Morecambe 1 Grimsby 1 Mullen f/t

[quinny]

I don't know if I'm missing anything here but Paul Mullin has scored 9 goals in just over 20 games for us (which is a much better ratio than we got from Rene Howe). I know he has missed some good chances and I know he is never going to outrun anyone, but at least he is getting in a position to get those chances and works his proverbials off.
I think we could do a hell of a lot worse.

[Grimsby]

I havent read many of these replies so forgive me if I am stating the obvious.

From what I could pick up, your game is about getting the ball to Mullin and Jevons feeding off him. When that works you will win but when they have an off day, you dont have much else to offer? Is that a fair comment ?

I also think you did the right thing getting the ball in the box as often as you could, on a small pitch like yours, you can put in a decent ball from anywhere on the park.

I also thought the little blond lad was outstanding, cant remember this name but he got MOTM.

[Sammy h]

And to think this is the best squad of players we have ever had ??????

I'd also point out, we're despondent because we drew with Grimsby, a team that were in the second tier of English football as recently as 2003. So while we were playing Forest Green Rovers, Leigh RMI, Margate and Southport, they were playing Burnley, Wolves and Portsmouth... and even Bradford!

Keith,

Posts like this really do wind me up, i'm all for being upbeat and getting behind the team and i do this regularly, anyone who knows me will back this up.

But at the end of the day, in any league and any sport, a team of our position, our players playing at home should be beating a side second from the bottom.

Did Doncaster yesterday think, oh crap were playing Derby county, they have been in the higher leagues for years we have no chance etc etc.

Sorry to bite, but comments like this anger me, i don't care where we were all those years ago, we are in league 2 and deservedly so.

[P/T Indie]

How many times does Mullin knock the ball down for Jevons though I don't think it's actually that often. IMO as a partnership it doesn't seem to work that well it's not like Mullin is setting up all Jevon's goals.

Coulson for them was a cracing player think he would be worth a look if they go down.

[james456]

I don't understand the comments about Mullin not being good enough.

He is there as a target man which is something we really need. Before Mullin came in and with Wayne injured, the team looked ineffective and all our strikers were in need of someone to play off. At least with our style of play, you need a striker you can feed the ball to. Before we had Paul, Jevo had to fill that role and he was, with respect, crap at it. It's only after Mullin came in that Jevons came into his own and the team started playing to their full capabilities.

Mullin isn't perfect - his finishing is not great, he isn't creative, has no pace and generally lacks skill on the ball but he's still one of the best target men in this division. I'd have him for another year and just be on the lookout for a younger replacement in the meantime.

[Keith]

And to think this is the best squad of players we have ever had ??????

I'd also point out, we're despondent because we drew with Grimsby, a team that were in the second tier of English football as recently as 2003. So while we were playing Forest Green Rovers, Leigh RMI, Margate and Southport, they were playing Burnley, Wolves and Portsmouth... and even Bradford!

Keith,

Posts like this really do wind me up, i'm all for being upbeat and getting behind the team and i do this regularly, anyone who knows me will back this up.

But at the end of the day, in any league and any sport, a team of our position, our players playing at home should be beating a side second from the bottom.

Did Doncaster yesterday think, oh crap were playing Derby county, they have been in the higher leagues for years we have no chance etc etc.

Sorry to bite, but comments like this anger me, i don't care where we were all those years ago, we are in league 2 and deservedly so.

It wasn't intended to wind anyone up, it was intended to point out that this IS the best squad of players because it is the highest point that we've ever played. In other words, this squad is better than the squads who played in the Conference. It is also a demonstration of how far we've come.

[Burnley Shrimp]

I havent read many of these replies so forgive me if I am stating the obvious.

From what I could pick up, your game is about getting the ball to Mullin and Jevons feeding off him. When that works you will win but when they have an off day, you dont have much else to offer? Is that a fair comment ?

I also think you did the right thing getting the ball in the box as often as you could, on a small pitch like yours, you can put in a decent ball from anywhere on the park.

