2007–08 Morecambe F.C. season

Morecambe
2007–08 season
Chairman	Peter McGuigan
Manager	Sammy McIlroy
Stadium	Christie Park
League Two	11th
FA Cup	First round
League Cup	Third round
League Trophy	Area Final
Top goalscorer	League: ; Carl Baker (10); Matthew Blinkhorn (10); All: ; Carl Baker (11); Matthew Blinkhorn (11)
Highest home attendance	4,761 v Bradford City; 12 October 2007
Lowest home attendance	1,634 v Shrewsbury Town; 8 April 2008
Average home league attendance	2,812
Biggest win	Morecambe 5–1 Rotherham United; 29 March 2008
Biggest defeat	Sheffield United 5–0 Morecambe; 25 September 2007
	2008–09 →
	All statistics correct as of match played 3 May 2008.

The 2007–08 season was Morecambe's 84th season since formation, and their first ever in the Football League, having won promotion from the Conference the previous season. They played in League Two, the fourth tier of English football.

Their league campaign can roughly be broken down into three periods of mixed form, excellent form and poor form. After a mixed start, they went on a run of eight wins in 10 games, before recording just two wins in their final 14 games. An 11th placed finish in front of good crowds at Christie Park was a solid start to life in the Football League.

In the cup competitions, they excelled themselves. Although they were eliminated from the FA Cup in the First round, in the other two competitions they recorded their – as of 2021 – best ever performances.

In the League Cup they reached the Third round, being drawn away to Championship opposition on each occasion. They stunned Preston North End and Wolverhampton Wanderers (after extra time), before losing 5–0 to Sheffield United.

Meanwhile in the League Trophy, four victories saw them through to the Northern Area Final. A two legged affair against Grimsby Town stood between them and a second Wembley final in as many seasons. However after losing the first leg 1–0 at home, they were unable to turn the tie around at Blundell Park (0–0), and Grimsby progressed.

Competitions

League Two

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
9	Rotherham United	46	21	11	14	62	58	+4	64^[a]
10	Bradford City	46	17	11	18	63	61	+2	62
11	Morecambe	46	16	12	18	59	63	−4	60
12	Barnet	46	16	12	18	56	63	−7	60
13	Bury	46	16	11	19	58	61	−3	59

Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2008. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

^ Rotherham United deducted 10 points for administration entrance.^[1]

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	16	12	18	59	63	−4	60	9	6	8	33	32	+1	7	6	10	26	31	−5

Last updated: 3 May 2008.
Source: 11v11.com

Results by matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A
Result	D	L	W	D	W	L	D	L	W	D	W	L	D	D	L	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	L	D	D	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	W	L	D	W	L	D	D	L	L	D
Position	17	22	11	10	7	11	14	17	11	11	9	12	12	14	16	13	10	9	10	10	10	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	10	8	10	10	10	11	10	10	11	9	11	10	10	10	12	11

Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2008. Source: 11v11.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

11 August 2007 1	Morecambe	0–0	Barnet	Morecambe
15:00 BST	Adams 83'	Report	Thomas 13'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 3,633 Referee: Phil Joslin

18 August 2007 2	Wrexham	2–1	Morecambe	Wrexham
15:00 BST	Proctor 6', 22', 90' Llewellyn 68'	Report	Yates 15' Newby 56'	Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 5,504 Referee: Graham Horwood

25 August 2007 3	Morecambe	3–1	Mansfield Town	Morecambe
15:00 BST	White 5' (o.g.) Twiss 43' Stanley 44' Baker 51' (pen.) Bentley 52'	Report	Boulding 40' Jelleyman 50'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,980 Referee: Clive Oliver

1 September 2007 4	Notts County	1–1	Morecambe	Nottingham
15:00 BST	Canoville 62' Frost 75' Butcher 87'	Report	Twiss 34' Baker 45' Adams 90'	Stadium: Meadow Lane Attendance: 4,434 Referee: Steve Bratt

7 September 2007 5	Chester City	0–1	Morecambe	Chester
19:45 BST	Linwood 90+2'	Report	Thompson 76' Adams 84' Baker 90+4' (pen.)	Stadium: Deva Stadium Attendance: 3,199 Referee: Phil Dowd

15 September 2007 6	Morecambe	0–3	Hereford United	Morecambe
15:00 BST		Report	Broadhurst 13' Benjamin 80' Ainsworth 84' Webb 90+4'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,949 Referee: Mark Haywood

22 September 2007 7	Peterborough United	1–1	Morecambe	Peterborough
15:00 BST	McLean 63' (pen.) Charnock 79'	Report	Thompson 83', 90'	Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 4,473 Referee: Gavin Ward

