Morecambe unwise? On the mysterious takeover of a club that has never been relegated

League One Morecambe have never been relegated since being formed in 1920, but they’re in the bottom four and their prospective new owner is… mysterious.

In a history that stretches back over more than 100 years, it is a proud boast of Morecambe Football Club that they have never once been relegated. As the club has ascended through the leagues, from winning the Northern Premier League in 1995 to going into League One in 2021, there have been some close shaves. In both 2018 and 2020 they finished just one place above the League Two relegation places, while last season they finished two places above the League One trapdoor.

Of course, the likelihood of relegation increases as a club climbs the football ladder. For a club with an average attendance of 4,300 – as Morecambe’s was last season – just surviving in League One was always likely to be a huge challenge. They are back in the relegation places at the time of writing, in 21st, a point behind Burton Albion and Milton Keynes Dons.

Morecambe have also been up for sale since last September, and the tug of war over the club’s future now seems to have been won. Or has it? The club are in this position on account of financial mismanagement elsewhere. When rugby union club Worcester Warriors, owned by the same people who own Morecambe, went into administration in August, the club issued a statement. “The Morecambe Football Club board of directors, including the owners, would like to reassure supporters that this has no impact on Morecambe FC,” it said. But less than two weeks later the club was put up for sale. It can hardly be credibly argued that this has had “no impact” on the club.

Two potential new owners entered the fray. In the blue corner was boxing meat-mountain Tyson Fury, whose involvement was already well-known. Fury already owns the two-storey gym in one corner of the Mazuma Stadium, as well as the fenced-off 3G pitches that are found directly behind one side of the ground. His “Gypsy King” brand is – because this is a thing that happens in football in the 21st century – also Morecambe’s ‘back of shorts sponsor’. It has been suggested that this sponsorship deal may even have been a precursor for Fury’s interest in the club.

But it would seem that Fury’s attempt to buy the club has been unsuccessful, and the identity of the buyer has caused some degree of consternation. In the red corner is Sarbjot Johal. He has been described as ‘tycoon’ and ‘a…