Swindon Town

Morecambe has had tough preparation this week going into today's fixture, as the Shrimps fell to defeat against Liverpool U21s in the EFL Trophy in midweek and fell to a 2-1 away defeat to Gillingham last time out in the league.

 

Currently sitting in 16th place position with 10 points accumulated so far, Morecambe will be hoping to use their impressive home record to climb up the table.

 

Founded in 1920, Morecambe Football Club have represented the seaside town on the football map for over 100 years. The club was formed on the 7th May 1920 following a local meeting at the West View Hotel and that meeting now leads us to the Morecambe FC  of today.

The early years saw Morecambe FC build a club from the bottom up, originally sharing facilities with Morecambe Cricket Club at Woodhill Lane. Football proved to be a popular choice in the town with over 3,000 attending derby matches with both Lancaster City & Fleetwood Town.

As the club continued to progress, the post-war era saw further development of the football club and with Ken Horton appointed player-manager in 1956 the club was very much looking forward. The 50’s, 60’s and 70’s all featured big cup success. In 1961-62, the club made it to the FA 3rd Round where they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Weymouth before winning the Lancashire Senior Cup in 1968 with a 2-1 win over Burnley. The Shrimps would go on to win the 1974 FA Trophy at Wembley after beating Dartford 2-1.

During the 80s and early 90’s the club found itself in a state of flux with attendance falling to around 200 and struggling to maintain the success of earlier decades. However, success would not be too far away again in the North-West.

With Jim Harvey installed as the manager of Morecambe FC, the club would win promotion to the Conference (5th tier). Not content with achieving promotion to the conference, the club would narrowly miss out on runner-up spots and play-off success.

Under Jim Harvey the club also equalled its best performances in the FA Cup, however after making it through the early rounds of both the 2000-2001 and 2002-2003 campaigns, the club would lose out to Ipswich Town in both seasons.

In 2007, the club made the decision to leave Christie Park and move to new grounds in preparation for the 2009-2010 campaign. In summer 2010 the club would move to the Globe Arena. The Shrimps would open their new stadium with a 2-0 win over Championship side Coventry City in the League Cup First Round on 10th August 2010.

Days later Jim Bentley was appointed Manager, becoming player-manager on a two-year deal. Jim’s first nine games in charge of Morecambe saw the club sit pretty at the top of the League and he would continue to retain The Shrimps' position in League Two for 8 years.

In October 2019, Bentley decided to move to pastures new with over 400 games behind him as Morecambe Manager. In that time Jim secured over 120 wins for the club and ensured that the club maintained its position in the fourth tier of English Football.

The experienced Derek Adams was installed as the new Morecambe FC Manager following Bentley’s departure. After success with Scottish Premiership Side Ross County and EFL side Plymouth Argyle, Adams took the reins of The Shrimps and masterfully kept the club in the league prior to the COVID-19 pandemic halting all football.

Season 2020-21 proved to be a year of big headlines for Morecambe. Firstly, Adams’ side was drawn with Premier League Newcastle United in the third round of the EFL Cup before heading to Stamford Bridge to face off with Chelsea in the third round of the FA Cup.

After memorable cup matches, the league would ultimately bear the most fruitful place for The Shrimps. After finishing fourth in League Two with 78 points, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion by one point, it was the playoffs that beckoned. For the first time in the club’s history, a League Two play-off final at Wembley awaited after a 3-2 win over Tranmere Rovers in the semi-finals.

On 31st May 2021, Carlos Mendes Gomes converted a 107th-minute penalty to send Morecambe FC to League One for the first time, as Derek Adams’ side overcame Newport County 1-0 at the National Stadium.

Days after that Wembley final, Derek Adams would step down and former Motherwell FC manager Stephen Robinson would take over at the Mazuma Stadium. Robinson would have a strong start to his time in charge, opening the season with an impressive 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town.

Robinson would also lead The Shrimps out at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as again Morecambe bagged a glamour third-round tie in the FA Cup. With The Shrimps taking the lead it looked like one of the biggest cup shocks in history was on the cards but Spurs ultimately hit back and ran out 3-1 winners.

Derek Adams would return for his second spell as manager in February 2022 after Robinson left Morecambe to become manager of Scottish Premiership side St Mirren. With 32 games gone, Derek Adams would use the remainder of the campaign to ensure the club’s safety in League One, meaning a second consecutive season of third-tier football for The Shrimps.

The 2022/23 season saw Morecambe collect a record number of points in League One however it wasn’t enough to maintain our position in League One, as the club were relegated on the final day of the campaign after a valiant effort to remain in the third tier. This was the first time the club was ever relegated.

 

 

 

Town's record against the Shrimps is impressive. Seven wins, one draw and no defeats going into this weekend's game means Swindon will take even more confidence going to a place they have had a lot of success at over the years. 

 

Both of the last two meetings between the sides have been played at The County Ground, with a 3-1 win and a 4-0 victory, as well as the last time at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium playing out as a 1-0 victory, with a Donal McDermott goal ensuring all three points.

 

 

 

17/18: Morecambe 0-1 Swindon Town

 

17/18: Swindon Town 1-1 Morecambe

 

18/19: Morecambe 0-1 Swindon Town

 

18/19: Swindon Town 4-0 Morecambe

 

19/20: Swindon Town 3-1 Morecambe

 

 

 

Derek Adams is a Scottish football manager and former player who played professionally for six clubs, including Aberdeen and Motherwell, where he made over 300 league appearances during his playing career and has managed over 600 games so far, gaining 4 promotions.

Adams became manager of Ross County in 2007, winning promotion from the Scottish Second Division in his first season, before reaching the Scottish Cup Final two years later. He joined Hibernian as assistant manager in 2010 before returning to Ross County the following year, where he won the Scottish First Division and was voted PFA Scotland Manager of the Year for the 2011–12 season. Having left Plymouth following a League Two promotion in 2016-17, in April 2019, he became manager of his current side Morecambe for the first time in November 2019. He would go on to guide the club to promotion to League One in 2021, before leaving to take over at Bradford and after spending most of the 2021–22 season in charge at Bradford, he would return to Morecambe once again back in February 2022 to the present day.

 

 

The attacking midfielder will be a key threat to the Swindon Town defence tomorrow, having originally graduated from previous Premier League side Watford FC.

 

Temporary moves to League of Ireland side Bohemians and National League side Eastleigh FC followed for the midfielder, before impressing with the Spitfires to the point where he earned himself a move into the league and with current side Morecambe.

 

His dribbling ability and engine within the central midfield will be something that Town's midfield will need to be wary of, as they look to continue their good form in League Two so far this season.