Crisis club Morecambe need saviour, but it will not be Tyson Fury

Telegraph

3 days ago

The situation for Morecambe's players is so dire that this week they were forced to leave practice pitches because there is no insurance to cover them if they are injured in training.
The Lancashire club with a 105-year history are suspended from the National League and their fixture last weekend at Boston United was cancelled.
However, the players wanted to stay professional and carry on turning up for work each day, despite not having their wages paid by owner Jason Whittingham. But they were told they would have to leave the practice grounds, get in their cars and go home. The players have personal training programmes to stick to, but they are not allowed to work as a group.
For a club on the brink of folding – with staff not paid for June or July – it would be enough for some to give up but, as Morecambe captain Yann Songo'o explains to Telegraph Sport, it has brought the club together.
Songo'o says the players have kept in touch via a first-team WhatsApp group and, as well as the players pinging each other messages of support, local restaurant Sultan Experience has also donated curries and pizzas to those staff affected.
'As a family we don't leave anyone behind,' Songo'o said. 'If there is a problem we will come together. It is not easy for anyone at the moment. People are counting on you and there are bills to pay. It is a family club and people are looking after each other.'
In the kit room, there is a box of balls stashed in the corner, and there is no training gear being prepared by Les Dewhirst, who has been the kit man for the past 30 years.
He has seen the club's most treasured moments. He was there when the club defeated Dartford at Wembley to lift the FA Trophy in 1974. In the cupboard-sized room he operates from, there is a framed picture of the 2021 League Two play-off celebrations when a Carlos Mendes Gomes penalty defeated Newport County. That was only four years ago, but seems a world away from the precarious position the club now find themselves in.
Whittingham insists he wants to sell the club, and that the Panjab Warriors sports investment firm wants to buy. But so far Whittingham has not completed a deal for the club to be sold to either Panjab or investor Jonny Cato, who Whittingham revealed was another interested buyer.
Relations between Whittingham and Panjab have been fractured, with the Morecambe owner saying on the eve of mediation that the prospective buyers 'continue to issue statements that bear no relevance to actual events, are unhelpful and quite frankly bemusing'.
Away from the sideswipes between buyer and seller, the information being given to players and the public has been minimal. There has been no information as to why wages have not been paid, or what the outcome will be, other than the hope of resolution before their suspension is lifted on August 20. Whatever happens that day, there will be huge uncertainty over the club's future.
Players have also been anxiously watching the situation at Sheffield Wednesday, where the money tap has been turned off by owner Dejphon Chansiri, forcing them to cancel pre-season friendlies, train on artificial grass and run on adrenalin in their opening match of the Championship season at Leicester last Sunday.
'It's been a really difficult time, not just for me but everyone involved and you see what has happened with Sheffield Wednesday. It's sad because football is a sport to enjoy, for fans and players to enjoy as a passion,' Songo'o said.
'This situation is not ideal and not nice, but it is difficult to understand because we don't know much about what is going on. Our owner says he wants to sell the club but no one knows why we are in the situation and the reasoning behind it.
'It's not right that we are not getting paid, but nobody knows what the owners might personally be going through. He has to look after his family and himself. So it is really difficult. We are sad as everyone wants it to be sorted, but at the same time it is so complicated and he is the only person who has the answer and the exact reason.
'There hasn't been enough open talking. I hope at some point they come and say the reason why. For me you can only control the controllables. Keep myself fit day-by-day and hope they get resolved.'
Whittingham does not have a good track record in club ownership. He was co-owner of Worcester Warriors, who went into administration and lost their place in rugby union's Premiership. It led to him being disqualified as a company director for 12 months following a court hearing.
At Morecambe, they were a League One outfit two years ago, but are now in the National League, suspended and unable to pay wages.
It can be revealed that the English Football League had previously agreed to the change of ownership for Panjab to take control, with the deal in the final stages before the plug was pulled on the deal and the club were relegated from League Two in April.
Derek Adams, in his third spell at the club, has remained as manager over the summer. but players such as Harvey Macadam, who played 29 games last season, have served notice and left for other clubs.
'Gypsy King' has no interest in buying
The seaside town's sporting great is former world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, and he has always been linked to the football club. The Tyson Fury Foundation and gym is situated in the corner of Morecambe's Globe Arena and the players would often see the 'Gypsy King' between his fights.
It has been Fury's home for more than a decade, where he goes on early-morning coastal runs or visits the Morecambe Hotel and Restaurant for dinner with his family. Three years ago he told Talksport he was considering investing in them – it is understood that he has no interest currently in buying the club.
Similar to the reaction from the wider football community to the Sheffield Wednesday situation, there has been sympathy towards Morecambe, who have suffered through no fault of their own. Songo'o says it has brought people together, which is one of the only positives from the saga.
'It's been amazing what I've seen at the club, always there to help the club and the community, everyone at Morecambe has been so grateful,' he said. 'It's a community, coming together.'