What can we do?

[black morse]

I have e-mailed Shrimps Trust and, as a member, suggested they read Keith's proposals and take the lead in this.

[fulwoodshrimp]

I asked what can we do? This idea is a good one and I too would hope the idea gets the Trusts support. I would fund a For Sale Banner if anyone can get one produced. The only worry is that it has large support. It would be an embarassment if it is not widely supported by shrimp fans. Could we ask Tyson to lead the march? Does the MP have a role especially in attracting publicity? Lets get this initiative off the ground and lets march to the ground.

[black morse]

The MP must surely give his full support to this with an election on the way.

So far as the volume of support. If it is not forthcoming then we would fully deserve whatever we end up with!

[Keith]

The only worry is that it has large support. It would be an embarassment if it is not widely supported by shrimp fans. Could we ask Tyson to lead the march? Does the MP have a role especially in attracting publicity? Lets get this initiative off the ground and lets march to the ground.

That really is the key issue. We'd need a minimum of 200 fans, preferably a LOT more. Thirty people and a dog would actually be even worse than doing nothing. But, 500 fans, with a drum, singing, carrying 'For Sale' signs, and getting some favourable TV coverage could be useful. And, if nothing else, we'd feel like we were doing something positive. No disruption at the game itself.

[Phil Anderer]

The MP must surely give his full support to this with an election on the way.

So far as the volume of support. If it is not forthcoming then we would fully deserve whatever we end up with!

Even if Morris doesn't get involved, try the Labour and Lib Dem candidates for the next election I'm sure they'd love it if they turned up to support the community and Morris had something more important on.

[Old Man Kensey]

Getting the information out on the 'Socials' will help with numbers. It will be seen by far more people than on here (sadly).
Link it in with the Fans Page on Facebook and set it up as an 'Event'.

This would help give some indication of the number of people who would attend.

[Keith]

After a positive response here, I posted on FB and it appears to be going positively there too.

We really need the Trust to buy in to it.

[Billy bodger]

I suggest if any protest march goes ahead the more the numbers the better, anywhere near 500 would be a fantastic response.

With that in mind there is an opportunity next Tues evening, against Crew, to spread the word about a protest march on the following home game, the Sat afternoon before the Colchester Utd game on the 27th.

This can be done by handing out flyers or verbally, from just mentioning it to the person next to you, to a chant by the fans. The song from Oliver Twist comes to mind, Who will buy?

So it can go something like:- “Who will buy Morecambe FC, a little Club by the sea, Who will buy Morecambe FC, is anybody out there please?”

I’m sure something else will probably be composed!!

I would suggest any march just comes straight down Regents Rd from the Prom or just for some over the bridge from Regents Park, both are good meeting points, to outside the Maz Stadium.

To me it’s only a start to the process and if we are going to do something it needs to be done while the action by Reading FC’s fans is still hot news. Once it been brought to the attention of a wider audience, the wider the better and if the Shrimps Trust then can start to have dialog with the EFL, hopefully there will be movement by, the great stay away, Whittington on his selling price.

I will finish by saying the following, No Tennis Balls, No Banana’s and No Pitch Invasion. A march if one goes ahead is just about getting how the fans of Morecambe FC feel about how bad the Whittington’s continued ownership is to the Club

[Billy bodger]

The Wrexham game on March 9th would get more coverage, no doubt about that and maybe before then get in touch with Wrexham fans ( Facebook, Fan Groups etc) and get them to join us.

I’m not knocking the suggestion to start from the Town Hall, it is however a bit far for some, maybe for those less mobile from the Prom at Regents Road and at Regents Park.

Again as I have suggested next Tues can be a game to spread the word at the Crew game and then one on the following Sat just from Regent’s Park to get things going getting an indication of well the support for a march would be, before then building up to the BIG one against Wrexham.

[Phil Anderer]

Personally I think Keith's suggestion of the Wrexham game is the right one, as there's far more chance of some decent media coverage. There's only one problem - I have a prior engagement and won't be able to join in. Trust me, it's genuine - as a Yorkshireman with a season ticket, it pains me to have to miss a game I've already paid for

[Andy D]

Chill for now, as things stand wages are being paid, and we’re still signing player’s and doing alright in L2 playing good Football.

[Freez]

I agree with Andy, having read into the Reading situation the comparisons with us are nowhere near what the Reading chairman has been up to.
I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, but Jason has too much to lose now he doesn’t have Worcester anymore, we are his golden goose for me.
There is interest, that was confirmed a couple of weeks ago on the Trust podcast, and as we know, these things take time. As has been alluded to already, we are doing ok, wages are being paid currently, while we still walk a tightrope, am I the only only one who thinks there is still hope and that the doom and gloom has been exacerbated by losing DA and then the loan players all departing and its January and everyone is fed up? We could have gone second when we went to Barrow, but we didn’t, Ged seems to be settling in and three more loan players arrived this week?
Just keeping positive.

