Beam Him Up, Scotty…
I’ve nothing to add to the very sad news that Worcester Warriors seem destined to join the ranks of Gretna; Third Lanark; Rushden & Diamonds; Scarborough and countless other clubs in the round ball game which have disappeared off the earth without any trace whatsoever. Poor old Warriors have been suspended from all competitions by the Rugby Football Union and were expelled from the Premiership by them last Wednesday. At the same time, part of the club was wound up in the High Court. So since last Wednesday, players and staff alike have all had their contracts terminated. Everybody knows – and many of us feel – the current Cost of Living crisis. For the people involved at Worcester, the callous way the owners have systematically sold off the club’s assets in recent times leaves a particularly bad taste in the mouth as all of the people suddenly finding themselves without a job or an income must now be seriously concerned for their own futures – and that of their families
Even more worryingly though – according to Twitter – Derek Adams (the Manager of the other club also owned by current Warriors’ supremoes Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham: our very own Morecambe FC) – said this earlier in the week:
“The last month has been terrible. The worst time for me as a manager. Some of the things I can’t say on camera that has happened, there’s a lot of inner workings that have been difficult. The players have shown how well they’ve dealt with it. I’m worried off the pitch, not on the pitch at this moment in time.”
This remark tells us far less than it actually explains. If the players have dealt well with whatever it is he feels he can’t talk about, it’s obviously not about them. So what is it that he is so worried about `off the pitch’? He subsequently told Radio Lancashire that he was seriously concerned about the club’s future. King Derek said:
“Of course I am. I think that any supporter has to be. If somebody comes in with a very good deal for the owners, they are going to sell. Who’s that going to be? Is that in the best interests of Morecambe Football Club? Is it in the best interests of the staff that are here already? There’s a whole host of things to be looked into. It’s not easy selling a football club. Where’s the money going to come from? Will we have new investment? We’ve obviously got a budget until the end of the season. Beyond that period, we obviously need new owners at some point and everyone must understand that. We don’t have any money to spend in the transfer window in January unless we have a cup run. That’s the only investment and extra money that’s going to come into this club at this moment in time.”
Co-Chairman Rod Taylor has attempted to soothe the troubled waters once again rocking the Good Ship Morecambe FC this week. Making a comparison to the time a few years ago when dodgy dealers became involved once the club was put up for sale by former owner Peter McGuigan, he told Radio Lancashire on Thursday last:
“We are in a different position now. At that time, our balance sheet wasn’t good; there was a lot of debt to the bank and external debt. That isn’t the situation now. I think generally we are in a much better place.”
He added that the Manager’s concerns were to do with injuries to key players; the sad loss of Jon Obika due to the player’s father’s death in Nigeria and some largely unspecified worries about what is going on behind the scenes at the club. He insisted that there is no threat at this moment of time of staff or players not being paid in the foreseeable future. Dismissing any comparison between Morecambe FC and Worcester Warriors, he explained that the assets of the club could not be sold-off in the way that they have been as the doomed rugby club approached Administration. Specifically, he explained:
“We will be meeting with the owners in the next couple of days to get their strategy clear. The community own the football club – I really do believe that. The benefactor of the club in the 1920s – Joseph Barnes Christie – left Christie Park in a pretty water-tight situation. That Trust (and) those covenants were moved to the Westgate site when we moved in. The freehold belongs to the JB Christie Trust. Nobody can do anything with that. Nobody can come in; asset-strip; build anything; do whatever they want. The whole plot apart from what Tyson Fury owns now is in control of Morecambe Football Club. We could be in a totally different and better situation by the end of December. Derek will have his targets and things he wants to do – we’ve got to work towards that. There’s no guarantee we can do that but, surely, if we want to retain our League One status, we’ve got to give him as much opportunity and backing as we can – not ignore that because there may be new owners by then.”
The situation on the field before the visit to the Mazuma Stadium today of Ipswich Town – second in League One behind leaders Plymouth Argyle – was bad enough. The Shrimps are bottom of the division. But if another unexplained crisis is gathering pace off the field as well, relegation for the first time ever may be the least of the worries of loyal Shrimps’ supporters.
Worrying times indeed…
As has been mentioned, Ipswich Town made the long journey from East Anglia today to the north west of England well-placed in League One. Their current form is one game lost; another drawn and three won out of their last five league games, including beating Cambridge United 3-0 at Portman Road last Tuesday and high-flying Plymouth Argyle 3-2 at the same venue last Saturday. In the EFL, Town and Morecambe met as equals for the first time ever last season. Both games ended in draws. In their only other meetings, Ipswich dumped the Shrimps out of the FA Cup both times when Morecambe were a non-league club but the Tractor Boys were still one of the bigger names in English football. Morecambe’s recent league record is: lost three (including their last two games); one won and one drawn. On paper, then, there was only going to be one winner in north Lancashire today.
