Grimsby v Morecambe Preview

The Opposition

The Shrimpers were promoted to the Football League in 2007, beating Exeter in the play-off final at Wembley. They finished 11th last season on 60 points, five points and five places above the Mariners. They also reached the northern final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and were of course beaten 1-0 over two legs by Grimsby. Morecambe will move into their new stadium for the beginning of the 2009/10 season; the current ground, Christie Park holds only 6,400 supporters. Current manager and Northern Irish legend Sammy Mcilroy (left) was appointed in May 2006 after a successful caretaker-manager spell following illness to then manager Jim Harvey, who was sacked on the day he returned to work after a heart attack. McIlroy has since drastically improved the fortunes of the club, establishing themselves in League Two, and just this week an approach from Cork City for the Irishman was turned down. This season has been an indifferent one for the Lancashire side, they currently lie in 16th position with 5 wins and 25 points. Too many draws have been a problem for them this term, and wins against high fliers Darlington and Shrewsbury have shown their inconsistency.

Young Irish striker Diarmuid O'Carroll was brought in from Celtic in the summer after turning down offers to become a model from Irish retail giants Dunnes. However he has failed to live up to fans' hopes, scoring only 2 goals in 8 appearances. Experienced midfielder Neil Wainwright was also signed in the summer, and has since become the heartbeat of the team in the middle of the park. Loanees Rene Howe, Dan Smith, Ryan McGivern and Danny Carlton were also signed in the summer to boost the numbers. Michael Twiss (left), once of Manchester United, has become a Morecambe legend since being signed from Chester in 2004 scoring 49 goals in 153 games for the club, other key figures include skipper Jim Bentley, defender David Artell and midfielder Ryan McCann. Former Irish under-21 keeper Barry Roche is currently between the sticks at Christie Park, the 6 foot 4 inch giant lists Nottingham Forest and Leeds United as his former clubs.

Striker Rene Howe is currently on loan from League One high-fliers Peterborough United, and has bagged nine goals so far this season. The frontman was signed for the season and once scored for Peterborough against Manchester United in a pre-season friendly; he is quick and has an eye for goal. The Mariners will hopefully have done their homework on him, having scored a hat-trick against them for Rochdale last season at Spotland, a game which Rochdale won 3-1.

Recent Form

Top Scorers

Team News

Squads

Head to Head

Town just edge the head to head on goal difference but have not won for three games.

P 7 W2 D3 L2 F9 A6

Morecambe Head-to-Head (50th on The Opposition Ladder)

Last Meeting

Morecambe 1 Grimsby 1 (Sat 21st Sep 2008)

The first game following Alan Buckley's sacking saw Stuart Watkiss scrape a respectable away point.

Report

Prediction