Two Morecambe legends are among the ten players released by the club this morning. Thirty-eight-year-old goalkeeper Barry Roche and 41-year-old midfielder Kevin Ellison will both depart the League Two club this summer after a combined 21 years of service.
Morecambe Legends Barry Roche and Kevin Ellison Released
End of an Era
Shot-stopper Roche joined the club in 2008 from then-League Two side Chesterfield. He was ever-present in his first six seasons at the club before Andreas Arestidou came in to make a handful of appearances.
Roche then re-gained the number one spot from 2015 to 2018. He made a total of 15 appearances in the 2018/19 season, with Mark Halstead regularly starting instead.
Aside from his lengthy service to the club, Roche will also be remembered for scoring a 94th-minute equaliser at home to Portsmouth in the 2015/16 season, heading home from Shaun Miller’s corner.
Midfielder Ellison, meanwhile, joined the club from Rotherham United in 2011 and went on to make close to 350 appearances, scoring over 80 times.
He has been noted for his ability to score long-range goals and his spell with the club was by far the most successful of his career.
Between the departure of Jim Bentley as manager and the appointment of Derek Adams, he and Roche served as joint caretaker player-managers.
Also Leaving
As well as the two club legends, former Tranmere Rovers defender Adam Buxton and midfielder Andrew Tutte will be leaving the club too.
Defenders Ritchie Sutton, also previously of Tranmere, and Tom Brewitt are also on their way out along with young strikers Michael Howard and Rhys Oates.
Finally, Lamine Jagne and Kyle Hawley will also leave, while loanees Ryan Cooney, Adam Phillips, Harvey Bradbury, Christoffer Mafoumbi and Shaun Miller have returned to their parent clubs.
Retained
Toumani Diagouraga’s contract option has been exercised, meaning he will be at the club next season. As well, Carlos Mendes Gomes, Alex Kenyon, Steven Old, Cole Stockton, Aaron Wildig and Jordan Slew have been offered new contracts.
Sam Lavelle, A-Jay Leitch-Smith, Jordan Cranston, Luke Conlan, Mark Halstead and John O’Sullivan remain under contract.
What Was Said?
Speaking to the club website about the decisions, Morecambe boss Derek Adams said: “We have released a number of players and it is always a difficult thing to do. I would like to thank all those players for what they have done for Morecambe Football Club in their time with us and I wish them well for the future.”
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