• Nigel Adkins has been given the Tranmere job on a permanent basis signing until the end of the 25/26 season. Continue the discussion here.

County v rovers

Colin K

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Winning breeds confidence. Our tails will be up for Monday if we come away with three points on Saturday and could easily find ourselves sat in 4th and 1 point off automatic promotion places (with the 4 teams above us all with difficult matches). I think MM needs to keep consistency and play whatever the strongest team is available to him on the day for both matches.

Nors will be keen to continue his strong scoring form in the league and it would be silly to leave him out as he's more than capable of playing 90 mins in both matches.
 

Boz

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Don’t think we’re ever going to agree on this, Colin. Micky said last season that McNulty might not be able to play every game and as there’s always a risk Southport will go to extra time, think we need him for that one. Smith lacks stamina and with our other key creative players, Banks and Cole already absent, can’t risk being without him on Monday. Norwood is a harder call and think he might play. I don’t think a booking/sending-off would keep him out of the Southport game, but any injury picked up would. As Stockton- Mullin might be our starting forward line next year, don’t see why we shouldn’t start with that pairing at Meadow Lane.
 
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after 3 good wins against Lincoln, crawley & Exeter then the shambles at home to oxford & away at Grimsby I don,t have a clue as to what the results or the next to games will be, we seem to be constantly saying if we play as we are capable of we,ll be ok but at the moment don,t know which Tranmere will turn up, fingers crossed time.
 

Cowshed Kid

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The Shrewsbury game doesn't bode well for a second string turn out and I'd be surprised to see MM make more than a couple of changes. If you look at the last half dozen games in the run-in, every point now could be vital if we're still in the mix.
Do we think that MM has the final say on selection or that he'll be pointed in the "right direction" given Monday's financial trimmings?
Be interesting to see what Southport's take on their Trophy game against Solihull is.
On paper a much more winnable game for them than Monday. Is their squad big enough to rest everyone?
As well as Port played at PP, it comes to something when we're looking at Monday with some concern.
I think the hype, big crowd/atmosphere will suit us.
 
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
I am having second thoughts. The last time we had a really big game ahead of us (Wembley 2018 play-offs), we still had two league games left to play. We fielded a second-string side against Solihull Moors and a full-strength team against Hartlepool Untied. We lost both games.

There's an equal amount of hype about this cup-tie, so I am thinking the players' mindsets may already be on Monday. If that's true, bearing in mind what happened before the play-offs, it probably doesn't matter which team we play, they will not give the match their complete focus. It may be a bruising encounter against a desperate side keen to impress their new manager. Maybe resting a few key players would be wise.
 

ONIGP

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Really interesting reading this thread! After far too much consideration, I think I'd go with our strongest team against Notts County and deal with any resultant injuries/suspensions/exhaustion when selecting the Southport team.
All sorts of weird and wonderful stuff happens in football that could mean a changed team at Notts doesn't have the desired effect. There may be no injuries or somebody could be rested and then injured
5 minutes into the Southport match. We could rest players against Notts, field a full strength team against Southport and still lose.
I think the honorable exception to my logic is Steve McNulty. MM may prioritize the FA Cup and leave him out tomorrow; personally I'd play him and be prepared to make the change against
Southport.
 

Cowshed Kid

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Really interesting reading this thread! After far too much consideration, I think I'd go with our strongest team against Notts County and deal with any resultant injuries/suspensions/exhaustion when selecting the Southport team

Suspect we may be in the minority here ONIGP.
You're only as good as your last game so they say.
Get to County, get a result and do a head count.
If we then can't rustle up a team to do the job on Monday we should be wearing those horrendous blue Van..... jackets again.
 
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The concern for me is not injuries, it is fatigue. We clearly have several players who if they play tomorrow, will be struggling physically in the second half of the Southport game, let alone in extra time.

If people want to prioritise the Notts County game that is fine, but they should be aware that is what they are doing.
 
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We could rest players against Notts, field a full strength team against Southport and still lose.
Of course, but are you seriously suggesting the quality of the team you put out has no bearing on the likely result ?

