The chair of the Morecambe FC supporters trust says they are planning to protest at an upcoming game as the saga over the sale of the club reaches "crunch time".
Tarnia Elsworth, chair of the Shrimps Trust, said a protest at the Morecambe v Port Vale game on November 16 will "put pressure on the owner to make the sale as quickly as possible".
Morecambe FC is owned by Bond Group Investments, whose sole director is Jason Whittingham. The club has been up for sale since September 2022 and many fans have called for a change of ownership as quickly as possible so new investment can come in.
The Shrimps currenty sit rock bottom of the Football League, occupying last place in the League 2 table, as frustrations continue to mount amongst their fan base.
LISTEN to Tarnia Elsworth speaking on Beyond Radio
Tarnia is pictured below, centre, during the Shrimps Trust Demonstration of Support in March
Last week, the Morecambe board of directors said they'd met with a prospective, un-named buyer of the club.
"We respect and appreciate any form of communication from the board of directors at the club at the minute, it's positive," said Ms Elsworth.
"To play devil's advocate, it's frustrating because we're aware that the EFL (English Football League) has confirmed that this party has been interested since July. Their obligations of what they need to provide to the EFL, they've been made aware of that for weeks and weeks now.
"Meanwhile, results on the pitch, other things happening, mean the situation at Morecambe is getting more and more urgent whilst people who know what they need to provide drag their feet and that's where the understandable frustration is coming from.
"What's the delay? Get it done."
Ms Elsworth said the Shrimps Trust will be holding a members' meeting on Friday, November 8 at Morecambe Cricket Club (7pm start) to discuss the planned protest.
"We need to keep putting the pressure on the owner to make this sale happen as quickly as possible," she said.
"We feel the way to do that is get eyes on Morecambe Football Club, so a protest is the way to do that.
"We want to get 650 members plus those who aren't members to come and speak to us and say this is what we want to happen at that game, with the purpose of really focussing the owner's attention and saying there's unrest now, I need to move things along as quickly as possible.
"We all think that anything suggested that will affect on-pitch activities, is a no.
"My view is 1,000 of us doing the same thing is far more impactful than 10 people doing one thing and 100 people doing another thing.
"Everybody's suggestion will be taken into consideration and we will formulate a plan.
"We will also formulate a plan if that Port Vale protest doesn't get the action we need.
"We want to come together to agree what it is that we're doing, how we're going to get our plight heard and how we're going to get the owner to realise that this is crunch time now, and we need to get things moving.
"My message to fans is that as an individual, you're practically shouting into the abyss. My message is, join us.
"Let's all work together to get this moving and ultimately get Jason Whittingham to sell the club as quickly as possible."
On Thursday evening Morecambe FC issued a statement which revealed they had had talks regarding the sale, as part of the latest board meeting at the club.
The statement said: ‘’This evening, 31 October 2024, an online meeting between the board of directors of Morecambe Football Club and a representative of the prospective purchasers of the controlling interest in the club took place.
‘’This was a very cordial and constructive session where the many various aspects of the club’s interests and aims were discussed in a positive way.
‘’Although we are not at liberty to reveal the identity of the purchasers at this stage, it is positive to be engaging directly with them.
‘’We will provide further updates once more information is received from Bond Group Investments, the current owners of Morecambe Football Club.’’
A statement from the Shrimps Trust said: “The EFL remain in contact with us. They are unable to provide clearance for a change of control at Morecambe FC at this stage.
“They have confirmed that all parties are fully aware of what is required to move matters forward to a positive conclusion.
“They continue to monitor the club’s compliance with its obligations in accordance with the regulations.”
The English Football League (EFL) has to approve any prospective new owner of any club.
The Shrimps Trust last organised a protest in March, which took the form of a march from the Eric Morecambe Statue to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium ahead of the home game with Wrexham.
Mr Whittingham (below) spoke publicly about the sale in June, when he said "four credible buyers" were interested in purchasing Morecambe FC, and that he hoped to close a deal "within the next 10-14 days".
"Bond Group will continue to fund the club through the sale process," he said.
"We remain fully engaged with the board and those buyers to bring one of them to agree terms as soon as practically possible."
Read more: Morecambe FC owner hopes to 'agree terms' on sale of club within next two weeks - Beyond Radio
Morecambe FC owner claims ‘four credible buyers’ are interested in purchasing club - Beyond Radio
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