[Hodgie1978]

When the club released a statement saying they had no confidence in Jason then its time to do something.

[Billy bodger]

I agree with Andy, having read into the Reading situation the comparisons with us are nowhere near what the Reading chairman has been up to.
I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, but Jason has too much to lose now he doesn’t have Worcester anymore, we are his golden goose for me.
There is interest, that was confirmed a couple of weeks ago on the Trust podcast, and as we know, these things take time. As has been alluded to already, we are doing ok, wages are being paid currently, while we still walk a tightrope, am I the only only one who thinks there is still hope and that the doom and gloom has been exacerbated by losing DA and then the loan players all departing and its January and everyone is fed up? We could have gone second when we went to Barrow, but we didn’t, Ged seems to be settling in and two more loan players arrived this week?
Just keeping positive.

So we are his golden goose are we, and why is that? What is the golden goose laying in his basket? He says he is selling the golden goose! As we all know people want to buy this golden goose, but he hasn’t sold it after nearly 18 mths, that’s like keeping it!

To be fare I completely understand Morecambe FC’s problems are not on the scale of Readings, but there are similarities and surly it is plane to see ‘off the pitch’ things are not all Sky blue and rosy.

If we had won against Barrow we would have gone second, well if we had won that game we would be now be on 37 points, so today we would be 12th.

Hopefully GED and the team can get us back up there, he is settling in nicely. We can only thank the BoD’s for continuing to do their job.

The fans beef is not against Morecambe FC, it’s against the owner and way, way before the Barrow game there was disquiet it started way back, even before The Bond Group put the Club up for sale.

Is it time for a march or to get in touch with the EFL? It’s part of the process to put the owner under pressure, to sell that dam well golden goose. If that has an affect on JW who knows, many think it won’t and I think that’s your point.

[skeletor]

Some say we are doing ok,I beg to differ,2 wins under the new manager from 11 games,5 defeats and 2 draws.Also no home wins,just saying!

[Andy D]

Some say we are doing ok,I beg to differ,2 wins under the new manager from 11 games,5 defeats and 2 draws.Also no home wins,just saying!

but the goalkeeping mistakes every other game by our number 2 as been undermining everything.

[Billy bodger]

To get back to the question:- What can we do?

Pay up our VAT and any outstanding PAYE on time. Taunton Town just been issued with a winding up order by the HMRC.

Not as scary as it sounds, but bad enough, and that was on the BBC (Somerset), for a team in the National League South!

Good look Taunton Town I hope you get things sorted out ASAP.

[Freez]

We are told Jason wants to sell, for a long time he was hostile to the current board being involved in the process, but that attitude has changed, and they are all now invested in finding a new owner. Jason wants out, the board want him out, fans want him out.
There is interest, we are told, an update is due and the board have hinted that a fans forum is in the offing, so hopefully we will know more then.
After the debacle at Worcester, we don’t know for definite but strongly suspect we are Jason’s last remaining asset, hence the golden goose, it’s a guess but the more you dig, the more it makes sense.

Regarding form, we lost 4 on the bounce, 2 with DA and the first two with GB. Then beat League 1 Wycombe, drew with top of the league Stockport, hammered lowly Donny away by five, lost to MK at home (as we always do) then got hammered at Notts County, drew with Harrogate, lost at Championship Swansea and drew with second place Mansfield. So GB has played 11, W2 D4 L5. Mellon was ill/injured for 5 of those games, arguably a big miss? JJ out for three, another big miss. Then knowing the loanees are all back to their parent club he starts without them all at Swans.
Our style has changed already, the Mansfield game signalling a more attacking style with Taylor and Adams sitting in front of Yann. Hopefully the three signings this week will impress as much as the three did last weekend!
Another tough game away at our bogey side, then high flying Crewe side who are arguably over performing, then all of a sudden our fixtures don’t look as daunting. We only have Stockport of the big spenders away, and other teams in or around us are all beatable, so being positive rather than pessimistic.
It could all go wrong and our new more open style may well leave us floundering.
However, bumping into many fans this week, they were to a man/woman all impressed with the Mansfield showing given their recent form and position and our loss of five players.
We shall see.