But life – and football – doesn’t necessarily always go the way that might be expected. Putting his worries about whatever might be going on behind the scenes to one side, Derek Adams had this to say about today’s opponents prior to the game:
“They’re a fantastic football club. I think they had twenty-eight thousand there on Tuesday night against Cambridge United. They’re one of the best teams in the division. We’ve got a really tough task, but that’s any Saturday in League One. You come up against really competitive teams. It’s no surprise to us. I think we’ve got to win games that shock other teams, and that’s what we’re going to have to try. We did that towards the end of last season, and before that as well, we had a number of shocks along the way.”
Opposite Number Kieran McKenna expressed the following thoughts prior to the long haul northwards to complete today’s fixture:
“It’s a big game for us in terms of the long travel, the position they’re in and of course the fact that we want to win three games this week. They will fight for everything and nothing will be easy. Every game in this league is difficult to win so you have to enjoy it when you get three points, but, at the same time, a win in October is not the be all and end all. We are going up to Morecambe as a determined squad and our focus is on doing the right things to give us every chance of getting a result up there. Mentally, we need to be ready as they will make it a test. It’ll also be a challenge physically and we will have to stand up to a robust team who will do everything they can to impose themselves on us. At the same time, we want to make it our type of game. We want to control the ball and create as many chances as possible. The biggest thing for me is mentality and we want to make sure we go there with the same level of focus that we have had in games recently.”
There was no place in the visiting squad today for Greg Leigh, our former left-back, who I was personally sad to see leave the club last summer. Greg had the misfortune to fracture his leg against Sheffield Wednesday last month and faces another sort of enforced break whilst it heals.
After a very changeable week, it was sunny and mild in north Lancashire today, albeit with a strong wind. There was a minute’s applause before the game started in memory of long-time servant of Morecambe FC, Life Vice-President Val Easthope. Rest In Peace Val.
Ipswich must have won the toss because they chose to play towards their own supporters in the first half. They looked competent and well-organised but I thought they were slightly off the pace and seemed surprised by the Morecambe press and the way the men in the red strips constantly took the game to them. After eight minutes, Jacob Bedeau played a lovely pass to Dylan Connolly on the Shrimps’ right. As the Irishman accelerated into the danger area, his run was brought to an end by a superb tackle by the ancient looking Richard Keogh. Ten minutes later, the packed away end shrieked for a penalty as Ousmane Fané tangled with Tyreece John-Jules but it looked innocuous enough from where I was sitting. After thirty-three minutes, Connolly was brought-down just outside the penalty area, just to the left of centre from his point of view. A clearly well-rehearsed move from the training ground led to a push forward into the area followed by a superb cross to the far post, where young Kieran Phillips netted with a fantastic and committed finish. Almost immediately, Ipswich almost equalised as Lee Evans’ strike from distance hit the foot of Connor Ripley’s left-hand post. The rebound was blasted way off target by an onrushing Kayden Jackson. But that was as close as the visitors came by half time and they left the field a goal down.
Jackson came close to equalising for Town just two minutes after the re-start. He hit Ripley’s left-hand post with a swerving shot from the Tractor Boys’ left which left the home stopped a mere bystander. In a comedy moment a couple of minutes later, Morecambe Skipper Donald Love managed to hit his own crossbar with an attempted headed clearance from a Connor Chaplin cross only to see the ball loop into the air to be caught by his own goalkeeper. So Morecambe were riding their luck at this point. But it was soon to run out. Town equalised after 54 minutes with a close range-shunt by their Skipper George Edmondsun following a corner kick.
A couple of minutes later, they could have taken the lead. Referee Thomas Kirk awarded a penalty and Chaplin stepped-up to take it. But Connor Ripley made a tremendous save by diving low to his left and smothering the shot. At the other end, Connolly then bulged the Town net with a lovely finish – but it was ruled out for offside. And then the key moment of the game arrived. In the sixty-fourth minute, Jackson really was fouled in the penalty area. This time, Evans scored with a tremendous finish to Ripley’s left as he again dived to his right.
