Jordan Slew is “made up” for Morecambe fans that they can watch their team try to spring an FA Cup third-round upset at Chelsea this weekend after being denied the trip four years ago.
The forward was part of the Shrimps side beaten 4-0 at Stamford Bridge at the same stage of the competition in 2021 with no supporters present due to coronavirus restrictions.
There is set to be 3,000 of their fans in attendance for the repeat fixture on Saturday, which comes at a time when the club, who have had financial problems in recent years and ownership uncertainty, are fighting to avoid relegation from League Two.
And Slew told the PA news agency: “It’s been tough for them in the league, so for us to get to the third round and getting a big side like Chelsea, I’m made up for them, and us as well.
“I just hope they have a good day out and we can give them something to cheer about.”
The 32-year-old netted both in the 1-0 victory over Bradford that set up the tie and Morecambe’s 2-0 first-round win at Worthing, and on the possibility of extending his scoring run on Saturday, Slew said: “That would be very nice!
“It’s difficult – if I play that game I’m going to be up against some of the best players in the world, so it’s going to be different. But who knows, if I get a chance, hopefully I can take it and it’d be three in three.”
As well as Slew, the 2021 game, which he described in terms of the fan absence as “very odd” in an “odd season”, also featured Morecambe’s captain Yann Songo’o, and manager Derek Adams was in charge – all three have subsequently spent time elsewhere before returning to the club, Slew in 2023.
They were also together at Plymouth when the then fourth-tier outfit held Liverpool 0-0 at Anfield in the third round in 2017, before being edged 1-0 in the replay.
And Slew said: “That was a real experience. Obviously the fans were there that time, so it makes a huge difference.
“Turning up to Anfield, we were well prepped for that game. We were really solid at the back, we got the 0-0 draw and it was brilliant. We had 8,000 fans that day.
“Then the replay we lost 1-0, from a set-piece, but we had chances to win it. That’s just the magic of the FA Cup – it was just a flip of a coin that game I think.”
Three years ago Morecambe, then in League One and with Slew, Songo’o and Adams not at the club at that point, threatened to pull off a shock third-round result as they led at Tottenham before a late turnaround saw them beaten 3-1.
And regarding the chances of Adams’ men, second-bottom of League Two but victorious in two of their last three games, achieving a giant-killing on Saturday against a Chelsea side currently fourth in the top flight but on a four-match winless run, he said: “The pressure’s on them. We’re there to try to cause an upset.
“They have better quality than us, that’s standard. But it only takes one moment to change everything. That’s what we’re going to go there for. There might be one chance in the game. If we take it and defend well, you never know what’ll happen.
Some achievement, Slewy! 🔥#UTS 🦐 | @EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/CoHPBuWAHl
— Morecambe FC (@MorecambeFC) January 8, 2025
“I think it’s a free hit for us and we’re going to go there, work extremely hard – we’re going to have to – and hopefully we can create some cheer for the crowd.”
There is no prospect of a replay, with them having been scrapped from this season, but the prize fund has increased. As well as a bigger figure for winners in the first three rounds, there is also for the first time money for losing teams at those stages – a guaranteed £25,000 in the third.
Slew said: “It would be great for us if we got a draw there and then bring them back here – awesome. But I think it is sensible for it not to be that way because there are so many games, for both of us in our respective competitions.”
This is a seventh time in the third round for Morecambe, who have never reached round four.
