Thanks and Appreciation to Sammy & Mark Thread

[marky No.1]

Cheers guys for an Epic adventure from Conference to the Football League. It has been an enjoyable ride and experience for which we thank you both very much. Good luck for the future

Your replacements will have a lot to live up to even accounting for this last 12 months I.M.O.

[HALMA 1983]

Fair play to the both of you, Got Morecambe Town into the Football league proper where they've stayed thanks to your efforts..........................A massive debt of gratitude for that!

Good luck for the future in whatever you do.

[Smirnoff Please]

Certainly been one hell of a ride; 6 play off semi finals one wembley final, 3 top half finishes in the Football league, culminating in a fantastic 4th place finish to say goodbye to Christie Park.

One season doesn't make a bad management pair. The very best of luck to them both, wherever they turn up next will be very fortunate and lucky Club to have them.

[Seasider9601]

Certainly been one hell of a ride; 6 play off semi finals one wembley final, 3 top half finishes in the Football league, culminating in a fantastic 4th place finish to say goodbye to Christie Park.

One season doesn't make a bad management pair. The very best of luck to them both, wherever they turn up next will be very fortunate and lucky Club to have them.

Not forgetting fabulous wins over Preston North End, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Coventry City.

Thank you Sammy and Mark. For EVERYTHING

[Morecambe Jack]

Sammy and Mark have given me the most enjoyable years of being a Morecambe supporter. Two years of playoffs in the conference and subsequent win at Wembley, followed by three years of continuous success in the League with an unbelievable 4th place finish last year. All the carling cup victories were amazing and so many other great league games along the way.

They are, without question, our greatest management pair to date and I just hope we dont live to regret allowing them to leave.

I'm glad that we will get the chance to say goodbye properly against Man United on August 1st and show them the respect they deserve.

All the best Sammy and Mark, you will be snapped up in no time.

[Christies Child]

No rejoicing on my part. Just a big thanks for getting us into the league and raising our clubs profile.

[Ntini]

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Thanks Sammy and Mark for the tremendous work you've done at Morecambe FC. You delivered us to the Promised Land of league football and forever will be legends at the club for doing so. Sunday 20th May 2007 will live long in the memory and for that we are all truly grateful.

The best of luck wherever you go next and thank you for the memories.

[abc123]

Thank you Sammy and Mark for one of the best days of my lives at Wembley and for all you've done for our club.

Very best wishes for the future whatever it may bring and you'll always be Morecambe legends to me.

[Keith]

Certainly been one hell of a ride; 6 play off semi finals one wembley final, 3 top half finishes in the Football league, culminating in a fantastic 4th place finish to say goodbye to Christie Park.

One season doesn't make a bad management pair. The very best of luck to them both, wherever they turn up next will be very fortunate and lucky Club to have them.

Not forgetting fabulous wins over Preston North End, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Coventry City.

Thank you Sammy and Mark. For EVERYTHING

...but apart from all that, what did Sammy and Mark ever do for us?

[Posh]

Very grateful to Sammy and Mark for everything they've done. They picked up a very good side and got it to click at the right time. Wembley was amazing and in some ways Preston and Wolves even better. There were some great games and moments since such as Crewe, Coventry and some great moments at Christie Park.

The end was inevitable. The squad, in my view, is worse than the one that got us promoted so for that reason a change had to be made. The new manager has a big rebuild job on his hands. But Sammy could safely walk into a lot of clubs with he and owners confident they've got someone who can get say a Conference club promoted.

Good luck and thanks for taking us to the Promised Land.

[Gedskishrimp]

All the best for the future

[Little Shrimp]

Recently, I haven't really been of a fan of McIlroy but thanks for all you have done Sammy eg, promotion, Preston and Wolves away, playoffs and Coventry. Oh, and not to forget the 4-3 thriller against Crewe ! Your thoughts Pobble?

[Heysham_Shrimp]

Thanks Sammy and Mark for all your efforts over the last 5 and a half years.

The win at Wembley was so special although the win at Molyneaux when the Wolves players couldn't get the ball off us in the 2nd half of extra time was also a highlight and beating PNE at Deepdale also.

Good luck with whatever you do in the future.

[parkyboy]

Thanks Sammy and Mark and all the best in whatever you do next in your football mgment careers

[Optimist]

I dont think we will appreciate fully what these two people have done for our club, for a few more years. Its ironic that the morons within the fan base have become so vocal this year, becaue of our over achievements in previous seasons. Having improved every year since they were here, Sammy and Mark were on a hiding to nothing. Lets all get behind the new management team when it is announced, I just hope we start well so that the boo boys dont come out of the woodwork. It didnt take them long this season lets be honest.

Thanks to Sammy and Mark from me, for taking us up and keep us in the promised land. All the best in the future, you'll do a good job wherever you both go.