29 September 2007 8	Morecambe	0–1	Milton Keynes Dons	Morecambe
15:00 BST		Report	Dyer 21' Navarro 51' Stirling 55'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,688 Referee: Michael Oliver

2 October 2007 9	Morecambe	2–0	Stockport County	Morecambe
19:45 BST	Artell 1' Baker 45+1', 66' Twiss 85'	Report	McNeil 8'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,871 Referee: Paul Taylor

6 October 2007 10	Lincoln City	1–1	Morecambe	Lincoln
15:00 BST	Amoo 22' Green 90+2'	Report	Beevers 36' (o.g.)	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 3,281 Referee: Steven Cook

12 October 2007 11	Morecambe	2–1	Bradford City	Morecambe
19:45 BST	Thompson 64' Artell 78' Baker 90+1'	Report	Bower 43', 63'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 4,761 Referee: Colin Webster

20 October 2007 12	Rotherham United	3–1	Morecambe	Rotherham
15:00 BST	Brogan 71' (pen.) Hudson 77' Yates 81', 87'	Report	Adams 27' Bentley 46', 78' Artell 70' Stanley 78'	Stadium: Millmoor Attendance: 4,181 Referee: Darren Deadman

27 October 2007 13	Morecambe	1–1	Rochdale	Morecambe
15:00 BST	Artell 17', 55' Stanley 65' Twiss 67' Howard 90+2'	Report	McArdle 55', 87'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 3,651 Referee: Kevin Friend

3 November 2007 14	Chesterfield	2–2	Morecambe	Chesterfield
15:00 GMT	Lester 56', 64'	Report	Curtis 1' Drench 2' Grand 90+4'	Stadium: Saltergate Attendance: 3,721 Referee: Paul Melin

6 November 2007 15	Morecambe	0–1	Accrington Stanley	Morecambe
19:45 GMT	Bentley 73'	Report	Cresswell 13' (o.g.)	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,814 Referee: Mark Halsey

17 November 2007 16	Grimsby Town	1–2	Morecambe	Cleethorpes
15:00 GMT	Taylor 53' Boshell 77' Bolland 88'	Report	Newby 28' Twiss 50' Bentley 69'	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 4,897 Referee: Pat Miller

24 November 2007 17	Morecambe	2–1	Bury	Morecambe
15:00 GMT	Bentley 11' Twiss 27'	Report	Bishop 76' Woodthorpe 89'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 3,124 Referee: Rob Shoebridge

4 December 2007 18	Brentford	0–1	Morecambe	Brentford
19:45 GMT	Dickson 26' Mackie 31'	Report	Twiss 56' Stanley 90'	Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 3,155 Referee: Iain Williamson

14 December 2007 19	Wycombe Wanderers	2–0	Morecambe	High Wycombe
19:30 GMT	McGleish 19' McCracken 61' Sutton 69'	Report	Stanley 20'	Stadium: Adams Park Attendance: 3,821 Referee: Andy Penn

22 December 2007 20	Hereford United	0–3	Morecambe	Hereford
15:00 GMT	Smith 25'	Report	Bentley 27' Blinkhorn 38' Hunter 57' Artell 64'	Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 3,058 Referee: Steve Bratt

26 December 2007 21	Morecambe	5–3	Chester City	Morecambe
15:00 GMT	Bentley 18', 70' Thompson 20' Blinkhorn 25' Stanley 44' Baker 45+3'	Report	Ellison 5', 73' Linwood 25' Roberts 45+1' Holroyd 76'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 3,419 Referee: Mike Pike

29 December 2007 22	Morecambe	3–2	Peterborough United	Morecambe
15:00 GMT	Artell 27', 48' Baker 52', 71' (pen.), 53'	Report	Morgan 5' Lee 12' Day 70'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,371 Referee: Carl Boyeson

1 January 2008 23	Stockport County	2–1	Morecambe	Stockport
15:00 GMT	Elding 9', 13' Dickinson 41'	Report	Yates 13' Adams 43' Stanley 59' Baker 65' Blinkhorn 80'	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 5,489 Referee: Graham Salisbury

5 January 2008 24	Macclesfield Town	1–2	Morecambe	Macclesfield
15:00 GMT	Gritton 25', 37' Dunfield 64' Dimech 66'	Report	Blinkhorn 30' Howard 44' Adams 74' Thompson 86'	Stadium: Moss Rose Attendance: 2,254 Referee: Jon Moss

12 January 2008 25	Morecambe	1–0	Dagenham & Redbridge	Morecambe
15:00 GMT	Blinkhorn 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,754 Referee: Karl Evans

15 January 2008 26	Morecambe	0–3	Darlington	Morecambe
19:45 GMT	Grand 74'	Report	Austin 27' Wright 60' Joachim 63' Cummins 65' Blundell 70'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,773 Referee: Darren Drysdale

