Morecambe v Plymouth Argyle - game OFF

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The Countdown to Morecambe

Tuesday

James Oldham is the referee for the game, his first season in the EFL, so far he has issued 82 yellow cards and five reds in 26 games, he was the man in the middle for Argyle's 3-0 defeat at Colchester United last month.
He will be assisted on Saturday by Joe Simpson and Geoff Liddle while the fourth official is David Avent.

Since taking over at Morecambe in November former Argyle manager Derek Adams has won five games, drawn seven and lost nine. The Shrimps are without a win in four games but are 10 points clear of bottom side Stevenage having been bottom of League Two when Adams was appointed manager.

Veteran Morecambe striker Kevin Ellison revealed on his Twitter account that he has been banned from the first-team and told to train on his own. Former Argyle defender Maxime Blanchard tweeted his sympathies ..

"Would love to say I’m shocked. Wouldn’t be tolerated in any working environment. Really appalling and upsetting to see this. Respect comes from your peers though Kev, you know it.”

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Ellison said:

“Don’t want to be treated better or differently from others, nor did I expect to play when he came in. But costs nothing to show respect and treat people right in any walk of life.”

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Morecambe won in two categories at the recent British Pie Awards 2020 - ‘Dessert Pie’ category - Bramley Apple Pie and the ‘Sports Pie’ category – Lamb & Vegetable Pie. Morecambe club website

Morecambe manager Derek Adams looks ahead to the game ...

“I’m really glad that we are back at home on Saturday against Plymouth.
“I know it is a tough game against a side who are going well but we are going really well at home.
“We have only lost one game at the Globe Arena since I have been here and that was against Oldham quite a while ago."

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Newport manager Michael Flynn plays down an incident with the coaching staff at Morecambe after Saturday's game at Rodney Parade ... South Wales Argus

Ticket update

Wednesday

Morecambe fan @morecambejack of the Shrimps Trust has kindly agreed to give Pasoti users an insight into his club with an exclusive Q&A ...
Q: What are your thoughts on your season so far?
A: Naturally disappointing as we have been languishing at the bottom of the table. Since Jim left, we have manged to put together some decent performances and get more points on the board to give us a fair gap between Stevenage and ourselves. I think most would agree that we are a better side than our league position – so the sooner we can guarantee our safety, the better, so we can look forward to next season.

Q: What are your views on manager and former Argyle boss Derek Adams?
A: I think it has been an excellent appointment for us, and we are certainly playing much better football under Derek, particularly at home. His interviews are honest and refreshing, and I am looking forward to seeing what he can do in the summer to turn us into a more ambitious side.

Q: Given the recent financial problems and ownership issues of lower league clubs are Morecambe in a stable state at the moment?
A: Yes. The turmoil of the last few years has settled down with owners who are financially supporting the Club. It is no secret that they would look to sell the Club given the right offer from the right person, but as long as they continue to support the Club until that point – that is all we can ask.

Q: What is the situation with Kevin Ellison? It looks like he's been banned from the first team.
A: Kev has fallen out of favour, but I think some of the reports have been exaggerated and clearly one sided. While I certainly think Kev can still offer us a lot, ultimately we do need to invest in younger players and if the manager has decided that is the way he wishes to go then we have to support it. Kev is a Club legend here and always will be.

Q: Looking from afar what are your views on Plymouth Argyle?
A: It certainly is afar for us up here in Morecambe, and for that reason I did not attend the reverse fixture earlier in the season. I would imagine Plymouth fans are pleased with their league position and after Saturday’s game I wish them all the best in achieving automatic promotion.

Q: And finally do you have a prediction for the game?
A: Our home form is much improved under Derek so I don’t expect Plymouth to have an easy ride, but we have struggled to score goals. I’m not necessarily expecting anything from the game but we could easily take a point from it so I will go 1-1.
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Argyle have played at Morecambe six times, winning two games, drawing one and losing three.

According to Sky Bet Argyle are favourites to win at 5/4, a Morecambe win is placed at 19/10 and a draw has odds of 12/5.
Morecambe are unbeaten at home since Boxing Day.

Thursday

The match is expected to be played behind closed doors, confirmation from the Government is expected later today when its announced all Premier League and EFL games will need to be played without fans in the stadium.

A Guide to Morecambe

Shrimp Stats

Ryan Lowe at today's pre-match press conference ...

Morecambe manager Derek Adams was asked if the speculation of games being played behind closed doors affected his preparation for Saturday's game ....

“No it hasn’t, everything has been fine.
“We’ve got to wait and hear what happens today and then we will see what the authorities tell us.”

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Inside Morecambe

Morecambe midfielder and former Argyle player Toumani Diagouraga looks ahead to the game ... Morecambe club website

The game will go ahead ...
The UK government is considering banning sporting fixtures amid the coronavirus outbreak - but it will not happen immediately.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ..

"We are considering banning major public events like sporting fixtures.
"The scientific advice is this has little effect on the spread - but it does place a burden on other public services.
"We are not saying no to that sort of measure, we are keeping it up our sleeves. But it is very, very important in order to maximise our interventions that we get the timing right."

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Friday

Match preview video .... You Tube

Derek Adams looks ahead to the game ... Morecambe Visitor

“We have got a very good record at home and we want to continue that.
“We’ve played well at home and it’ll hopefully be a match between two good, attacking teams that want to win it."

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The game is now off

The EFL have now suspended all games until at least April 3. This means the games against Morecambe, Leyton Orient, Exeter City and Grimsby Town are all postponed.
The Premier League is also postponed.

EFL statement

The FA, Premier League, EFL and Barclays FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship have collectively agreed to postpone the professional game in England until 3 April at the earliest.
This action, which will be kept under constant review, has been taken due to the increasing numbers of Clubs taking steps to isolate their players and staff because of the COVID-19 virus.
In addition, Clubs are being advised to suspend indefinitely all non-essential activities which include, but are not limited to, player appearances, training ground visits and fan meetings.

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