A MESSAGE ----

[BHmfc]

For all the supporters who want to watch free flowing, high quality, edge of the seat games week after week, DON'T watch league two football. What do you really expect from a club that has one of the smallest fan bases and lowest budgets in the whole of the football league, back to back promotions and Champions league football. I'm sick and tired of all the whingers who are no longer going to come to the games or who are not going to renew their season tickets,by all means have a moan, kick the dog, but don't stop following the club. We all know Saturday was not one of our best days, but we did hit the crossbar, they should have been down to 10 after the lunge on Wilson and how did Fleming not score, fine margins I hear somebody shouting. I have supported Morecambe from a young age and I will always support Morecambe, good times and bad, so can we all have a reality check please. See you on the 14th.

[Keith]

Ooh, that'll have the glass half empty brigade tracking you down, trying to steal your rose tinted spectacles! And when they get hold of them, they won't try wearing them, that would be too scary for them. No, they'll try and break them so you can't use them. HIDE!

Well said!

[morecambegeek]

This would be the same League 2 club who were playing good football at the start of the season, and by all accounts, paying attractive passing football at Newport's rugby ground last week.

No one is expecting Barcelona - but all people are asking is occasionally we play a little football and show a little effort. The Luton performance aside, I can't remember the last time I actually enjoyed a match at the Globe. If you assume the people who post here who are at the end of their tether are people who will pretty much go to every Morecambe match, then the absolute lack of any entertainment for the substantial entrance fee will be what puts off the people who come to watch Morecambe for a bit of enjoyment rather than any sense of duty.

You can throw your toys out of your pram all you like - we all know about the tiny budget, but it doesn't excuse the dross we've been served up the last two home matches, nor does it excuse the apathetic way some of our players, who despite the clubs meagre budget, are very well paid compared to many of the people paying handsomely to watch them, look like they couldn't give a toss.

[underbank]

I'm sick and tired of all the whingers

So you're sick and tired of Jim too, who had a good whinge in The Visitor saying the fans were right to boo the team. And you're sick and tired of Glenn Cooper who broadcast on Bay Radio that Saturday was a horror story? It's not just Svers who are complaining. It's Jim himself and radio presenters too! And, from the comments I heard around me in the stands and walking back up Westgate, the average spectator (probably not on SV) is also complaining.

Attendances are falling year on year. I'm sick and tired of people saying that we should support the club whatever and without question. Why? The players may not be paid much compared with the Premier League, but they're paid more than the average spectator and probably more than average/lacklustre workers in other industries, but can't be arsed to make an effort. That needs to be challenged. We played better at the Wolves game when we had cheaper/younger players on the pitch.

Only last season, Jim was saying his lads would walk through walls for him. What a laugh, they can't even be arsed to chase a pass! On Saturday, balls were passing by and going over the heads of our lads, and some of them barely moved a muscle to try to get the ball. Are they such prima-donnas that they want the ball to come straight at their foot?

Unless the Board gets to grips, attendances will continue to fall, money will be even tighter and things will continue to get worse, with the inevitable result of relegation. Whinging at the fans and playing the emotional blackmail card to try to get people to continue to pay to come down to watch crap football won't work. The ONLY way forward is more bums on seats and that requires a bit of effort from the team and a bit of entertaining football. No-one expects back to back wins, but we do expect a little excitement occasionally. How many goals have we scored at home in front of the Omega this season - must be in single figures - that's pathetic for any team in any division. I know loads of people who either used to be regulars or who have come down once, never to be seen again.

[fulwoodshrimp]

I have supported the shrimps since the 60's and I don't expect us to soar through the leagues but I do expect to see players giving their all for the club, I expect to see a tactical approach to games instead of our obsession with square balls and lumping it upfield. I expect to see a positive approach to games rather than with our obsession with not losing. I expect the club to show some ambition rather than a focus on obtaining 50 points. I expect players to be developed and improve their game rather than showing promise when they join us and then becoming poorer players. I expect the club to ignore the financial restraints and stop hiding behind "it is what it is" as an excuse for mediocrity. I expect to see entertaining football, win or lose, not the drivel currently being served up.

[Shrimpy]

13th in League 2 in March, only separated by goal difference with Portsmouth, above Cambridge, Oxford, Tranmere & Carlisle (amongst others) in the table.

We've never had it so bad.

[Old Man Kensey]

13th in League 2 in March, only separated by goal difference with Portsmouth, above Cambridge, Oxford, Tranmere & Carlisle (amongst others) in the table.

We've never had it so bad.

I understand what your saying. So why are we now getting conference level crowds again?

[Shrimpy]

13th in League 2 in March, only separated by goal difference with Portsmouth, above Cambridge, Oxford, Tranmere & Carlisle (amongst others) in the table.