19 January 2008 27	Shrewsbury Town	2–0	Morecambe	Shrewsbury
15:00 GMT	Hall 4' Madjo 31' Pugh 57'	Report	Grand 36' Stanley 57'	Stadium: New Meadow Attendance: 5,036 Referee: Danny McDermid

26 January 2008 28	Morecambe	1–1	Notts County	Morecambe
15:00 GMT	Baker 72' Yates 84'	Report	Butcher 28' Tann 67'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,727 Referee: Scott Mathieson

29 January 2008 29	Morecambe	2–2	Wrexham	Morecambe
19:45 GMT	Curtis 8' Roberts 52' (o.g.) Yates 67'	Report	Sonner 30' (pen.) Tremarco 35' Hope 75' 90+6' Proctor 79' (pen.)	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,421 Referee: Andy Hall

2 February 2008 30	Barnet	0–1	Morecambe	Chipping Barnet
15:00 GMT	Wright 88'	Report	Thompson 62' Adams 88'	Stadium: Underhill Stadium Attendance: 1,619 Referee: Andy D'Urso

9 February 2008 31	Morecambe	0–1	Macclesfield Town	Morecambe
15:00 GMT		Report	Reid 30' Hessey 66' Green 87' Thomas 90+3'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,626 Referee: Andy Haines

12 February 2008 32	Mansfield Town	1–2	Morecambe	Mansfield
19:45 GMT	Dawson 37' Bell 48' Mullins 51'	Report	Bentley 6' Blinkhorn 24' Curtis 89'	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 2,287 Referee: Ray Lee

23 February 2008 33	Dagenham & Redbridge	2–0	Morecambe	Dagenham
15:00 GMT	Gain 20' Strevens 90+4'	Report		Stadium: Victoria Road Attendance: 1,809 Referee: Clive Penton

1 March 2008 34	Morecambe	0–4	Grimsby Town	Morecambe
15:00 GMT		Report	Bore 22', 25' Hegarty 59' Butler 81'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,303 Referee: Colin Webster

8 March 2008 35	Bury	2–1	Morecambe	Bury
15:00 GMT	Bishop 45+1', 49' (pen.)	Report	Drummond 53', 62' Lloyd 69'	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 2,596 Referee: Anthony Bates

12 March 2008 36	Accrington Stanley	3–2	Morecambe	Accrington
19:45 GMT	Kempson 43' Mangan 72' Mullin 73' Whalley 78'	Report	Blinkhorn 14' Twiss 50' Drummond 62'	Stadium: Fraser Eagle Stadium Attendance: 1,448 Referee: Alan Wiley

15 March 2008 37	Morecambe	3–1	Brentford	Morecambe
15:00 GMT	Drummond 31' Adams 35' Thompson 53' Hunter 88'	Report	Elder 42' Dickson 72' Connell 76'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,180 Referee: Richard Beeby

22 March 2008 38	Morecambe	0–1	Wycombe Wanderers	Morecambe
15:00 GMT	Adams 55'	Report	Oakes 36'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,524 Referee: Rob Lewis

24 March 2008 39	Darlington	2–2	Morecambe	Darlington
15:00 GMT	Foran 57' Kennedy 84' Ndumbu-Nsungu 89'	Report	Thompson 38' (pen.) Newby 41'	Stadium: The Darlington Arena Attendance: 3,719 Referee: Michael Oliver

29 March 2008 40	Morecambe	5–1	Rotherham United	Morecambe
15:00 GMT	Blinkhorn 8' Newby 9', 18', 42' Stanley 73'	Report	Hudson 35' Holmes 38'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,171 Referee: Eddie Ilderton

5 April 2008 41	Bradford City	1–0	Morecambe	Bradford
15:00 BST	Penford 40' Conlon 48' Johnson 56'	Report	Newby 61' Curtis 74' Blinkhorn 87'	Stadium: Coral Windows Stadium Attendance: 13,562 Referee: David Coote

8 April 2008 42	Morecambe	1–1	Shrewsbury Town	Morecambe
19:45 BST	Baker 32' Blinkhorn 73' Stanley 74'	Report	Pugh 70', 70' Herd 73'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 1,634 Referee: Mike Jones

12 April 2008 43	Morecambe	1–1	Chesterfield	Morecambe
15:00 BST	Blinkhorn 74'	Report	Fletcher 35'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,531 Referee: Stuart Attwell

19 April 2008 44	Rochdale	1–0	Morecambe	Rochdale
15:00 BST	Holness 17' Howe 66'	Report	Yates 77' McStay 89'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 3,706 Referee: Jon Moss

