Morecambe fan Dill Buckle explains ‘how Jason Whittingham has been slowly killing my beloved club’, in a video on the current situation.
The English journalist, writer and TikToker took to social media to raise awareness of the problems that face Morecambe, 25 months and counting the Shrimps have had to put up with this.
A new clip has surfaced online after Morecambe responded to supporter concerns regarding the stewarding of Saturday’s 5-2 defeat against Chesterfield after claims that protest balloons had been confiscated and fans aged under 16 were searched without prior consent.
Shrimps co-chairman Rod Taylor said that the board didn’t tell the stewards to search under-16s, nor the confiscation of balloons.
The club currently sit bottom of the League Two table with just 7 points from their opening 14 games played, and five points from safety.
25 months and counting…
That’s how Jason Whittingham has been slowly killing my beloved club Morecambe FC by refusing to sell up#JasonOut @MFCProtestGroup pic.twitter.com/RUFXuJe7yK
— Dill Buckle (@DBuckleJourno) October 27, 2024
He said: “This club needs help. So I’ve made this video and this documentary documenting the problems that are going on at my club, Morecambe FC. And unfortunately, I’m having to do it again. So this man, Jason Whittingham, is a club killer. A few years ago, he drove rugby union club Worcester Warriors into the ground, and now he’s trying to do the same to Morecambe.
“So Jason Whittingham put Morecambe FC up for sale in September 2022. And in the 25 months since, the club has still not been sold. And in that time, the club has seen points deducted, staff and player wages not paid on time, and a transfer embargo. The club’s board have put on record that they don’t have the confidence in Jason Whittingham’s ability to sell. And they’ve even asked potential buyers to ignore Jason Whittingham and go straight to the board.
“And back in June of this year, Jason Whittingham went on talkSPORT to try and address some of the rumours around the sale. He said that the club would be sold within days, which turned out, of course, to be false. And now the fans have had enough. An anonymous group of fans decided to found the Shrimps protest group. And at yesterday’s game against Chesterfield, the group organised a balloon protest.
“They were gonna release black balloons on the 25th minute to symbolise the 25 months the club had been up for sale for, which led to reports of an under 16 child not being allowed into the stadium and threatened with a banning order for having a packet of balloons on. Morecambe are also bottom of league 2 with just one win all season, thanks to the shoestring budget that witting them off the club in the summer. So, yeah, it’s fair to say things are starting to turn pretty toxic. But Morecambe FC have been at the heart of the local community in Morecambe for over a 100 years and a sale has to happen as soon as possible. Please, if you wouldn’t mind, follow this account on Twitter.
“It’s called the Shrimps protest group. And please make sure to follow the hashtag Jason out hashtag on Twitter. And if you want to know more about the situation as well as stories from real people involved in this, then feel free to watch my documentary on the situation or my other video.”
In another video, he says: “This football club is dying and needs desperate help. It’s a bit of a different video this time but I have to talk about it. So my club, Morecambe FC are at serious serious risk of going bust and it’s thanks to one man. So Morecambe owner Jason Whittingham has had the club up for sale for 20 months. The Morecambe board of directors, many of which are actually fans of the club, came out and said that several credible buyers had walked away from the sale process, saying it was due to missed deadlines and false assurances by Jason Whittingham.
“They also put on record that they had no confidence in the owner’s efforts to sell the club and asked any potential buyers to skip negotiations with the owner and go straight to the club. And despite Whittingham’s refusal to sell the club, he’s also refusing to invest in the club as well. Poor ownership and lack of investment has started to really, really affect the club this season. In August of last year, Whittingham was charged with the EFL for not paying the players on time, with that also leaving the club with a suspended 3 point deduction. And then just 2 weeks ago, that suspended deduction was activated.
