Stanley boss John Coleman is featured in a new book that details his time at former club Morecambe.
Written by Radio Lancashire’s Shrimps’ reporter Derek Quinn, Coleman talks about his time at the club and in particular his record goalscoring exploits as the Shrimps won promotion to the Conference from the Northern Premier League in the 1980s.
Derek, who has covered the Shrimps for 15 years, has written ‘Sunset Over Christie Park, 100 Morecambe Memories’ which features the personal views of supporters, players and officials covering the period from the 1960s to the current day. The book also features other former Stanley players such as Jim McCluskie and Paul Burns.
Derek admits the book was a labour of love.
He said: "It has been a fantastic experience, speaking to a host of people such as Coley who have helped Morecambe Football Club get to where it is today.
"Two things that really struck me about the interviews I carried out were the love that everyone has for Morecambe and also just how close the club came to folding a few years ago.
"I don’t think many people fully realise the problems the club had and I hope this book shows the sacrifices some people made to make sure it survived."
Former players and managers are interviewed with stories of on the field and also off it.
Said Derek: "There are some great insights from legendary players like Charlie Lea and John Coleman, managers like Joe Wojciechowicz and Don Cubbage and officials like Rod Taylor and Graham Hodgson."
He added: "It’s been great fun. The only problem is that when I was ringing up people for 10 minute chats, like Coley, I was still on the phone two hours later and could have gone on for a lot longer.
"There are also a lot of people who I wanted to speak to who deserve to be included but I am hoping they will be in a follow-up book. People just loved playing for Morecambe.
"When you hear someone like Coley say they cried when they left the club, you realise that Morecambe Football Club holds a special place in the hearts of so many people – and that is what made writing this book so enjoyable."
Sunset Over Christie Park, 100 Morecambe Memories, priced £12.95 is available from Morecambe Football Club on 01524 411797.
