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List of Morecambe F.C. seasons

Morecambe Football Club is an English football club based in Morecambe, Lancashire. It plays its football in League Two, the fourth tier of English football, having been promoted in 2007 for the first time in their history to the Football League, and again in 2021.

In 2023, they were relegated, for the first time in their history, back to League Two. At the time, they were the last of the 92 Premier League and Football League clubs to suffer a relegation.

History

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Football in the town dates back to the turn of the 20th century; however, it was not until 7 May 1920 that Morecambe FC was formed after a meeting at the local West View Hotel. The club then took its place in the Lancashire Combination League for the 1920–21 season. At the end of the first season the club moved grounds to Roseberry Park. A few years later after the purchase of the ground by the then-President, Mr. J.B. Christie, the ground's name was changed to Christie Park, in his honour. Those early seasons proved difficult and it was not until 1924–25 that the club began to enjoy some success, claiming the league title for the first time; this was later followed by success in the Lancashire Junior Cup, beating old rivals Chorley after two replays, and in front of over 30,000 spectators.

Mr. Christie bequeathed the ground to the club in 1927 and also helped incorporate the club into a Limited Company with a then share capital of £1,000. The rest of the 1920s and the whole of the 1930s saw a constant struggle to keep football alive on the North West coast, with poor results on the field and little or no revenue off the field, a near certain recipe for disaster.

The post-war era saw an upturn in the Shrimps' fortunes with steady progress throughout the late 1940s and nearly all the 1950s. These years included an FA Cup third round appearance in 1961–62, a 1–0 defeat to Weymouth; a Lancashire Senior Cup Final victory in 1968, a 2–1 win over Burnley and an FA Trophy success at Wembley in 1974, a 2–1 win over Dartford in the final.

The next decade were as barren as any previous period in the club's history, with the Grim Reaper never far from the Christie Park door. Attendances fell from a creditable 2,000 plus to a miserable 200 minus, with a visible decline in the club fortunes during that period. However, in 1985–86, signs of improvement appeared: the club's league position improved and cup success over the next few years filled the club with optimism.

It took ten years of continual improvement both on and off the field to reach the club's ambition of promotion to the Football Conference after many further improvements, not only to the ground but also regarding the club's structure, giving the club the opportunity to confidently look forward as one of the more progressive Conference clubs.

Since elevation to the Conference in season 1995–96, the Shrimps achieved status as one of the leading teams in the league. In fact, only Woking had a longer unbroken membership of the league at this time. Runners-up spot was claimed on one occasion and the play-offs places were narrowly missed twice. Also during this time, the club also equalled its best appearance in the FA Cup in both 2000–01 and 2002–03. On both occasions the club faced Ipswich Town, losing 3–0 and 4–0 respectively. Morecambe also defeated a few league clubs in the FA Cup, including Cambridge United in 2000–01 and Chesterfield in 2002–03.

Morecambe were promoted to the Football League for the first time in their history after winning the Conference Playoff Final, beating Exeter City 2–1 at Wembley on 20 May 2007, in front of over 40,000 fans which followed their semi-final victory over York City.[1]

On 17 July 2007, Morecambe announced plans to move to a new stadium in time for the start of the 2009–10 season. Work did not commence on the proposed site until spring 2009 with an anticipated completion date of summer 2010.[2]

Morecambe played their first game in the Football League against Barnet at Christie Park in August 2007, in which they played out a 0–0 draw to secure their first ever Football League point.[3]

2009–10 was Morecambe's last season at Christie Park. They finished the season in fourth place, qualifying for the playoffs, where they lost 7–2 on aggregate to Dagenham & Redbridge. On 10 August 2010, Morecambe played their first match at the Globe Arena against Championship side Coventry City in the League Cup first round. Morecambe secured a 2–0 win, with Andy Fleming scoring the first two goals at the stadium. This earned Morecambe a Lancashire Derby in the second round against another Championship side, Burnley, where they lost 3–1.