The time-wasting and play-acting by the men in the blue shirts then started. As the Referee did nothing to stop him, Edwards decided that the funereal march back to the centre circle following prolonged celebrations by his team mates was the very moment to re-tie not just one, but both of his boot laces. The Referee should have booked him for such blatant gamesmanship. But he didn’t.
To their considerable credit, the home team didn’t lie down and die at this point. They continued to try and play direct, purposeful football. Towards the end, Cole the (no) Goal missed with a chance of the sort he was regularly scoring from last season. But it wasn’t to be. So Ipswich marched on by coming from behind to win for the third time in a week. They are a good side – but there wasn’t a lot in it today in my opinion.
Novice Referee Thomas Kirk had an appalling game today. Yes, I’m biased – but so was he. This wasn’t by any stretch of the imagination a dirty game. But he managed to book no less than six Morecambe players – that’s more than half the team. Ipswich were no less committed in their tackling – but only one of their number was booked. That’s ridiculous. The incompetent on the Berlin Wall side of the ground with a flag was also culpable this afternoon. In the move that led to Ipswich’s equaliser, the final cross which led to a corner was delivered by a man in a blue shirt who was clearly off-side by a country mile. But the linesman’s flag stayed down – as it did several other times when Tractor Boys were clearly beyond the last defender as the ball was played to them. Minutes later, as Edwards literally fell over Rawson in the home penalty area, the Man in the Middle instantly awarded a penalty. It was an appalling decision. All afternoon, Cole Stockton had Ipswich defenders all over him; pushing him down; wrapping their arms around him or – at one time, pulling him back by the neck. But Mr Kirk stood by impassively and did nothing at all to either stop it or penalise the visiting team. I felt he totally lost control of the game during the second half for a few minutes and throughout, he was far too quick to be influenced by Town players and staff who proffered imaginary yellow cards at him which he frequently obliged them by booking our lads. We don’t do that. I hope we never will. But weak officials like this one let us all down by falling for football’s Dark Arts. No wonder he was escorted off the pitch by Stewards as the home crowd as one roundly booed him at the end. Beam him up for goodness sake Scotty…
It’s odd to write after another defeat that I think Morecambe played the best football they have in League One all season so far today. They were the better team in the first half and by pressuring the visitors – particularly at the back – made Town look distinctly pedestrian and actually panicky at times. The goal was a brilliant piece of invention, clearly from the training pitch. Phillips’ finish was first class. Throughout, the Shrimps tried to play their way out of tricky situations rather than hoof the ball forwards as they have done on so many occasions this season. Official Man of the Match Jacob Bedeau deserved the award today but I personally thought that Liam Shaw had a truly outstanding game as well.
Ipswich found themselves still in second place in League One tonight because Plymouth has beaten Accrington in Devon by three goals to nil. Morecambe remained stuck right at the bottom of the table. They are now four points from safety. Derek Adams summed-up what had happened at the end of the game thus:
“We’re disappointed not to take anything from the game. I thought it was an entertaining game. It was probably one of our best performances of the season. I think we took the game to Ipswich. We started on the front foot, and we got that goal ahead from a set play; a great ball in and Kieran Phillips was able to put us one nil ahead. We looked very comfortable, we limited Ipswich to very few chances throughout the 90 minutes. They had openings but they weren’t clear cut. All we’ve shown is we’ve got some really good players who will enable us to move in a positive direction.”
Morecambe: 1 Connor Ripley; 2 Donald Love (C) (Y); 4 Liam Gibson (Y); 5 Farrend Rawson (Y); 6 Ryan Delaney (Y); 8 Ousmane Fané (Y) (21 Ryan Cooney 85’); 9 Cole Stockton (Y); 11 Dylan Connolly (25 Adam Mayor 85’); 20 Liam Shaw; 16 Jacob Bedeau 23 Kieran Phillips.
Subs not used: 12 Adam Smith; 18 Shane McLoughlin; 22 Anthony O’Connor.
Ipswich Town: 1 Christian Walton; 2 Richard Keogh; 3 Leif Davis (24 Kane Vincent-Young 75’); 4 George Edmundson; 5 Sam Morsy; 8 Lee Evans (Y); 10 Connor Chaplin (11 Marcus Harness 66’); 14 Tyreece John-Jules (Freddie Ladapo 75’); 19 Kayden Jackson (7 Wes Burns 65’); 29 Kyle Edwards; 44 Janoi Donacien.
Subs not used: 31 Václav Hladky; 6 Luke Woolfenden; 30 Cameron Humphreys.
Ref: Thomas Kirk.
Att: 4,766 (1,064 from Ipswich.)
