Shrimps Trust: Concerns over hold-up to Morecambe buyout
Shrimps Trust chair Tarnia Elsworth has called on Morecambe’s ownership limbo to be addressed once and for all as fans prepare to protest.
Saturday’s match with Port Vale at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium will see Shrimps supporters demonstrating against the club owner, Bond Group Investments’ Jason Whittingham.
A slow march to the ground, black balloons and banners are all on the agenda, as is the plan for supporters to turn their backs on the match for a two-minute period, starting in the 26th minute – symbolising how many months the club has been up for sale.
In that time, Sarbjot Johal was heavily linked with a buyout before co-chairman Graham Howse told fans earlier this year that ‘genuine people’ were interested in a possible acquisition.
Then, in June, Whittingham claimed to the Trust that there were four ‘credible buyers’ before telling TalkSPORT that he hoped to make a formal announcement on a sale within two weeks.
It was subsequently claimed in July that buyout talks were at an advanced stage – before the Trust said a bid was turned down last year.
Nothing has come to pass in the meantime, prolonging a situation that has frustrated fans, players, managers and the board.
Elsworth said: “The current prospective owners have been made aware of the requirements from the EFL that they need to meet and the documents they need to provide for at least three months. Yet they have not done so.
“We are becoming increasingly worried about the lack of funding from the current owner, the lack of communication from them and the lack of progress from the prospective owners.
“This has led to concerns that we may be moving from one terrible situation to another.
“We want communication, we want the prospective owners to move at pace now and we want pressure to be kept on the process by keeping our story heard in the media.
“We campaign tirelessly for the introduction of the new Football Governance Bill and will continue to do so along with North West MPs Lizzi Collinge and Lisa Nandy. Sadly, that is too long a timescale to help our situation.
“We must keep our story heard and take action so that the owner continues to feel pressure to take meaningful steps for completion of a sale of the club.”