Is there a lot to worry about?

[The Bootle Rover]

Such promise building at the club towards the end of last season, who would have thought that the closed season would bring such turmoil.

Turmoil really is the right word for it.

Early indications lead me to think that we are going to start the new season with trepidation and little confidence.

I have no axe to grind over the appointment of John Barnes - he did not sack Ronnie Moore - and he has an unenviable task with finance so tight.

It is entirely possible that the team may take a while to gel and the early fixtures look a little fierce so it is not difficult to imagine a tough start and very few points being picked up. A poor start is worry enough but if our owner were to react in the most common way owners do, by sacking a manager after a bad run then the situation could become completely horrendous.

Most often the dismissal of a manager heralds a promotion for his assistant. Switch to overdrive on the worrying score now. Can you imagine Mcateer as manager even for a moment?

Would he accept the job - you bet he would - this boy has tremendous self belief and thinks he is an all round popular chap.

Sadly his attitude and behaviour lead me to think of him as a first class buffoon. Maturity is a gift that seems to have passed him by. Witness his idiotic attitude in the recent Mersey Masters tournament [yes I know this competition for watching the more mature player is not top notch] when he spent his time kicking most of the other players and appeared to target Rovers players in particular.

Mr Barnes, watch your back carefully, or better still get someone in who understands the game and has a sensible outlook and lose the buffoon.

Feel better for getting that off my chest so while I'm at it I want to add a comment about our association with Liverpool FC.

Companies and businesses spend fortunes on declaring and promoting their "Brand". Football clubs do the same, thats what the globetrotting pre-season is used for.

Mr Johnson, in allowing Tranmere Rovers to accept crumbs from the rich mans table is only lining his own pockets and doing so in this way weakens the club in the long term. Shall we be happy becoming known as the home of Liverpool reserves? I am sure not. Home games at Prenton Park should only be for Tranmere, Tranmere reserves and Tranmere youth, nobody else. Am I suggesting that we would be cutting off a lifeline of money from Liverpool FC? Well no actually, whatever we receive I suspect Mr Johnson will take and Liverpool FC kid themselves they are doing us a favour. Make no mistake - Liverpool FC are a business run by Americans whose sole aim is to make money - thats what businessmen do so why should we help them without any benefit to Tranmere Rovers?

Liverpool can play at Anfield - or perhaps not as it does not make commercial sense for then - you can bet what they pay to Mr Johnson will be a lot less than the cost of relaying the Anfield pitch - back to business again. Still I'm sure Mr Johnson will clarify the situation for Tranmere Rovers wont he?

 

[Boz]

The answer at present seems to be a resounding YES. You make some valid points, Bootle Rover. Agree that McAteer would be a disaster in charge, it's not been made clear if he was Barnes or Johnson's choice as no 2. I wasn't hopeful about us getting a good start due to the tough fixtures, even less having seen how Barnes manages.

 

[Ian]

Hi Bootle Rover and welcome to the forums.
I agree with your comments about McAteer and he's certainly not proving a popular placement as assistant.

Regarding your comments about LFC reserves, I really dont see what the problem is. Even if it benefits us in some small way (whatever that is) isn't that a good thing? And what are we really giving up? 10 more matches on the pitch, that is all.

If it's more about pride which is how it seems, I dont see how that benefits anyone.

 

[DWaltz]

Hi,

I am another new member of the forum although I have read the forum for a while I have only just decided to start posting.

I think Johnson would stick with Barnes even if we have a poor start. It was a risky appointment so he would only sack him if things were REALLY bad and I don't think they will be. I also disagree that if Barnes did get sacked McAteer would not get the job, not even caretaker role. Johnson brought them in as a team. They would both go. But I think we will finish mid-table maybe 10th/11th this season.

The football against Liverpool was some of the best football I have EVER seen us play in 15 years at Prenton Park. We didn't hoof the ball once the entire game and I think it bodes well.

If you look at our starting eleven currently..

GK Daniels
RB Logan
LB Cresswell
CB Goodison
CB ????
RM Shuker
LM Mahon
CM Welsh
CM McLaren
FW Thomas-Moore
FW Curran/Gornell

That team is in no way weaker in my opinion than the team we had last season. We have lost a lot defensively I agree but aslong as he brings in a half decent centre half on loan to go with Goodsion then baring injuries that starting eleven (espically in midfield) is VERY strong.

I think people are worrying too much. Strength in depth an issue? Maybe but to be honest we have a few versatile players (Edds, Shuker, Mahon, Moore) can all play at least 2 positions even 3. So I think if we add two centre halfs we are looking decent.

 

[amplesou]

to the bootle rover !


your blog ? is based on cynical assumptions !
therefor i don,t know if it is believable or not !
How do you know tranmere,s benifactor PJ is taking money out of the club ,my guess is you don,t !
sstfup!

 

[SonkORLY?]

...cynical assumptions

Yeah I was kinda thinking this too. You sound paranoid.

