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.

History

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

Key to league record

  • Level = Level of the league in the current league system
  • Pld = Games played
  • W = Games won
  • D = Games drawn
  • L = Games lost
  • GF = Goals for
  • GA = Goals against
  • GD = Goals difference
  • Pts = Points
  • Position = Position in the final league table
  • Top scorer and number of goals scored shown in bold when he was also top scorer for the division.

Key to cup records

  • Res = Final reached round
  • Rec = Final club record in the form of wins-draws-losses
  • PR = Preliminary round
  • QR1 (2, etc.) = Qualifying Cup rounds
  • G = Group stage
  • R1 (2, etc.) = Proper Cup rounds
  • QF = Quarter-finalists
  • SF = Semi-finalists
  • F = Finalists
  • A(QF,SF,F) = Area quarter-, semi-, finalists
  • W = Winners

Seasons

Year League Lvl Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Position Leading league scorer FA Cup FL Cup
FA Trophy
FL Trophy Average home
attendance[4][lower-alpha 1]
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 the 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
Promoted
QR4 3-0-1 R3 2-0-1
1995–96 Conference
Premier
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 John Norman 18 R1 1-2-0 R2 1-0-1 1,532
1998–99 42 15 8 19 60 76 -16 53 14th of 22 John Norman 19 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 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 semifinal.
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 semifinal.
2006–07 46 23 12 11 64 46 +18 81 3rd of 24 R2 2-0-1 R3 2-1-1 1,598
Promoted after winning the play-offs.
2007–08 Football
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 2,677
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 semifinal.
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
  1. Average home attendance = for league games only

References

  1. "Exeter 1–2 Morecambe". BBC Sport. 20 May 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  2. "New Stadium Planned". Morecambe FC. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  3. "Morecambe 0–0 Barnet". BBC Sport. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  4. "English non-league attendances archive". EFS. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.