David Artell / David Artell / 08 May 2008 / Leave a comment

The season is over for Morecambe; that is all but David Artell. He brings you the latest from their end of season awards dinner. He'll also be at the FA Trophy final, but who will he be cheering on?

Our last game of the season saw us play against MK Dons at the new Stadium MK. Although it's not yet finished, it is a fabulous stadium that is ready to house a team in the Championship (or even Premiership). As they were already assured of the League Two title it was a carnival atmosphere in front of the highest ever League Two attendance of 17,250. With an ambitious chairman behind them I believe they could well achieve back to back promotions. They were the best team we faced over the course of the season and they try to play football in the correct way, which doesn't always guarantee you success at League Two level.

A lot of their success has to be down to the manager, Paul Ince. There's no doubt he's had a great start to his fledgling managerial career; firstly, by somehow masterminding the survival of Macclesfield Town when they seemed to be heading out of the league, and now at MK Dons. A league and cup double at any level is difficult to achieve even if it's not the most prestigious cup competition in England. However, they beat the League One champions Swansea in the final which is no mean feat

Morecambe's Player of the Season awards took place last Sunday night and for me it saw a bit of a surprise in who the winner was. The award went to our left back Danny Adams who has had a consistent season. He just edged out the players who I thought would win it, Carl Baker and Garry Thompson. The award could have gone to a few players who have adjusted superbly in the step up to league football. It was an enjoyable night at the end of a long hard season. The lads are ready for a break after just four weeks off last summer due to the play-offs, so the gaffer has given everyone a few extra weeks off this summer. Even though we have let ourselves down slightly in the last few months, overall it has been a successful season by retaining our league status, which was our first priority, and having two great cups runs.

This weekend the wife and I are heading to London to see the FA Trophy Final and we're planning to take the opportunity to see some of the sights, and perhaps take in a West End show. I've been to London many a time but only to play football so I've never been solely for a social visit. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the landmarks London is famous for, but really, for me, the highlight of the weekend will be the final at Wembley. To watch a game of live football in one of the best stadiums in the world without allegiance to one side or the other will be slightly strange.

After Torquay lost in the play-offs last week to their bitter rivals Exeter, it will be interesting to see whether they are feeling sorry for themselves after their promotion dreams were ended or whether they realise that it's their last hope of silverware for the season and they put in a winning performance. I think that Torquay will beat Ebbsfleet but cup finals tend to be a tense, close affairs so I certainly don't think Ebbsfleet will be a push over. Therefore I'm opting for a bet from the Half time/Full time market. I think that it will be a tense first half with the game opening up in the second with some tired legs on a big pitch so I'm going for a draw at half time and a Torquay win at full time at [4.0].

Tags: Ebbsfleet, FA Trophy Betting, FA Trophy Final Betting, Football Betting, Torquay