[thegentlegiant]

I would like to thank McIlroy and Lillis for getting us into the league and getting us to the play offs last season.

[bigreddog]

Many thanks to Sammy and Mark for all that they have done for us in the last five and a half years. Play-offs, three times, a massive and unforgetable Wembley win, victories at Wolves and Preston and against Coventry. I'm sorry that it's come to this stage, but if it's right for Sammy and right for club then it has to be. I trust our wonderful chairman and board to make another long term and inspired appointment.

Just a pitty we didn't get to say goodbye properly on Saturday.

[heysham_mfc]

Massive thanks goes out to the both of them together they have taken MFC to the next level.

[Andy]

I'll add my thanks to Sammy and Mark for the last 5 years, yes this season has been poor (maybe last season was to blame for that !) but I will never forget Wembley what a day even my Kent based friends who travelled with me enjoyed that day.
Best of luck to you both for the future.
Andy

[Mike W.]

Just to chip in with my expressions of thanks for Samy and mark's excellent work over several year's turning us into a League club. OK we are still nowhere near the finished article, and got away with it by the skin of our collective teeth this season, but the two did set us well on the road to establishment as a League club.

With the new stadium clearly ending up costing rather more than planned, Sammy had relatively little to work with - the recurrent suggestions over time by some fans- with-their-heads-in-the-sand that we should buy such and such a player clearly missed the point that Sammy never had a bean to spend on transfers, and was always restricted by the rules (the salary cap, which is a proportion of club income - which for us is relatively low) on adding to the wage bill. That meant he had to keep with the relatively small squad of potential young up-and-comings and older-near-the-end-of-their-career players. That is fine if it clicks, but this season demonstrated that it often doesn't work.

I sincerely hope things work out for Sammy and Lills elsewhere, though if they bring Macclesfield back sometime (of which I reckon IS a good chance) then I still hope we beat them, which is only what they would expect of course.

Mike W.

[marky]

Sammy McIlroy and Mark Lillis will always be remembered as the management duo that got us into the promised land of the Football League and then kept us there and for that I would hope all Morecambe fans will be eternally grateful. As the chairman has said, they gave us the greatest day in the history of the club and that will be forever be a selling point on their CVs. They are both Morecambe legends and I must say I respect Sammy for turning down the offer of a new contract. Good luck to both of them.

[Vinny]

It must have been a difficult decision for Sammy to make, but it has been made graciously.

Sammy and Mark will for ever be MFC legends.

I remember that feeling of great excitement and pride when they first arrived at our club, they gave us a tremendous lift and boost to our profile. They inspired the team to great things and have given us four seasons of great, exciting football, and kept us in League Two this year. Who really thought MFC would become a Football League team, establish this status, finish 4th in the play-off places and beat and match Championship teams in several cup games! Brilliant achievements!! They took the club to their hearts and gave their all, so they need to be sincerely thanked for that. MFC legends. Very fitting for them to be guests of honour at the Man U friendly when we can all show our appreciation for what they have achieved for us.

Good luck and many, many thanks to Sammy and Mark.

[Aal]

Much appreciated guys...both of you, no regrets you will always have a place in our hearts

[shrimpnsave]

Thanks Sammy and Mark for what you have done for the club in the last 5 years and wish you both the best for the future


As someone pointed out in an earlier post that perhaps we did overachieve last season and expectations were at a high for this season which sadly didnt happen


If we had joined l2 last season i suspect most would be grateful to still be in l2 in 20th position.......

all the best

[morecambe mick]

It must have been a difficult decision for Sammy to make, but it has been made graciously.

Sammy and Mark will for ever be MFC legends.

I remember that feeling of great excitement and pride when they first arrived at our club, they gave us a tremendous lift and boost to our profile. They inspired the team to great things and have given us four seasons of great, exciting football, and kept us in League Two this year. Who really thought MFC would become a Football League team, establish this status, finish 4th in the play-off places and beat and match Championship teams in several cup games! Brilliant achievements!! They took the club to their hearts and gave their all, so they need to be sincerely thanked for that. MFC legends. Very fitting for them to be guests of honour at the Man U friendly when we can all show our appreciation for what they have achieved for us.

Good luck and many, many thanks to Sammy and Mark.

This along with quite a few posts sums my feelings up. Cheers guys.
I remember the first time I met Mark Lillis he was brought to a function organised by the Indies, introduced by Ken Parker coming through the door, he said "I'm Mark Lillis, assistant Manager Morecambe Football Club" with great pride in his voice and a firm handshake.
He made a speech about taking the club higher in the Conference "we'll see where that takes us. Sammy and I are really happy to be here at Morecambe Town."
Yes he did swear.

Good luck guys.