Welcome to the latest instalment of the Gloucester Groundhopper blog.
For this instalment of the blog, we went to Morecambe FC, a club located in the heart of Lancashire. The Shrimps play their home games at the Globe Arena, also known as Mazuma Stadium. The Globe Arena may not be well-known around the world, but it was a lovely stadium given the size and status of the club it houses. We did something a little different for this outing: we hired a minibus, and there were fourteen of us in total, so I'll refer to my fellow groundhoppers as the Jolly Boys to save time. The journey from Gloucestershire to Morecambe takes about three and a half hours, depending on traffic, so having the company we did on this trip was extremely beneficial.
The Globe Arena is about a twenty-five minute walk from the centre of Morecambe, and it is also not far from the seaside. There are numerous landmarks in the town centre, including the Eric Morecambe statue and the Jetty Stone. There is also a beach and a plethora of shops to explore. After we had taken in the sights of Morecambe, said hello to Eric along the seafront, and digested our fish and chips.... Gloucester Groundhopper Sr had a sausage and chips? Moving on... we made our way to the stadium.
It’s All In The Name
Morecambe are known as The Shrimps. The nickname comes from the fact that Morecambe Bay used to be renowned for their production of Shrimps, hence the name.
Some Notable Former Players
Barry Roche
Padraig Amond
Gregg Wylde
Robbie Threlfall
Some Notable People From Morecambe:
The Radford Family- The UK’s largest family
Eric Morecambe- Comedian
Dame Thora Hird- Actress
Dave Chisnall- Darts Player
Graham Hicks- Strongman
Emma Atkins-Actress
A History Lesson From AFC Finners Morecambe Football Club was founded in 1920, but football has been played in Morecambe since the late 1800s. Morecambe then won the Lancashire combination league title in 1925, followed by the Lancashire junior cup shortly after. During the first season, football was popular, with crowds of over 3,000 for derby matches against Lancaster City and Fleetwood Town at Woodhill Lane, where it shared grounds with Morecambe Cricket Club. The club went through many ups and downs over the next few decades, including periods of financial hardship, but a day out at Wembley for the FA Trophy final in 1974 saw them emerge victorious in a 2-1 victory over Dartford.
They finally made it to the Conference in the mid-1990s, and former Manchester United player Sammy McIlroy was appointed manager in 2005. He led them to the football league for the first time two years later, when they defeated Exeter in the playoff final.
They established themselves in the Football League with a string of mid-table finishes before relocating to their current stadium in 2010. Former player Jim Bentley kept them in the league for a long time, despite the fact that they were favourites for relegation almost every season. More remarkably, Derek Adams led them to League One for the first time in 2021, when they defeated Newport in the playoff final on penalties from Carlos Mendes-Gomes in extra time.
They are still in League One, having firmly established themselves as a Football League side after spending the majority of their history in non-league, with players such as Trevor Carson, Cole Stockton, and Alfie McCalmont all contributing to their survival bid.
Honours
🏆League Two (Play-Off Winners: 2021) 🏆Conference National (Play-Off Winners: 2007) 🏆FA Trophy (Winners: 1973-1974) 🏆Conference League Cup (Winners: 1998) 🏆Northern Premier League (Runners-Up: 1994-1995) 🏆Lancashire Combination (Winners: 1924-1925, 1961-1962, 1962-1963, 1966-1967, 1967-1968) 🏆Northern Premier League President's Cup (Winners: 1992) 🏆Lancashire Senior Cup (Winners: 1968) 🏆Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy (Winners: 1926, 1927, 1962, 1963, 1969, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004) 🏆Lancashire Combination Cup (Winners: 1927, 1946, 1965, 1967, 1968)
Matchday: Morecambe FC 1-3 Cheltenham Town
The stadium is right next to the Regents Bay Holiday Resort, which is just south of the town centre. Car parking must be reserved prior to the game; however, if you arrive in a minibus, this apparently does not apply. The car park is directly adjacent to the ground, so it's a happy day. The first thing you see when you arrive at the stadium is a massive stand and a pub... a Greene King... other pubs are available. We went to the club shop after another few pints at the pub. The club shop sells a limited amount of merchandise, such as retro shirts, programmes, and pin badges. They were having a 20% off sale, so the pin badge ended up costing £2.40, which is fantastic value.
