Morecambe's new era to start with a promotion?

Morecambe have left Christie Park and will start the 2010/11 season at the new Globe Arena, a far cry from their former home. They had an excellent 2009/10 season and they made the Playoffs, but a complete disaster in the first leg gave an unfair reflection on the excellent work that they had put in up until that point.

It's not often I feel bad for other sides but one of those occasions came about at the end of last season. Morecambe had been considerably better than Dagenham for the vast majority of the season, but in one game their hard work was undone.

It had been a slow start to last season as they went until September 19th before gaining a victory, coming against Notts County in Sol Campbell's one and only appearance for the Magpies. Even then it was another long wait for another League victory, that came with a 3-1 win at home to Lincoln in October and their season started there.

They didn't lose again until after Christmas and that ended a six game winning streak that had seen five consecutive games without conceding. They ended the season with 8 wins from the final 11 games. They eventually finished fourth and would face a Dagenham side who had only just sneaked into the Playoffs with only a few games to go.

What happened next was something that no Morecambe fan would ever want to remember. Dagenham stormed the game and won by a massive 6-0 scoreline, effectively ending the tie there and then. The second leg was Morecambe's last home game at Christie Park and at least they ended with a victory, beating Dagenham 2-1 on the night but then losing 7-2 on aggregate.

It had ended a season where McIlroy's men had been one of the most difficult teams to beat in the division. It is yet another achievement in the long career of the man who gained Macclesfield Town automatic promotion in the 1997/8 season with an unbeaten home record that included 19 wins.

He has managed Morecambe since 2005 and guided them to two Playoff campaigns. The first saw a 4-3 aggregate defeat to Hereford United but the second resulted in an appearance at Wembley and despite going behind, Morecambe went on to win 2-1 on the day and win promotion to the Football League in their history.

It's not hard to figure out why McIlroy has consistent success at the clubs he has managed, but what is hard to figure out is why no-one above the third tier has ever taken the chance of a manager with a proven record.

McIlroy doesn't focus on bringing in fancy players, he brings in players that can do the absolute basics and that's why I think that he has success everywhere he goes. Last season they beat Lincoln 3-1 twice and it was because they got the basics absolutely right. They don't try impressive passes and anything of style (and that's not meant offensively), they make sure that they can get most of their passes off successfully and most of their shots on target.

It is because of the above that I respect McIlroy and Morecambe. If you don't get the basics right in football then you'll fail. For example, if you look at all of these people who can keep the ball up for 50 minutes and do tricks, it doesn't actually mean they're good in actual matches. At the end of the day you can juggle the ball as much as you want, but if you can't pass the ball five/ten yards then you're going to get nowhere.

I know this will sound almost like an insult, but Morecambe have almost the perfect squad for no-thrills football, but it's actually meant in a good way. Individually they may not be brilliant, but as a team they are excellent and some additions over the summer have made them a team to fear in the division.

Phil Jevons (right) has joined permanently after a successful loan spell last season, scoring an impressive 18 goals in 40 games. Those goals won eleven points and that added to an excellent record that the striker has in League Two. In 121 games at this level for Hull, Yeovil, Bury and Morecambe, he has scored an impressive 52 goals in the process.

Elsewhere in the squad is goalkeeper Barry Roche, Adam Rundle, Neil Wainwright, Stewart Dummond, Andy Parrish and the awesomely named Niall Cowperthwaite. It's a squad which gets all the basics right and that is why I am predicting Morecambe will do well again this season.

If they can continue the form they had towards the end of the season (obviously ignoring the Playoffs), then I can see Morecambe finishing 3rd and winning automatic promotion. If their fans can get behind them as much as they did at Christie Park, then they are certainly on for a winner and could even be a dark horse for the title.

They are certainly equipped for promotion. They have the manager, they have the team, they have the fans and now they have the stadium.