[Billy bodger]

Freez, thanks for your post. I have always thought that if the owner and board would engage more with the fans maybe the fans would understand what on earth is going on. They don’t have to tell us their state secrets but except for the BoD’s statement about losing faith with the owner over the sale, we have not had a great deal and I hope this is recognised by the powers that be, with all of the rumblings that have justifiably been posted on this platform. That’s is surly the purpose of the site, for fans to discuss Morecambe FC.

There will also be people who know more than say, Fred Bloggs, and that’s fine I get that, I honestly do, so if what you are telling us in the first part of your post is true (have you been given the go ahead to say something???), I really hope that it is true and the issue between the BoDs and the owner is resolved, it is really positive news and if there is dialogue, as I have constantly said, it is a start towards the movement of people’s positions and then a path to resolution and agreement.

That the BoD’s are to give the fans an update and if they are thinking of offering a fans forum, please do as they are both very welcome.

For the record I am not particularly for or against a march by fans, thou I did state I would join one if the BoDs was to head one. I take it I won’t be going on one now!

If what you tell us Freez it will placate some but not others, I am still very worried about Morecambe’s off field position, especially its financial position. The FA Cup money must be put to good use and that includes extending players contract that are due to end at the end of the season that the Club want to keep next season, we must at least start having the budgeted for now. We cannot let happen where we let players look for other Clubs because we could not give them an extended contract like last year.

On the football front I think we have surprised people, a big shout out to DA and his team who recruited so well and how they got the team going from the start of the season. GED has come in, in difficult circumstances, and has shown he was the right person for the job, he has started to mould this team into his and I must say if he gets performances like the one against a very string team like Mansfield he will fulfil the promise he made when he took over.

So once again Freez thanks for the post, very informative.

[Freez]

Tomorrow morning the latest ShrimpNet podcast is out, Charlie from the board is on and tells it like it is, as well as an interesting chat with Gwion Edwards.
So I only know this as we recorded it tonight, I’m no more in the know than anyone else, just a few hours ahead with the latest!,
There will be a link on here AM sometime.

[P/T Indie]

For the golden goose I agree he probably has a large HMRC bill on the way for Worcester and he needs as much as he can get from us to cover it.

[Billy bodger]

I’m up and about early today so first of all I wish to say that the discussion on this topic has been interesting to say the least, it been very good, with differing thoughts and opinions floating around.

So through that we now know, probably because of the BOD’s decision to make an open statement about their disgust with the relationship with the owner, the relationship has had a coming together and that is great.

I must say that’s only how many, many fans have felt about the way the owner has been treating them. They feel, wrongly or rightly, probably just like the Worcester Warrior fans did.

As it has been already pointed out we know the BoD’s read through this blog and some members of the Shrimps Trust may well also be members on here and may or may not have contributed to the discussion.

So is it a coincidence that Charlie has come out and given an update that will be available on the podcast this morning! A board announcement update imminent!! The possibility of a fans forum!!!.

Well, I hope it’s not just to shut down the discussion and that there is some at least good news about Morecambe FC’s change of position upstairs and that it has real substance and not just piecemeal.

I personally feel it has been blindingly obvious from the start for negotiations on the sale of the Club to progress, there has to be give and take before an any type of agreement can be reached. Now entrenched positions seem to have been relaxed things are it seems moving forward on the sale of the Club.

We wait and see how this will develop from now on and hopefully we do indeed hear some good news.

[Born again Bill]

Tomorrow morning the latest ShrimpNet podcast is out, Charlie from the board is on and tells it like it is, as well as an interesting chat with Gwion Edwards.
So I only know this as we recorded it tonight, I’m no more in the know than anyone else, just a few hours ahead with the latest!,
There will be a link on here AM sometime.

Before anybody does anything rash it would be worth listening to the last 10 minutes of this weeks podcast Charlie Appleyard says how it is.And in his words even JASON WANTS JASON OUT .
Bear in mind Charlie and the board are true Morecambe fans and only want what is best for the club, he isn't just spouting what he thinks we want to heart !

[fulwoodshrimp]

If this thread means more lines of communication between club and fans then it has been worthwhile. If it leads to a fans meeting then that is a good initiative but there can be no shutting down fans unhappiness about the ownership saga and the sooner ownership is resolved the better.

[Billy bodger]

I listened to the podcast and I encourage everybody to listen to what Charlie had to say.

If it changes people perceptions we will have to wait and see but the point about the SCMP rules are an important point Charlie is making.

I do agree with fulwoodshrimp, if what has been posted on this site and anything on Facebook or other platforms has made known the dissatisfaction amongst the fans with the owner to the BoDs and the Clubs executives and if it has lead to them making a statement and them offering the fans a forum it has been worth it.