As is customary for us, AFC Finners and I did a circuit of the ground, and it should be noted that the ground should not be taken at face value. As previously stated, there is a large stand in the front, which is clearly where the club has spent the majority of their time. The other three stands are in disrepair and require extensive work, which I am sure Morecambe will do in the future. Importantly, Morecambe have the most efficient ticketing system I've seen at a football stadium: a quick strip search, scan your ticket, and you're in, it's that simple. You are immediately confronted with food stands and restrooms. Away fans were housed in the previously mentioned large stand, but there are also two fairly large stands behind each goal. However, the fourth stand is where I will offer some criticism. It's completely out of place and can be described as nothing more than a curb. Morecambe will need to put in a lot of effort if they want to stay in League One. Furthermore, the stewards were absolutely lovely and very welcoming, a welcome change from the barbarity I frequently encounter at football matches.
The atmosphere created by the Morecambe fans was poor; they barely made a sound and it was difficult to believe there were over a thousand of them there. The Cheltenham fans, on the other hand, more than made up for it. They were loud and didn't stop singing the entire game.
Teamsheets
Morecambe
Manager: Derek Adams
Trevor Carson Liam Gibson Jacob Bedeau Anthony O'Connor (c) Shane McLoughlin Greg Leigh ⚽ Adam Phillips Alfie McAlmont Toumani Diagouraga Cole Stockton Dylan Connolly
Substitutes Adam Smith Ryan Cooney Jacob Mensah Ousmane Fane Jonah Ayunga Arthur Gnahoua Jonathan Obika
Cheltenham Town
Manager: Michael Duff
Owen Evans Matty Blair Sean Long Charlie Raglan Will Boyle Ben Williams Liam Sercombe⚽ Callum Wright⚽ Elliot Bonds Andy Williams Alfie May⚽
Substitutes
Scott Flinders
Mattie Pollock
Lewis Freestone
Ellis Chapman
George Lloyd
Aaron Ramsey
Charlie Colkett
Morecambe dominated possession of the ball early on, with dominant midfielder Toumani Diagouraga dictating the game by winning most midfield battles and passing the ball with ease. However, neither goalkeeper was put to the test in the first half hour. Cheltenham gained a bit more of a foothold in the game as the first half progressed. Striker Andy Williams began to win aerial battles, and The Robins began to cause a few problems, but not really test former Cheltenham goalkeeper, Trevor Carson. The deadlock was broken just as fans were expecting the half to end 0-0. Liam Sercombe won the ball in midfield and ran 20 yards before unleashing a shot that took a massive deflection and looped over the Morecambe keeper and into the net. As a result, Cheltenham took the lead at halftime. There wasn't much to talk about at halftime. Some of the jolly boys sampled the ground's cuisine, which included award-winning pies and hotdogs. The pies looked delicious and received positive feedback, but the hotdogs looked and smelled like roadkill. The second half began after an unusually brief halftime break. Cheltenham began the second half on a high note, and it wasn't long before they doubled their lead. Sean Long's long throw was well taken down by Elliot Bonds, who unleashed a shot that Trevor Carson could only push in the direction of Leicester City loanee Callum Wright, who tapped in to make it 2-0. That should have been enough to seal the game, but Cheltenham, as has become all too common this season, chose to sit back on their lead and invite pressure. Cole Stockton, Morecambe's striker, has eighteen goals this season and should have had another in this game. He began to bully Cheltenham defender Will Boyle, and had numerous shots blocked and saved. He began easily pushing Ben Williams and Will Boyle off the ball and ran past them both as if they weren't there. He then crossed the ball across the six yard box for Greg Leigh to tap in and make it 2-1, despite his best efforts to miss it. Cheltenham have a history of capitulating after conceding, so it seemed inevitable that Morecambe would equalise, with Cole Stockton denied yet again by goalkeeper Owen Evans. It was a relief to see Cheltenham win a flurry of corners after twenty minutes of sustained Morecambe pressure. The ball was swung into the box wildly by Callum Wright, who produced an Iniesta-style pass to Alfie May, who slotted home to make it 3-1. After that, the game was effectively over, and despite six minutes of injury time, no more goals were scored. Cheltenham's victory moves them up to 13th in League One, with a place in the top half firmly in their sights. If they believe in themselves more, they could easily break the record for their highest ever league finish (17th in League One), which is not out of the question. Morecambe are 22nd in the table, but they are not far from safety, so if they keep fighting and play like they did against Cheltenham, League One survival is not a pipe dream for the Shrimps. Scores On The Doors Atmosphere: 7/10 Food and Drink: 7/10 Stadium: 6/10 Welcome: 9/10 Overall Experience: 8/10 GG
Comentários