A look ahead at how Jim Bentley's Shrimps are shaping up
A look at next season's opponents continues with Morecambe
Who’s in charge?
Former Morecambe defender Jim Bentley has recently celebrated four years in charge at the Globe Arena. The 39-year-old from Liverpool played more than 300 games for the club in defence, having joined Morecambe in 2002 after five years with Telford United.
Last season
Morecambe finished in 11th place on 63 points and often flirted with the play-offs but lacked consistency to cement their challenge. They won four of their first five in league and cup and also finished strongly, with four victories in their final six matches. Their longest losing streak at any stage was just three games although they did draw all five fixtures in January. In the cups they lost to Bradford City in the Capital One Cup while in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy they won 3-1 at Fleetwood in the first round only to lose by the same score to Bury. In the FA Cup, the Shrimps lost 1-0 to Dover Athletic.
Summer plans
After releasing eight players at the end of last season Bentley has already made five new signings. Tom Barkhuizen, a wide player who once played against Reds for Hereford, has joined from Blackpool along with former Tranmere pair Lee Molyneux and Adam Dugdale and midfielders Peter Murphy, recruited from Wycombe, and ex-Shrewsbury man Aaron Wildig, who had a loan spell at Morecambe last season.
Previous meetings
Reds’ worst Football League defeat, a 6-0 loss under Steve Evans in 2011, came at the Globe Arena. When the teams met in Sussex the following February it finished 1-1.
How far is it?
It is a 572 mile round trip to Morecambe. Reds go there on Tuesday, October 20 and the return game is on Saturday, March 5.