26 April 2008 45	Morecambe	1–2	Lincoln City	Morecambe
15:00 BST	McStay 54' Blinkhorn 90+3'	Report	Moses 20' Beevers 40' Wright 42' Green 70'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,762 Referee: Steven Cook

3 May 2008 46	Milton Keynes Dons	1–1	Morecambe	Milton Keynes
15:00 BST	Howell 29' Lewington 34' Wilbraham 41' O'Hanlon 57'	Report	Adams 68' Twiss 78'	Stadium: Stadium MK Attendance: 17,250 Referee: Paul Armstrong

FA Cup

10 November 2007 (2007-11-10) First round	Morecambe	0–2	Port Vale	Morecambe
15:00 GMT		Report	Pilkington 6' Willock 22' Laird 54'	Stadium: Christie Park Attendance: 2,730 Referee: Clive Oliver

League Cup

14 August 2007 (2007-08-14) First round	Preston North End	1–2	Morecambe	Preston
19:45 BST	St Ledger 61' Pugh 73' Sedgwick 79' Carroll 90'	Report	Bentley 6' Artell 84'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 7,703 Referee: Alan Wiley

28 August 2007 (2007-08-28) Second round	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–3 (a.e.t.)	Morecambe	Wolverhampton
19:45 BST	Edwards 43' Stack 61' Keogh 84' (pen.)	Report	Baker 54' 62' (pen.) Newby 92' Lewis 101' Adams 103' Thompson 105'	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 11,296 Referee: Anthony Taylor

25 September 2007 (2007-09-25) Third round	Sheffield United	5–0	Morecambe	Sheffield
19:45 BST	Sharp 18', 33' Shelton 52', 72' Hendrie 67'	Report	Bentley 55'	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 8,854 Referee: Steve Tanner

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Steven Drench
2	DF	ENG	Adam Yates
3	DF	ENG	Michael Howard
4	DF	ENG	David Artell^{[notes 1]}
5	DF	ENG	Jim Bentley
6	MF	ENG	Craig Stanley
7	MF	ENG	Michael Twiss
8	MF	ENG	Garry Hunter
9	FW	ENG	Wayne Curtis
10	MF	ENG	Carl Baker
11	MF	ENG	Garry Thompson
12	MF	ENG	Damien Allen
14	MF	ENG	Neil Sorvel
15	MF	ENG	Fraser McLachlan
16	MF	ENG	Stewart Drummond


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	MF	ENG	Jamie Burns
18	MF	ENG	Paul Lloyd
19	DF	ENG	Simon Grand
20	FW	ENG	Jon Newby
21	FW	ENG	Matthew Blinkhorn
22	DF	ENG	Jamie Davies
23	DF	IRL	Henry McStay^{[notes 2]}
24	DF	ENG	Andy Langford
25	DF	ENG	Danny Adams
26	MF	ENG	Paul Jarvis
28	MF	ENG	Gary Ball
30	GK	ENG	Scott Davies
32	GK	ENG	Shwan Jalal^{[notes 3]} (on loan from Peterborough United)
33	GK	SCO	Steve McIlhargey

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
23	DF	ENG	Keiran Walmsley (to Fleetwood Town)
27	DF	ENG	Phil McLuckie (to Workington)
29	DF	ENG	Ryan Cresswell (on loan from Sheffield United)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
31	GK	ENG	Scott Loach (on loan from Watford)
32	GK	ENG	Joe Lewis (on loan from Norwich City)

References

^ "Rotherham go into administration". BBC Sport. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
^ "FootballSquads - Morecambe - 2007/08". footballsquads.co.uk.

Notes

^ Artell was born in Rotherham, England, but also qualified to represent Gibraltar internationally and made his international debut for Gibraltar in March 2014.
^ McStay was born in Armagh, Northern Ireland, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and has represented them at U-21 level.
^ Jalal was born in Baghdad, Iraq, but was raised in England and played for the England C team; he later made his international debut for Iraq in June 2015.

[table_hth_ROT0.49518562969527-2] Rotherham United deducted 10 points for administration entrance.^[1]

[1] "Rotherham go into administration". BBC Sport. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2010.

[3] "FootballSquads - Morecambe - 2007/08". footballsquads.co.uk.

[4] Artell was born in Rotherham, England, but also qualified to represent Gibraltar internationally and made his international debut for Gibraltar in March 2014.

[5] McStay was born in Armagh, Northern Ireland, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and has represented them at U-21 level.

[6] Jalal was born in Baghdad, Iraq, but was raised in England and played for the England C team; he later made his international debut for Iraq in June 2015.

[a]

[1]

[2]

[notes 1]

[notes 2]

[notes 3]