By that logic we should play the youth team against Spurs if we go through........

You want your strongest team to play the most important games.
 
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ONIGP

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Of course, but are you seriously suggesting the quality of the team you put out has no bearing on the likely result ?

By that logic we should play the youth team against Spurs if we go through........

You want your strongest team to play the most important games.


No, of course I'm not saying that. I'm just making the point that in life, in football and particularly with Rovers the best laid plans of mice and men quite often go awry. it is just a personal preference that we play our strongest team (fatigue considered) and do the same on Monday. I absolutely understand the reasons for resting players in advance of Monday and appreciate that this is difficult call for the manager. I've no problem with being in the minority here and will be really interested to see tomorrow's team selection!
 
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Definitely with CK on this! Yes we could put out our strongest available team tomorrow or likewise on Monday & potentially lose either or both. For me, playing full strength tomorrow then removing the probable minority who cannot feature at all should still allow us to do a pro job on Monday. As for tiring players in the second half, is that not what subs are for? Assuming we don’t pick up three injuries in the first hour again!
 
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If Mellon judges that the Southport game is the more important of the two - and I don't know that he does - he will play a stronger team in that game, as he did for the play off matches BBTC refers to above.

In his interview Micky confirmed that certain players won't be able to play both games, which suggests at least some rotation.

On the injury front, Cole is fit but it sounds like Gilmour is still struggling, which could give us a problem in midfield on Monday if McCullough is not given permission to play,
 

bigmart

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The way some people are talking you would think Southport do not have a game tomorrow, we are talking about professional footballers it should not be too tiring to play a game on a Saturday then Monday on the back of a week since the last game and 5 games till the next after monday
 
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Which I mentioned regarding injuries, and for that reason I’d not expect MM to take unreasonable gambles on Monday but we should still be capable of getting the job done with the right attitude even with maybe four or five changes which I’d roughly expect. Midfield is an area of concern, I appreciate, whichever way you cut it. Cole back is a boost & I expect formation changes to occur for this reason.
 

Boz

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I think we need a Gilmour rather than a Cole for the next couple of games,though Larnell is the kind of player you'd fancy making an impact coming on as a sub.

I'm fascinated to see how Rovers will line-up in the next couple of games.
 
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I'm fascinated to see how Rovers will line-up in the next couple of games.
Indeed.

I actually think Cole could play a key role one way or another; having him available is a big bonus.
 

Ian

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I think we should play our strongest team tomorrow. Then we see who is available for Mon which in all honesty shouldn't be that much of a test. We could use some fringe players and should still win without breaking too much sweat.

I think supporters are kidding themselves a little due to the Spurs draw. The motivation isn't the money, it's the opposition. The real fear is losing to Southport and missing out on a chance to play Spurs purely as a spectacle. Some people seem quite blasé about losing points tomorrow. What if we lost tomorrow and at the end of the season lost out on a play off place by 2 points. We should always play our strongest team in the league.
 
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I don't agree regarding the Spurs game Ian. The fear definitely is losing the money, which would be huge to us after several years in non league, and would definitely have a major impact on our promotion push. If we don't get the Spurs income we could be forced to sell Norwood in January, for example. It is not a straight choice between cup and league: the former massively influences the latter. In general I would agree that we should never rest players for a league game but it is a difficult decision for the manager. My guess is that we will play teams of equivalent strength in both games, but certain players won't feature in both matches.
 

Boz

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I think we should play our strongest team tomorrow. Then we see who is available for Mon which in all honesty shouldn't be that much of a test. We could use some fringe players and should still win without breaking too much sweat.
Ian, the evidence from the home game suggests Southport on their own turf will be a significant test. Unlike Oxford City, they are quite a physical side with an ability to break up our passing game. On the form book, arguably it will be a tougher game than the Notts County trip, though the Magpies may benefit from a new manager bounce.

While there are mixed messages about our current finances, we’re still running at a loss and it would seem the revenue from the Spurs game would make a significant impact.
 
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