‘Shambles’ – Morecambe manager and players urge owner Jason Whittingham to sell the club

Morecambe manager Ged Brannan and players reacted to the points deduction and urge owner Jason Whittingham to sell the club.

They were deducted three points but the EFL on Thursday for failing to adhere to an agreed decision imposed in August 2023 after the club failed to pay players on time. Whittingham has been fined £10,000.

Morecambe captain Farrend Rawson also didn’t hold back with his thoughts, as you can see in the video interviews below…

“My message would be if your heart’s not it and it’s not making sense any more then don’t hold on to it,” Rawson told BBC Radio Lancashire.

“He is where he is because he’s done well but make it easier for someone to come in and give the lads a chance to build and kick on.

“On the pitch we’ve just fallen short but for the club to grow and sustain I think the owner needs to make the right decision.”

He added: “You’re seeing it too many times in the Football League and higher. Good clubs with a good fanbase and good people around the place are the ones who get affected.

“If the right decisions aren’t made at the top then other people suffer for it. Something needs to happen for this club to kick on or just sustain consistently.”

Whittingham and Colin Goldring, the club’s owners, put Morecambe up for sale in September 2022 and stepped down from the board.

The points deduction sees Shrimps fall from 12th to 14th and comes as a huge blow to any hopes of making the playoffs.

Rawson added: “Being honest I think it’s a shambles.

“I’ve been at this club for going on two years and I don’t think we’ve been through a six-month period without something coming up.

“All I can say from my behalf and the lads and the staff is that we’re disappointed, frustrated and annoyed. We’ve put our bodies on the line to try and do something special this season and people upstairs have taken it away from us.

“It shouldn’t be like this. It shouldn’t happen.”

Morecambe will head to league leaders Stockport on Saturday, with the Hatters needing a draw to secure promotion to League One.

Rawson said the match could galvanise the side as they look to to end the season strongly.

“We’ve got a job to do and we’re doing something we love. The massive thing is self-pride and for the fans, it’s not their fault. We shouldn’t be going out there and not trying because of what is happening outside the club or at the top of the club, that nobody can control,” he said.

“What a game. Obviously, they’ve done outstanding this season and all credit to them. We’re going there to stop the party.

“One thing about these lads is that we’re fighters and we’ll give it a right good go. If anything it’s good we have this game this weekend because we can let our frustration out.”

“I’m absolutely gutted for everyone,” Morecambe boss Ged Brannan said.

“The players, the staff, the fans and the board at this club are all lovely people who want to do well; when the players found out, they were gutted.

“Stuff that happens on the pitch, I can take the blame for, but anything off the pitch is out of our control and it’s not fair on the players or any of the staff here.

“It doesn’t rain but it pours so, hopefully, the owner gets the ownership stuff sorted sooner rather than later.

“I’m not going to lie; it’s a mess and my head’s all over the place and there are times I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.

“There’s a lot of stuff we need to get sorted out, stuff that needs to get done.

“What I will say is the players have been outstanding since I’ve come in, I haven’t got a bad word to say about any of them.”

Twitter users reacted as the Morecambe manager and players urge owner Jason Whittingham to sell the club..

@mrblthomas: Good on him for speaking out. Ultimately it’s the players, fans & employees that always suffer because of the absolute incompetence of the ownership.

@JoshSenior_Hull: Well done on speaking out!

@MorecambeFCFeed: Excellent coverage this!!

@jenhunt_: That’s my captain. We are so lucky to have Rawson who will speak up. It’s not been easy at all for a while at Morecambe. We just want to ok and not worry if we’ll survive next season.

@joeysmokey: Our skipper @Farrendrawson1 is pissed off and rightly so, just sell the club you 🤡 🤡🤡

@RobSmith1992: Fair play and spot on Faz ❤️🦐

@LancasterIsHome: The reality is that we’re mushrooms. Kept in the dark and fed s***. It has been the same since Peter McGuigan ran out of money in 2016 and it’s been the same for 8 years. Football owners have to have very deep pockets even in League 2. There are more charlatans than potential owners, and we attract lots of the former and none of the latter. Blame Whittingham sure, he deserves every bit of it, but only became owner because of the decisions of others.

@joephelan44: Great interview , brilliant words from faz

@K3ll_mari3: Disappointing, to say the least, especially for the lads/staff who do all the hard work & are punished. No wonder we only have 1 player that’s signed for next season, added along with an embargo. The club’s a mess #jasonout

@Walsallfantasti: It’s amazing to hear what’s going on behind the scenes at morecambe. I don’t think at walsall any of these issues have ever been close to happening in the last 40 years, and that’s due to Bonser/Pomlett and now trivela. Wonder how many other clubs similar

@VaniaMorozov15: Build a statue and give him lifetime contract ❤️🦐 @Farrendrawson1 what a legend ❤️

@DanielRovers_: Rovers players should do the same 🙂

@stormcloud25: It needed to said. The players and management are as fed-up with it all as the fans are. Their hard work is being penalised because of the inaction of one man. He needs to sell up ASAP, so that everyone can move on with clarity.

@andy_frobisher: Sadly, he passed the fit and proper test back in 2018. The EFL need more powers to get rid of owners that turn out not to be fit and proper. But how do you make someone sell, especially when they might want more than the club is worth, or if no one wants to buy. At the time, we were in a worse mess than this, and technically probably saved us. However I believe they were only ever short term investors and Jason had a figure in mind when selling, which he now cannot get…

@thomas_obeirne: Great to hear a player speak honestly. Sadly I fear that this chaos will mean players like Faz will look elsewhere in the summer.

@DanTaylor22: It would’ve been easy for Faz to say it’s none of my business, I’m just here to play football, but it really speaks to his character that he’s willing to dig out the owner in such a way, a true leader on and off the pitch 🫡

@tarniaelsworth: Great to see @Farrendrawson1 speak with such honesty. Our club is local ppls livelihoods and the uncertainty they work in everyday is not right. Waiting for a buyer to meet Jason’s price tag . Think we’ll be waiting a long time if he’s expecting to come out of this loss free. 🦐

@danjewellmedia: Love to know what Morecambe fans think of this. Very impressed by Farrend Rawson’s honesty and how happy he was to talk about it a few minutes after the points deduction was confirmed