Morecambe 2019-20 League Two Preview

Morecambe has turned into a stepping stone for many players who want to move onto bigger and better clubs over the years.

They have turned into a bit of a meme for being constant in League Two. To put that into context 2019-20 is going to be their 13th consecutive season in the League.

They also have “The Longest serving Current Manager in Football league” in Jim Bentley, he has been managing the club since 2011 and has been at the club since 2002.

Every year they are known to start the season well and fight for the Football League status at the end of the season but last season things were different they started the season poorly with just 3 points with 8 games played.

But, ended the season comfortably with an 18th placed finish. That was due to the great recruitment they made in January. They brought in Richie Bennett, Piero Mingoia on loan and signed Ritchie Sutton and Aaron Collins on short term deals.

Of the four players, only Ritchie Sutton remained on their books for 2019-20 season. Add to that departure of Zak Mills who signed with them at the start of the season.

Jim Bentley finds himself once again in the position where he has to rebuild the squad.

The biggest miss for them will undoubtedly be Aaron Collins. The 22-Year-old joined them in February but went onto become the top goalscorer for the season scoring 8 goals and setting up 4 more in just 15 league games.

But as it happens with every player who performs well at the club, He was offered a deal which suited him financially, This time it was Forest Green Rovers.

But why can’t they keep their star players? The answer is in their finances, Morecambe has a turnover of close to £2.8 million which is lower than wages offered to an average EPL player and another thing is they don’t have a billionaire owner who is ready to fund their promotion.

For the year 2018, they had a loss of £452,000 and during the tenure of Jim Bentley as the manager, the club was owned by Peter McGuigan, Lemos, Graham Burnard and is currently owned by Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring.

Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring have made it public that they want to stabilize the club finances and sell the club to better owners.

That means Club doesn’t have budgets anywhere close to teams like Bradford or Salford.

But one of the positives to come out of the last season was the clubs partnership arrangement with Lancaster University which helped them secure training facilities.

Morecambe FC manager

Jim Bentley is the current manager of Morecambe and holds the title of “Longest Current Serving Football Manager”. Liverpool born Englishman spent his youth years at the Manchester City Academy.

Then he joined Telford United two years as a player and has been with The Shrimps ever since he left Telford United.

Which means he has been serving the Lancashire based club for nearly 17 years. His managerial record is not the best as he won 121 and drawn 113 in 414 games in charge.

But one can sympathize with his record as the man had to keep rebuilding squad every year.

As you might have understood by now Jim Bentley was part of 2009–10 squad that was promoted to League Two.

Morecambe 2019-20 New Signings

Tom Brewitt

Tom Brewitt is a 22-Year-old Center back who can also play as a defensive midfielder. He is a product of his home town club Liverpool’s Academy.

After being released by Liverpool, he joined Middlesbrough Academy but just after one season, he was again released. After that, he joined AFC Flyde.

He is a good header of the ball, He has a reputation of marking players out of the game from his time at Middlesbrough Academy.

Last year, he joined the National League side AFC Fylde after unsuccessful trials with Walsall Football Club and many other League Two clubs. He made 16 appearances for The Coasters and missed most part of the last season due to injuries.

Michael Howard

Michael Howard is a 19-Year-Old pacey Center Forward who is a product of Preston North End Academy. Morecambe will be the second club to have him in their books permanently after Preston North End.

Whilst at Preston North End, he has been to loans at League of Ireland club Cork city and Non- League sides Hednesford Town, Stalybridge Celtic.

He likes to use his pace, dribbling to beat his opponents and at 5’10”, he can also win his fair share of aerial duels. He can also play in wide areas if needed.

Cole Stockton

Some of The Shrimps fans would remember Cole Stockton from his loan spells in 2016 and 2017 when he made 33 appearances for the club scoring 11.

He is a product of Tranmere Rovers Academy and was part of their journey which saw them play in League One, League Two and National League an then back in League Two over his 7 years at the club.

Between his spells with Tranmere, he joined Heart of Midlothian, Carlisle United.

He is a very strong player physically and uses that along with his 6’1” frame to bring other players into the game.

Morecambe 2019-20 Away Journey

Total Away miles Morecambe fans have to travel this season is 3961 which means they have to travel an average of 172.2 miles per game.

The Longest away game for them this season will be Plymouth Argyle. For that game alone they have to cover 329 miles. 

Morecambe 2019-20 Odds

Bookmakers are rating them to be one of the relegation favorites but we can expect them to survive come the end of the season.

Odds	Effect
80/1	Title
12/1	Promotion
3/1	Relegation

Morecambe 2019-20 Fixtures

To read more club previews click here or visit 72 in 72 section from the menu.