“And to add to that, just last month, the club was also hit with an embargo, essentially meaning that the club can’t sign any players or renew any contracts without it going through a lengthy approval process. And considering how we only have one contract to play for next season, that’s a bit of a problem. To add to that, the club has also lost a manager, a head of recruitment, a head groundsman and a CEO this season. With the current manager openly stating just a couple of days ago that he might have to move elsewhere due to the lack of job security the club. Morecambe players such as Rawson have openly come out and criticised the ownership sale process, as well as speaking about how it’s affected the squad and calling on Whittingham to solve the problem.
“And this isn’t the first instance of poor ownership from Jason Whittingham. In 2022, he sent rugby union club of Worcester Warriors into administration. And just yesterday, the club revealed that the players and staff haven’t been paid again, with several of the players choosing to go on strike ahead of our last game of the season. And it’s looking like we’re probably not gonna have any players or even a manager for next season. We’ll probably get a points deduction and that’s even if we make it to next season.
“Our fans have started a GoFundMe page to help fund the staff and player wages that haven’t been paid. And you gotta bear in mind as well, these players are not on the big books. They need the money just like every other normal member of society does. Please donate, publicise anything to give this situation the national attention it needs. If you can do anything at all, it’d be hugely appreciated.
“Please help save my football club and get Jason Whittingham out.”
@dillbucklefooty Morecambe FC is dying. Donate, publicise. ANYTHING. We desperately need attention on the issue. GoFundMe link in bio #fyp #footballtiktok #premierleague ♬ original sound – DillBuckle
A statement from the group#EnoughIsEnough #JasonOut pic.twitter.com/kAlRrQUvAs
— Shrimps Protest Group (@MFCProtestGroup) October 25, 2024
Morecambe issued a statement regarding recent events at our home game against Chesterfield on 26/10/2024.
“Morecambe Football Club has received a number of concerns about several incidents that reportedly took place at the Club’s game against Chesterfield at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium on Saturday.
“The Club’s Board of Directors is aware of the concerns and has today instructed the HR & Safeguarding team to investigate these matters fully.
“If you have any information or concerns related to Saturday’s game, please report them directly to our safeguarding team at shrimpsafe@morecambefc.com.
“As a Board of Directors, we are fully committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all fans, players and staff, and your input will help us uphold the high standards of safety and integrity we value at Morecambe FC.
“Our fans are at the heart of everything we do at the Club, and we promise we will act on any findings to ensure supporters have the best experience possible.”
The Shrimps Trust received an update from Jason Whittingham of Bond Group earlier this month: “The sale is still progressing albeit slowly. Whilst I appreciate this is frustrating for everyone, myself included, we are making every effort to bring the acquisition to completion.
“There were 2 meetings with the EFL last week and they clarified what was now required from the Buyer in order to ensure we can move to completion. The Buyer is in the process of finalising the requirements and working with the Club and me as Seller.”
Twitter users gave their thoughts as Morecambe fan Dill Buckle explains ‘how Jason Whittingham has been slowly killing my beloved club’…
@MorecambeFCFeed: Absolutely fantastic work 👏👏👏👏
@HarrisonRey88: Gwan san 👏🏻
@ScottCarter97: Another day another reminder #EnoughIsEnough #JasonOut
@trevdod: This is a great documentary about the situation at @MorecambeFC 👍 #JasonOut
@ScottCarter97: Bombard Strava = Results
@brethertonjamie: Is it just me who doesn’t believe a single word that comes out of this rats mouth? #JasonOut
@andy_frobisher: This needs calling out ASAP Reality is it would take a serious buyer weeks from agreement with the current owner, to passing the fit and proper persons test and satisfying all paper work to buy a football club. Not months, not years. We’re being spun a web of lies #jasonout
@JakeEnglish_: Why have the EFL only clarified what was required from the buyer last week, when the takeover was supposedly almost done in summer… Can’t trust a word.
@slewpanova: We want OUR club back #UTS #JasonOut
🐀 🐀 🐀 pic.twitter.com/YL58y8E6NW
— A J Parker (@CRparker88) October 26, 2024
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