This Morecambe Interview aims to shed some light on the seriousness of the situation, the growing concern amongst the fans and the despicable actions carried out by owner Jason Whittingham.
Again, as we so often see, a club that is currently days away from going bust has failed to make the mainstream news. The reason why Morecambe fans work all week, they’re first love and the club that just means more for them. That’s close to being taken away from them. So next time you see an Arsenal fan complaining about signing a £48.5 million player, just remember how bad it can be.
We spoke to @MorecambeFCFeed, the most popular fan account to cover everything going on at the club. The account is well worth a visit if you want to dive deeper into the situation at Morecambe. The dire situation needs more coverage and that’s what we’re aiming to do here. Spread the word. ‘Jason Whittingham’s a…’
The Morecambe Interview
Q: What are your general feelings about the situation at Morecambe?
A: “It’s a mixture of heartbreak, fury, and disbelief. We’re watching our proud community institution being dragged through the mud by an individual in Jason Whittingham who seems intent on causing as much havoc as humanly possible. Staff wages for June remain mostly unpaid, schools are having their leaving parties cancelled.
“The club’s been up for sale for nearly three years, and in that time we’ve had two relegations, three occurrences unpaid wages, points deductions and now two full board resignations.”
Q: Jason Whittington has owned 25 companies. 10 dissolved, 2 in receivership, 1 in liquidation, 1 in administration. How did he end up owning a football club?
A: “His background is in pawnbroking. Speciality in lending. Ever since his Bond Group company took over there’s been uncertainty over where the money’s company from.
“In short though, he got in before the EFL tightened up their fit and proper tests. As with found with various prospective buyers, it’s much harder to pass nowadays.
“When he took over in 2018, the football club had been in debt since the move to the new stadium in 2010, and had just endured a chaotic two years of a Brazilian absentee owner. Anything seemed better than that at the time.”
Q: Why do you think Whittington is stopping a takeover from happening?
A: “There’s been suspicion from the fanbase, including from Lizzi Collinge MP who spoke on our issue in parliament, that the club is being used as leverage. I wouldn’t want to speculate on what this could mean; but we’ve heard from Whittingham that another party is involved.
“When he officially first put the club up for sale in 2022, there seemed to be many interested parties. Sarbjot Johal, a then 20-year-old entrepreneur. couldn’t pass the EFL tests, despite attempting for months. The same happened for his former business partner Kuljeet Singh Momi, who is part of the current prospect buyers in Panjab Warriors. They finally received EFL clearance a month or so ago.
“Panjab Warriors agreed a deal with Whittingham, and they claim to have paid £3.8m to purchase the club, however Whittingham changed his mind in favour of a new “UK buyer”. There is no public knowledge of if this buyer exists.”
Q: How bad could it get before the end comes and Whittington finally leaves?
A: “It’s already extremely bad, so much so we’ve had to announce we’ll be playing our only home friendly behind closed doors. Staff haven’t been fully paid. We only have 10 senior players on our books and only made one summer signing before our wage delays. We have no board of directors which is a direct breach of UK company law.
“But… we still have our football club. And we have a buyer in Panjab Warriors who claim they have funded the club to the tune of £6m and are ready to pay our outstanding 100-200k debts.
“If Whittingham does not agree to this deal, it’s looking likely that the National League will throw us out this week. Who would want to own us then?”
Q: On the field, the 2025/26 season could be one to forget. Do you care what happens on the pitch?
A: “Honestly, no. Right now, survival off the pitch is the only priority. If you were to ask the average Morecambe fan if they’ll even see football played this season, the answer would mostly be no.”
Q: How likely is administration?
A: “We are yet to pay the remaining two thirds of our June wage bill, and have an overdue VAT bill of around 45k. We are unable to pay other obligations, such as ground safety, pitch maintenance, fees for the kit supplier. It’s only a matter of time before these creditors take action and force us into administration.
“However, the Board of Directors tried to enforce this a couple of weeks ago. Jason Whittingham threatened to sack them all. They all resigned.“
Q: If you were to meet Jason Whittington right now, what would you say to him?
A: “There are no words that I could say to Whittingham that would help the situation. I would hope I never see or hear from the man again.”
Q: What are your opinions on the amount of national coverage this story has got?
A: “It’s been woefully underreported. For a club that’s been in the Football League for nearly two decades, the silence from national outlets is deafening. We’ve had good coverage in recent days from independent podcasts, blogs and social media accounts. The Guardian have just ran a story on us which is excellent.
“Martin Calladine has done an excellent job reporting on our plight for a good few years, and I could not encourage you more to have a read through his latest piece.”
