Directors at Morecambe have threatened to sell the League Two team if the present owners do not agree to a “catastrophic outcome.” In September 2022, Bond Group’s Jason Whittingham listed the club for sale. However, no transaction was reached, and the team is currently in disarray.
The English Football League docked them three points last season for not paying players on schedule, and Whittingham was fined £10,000. In addition, he received a £20,000 suspended fine, which will become active on May 31 unless he pays an amount equal to 125% of the monthly wage bill to cover any further delays.
Morecambe, who had five players under contract and ended 15th this season, are also without a manager when Ged Brannan moved to take a position as No. 2 at Accrington Stanley. Sixteen players’ contracts have ended; four were turned down for new terms, and twelve were not granted any extensions; five loanees have returned to their parent team. The club captain, Farrend Rawson, was one of several who declined a new contract after calling the team’s management “a shambles” and pleading with Bond Group to sell.
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The board and Whittingham met on Monday, and following the meeting, the directors posted a severe warning on the club website regarding Morecambe’s future. The letter, addressed to Whittingham, stated: “Unfortunately, your promises of future funding have now been so consistently broken that, in the absence of significant sums of money from Bond Group arriving in the Morecambe Football Club account, they come across as meaningless, and we must take them as such in order to be responsible.
Regarding the prospective buyer from the Middle East that you initially said us was interested in purchasing the club around a year ago, you haven’t given us any concrete proof or introduction to take them seriously or credibly during this time. According to what we know, the only legitimate offer you have had since listing the club for sale more than 20 months ago is from a potential buyer located in the United States. This bidder appears to be serious about the deal.
“In order to increase the likelihood that a sale will be completed and prevent a disastrous outcome, kindly accept this second offer now.”
