Board’s anger at Shrimps’ inability to make signings

With the window closing at 11pm a week on Monday, February 3, manager Derek Adams is unable to complete the two loan deals he had earmarked to follow on from last week’s signings of Ryan Schofield and Callum Cooke.

A club statement on Thursday explained the recent lack of new faces and had harsh words for the owner, Bond Group’s Jason Whittingham.

It said: “Morecambe Football Club is currently prevented from making further signings in the January transfer window, despite recent cup successes and capital injections, because written assurances from Bond Group that the club will be funded to the end of the season have not been supported by sufficient proof of source and sufficiency of funding.

“The club must demonstrate it has adequate funds to operate until the end of May, its fiscal year end. Only once these long-standing cash requirements are met can recruitment be considered.

“Bond Group had assured the club that it would meet these requirements and support additional player recruitment in January, but when proof of funding was requested, it failed to provide it.

“The board wishes to place on record that, once again, the club has been let down by its owner, undermining the efforts and hard work of the manager, staff and directors at this critical time.”

Despite this latest development, co-chairman Rod Taylor told a press conference at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium that there were no concerns over the club’s ability to pay staff wages at the end of the month.

He also said that Whittingham has now claimed to have additional funding in place – and that the EFL also has the information requested surrounding Kuljeet Singh Momi’s proposed takeover.

Taylor said: “At the start of every season, for every club, if there’s a projected loss the owner has to sign up to providing that hiatus of funds which Jason would do.

“We’ve had well-documented interest in the club and a sale process is ongoing. My understanding is all the information requested by the EFL has been provided this last week and they are going through that.

“The situation with the ownership isn’t resolved yet. Because of that, certainly for the window and possibly for the remainder of the season, the Football League wouldn’t accept an outside party putting further funds in because that would be interpreted as undue influence.

“It’s down to Jason and Bond Group to provide those funds to enable Derek to strengthen the squad and sign players for Morecambe in this transfer window.

“Having spoken to the owner, he has now secured additional investment from a third party.

“I’ve seen the letter that will go to the Football League. He will be putting that to the Football League today and we hope for an early response.

“If there’s a positive response, then we can open that window again.”

BBC Radio Lancashire has published a response from Whittingham to Morecambe’s initial statement via its X account.

He said: “The statement has no balance and nor does it reflect work ongoing to rectify the position as soon as is practically possible. On that, I am working with the EFL.”

It’s the latest chapter in an ongoing saga which began when the club was formerly placed up for sale in September 2022.

In that time, Sarbjot Johal was linked with a takeover before Whittingham told the Shrimps Trust last June that four parties were interested in a possible acquisition.

The same month, he also told talkSPORT that he hoped to agree terms on a sale within 10 days to a fortnight.

The Trust said last summer that a bid was rejected in 2023, co-chairman Graham Howse told supporters in February 2024 that ‘genuine people’ were interested in a buyout and a statement in July claimed talks over a takeover were at an advanced stage.

Nothing has come to pass, leading to increasing frustration among supporters who have protested before and during matches against Port Vale and Chelsea, as well as carried out a mailshot around the owner’s home town.