Ex-Argyle Manager Takes Over at Morecambe

Ex-Argyle Manager Takes Over at Morecambe

Forty-four year old Aberdonian Derek Adams has been announced as the man to replace Jim Bentley as Manager at Morecambe Football Club. As Manager of Ross County, Derek took the club from the Scottish Second Division during 2008 as Champions and then to the Scottish FA Cup Final in 2010. Although they lost to Dundee United, County dumped SPL sides Hibernian and – most notably – Celtic on the way. He became Assistant Manager to Colin Calderwood at Hibs in November 2010. His six-month spell there was overshadowed by disagreements with the SFA involving disciplinary issues, most of which he won on appeal. However, he returned to County during May 2011 and guided the club to the Championship spot with five matches to spare. Derek was rewarded for this success by being voted PFA Scottish Manager of the Year.

He moved south during June 2015 to take over at Plymouth Argyle. During his very first season in charge, the Devon club got to the League Two Play-Offs where they lost to AFC Wimbledon. In only his second season in charge, Argyle came second in the division and were promoted to League One where they ended their first season in seventh position, just missing-out on the Play-Offs. The club struggled in his second season in charge and he was sacked last April as Plymouth faced relegation.

PASOTI – The Plymouth Argyle fans’ Forum – reacted to the announcement of their former manager’s two and a half year deal at Morecambe thus:

“Good luck to him!… he’ll make them hard to beat I reckon…. Shocked by that actually.
With his CV (bar his last season) and win percentage, surely he could have done better than possibly the smallest club in the EFL. Good luck, anyway... I would imagine that Morecambe are about the same size as Ross County so he should do okay. Just read the Morecambe website item – It could have done with an extra sentence at the end: “And from then on it was all downhill”... Adams just likes a challenge, never did like an easy life, he says that about Argyle. Wonder how many ex Argyle players currently free agents may end up there… He also likes working on a small budget and he won’t find many smaller in the EFL… Interesting, I thought he’d be a shoe-in to replace Ole at uTD or the hot seat at Spurs??… He did some great things with the smallest club in the SPL, I think it’s a shrewd appointment by Morecambe… Wish him well too but it is surprising. If it was just down to his managerial record then there would be no reason why he couldn’t get a bigger club than Morecambe. It makes you wonder whether his difficult attitude at times has become common knowledge in the EPL… One month in, Derek. What do you think of it so far? Rubbish!”

Interestingly; nobody had anything bad to say about him.

Barry Roche and Kevin Ellison will remain in temporary control for the FA Cup tie at Blackpool next Saturday but after that, the New Regime will begin…