I also thought the little blond lad was outstanding, cant remember this name but he got MOTM.

Really hope you stop up Grimsby! Been there 3 times now and enjoyed it every time. Plus you usually bring a fair few to our place. Blundell Park is full of character. Give me your place anytime over the likes of Shrewsbury or the Deva Stadium. It made me laugh when we were there this season. I told my lad that although it was wind factor minus 12 outside we could have a warm in the snug little bar under the stand at half time. WRONG!! All the heating was off and the stewards were huddled together in there just trying to generate enough warmth to stay alive.

Now I like a beer but the Morecambe fans drinking ice cold lager in there were just nuts!! It was a cup a soup for me at £1.50p. A bargain when the North Sea breeze is about to suck the last remants of life from you. COME ON Grimsby, you've got to stop up, it's one of the last remaining must visits on any fans list of grounds to be visited before you die!! Oh and Paul Mullin to sign on for another season please!

[Dazzer]

I think the criticism of Mullin is unfair. He was'nt bought as a 'fox in the box' score 20+ goals a season player (That's Jevons role in the team). He's a target man through and through, before he signed there was many on here crying out for such a player - that's because we would watch evey single long ball we played up top, come straight back again.
Now Mullin is winning his fair share of those long balls. Ok he is never going to take one on his chest, dribble around both center backs and curl one into the top corner, but he can flick one onto Jevo, or back to an oncoming midfielder. Even if we gat a corner or a throw in out of the play, it's an improvement on the ball just coming straight back as it was doing time after time early on in the season.
And, he is chipping in with his goals, somebody above quoted 9 out of 20 - they say anything around a goal every other game is a fair return for a striker, so IMO he has an important role in the team and I'm glad we have him.

[darrenlock]

Daz

I think Mullin has a contract until end of next season i remember at first watching him and not being to sure about him but i like him.There are no certainties Jevons will sign on so we need Mullin more and with Taylor/ Curtis out of contract come May why slag him off fans.

Vs Burton Albion he was fantastic just like a in form Emile Heskey

[DTSJim]

I understand the criticism that's being aimed at Mullen but I think people are unclear as to the role he was brought here to play. He's doing a job and I think he's doing it well, if he gets the ball with his back to goal you can be quite confident he'll find a Morecambe player, which has been lacking in our game for a long time, Matty Blinkhorn stands out in my mind as a player who's been unable to play that sort of clever football.

What really annoyed me yesterday was the whingeing in the mainstand about Duffy. How people can't see that he's a good player is beyond me. He has good control, isn't afraid to take people on and is improving his football brain too. When people spend their whole 90 minutes whining about how badly he's playing and then hear that he's MOTM it should really make them stop and think, but rather than do that they prefer to blindly criticise and jeer the sponsors. What kind of support is that?

[Burnley Shrimp]

I understand the criticism that's being aimed at Mullen but I think people are unclear as to the role he was brought here to play. He's doing a job and I think he's doing it well, if he gets the ball with his back to goal you can be quite confident he'll find a Morecambe player, which has been lacking in our game for a long time, Matty Blinkhorn stands out in my mind as a player who's been unable to play that sort of clever football.

What really annoyed me yesterday was the whingeing in the mainstand about Duffy. How people can't see that he's a good player is beyond me. He has good control, isn't afraid to take people on and is improving his football brain too. When people spend their whole 90 minutes whining about how badly he's playing and then hear that he's MOTM it should really make them stop and think, but rather than do that they prefer to blindly criticise and jeer the sponsors. What kind of support is that?

It was just the same around certain areas of the North Stand re Duffs MOM award. It seems some of our fans are just bigots who make up their mind on a player early doors and then decide to criticize them come what may. They aren't football fans they're just there to have a good moan and that's all that makes them happy. A reet good whinge about summat

[heysham_mfc]

Mullen was not brought to the cub to scoree goals but it is very annoying with some of the chances he gets but fails to put them away.