Key

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Seasons

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Year League Lvl Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Position Leading league scorer[4] FA Cup EFL Cup
FA Trophy 		EFL Trophy Average home
attendance[5][a]
Name Goals Res Rec Res Rec Res Rec
1920–21 Lancashire Combination 34 10 5 19 58 83 -25 25 13th of 18 PR 0-1-1
1921–22 34 10 6 18 36 56 -20 26 14th of 18 PR 0-1-1
1922–23 34 9 8 17 41 60 -19 26 15th of 18 QR3 3-1-1
1923–24 38 15 5 18 60 63 -3 35 15th of 20 QR3 3-1-1
1924–25 36 24 7 5 88 31 +57 55 1st of 19 QR1 1-0-1
1925–26 38 21 10 7 103 58 +45 52 2nd of 20 QR1 2-1-1
1926–27 38 23 4 11 105 58 +47 50 3rd of 20 QR1 1-0-1
1927–28 38 17 6 15 92 72 +20 40 8th of 20 QR1 1-0-1
1928–29 38 20 2 16 89 73 +16 42 10th of 20 QR3 3-0-1
1929–30 38 12 7 19 74 111 -37 31 14th of 20 PR 0-0-1
1930–31 38 12 8 18 76 97 -21 32 16th of 20
1931–32 36 6 6 24 41 93 -52 18 18th of 19 PR 0-0-1
1932–33 38 11 10 17 68 84 -26 32 14th of 20 QR3 2-1-1
1933–34 38 9 9 20 65 101 -36 27 18th of 20 QR1 0-0-1
1934–35 38 17 5 16 63 60 +3 39 8th of 20 QR2 2-0-1
1935–36 40 19 9 12 78 65 +13 47 6th of 21 QR1 0-0-1
1936–37 40 17 10 13 95 75 +20 44 10th of 21 R1 5-2-1
1937–38 42 21 10 11 90 70 +20 52 6th of 22 QR1 0-1-1
1938–39 42 14 10 18 67 76 -9 38 15th of 22 QR1 1-0-1
No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1945 due to World War II.
1945–46 Lancashire Combination 22 6 6 10 54 68 -14 18 9th of 12
1946–47 42 23 5 14 133 85 +48 51 4th of 22 QR1 1-0-1
1947–48 42 24 6 12 98 59 +39 54 4th of 22 QR2 2-0-1
1948–49 42 22 6 14 80 60 +20 50 3rd of 22 PR 0-0-1
1949–50 42 17 11 14 62 55 +7 45 9th of 22 PR 0-0-1
1950–51 42 12 12 18 56 73 -17 36 15th of 22 PR 0-0-1
1951–52 42 21 7 14 74 72 +2 49 5th of 22 QR1 0-1-1
1952–53 42 16 9 17 60 61 -1 41 11th of 22 QR3 2-0-1
1953–54 40 14 6 20 58 83 -25 34 19th of 21 QR3 2-0-1
1954–55 42 18 8 16 68 65 +3 44 9th of 22 QR1 0-1-1
1955–56 38 12 5 21 62 94 -32 29 17th of 20 QR1 0-0-1
1956–57 38 20 7 11 81 53 +28 47 3rd of 20 R1 0-0-0
1957–58 42 18 12 12 66 50 +16 48 7th of 22 QR4 3-0-1
1958–59 42 22 9 11 77 44 +33 53 5th of 22 R1 4-0-1
1959–60 42 28 2 12 103 54 +49 58 4th of 22 QR1 0-0-1
1960–61 42 23 5 14 96 76 +20 51 6th of 22 QR3 2-1-1
1961–62 42 32 6 4 143 51 +92 70 1st of 22 R3 6-0-1
1962–63 42 31 6 5 153 40 +113 68 1st of 22 R1 1-0-1
1963–64 42 19 8 15 93 71 +22 46 10th of 22 QR4 0-0-1
1964–65 42 30 2 10 132 50 +82 62 3rd of 22 QR3 2-0-1
1965–66 42 19 12 11 105 65 +50 50 7th of 22 QR2 1-0-1
1966–67 41 30 9 2 90 24 +66 69 1st of 22 R1 4-3-1
1967–68 42 28 9 5 112 41 +71 65 1st of 22 QR4 0-0-1
Northern Premier League created. Club transferred to the newly created league.
1968–69 Northern
Premier
League 		5 38 16 14 8 64 37 +27 46 3rd of 20 R2 5-0-1
1969–70 38 10 13 15 41 51 -10 33 15th of 20 QR4 0-0-1 R1 0-0-1
1970–71 42 11 11 17 67 79 -12 39 12th of 22 QR1 0-0-1 QR3 0-0-1
1971–72 46 15 10 21 51 64 -13 40 17th of 24 QR2 1-1-1 R3 5-0-1
1972–73 46 17 11 18 62 70 -8 45 15th of 24 QR1 0-0-1 QF 4-3-1
1973–74 46 13 13 20 62 84 -22 39 17th of 24 QR1 0-1-1 W 7-1-0
