2015–16 Morecambe F.C. season
# 2015–16 Morecambe F.C. season

The 2015–16 season was Morecambe's ninth consecutive season in League Two, the fourth tier of English football.

They began the season on 8 August 2015, with the opening match of their League Two campaign. They also competed in three cup competitions, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the League Trophy.

They were eliminated in the first round of both the FA Cup and the League Cup, but performed better in the League Trophy. Reaching the area semi-finals was their best performance for eight years. They knocked out three League One sides before losing 2–0 away to Fleetwood Town on 8 December 2015.

## Competitions

### Pre-season and friendlies

On 19 May 2015, Morecambe announced the dates for their home pre-season friendlies which included Bolton Wanderers and Bury. On 27 May 2015, Morecambe announced they will visit Nantwich Town. On 9 June 2015, Morecambe confirmed they will visit Kendal Town. On 19 June 2015, Morecambe announced two further pre-season friendlies. On 28 June 2015, Morecambe announced a Liverpool XI side will visit on 1 August 2015.

### League Two

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 19 | Yeovil Town | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 43 | 59 | −16 | 48 | |
| 20 | Crawley Town | 46 | 13 | 8 | 25 | 45 | 78 | −33 | 47 | |
| 21 | Morecambe | 46 | 12 | 10 | 24 | 69 | 91 | −22 | 46 | |
| 22 | Newport County | 46 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 43 | 64 | −21 | 43 | |
| 23 | Dagenham & Redbridge (R) | 46 | 8 | 10 | 28 | 46 | 81 | −35 | 34 | Relegation to the National League |

### Results by matchday

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | L | D | W | W | W | L | D | L | L | W | W | W | L | L | D | L | L | W | L | D | W | D | W | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | D | W | L | L | W | L | L | D | L | L | D | D |
| Position | 20 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 |

**Matches**

On 17 June 2015, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.

### FA Cup

The first-round draw was made on 26 October 2015. Morecambe were drawn away to fellow League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge.

### League Cup

The first-round draw was made on 16 June 2015. Morecambe were drawn at home against Sheffield United.

### League Trophy

The first-round draw was made on 8 August 2015, by Women's World Cup bronze medalists Toni Duggan and Alex Scott. Morecambe were drawn at home against Walsall. On 5 September 2015, the second-round draw was made by Charlie Austin and Ed Skrein. Morecambe were drawn away to Bury. The draw for the area quarter-finals was made on 10 October 2015. Morecambe were drawn away to Rochdale. The draw for the area semi-finals was made on 14 November 2015, by John Hartson and Paul Heaton. Morecambe were drawn away to Fleetwood Town. All the draws were shown live on Soccer AM.

## Transfers

### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 July 2015 | MF | Charlie Bailey | Academy | Trainee |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Tom Barkhuizen | Blackpool | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | CB | Adam Dugdale | Tranmere Rovers | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | ST | Jack Kelleher | Academy | Trainee |
| 1 July 2015 | LM | Lee Molyneux | Tranmere Rovers | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | RB | Peter Murphy | Wycombe Wanderers | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | CM | Aaron Wildig | Shrewsbury Town | Free transfer |
| 5 August 2015 | CF | Shaun Miller | Coventry City | Free transfer |
| 6 August 2015 | GK | Tony Thompson (footballer) | Rotherham United | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Pádraig Amond | Grimsby Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | GK | Andreas Arestidou | Free Agent | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | CB | Will Bell | Free Agent | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | DM | Stewart Drummond | Retired | — |
| 1 July 2015 | CB | Mark Hughes | Stevenage | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | RW | Marcus Marshall | Grimsby Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Jack Sampson | Macclesfield Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | RM | Declan Watson | Free Agent | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | CM | Ryan Williams | Brentford | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | RB | Andrew Wright | Southport | Free transfer |
| 10 July 2015 | CF | Jack Redshaw | Blackpool | £180,000 |

* ↑ Following Amond's release on 7 May 2015, he later signed for Grimsby Town on 1 July 2015.
* ↑ Following Hughes' release on 7 May 2015, he later signed for Stevenage on 27 May 2015.
* ↑ Following Marshall's release on 7 May 2015, he later signed for Grimsby Town on 29 June 2015.
* ↑ Following Sampson's release on 7 May 2015, he later signed for Macclesfield Town on 23 June 2015.
* ↑ Following Williams' release on 7 May 2015, he later signed for Brentford on 11 June 2015.
* ↑ Following Wright's release on 7 May 2015, he later signed for Southport on 27 May 2015.

Total income: £180,000

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Date until | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 August 2015 | CF | | Jack Ryan | Preston North End | 31 October 2015 (Recalled on 22 October 2015) | |
| 1 September 2015 | GK | | Kieran O'Hara | Manchester United | 29 September 2015 | |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Date until | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 18 August 2015 | CB | | Chris Doyle | Chorley | 14 November 2015 | |

* ↑ On 18 September 2015, Doyle's loan at Chorley was extended until 14 November 2015.