We've never had it so bad.

I understand what your saying. So why are we now getting conference level crowds again?

Being a small fish in a big pond isn't as fun / entertaining as being a big fish in a small pond.

Or in other words, people would much rather watch us beat the likes of Canvey Island 4-0 than watch us contest tight games against the likes of Northampton where we may come out on the losing side of things more often than not.

[underbank]

13th in League 2 in March, only separated by goal difference with Portsmouth, above Cambridge, Oxford, Tranmere & Carlisle (amongst others) in the table.

We've never had it so bad.

I understand what your saying. So why are we now getting conference level crowds again?

Being a small fish in a big pond isn't as fun / entertaining as being a big fish in a small pond.

Or in other words, people would much rather watch us beat the likes of Canvey Island 4-0 than watch us contest tight games against the likes of Northampton where we may come out on the losing side of things more often than not.

So is it just vanity that we pushed for L2 status? What other point could there be if the entertainment value is going to be less, meaning smaller attendances, which causes a downward spiral due to lower income meaning we can't afford decent players, meaning poor entertainment, meaning poor crowds, and so it goes. Surely this was obvious and foreseeable years ago? What was the Board's plan for tackling the inevitable lower crowds (and reduced income) caused by being at the lower end of L2 rather than the higher end of the Conference? We have to ask what is the point of being in L2?

[Shrimpy]

We have to ask what is the point of being in L2?

Ambition to play at the highest level possible, test ourselves against a higher quality of opponent (both on and off the field).

If I'm reading your post right you would rather we relegate ourselves to a level where we are one of the biggest clubs in the division and start knocking goals past teams for fun?

[fulwoodshrimp]

Interestingly all the teams referred to by Shrimpy have beaten us this season- apart from Oxford. I suspect on present form we would be well adrift from some of these clubs.

[Seasider9601]

If I'm reading your post right you would rather we relegate ourselves to a level where we are one of the biggest clubs in the division and start knocking goals past teams for fun?

And if that's the case, what's the point of competing at all if we don't want to progress higher?!

[Shrimpy]

Interestingly all the teams referred to by Shrimpy have beaten us this season- apart from Oxford. I suspect on present form we would be well adrift from some of these clubs.

If you want to start picking negatives out of things to support your own narrative then that's up to you but let's not start trying to pretend that being in 13th at this stage of the season isn't a good job by Jim, Ken and the players.

Whether you think the way we have achieved such a position is counter productive then that's up to you and you can vote with your feet but I for one still remember playing small villages in front of a few hundred people and would much rather watch the odd crap performance/ result against Cambridge and Carlisle when it's counter balanced by coming from behind to beat Newport 3-2, beating Plymouth, Bury, Luton, Mansfield etc.

[Shrimpy]

If I'm reading your post right you would rather we relegate ourselves to a level where we are one of the biggest clubs in the division and start knocking goals past teams for fun?

And if that's the case, what's the point of competing at all if we don't want to progress higher?!

Exactly, it completely goes against the whole ethos of what sport is!

[Old Man Kensey]

For me the price to watch football at this level is way too high. I know it puts people off and those that I've tried to tempt down to the globe just won't pay it. The level of excitement is also at an all time low. Even going back to our last few seasons in the unibond we had players who excited a crowd and who was outstanding for the level they played at. The likes of Cain, Ian Monk, Shirley, Twiss, Thompson, baker and others. Who have we got now that you could say lift a crowd? We've been blessed with some great attacking players over the years. It's just so limp and stale at the moment.
We've also lost our KOP. The home end at the globe remains a poor shadow of the old North Stand. and that's not me looking back with the tinted glasses on, it's a fact.

[Shrimpy]

For me the price to watch football at this level is way too high. I know it puts people off and those that I've tried to tempt down to the globe just won't pay it.

This is a league / sport wide issue though and there's not much the club can do but price itself as one of the cheapest in the division with which it competes in. If we drop the prices too much then we won't be able to afford to keep going!

The level of excitement is also at an all time low. Even going back to our last few seasons in the unibond we had players who excited a crowd and who was outstanding for the level they played at. The likes of Cain, Ian Monk, Shirley, Twiss, Thompson, baker and others. Who have we got now that you could say lift a crowd? We've been blessed with some great attacking players over the years. It's just so limp and stale at the moment.

Such players come at a cost and we were able to have them previously by being one of the bigger clubs at the level we were playing at. The equivalent now would be moaning that we don't have the likes of Marc Richards, Reuben Reid, Daniel Nardiello etc playing for us, how do you suggest the club fund the signing of these types of players?

We've also lost our KOP. The home end at the globe remains a poor shadow of the old North Stand. and that's not me looking back with the tinted glasses on, it's a fact.