1974–75 46 14 15 17 71 87 -16 43 13th of 24 R1 0-0-1 R2 1-0-1
1975–76 46 11 11 24 47 67 -20 33 20th of 24 R1 1-1-1 R3 2-1-1
1976–77 44 13 11 20 59 75 -16 37 15th of 23 R1 1-0-1 QF 3-2-1
1977–78 46 11 11 24 67 92 -25 33 21st of 24 QR4 0-1-1 R1 0-0-1
1978–79 44 11 13 20 55 65 -10 35 18th of 23 R1 1-0-1 R1 0-0-1
Level of the league decreased after the Alliance Premier League creation.
1979–80 6 42 10 12 20 40 59 -19 32 17th of 22 R1 1-1-1 R2 2-0-1
1980–81 42 11 8 23 42 74 -32 30 21st of 22 QR4 0-0-1 R1 1-1-1
1981–82 42 9 11 22 43 86 -43 29 20th of 22 QR1 0-0-1 QR3 0-0-1
1982–83 42 16 11 15 75 66 +9 59 13th of 22 QR3 3-1-1 QR3 0-0-1
1983–84 42 11 12 19 59 75 -16 45 19th of 22 QR2 1-1-1 QR2 1-2-1
1984–85 42 11 14 17 51 67 -16 47 18th of 22 QR1 0-0-1 R1 3-0-1
1985–86 42 17 17 8 59 39 +20 68 3rd of 22 R1 4-2-1 R1 4-1-1
1986–87 42 20 12 10 66 49 +17 72 6th of 22 QR3 2-0-1 R1 1-0-1
1987–88 42 19 15 8 61 41 +20 72 4th of 22 QR1 0-0-1 QR3 0-0-1
1988–89 42 13 9 20 55 60 -5 47 16th of 22 QR3 2-2-1 QR3 0-1-1
1989–90 42 15 9 18 58 70 -12 54 15th of 22 QR1 0-0-1 QR1 0-0-1
1990–91 40 19 16 5 72 44 +28 73 3rd of 21 QR1 0-1-1 QR3 2-0-1
1991–92 42 21 13 8 70 44 +26 76 3rd of 22 R1 4-0-1 R3 3-2-1
1992–93 42 25 11 6 93 51 +42 86 3rd of 22 QR1 0-0-1 R2 2-2-1
1993–94 42 20 7 15 90 56 +34 67 7th of 22 QR4 3-0-1 QF 3-0-1
1994–95 42 28 10 4 99 34 +65 94 2nd of 22 QR4 3-0-1 R3 2-0-1
Promoted.[b]
1995–96 National
League[c] 		5 42 17 8 17 78 72 +6 59 9th of 22 QR4 3-0-1 R1 0-1-1 1,130
1996–97 42 19 9 14 69 56 +13 66 4th of 22 R1 4-2-1 R3 2-1-1 1,010
1997–98 42 21 10 11 77 64 +13 73 5th of 22 R1 1-2-0 R2 1-0-1 1,532
1998–99 42 15 8 19 60 76 -16 53 14th of 22 QR4 1-0-1 R2 0-0-1 1,163
1999–2000 42 18 16 8 70 48 +22 70 3rd of 22 Justin Jackson 29 R1 1-0-1 R3 1-0-1 1,493
2000–01 42 11 12 19 64 66 -2 45 19th of 22 Phil Eastwood
John Norman 		10 R3 3-0-1 R5 2-4-0 R1 0-0-1 1,243
2001–02 42 17 11 14 63 67 -4 62 6th of 22 Robbie Talbot 15 R1 1-0-1 SF 4-1-2 1,289
2002–03 42 23 9 10 86 42 +44 78 2nd of 22 Wayne Curtis 18 R3 3-0-1 R4 1-0-1 R1 0-0-1 1,462
Lost in the play-off semi-finals.
2003–04 42 20 7 15 66 66 0 67 7th of 22 Danny Carlton 17 QR4 0-0-1 R3 0-0-1 R1 0-0-1 1,781
2004–05 42 19 14 9 69 50 +19 71 7th of 22 Michael Twiss 22 R1 1-0-1 R5 2-0-1 R1 0-0-1 1,751
2005–06 42 22 8 12 68 41 +27 74 5th of 22 Danny Carlton 17 R1 1-0-1 R2 1-0-1 R2 0-1-1 1,780
Lost in the play-off semi-finals.
2006–07 46 23 12 11 64 46 +18 81 3rd of 24 Garry Thompson 11 R2 2-0-1 R3 2-1-1 1,598
Promoted after winning the Play-off Final.
2007–08 EFL
League Two 		4 46 16 12 18 59 63 -4 60 11th of 24 Carl Baker
Matthew Blinkhorn 		10 R1 0-0-1 R3 2-0-1 AF 2-3-1 2,812
2008–09 46 15 18 13 53 56 -3 63 11th of 24 Stewart Drummond
Rene Howe 		10 R2 1-0-1 R1 0-0-1 AQF 0-2-1 2,153
2009–10 46 20 13 13 73 64 +9 73 4th of 24 Phil Jevons 18 R1 0-1-1 R1 0-0-1 R1 0-1-0 2,262
Lost in the play-off semi-finals.
2010–11 46 13 12 21 54 73 -19 51 20th of 24 Phil Jevons
Jimmy Spencer 		8 R1 0-0-1 R2 1-0-1 R1 0-0-1 2,648
2011–12 46 14 14 18 63 57 +6 56 15th of 24 Kevin Ellison 15 R1 0-0-1 R2 1-0-1 R2 0-1-0 2,144
