Next Morecambe Manager Odds: Six reasons why The Shrimps should go all out for David Artell

EFL pundit Gab Sutton gives us six reasons why David Artell is the stand-out candidate for the Morecambe job…

1. The Record

Having just had two years in League One, Morecambe want to build steadily and sustainably towards a promotion challenge – and David Artell has done it before.

The 42-year-old delivered progress or success in five of his six seasons at Crewe, on one of the lowest budgets in League Two, culminating in promotion in 2019-20, and an even bigger financial disparity in League One, including a top half finish in 2020-21.

The loss of six key players in quick succession, injuries, and two important summer recruits doing a U-Turn contributed to a bottom-placed finish following season, and Artell of course takes some responsibility for the nature of the relegation.

That final season, though, combined with the rampant recency bias that’s prevalent in the game, simply means a manager who has otherwise delivered consistently is attainable for Morecambe.

2. Style and Summer Leeway

Artell’s beliefs are different to those of Adams, so appointing him would mean some form of transition.

Adams’ way of maximising his resources was in keeping his teams tight and compact, then playing incisive, one-touch football in transition to create a handful of clear cut chances.

Artell, meanwhile, likes his teams to build play more patiently, work openings, and aim to create a higher volume of chances.

While the Shrimps might need to recruit a technical #6 to best facilitate Artell’s style – Ethan Brierley on loan from Brentford in January, for instance, would be the dream – they do have defenders who can play.

Jacob Bedeau was recruited by Aston Villa in 2017, and Burnley in 2021, because of his ball-playing talent and pace in recovery, so a more progressive coach would bring some of his top qualities to the fore, while James Connolly is decent on the ball as well.

Plus, Artell has been able to coach defenders like Omar Beckles, who has just won the League Two title with an expansive Leyton Orient side, to play out from the back, in a way the likes of John Coleman, Paul Hurst and Sam Ricketts couldn’t, so who’s to say he couldn’t work his magic with Farrend Rawson.

Furthermore, Morecambe don’t have anyone under contract for 2024-25 other than Adam Mayor, who may get gazumped anyway.

This situation gives the next manager a blank sheet of paper, especially with it looking so likely that the club will tick off the 50 points required to secure their EFL status, so now’s not a bad time to go for a slight rethink.

3. Making Mayor the Main Man

Adam Mayor came into Morecambe’s first team last season as a versatile left-sided player, before establishing himself as part of the front-three this year.

The teenager’s experience in different positions, though, could make him ideal for the style Artell will want to work towards.

In terms of Artell’s former players, Mayor is closest positionally to Kirk, whom he encouraged to forge a strong partnership with his corresponding left-back, Harry Pickering.

It often involved staying further wide on the flank than Pickering, before ghosting into goalscoring areas late on in moves.

We’ve already seen Mayor has an eye for goal, grabbing his first for the season by latching onto JJ McKiernan’s through ball early on at Grimsby.

Up until that final ball, however, Mayor has a willingness to make runs away from the general direction of play, sometimes into a wider position, either for a reverse pass, or to simply drag a marker and clear the path.

His movement patterns are eerily similar to Kirk, and Artell should know just what to do with him.

4. Getting the Best out of McKiernan

The other player Morecambe have meriting comparisons to Artell’s Crewe side is JJ McKiernan.

The Northern Irishman starred as a box-to-box midfielder in the National League last season with Eastleigh, on loan from Watford, before joining the Shrimps permanently this summer.

Here, he’s played more advanced, typically ahead of Eli King and Yann Songo’o, asked to bring that same raw energy but with the freedom to jink, link and create in the final third – not unlike Tommy Lowery, albeit a few inches taller.

Artell might have to reconfigure the midfield slightly to his taste, because he likes a deep-lying playmaker, which Morecambe don’t currently have, then a tenacious, grizzled veteran that’s slightly better than Yann Songo’o, who may well rejoin Derek Adams at Ross County.

5. Youth Development

Seven of Morecambe’s most-used XI in 2023-24 are under 25.

Artell has the attributes to further the technical development of Bedeau, Connolly, Mayor and McKiernan, mentioned above, right-back Joel Senior, plus Tom Bloxham and Michael Mellon (if he stays beyond January). 

It’s a thriving academy too, as Mayor’s rise might suggest: in a setup overseen by Artell’s old teammates, Stewart Drummond and Neil Wainwright, Ollie Ras’ Under-18s side are flying high in the EFL Youth Alliance North-West Division with 20 points from nine games.

Midfielder Lennon Dobson impressed with the first team in pre-season, and he, goalkeeper George Pedley and midfielder Nathan Mercer have all earnt places in senior match-day squads this season, while striker Saul Fox-Akande has 11 goals for the season and is believed to be a handful at that level.

Adams is open to playing youngsters if they prove too good to leave out, like Mayor did, but isn’t so much the type to be patient with them.

However, if Morecambe want to develop saleable assets to ease their tight financial situation – whether they’re homegrown or pickups from higher up the pyramid - appointing Artell would significantly increase their chances.

The former centre-back has nurtured numerous top talents at Crewe, such as George Cooper and Zac Williams, who’s respective emergences bookended the golden generation of Perry Ng, Harry Pickering, Charlie Kirk, Ryan Wintle, Tommy Lowery and Owen Dale.

6. Connection with Fans

Known as the ‘Moose’, Artell was a much-loved player at Morecambe, best remembered for his centre-back pairing with Jim Bentley in the side that reached the Play-Offs in League Two in 2009-10.

Being a popular ex-player isn’t everything, of course, and this would be by no means an appointment driven by sentimentality, but the affinity from either side doesn’t do any harm when it comes to starting on the right footing.