keepers we have had in recent seasons. I thought Halstead signed for 2 years but an anorak will no doubt know.

I also think Baz is much more vocal and organises the back line.

[Keith]

Not going to change my thoughts on this subject.

If Mark had played badly week in, week out then ok. But he deserved a bit of loyalty after the numerous man of the match performances.

So as a what if...

What if Mark has already been offered a contract for next season and turned it down because he's had a better offer somewhere else? Meanwhile, Barry is now fully fit and staying with us next season. Would you still have Baz sat on the bench going rusty, while Mark is getting time in before going somewhere else?

No inside information or anything like that... not saying this is what's happening. Simply pointing out that there are lots of other things that go on behind the scenes that we have no way of knowing. If the hypothetical that I described was true, then I'd say dropping Mark was definitely the correct thing to do.

[Westgate Wanderer]

What if he hasn't yet had any contract discussions, and after being dropped after playing an important part in some of our rare victories he might think charming! Now asking his agent to find prospective employers

[Caton83]

I do happen to know -
Mark has not been offered a deal yet, which applies to most others as well, until which league has been decided for next season. He has been told that he is wanted for next season, although any player ( in form ), getting dropped might think twice before signing any future deal, as what is the point of training and playing well, if you are going to be dropped as soon as the "better", "fans favourite" player returns to fitness.
I do know that up until being dropped yesterday, he saw himself here for the foreseeable future, although that may have changed now.
I do know that he is weighing up his options as of now
I do know that he came out of the shadows to be an able number one, and wont want to go back to being a number two again.
I do know that i am still a massive fan of Barry and believe that he will be here next season
I don't know what sort of future deal Baz has been/will be offered next sesson

[marky No.1]

Can't see us being mathematically safe before Easter, so a few weeks yet before the players can be offered contracts.
Mark signed a 1 year deal last summer, most of our players are up at the end of the season so a busy time ahead

[Keith]

I do know that he came out of the shadows to be an able number one, and wont want to go back to being a number two again.
I do know that i am still a massive fan of Barry and believe that he will be here next season
I don't know what sort of future deal Baz has been/will be offered next season

I can't see us keeping both of them, unless Barry is going to do more coaching work, possibly with the increased academy? Their standard is not that dissimilar. If both are at their best, Barry is probably still the better, although I've been really impressed by Mark, so not much in it. There will be lots of things to weigh up now. How much longer can Barry be a League Two standard keeper? Currently one of the best in the league but for how much longer? How fit is he? Could it even be, that the management (& Barry himself) brought him back in now so they can look at how well he's recovered after the injuries? Can his body keep taking the pasting? Will he come through the next few games without any pain or problems?

If Barry had (for argument sake) three seasons left in him at this standard, then he'd be kept. On the other hand, if next season was likely to be his last, then I'd rather we kept Mark...

The point I was trying to make is that it may not be as clear cut as was suggested earlier in this thread.

[Potted Shrimp]

Was a shame that Australian lad had to go he was a good back up option also.

[Ispyshrimp]

think this is a hard call

thought Mark has done brilliantly for us since Barry got injured and TBH managed to secure us points by his performances.
Barry is a bit more vocal but wasn't over impressed by some of his kicking but did notice his distribution was quicker than normal.
both good keepers but the future needs must be thought of at the same time

[redrobo]

In JB's post match interview v Crawley, he said that he thought Baz did well.....for me he didn't do anything special as their forwards didn't pose much threat but in view of the thoughts about Baz replacing Mark, I'm not surprised JB came out with that comment.

https://www.morecambefc.com/news/2019/a ... rformance/

[Wild Bill]

Hard call, but Baz does seem to have a bit more of a presence and is a better kicker.

After all he has done for the Club he also deserves a bit of loyalty.

[Sakhalin Shrimp]

Definitely more vocal organising the defence.

[Niborian_Shrimp]

I noticed that when defending corners Baz would grab Oates by the shoulders and plant him directly where he wanted him to be.
So definetly a bigger presence but that is to be expected given Baz is also the captian when he is on.

[Slanester]

Plenty of very relevant and fair comments on here about the two keepers. I am a big fan of Barry, he deserves the utmost respect, and is a Morecambe “legend.”
Without knowing the ins and outs of what’s going off behind the scenes, in training.....etc. I just really hope that the decision to drop Mark proves to be the right one, and doesn’t cost us, including for the future(??)