[seasonsinthesun]

[

What really annoyed me yesterday was the whingeing in the mainstand about Duffy. How people can't see that he's a good player is beyond me. He has good control, isn't afraid to take people on and is improving his football brain too. When people spend their whole 90 minutes whining about how badly he's playing and then hear that he's MOTM it should really make them stop and think, but rather than do that they prefer to blindly criticise and jeer the sponsors. What kind of support is that?[/quote]

I do not agree that people in the main stand were "blindly criticising and jeering the sponsors" over the man of the match decision. I think that it was a fair criticism. Duffy had a good first half, but was absent for long periods in the second half IMO. A closer MOTM contender for me was Drummond or even Hackney(although he tired in the second half).
It also seemed strange that, when we needed a winning goal, Jevons was substituted, but maybe he was carrying an injury.

[DTSJim]

I do not agree that people in the main stand were "blindly criticising and jeering the sponsors" over the man of the match decision. I think that it was a fair criticism. Duffy had a good first half, but was absent for long periods in the second half IMO. A closer MOTM contender for me was Drummond or even Hackney(although he tired in the second half).
It also seemed strange that, when we needed a winning goal, Jevons was substituted, but maybe he was carrying an injury.

That was just the feeling I got whilst I was watching the match. I think Drummy as MOTM is a good shout but I feel like Duffy's first half performance made him worthy. I don't reckon anyone had a particularly great second half.

[Caged Lion]

Mullin has a good footballing brain and gets himself into the zone to pull the trigger, frustratingly he has fired blanks on several occasions. However, if asked at the start of the season I am sure most of us would be happy to get 2 players scoring more than 10 goals each. With Drummie striking well we could have 3. We have the nucleus of an excellent squad.

Compared to the so called strikers from recent seasons we have enjoyed some fantastic attacking football from our lads this year. It would suit me to have both Mullin and Jevons on the park next season, bring in a lightening quick young hotshot to learn from these two and we could have a winning formula.

[Keith]

Perhaps I'm being a tad unfair, it's just that I think that Curtis can do that role and he can score with his feet too (and his nuts come to that!) I'm sure if he'd been given a consistent run in that one role, he'd have scored as many this season while still being provider to Jevons and been cheaper too. I don't think Paul offers much more than Wayne.

[Caged Lion]

Is Wayne out of contract this summer? I have always enjoyed his contribution and definitely have more faith in him to score and provide chances. But he may not be a Morecambe player next season and Mullin has another year to run on his contract, so either Mullin or Curtis are going to be warming the bench if both are with the club. Neither would oust Jevons in my opinion.

We definitely need a quick, aggressive young gun. Taylor doesn't look up to it at this level. No clue about this Connerton lad at Lancaster but he may be just the type we need.

[marky]

I could have sworn Mullin's contract is up at the end of the season...

[marky No.1]

When people spend their whole 90 minutes whining about how badly he's playing and then hear that he's MOTM it should really make them stop and think, but rather than do that they prefer to blindly criticise and jeer the sponsors. What kind of support is that?

The sponsors pay their money and I.M.O. should be able to pick whoever they want for M.O.M. even if it is to get the photo with their favourite player however well he plays

We should remember that without these people the Club would be that much worse off on Matchdays


I remember sponsoring a game (Crawley I think) when we would sit over in the police box and actually chose an away player as M.O.M. because we were so crap!

[Christies Child]

I could have sworn Mullin's contract is up at the end of the season...

Mullers said on radio that in order to be considered for a contract next season that he had to play a certain number of games. I'd sign him BUT look for a younger and bit more mobile C/F as an alternative to partner PJ up front (it's all gone quiet about how Connerton's trial at Crewe went), assuming that Sammy intends to offer PJ a contract...and that PJ accepts it?

[John L]

I could have sworn Mullin's contract is up at the end of the season...

Correct.... http://www.thevisitor.co.uk/morecambe-sport/Mullin-signs-for-Shrimps-.5603130.jp