A valid argument that the club got completely wrong when we moved but I would say no one would care if the club were top of the league, these arguments only ever surface when we have a couple of bad results / performances. If we were putting goals past teams for fun then you would happily watch it from a bus shelter.

[underbank]

We need to be in whatever league that is sustainable for the long term future of the club. If by being in L2, the attendances continue to wither, then it's not sustainable.

[Old Man Kensey]

I'm not saying I know what the answer is. But if crowds keep dropping then eventually so will we and nobody on this forum wants that!

[Shrimpy]

We need to be in whatever league that is sustainable for the long term future of the club. If by being in L2, the attendances continue to wither, then it's not sustainable.

The club can't sustain itself as a League 2 club, it requires external funding from directors / owners, this is no secret and has long been an issue, hence why I find pissing and moaning about being 13th in the division remarkable.

You would probably need to double our crowds at least to make it self sustainable which no amount of Barcelona esque style of play would result in.

[Old Man Kensey]

We need to be in whatever league that is sustainable for the long term future of the club. If by being in L2, the attendances continue to wither, then it's not sustainable.

The club can't sustain itself as a League 2 club, it requires external funding from directors / owners, this is no secret and has long been an issue, hence why I find pissing and moaning about being 13th in the division remarkable.

You would probably need to double our crowds at least to make it self sustainable which no amount of Barcelona esque style of play would result in.

And that's why people are concerned for the club. Most people aren't complaining for the sake of it. It's obvious that things are going wrong and have been for some time. like I said I've no idea what the answer is. I just hope the board do!

[Shrimpy]

We need to be in whatever league that is sustainable for the long term future of the club. If by being in L2, the attendances continue to wither, then it's not sustainable.

The club can't sustain itself as a League 2 club, it requires external funding from directors / owners, this is no secret and has long been an issue, hence why I find pissing and moaning about being 13th in the division remarkable.

You would probably need to double our crowds at least to make it self sustainable which no amount of Barcelona esque style of play would result in.

And that's why people are concerned for the club. Most people aren't complaining for the sake of it. It's obvious that things are going wrong and have been for some time. like I said I've no idea what the answer is. I just hope the board do!

If you're concerned solely with the long term security of the club and it remaining sustainable / being able to break even then the worst thing that ever happened was the introduction of the playoffs in the Conference and us subsequently turning full time in an attempt to get promoted.

[underbank]

And that's why people are concerned for the club. Most people aren't complaining for the sake of it. It's obvious that things are going wrong and have been for some time. like I said I've no idea what the answer is. I just hope the board do!

Exactly, I think everyone on SV and most of the fans care passionately about the club. Yes, we're mid table at the moment, which is excellent and a credit to the players and management, but we were virtually in the same position last year at this stage and ended up too close for comfort to the relegation zone. We also started the season at the top, so have dropped a long way already - if we hadn't had a good run back at the start, we'd be in the relegation zone because we've been mediocre ever since. On recent form, we're all frightened of the next few games which literally are make or break. We're not seeing anything from the players to give us confidence that they can keep us mid-league or above are we? We all know that the lads are better than this - we've seen them play far better, so it's right to question what is going wrong and hope that it's being sorted.

[Shrimpy]

And that's why people are concerned for the club. Most people aren't complaining for the sake of it. It's obvious that things are going wrong and have been for some time. like I said I've no idea what the answer is. I just hope the board do!

Exactly, I think everyone on SV and most of the fans care passionately about the club. Yes, we're mid table at the moment, which is excellent and a credit to the players and management, but we were virtually in the same position last year at this stage and ended up too close for comfort to the relegation zone. We also started the season at the top, so have dropped a long way already - if we hadn't had a good run back at the start, we'd be in the relegation zone because we've been mediocre ever since. On recent form, we're all frightened of the next few games which literally are make or break. We're not seeing anything from the players to give us confidence that they can keep us mid-league or above are we? We all know that the lads are better than this - we've seen them play far better, so it's right to question what is going wrong and hope that it's being sorted.

I think my over riding point is that all things considered that come the end of the season, anything above finishing 23rd must be considered a success and talk of sacking the management, demanding "change" is completely out of sync with the reality of the situation we find ourselves in.

[fulwoodshrimp]

I agree with Shrimpy that its important we survive in League 2 but what I can't understand is why we begin the season brightly and then plummet down the league in dramatic fashion. Have we had a top half of the table finish with the current regime? Take away the bright start we had this season and we would be in a relegation fight. The worry is a season will come along when we don't have a bright start and that's when we are in trouble.

[mrpotatohead]

at the beginning of the season,after our first 4 home league fixtures without loss,we faced northampton and pulled in 1726 fans, so success on the pich did nothing to put bums on seats,the town has a better team than it deserves.