2012–13 46 15 13 18 55 61 -6 58 16th of 24 Jack Redshaw 15 R2 1-1-1 R2 1-0-1 R2 1-0-1 1,954
2013–14 46 13 15 18 52 64 -12 54 18th of 24 Pádraig Amond 11 R1 0-0-1 R2 1-0-1 R2 0-1-0 1,939
2014–15 46 17 12 17 53 52 +1 63 11th of 24 Kevin Ellison
Jack Redshaw 		11 R1 0-0-1 R1 0-0-1 R2 1-0-1 1,998
2015–16 46 12 10 24 69 91 -22 46 21st of 24 Shaun Miller 15 R1 0-1-1 R1 0-0-1 ASF 3-0-1 1,572
2016–17 46 14 10 22 53 73 -20 52 18th of 24 Kevin Ellison
Paul Mullin 		8 R1 0-1-1 R2 1-0-1 R2 1-2-1 1,704
2017–18 46 9 19 18 41 56 -15 46 22nd of 24 Callum Lang 10 R2 1-0-1 R1 0-0-1 GS 0-1-2 1,492
2018–19 46 14 12 20 54 70 -16 54 18th of 24 Aaron Collins 8 R1 0-1-1 R1 0-0-1 GS 0-0-3 2,033
2019–20 37 7 11 19 35 60 -25 32 22nd of 24 Cole Stockton
Lewis Alessandra 		5 R1 0-0-1 R2 1-0-1 GS 1-1-1 2,264
2020–21 46 23 9 14 69 58 +11 78 4th of 24 Carlos Mendes Gomes 15 R3 2-0-1 R3 1-1-1 GS 1-0-2 0[d][6]
Promoted after winning the Play-off Final.
2021–22 EFL
League One 		3 46 10 12 24 57 88 -31 42 19th of 24 Cole Stockton 23 R3 2-0-1 R2 1-0-1 GS 0-1-2 4,310
2022–23 46 10 14 22 47 78 -31 44 22nd of 24 Cole Stockton 11 R1 0-0-1 R3 1-1-1 R2 0-3-1 4,572
Relegated to EFL League Two.
2023–24 EFL
League Two 		4 46 17 10 19 67 81 -14 58[e][7][8][9] 15th of 24 Michael Mellon 13 R3 2-0-1 R1 0-1-0 GS 1-0-2 4,002
  1. ^ Average home attendance = for league games only
  2. ^ Finished four points behind Marine, however Marine were not promoted due to ground grading standards.
  3. ^ During Morecambe's tenure, the league was known as the Football Conference, until the 2004–05 season when it was renamed to Conference National following the creation of Conference North and Conference South.
  4. ^ Entire regular season played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however approximately 1,500 did attend the home leg of the Play-off semi-final.
  5. ^ Morecambe were deducted three points for a financial breach due to the owner (Jason Whittingham) failing to keep the emergency deposit account at the required level (125% of the forecast monthly wage bill), as had previously been agreed with the EFL.

References

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  1. ^ "Exeter 1–2 Morecambe". BBC Sport. 20 May 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  2. ^ "New Stadium Planned". Morecambe FC. 17 July 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  3. ^ "Morecambe 0–0 Barnet". BBC Sport. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  4. ^ "Morecambe FC club details". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  5. ^ "English non-league attendances archive". EFS. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Morecambe 1–1 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  7. ^ "EFL Statement: Morecambe Football Club". EFL. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  8. ^ "IN THE MATTER OF PROCEEDINGS BROUGHT UNDER SECTION 8 OF THE EFL REGULATIONS" (PDF). EFL. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Club Statement - Independent Disciplinary Commission Hearing". Morecambe FC. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.