Also I don't expect Barnes to be sacked unless we go down or look likely to go down towards the end of the season, which I can't see happening as there are some very poor teams in this league. Also, from my seat, Mcateer was one of the best players in the Masters. He made a fairly standard foul on Stuart Barlow once - think it's about time we got over it. Barnes is barely more qualified as a manager than Jason is, think the bloke has come in for a lot of unwarranted stick and people (such as yourself) are clutching at straws to find ways of justifying it.

We've got a good keeper. Defence is short in numbers. Midfield looks good at this level. Up front is alright. I can't see this being a great season but it's not gonna be awful...

 

[bigmart]

I think Sonkorly is right, Barnes will be given time to get things right and we need to get behind him and Mcateer.
We are clearly short of numbers at the back though Goodison is back and only misses the Yeovil game, the midfield looks quite good and although the injury to Bas is a blow we still have cover there.
If we can bring in two or three more then things will look even better.

 

[roverstillidie]

If we can get 2 decent centre backs in (probably on loan) and as an added bonus a striker I think we will be ok. But until the defence has a few more numbers it could be a struggle. Anyone know what Luke Waterfall is up to now?

 

[Boz]

Last heard that Waterfall having a trial at Oxford, dunno if he got offered a deal. Shotton in the first team in Stoke pre-season, maybe we can use that as a selling point for top flight reserves thinking of coming on loan.

 

[TheBunnyBellEnd]

sorry folks but i disagree. We are in a pretty piss poor situation to be fair. We are five days away from the opening day of the season and we dont have a defense to play in it. Are people seriously saying that logan, creswell, and taylor between them have enough experience to play week in week out? Unfortunately barnes has run out of time. He had hoped to bring kelly and shotton in and this would have had us in a better situation however it does not look like either will be coming, does he have a plan b? Sorry but i dont think he has i think he believed that both of these would be coming and that his squad was virtually finished. As it stands now we are very short of players. It is a shambolic situation- why let allot go and not replace him? If he is unable to get someone in who plays at the back on saturday?

 

[Mal]

I think it will be a difficult start due to the fact that any defenders we bring in will be using start of season as a pre-season. I therefore forecast. First 10 games . Win 2 draw 3 lose 5. By then I think the defence will be more settled so think next 10 will be something like Win 3 draw 4 lose 3 so if we have more than 22 points after 20 games , I think we'll avoid relegation. Other than that I think it will be a 'steady the ship, try and improve style of play' season. As I have said before, ultimately we only ever have success with a Manager called John (after 60's anyway)...

 

[The Bootle Rover]

Still worried

Amplesou,

I only offer a perspective based on the evidence we have, that really does not justify the tag cynical - just worried thats all.

I do hope John Barnes can have a really positive influence over the team particularly the younger ones coming through and thats what I will be judging him on.

I find it hard to call Mr Johnson a benefactor and so go with the reasonable assumption that he is a businessman out to make money out of the game. It wasnt that long ago he was trying to do the same at Everton. So clearly his allegiance is to his bank balance and not any football club.

Of course Mr Johnson could make everything clear with a statement of his honest intent and perhaps then the opinion [and thats all it is] will change.

And do please have some manners - signing off the way you do brings Mcateer to mind, and thats simply not good enough.

Best wishes, The Bootle Rover

 

[Boz]

Bootle Rover, I share some of your concerns about PJ. The conspiracy theorists could argue that appointing an inexperienced management duo and slashing the playing budget are a means to running the club down maybe with a view to selling off Prenton Park. It would be good to hear what his plans are. Meanwhile we're 5 days til Yeovil and still no defence. I got the impression from the Post that Brian Saah may be paid on a game-game basis to help out until the loan signings arrive. Otherwise 3-5-2 on Saturday?!

 

[amplesou]

bootle rover i am sorry and apologies !
A man of PJ,S stature and high moral / belligerents ? intent is always open to your interpretation that he is on the make which is just nonsense from my knowledge of the man!
To have put so much time/effort and hard cash/risk ? and no little expertise in over the years and then to be cast as some one who looks after no.1 is misguided and wide of the mark !
I mean do you consider Sir Allan Sugar to be after no1 all the time or what !
from what he said getting involved with a football club cost him a very successful business !
Why an earth anybody of sane mind would get involved (financially )with a football club of tranmere or any other football league club for that matter, beggars belief and your blind comments must just make the accused shake there heads in disbelief and stay silent because where do you start !
all your other coments to me are ok!
cheers

 

[SonkORLY?]

I only offer a perspective based on the evidence we have

No, lol, you do the exact opposite.

I was really disappointed to see PJ sack Ronnie as I felt a lot of loyalty to the bloke, and I'm not convinced by his successor. However were it not for PJ we wouldn't have a club in the first place so it's one of them really. Revenue was down again last season and budgets have been slashed appropriately. We still owe him 5.3m, and we're trading @ a loss of about £1m p/annum. All football clubs at this level run on unsustainable business models and wages are a big contributing factor, so cutting down the size of the first team squad is likely the easiest and most effective way to respond to the situation. Furthermore if tightening the budget does serve to make us a more attractive proposition to any potentially interested parties then everyone's a winner baby. Even though he's looking to sell, PJ is still a very responsible owner who has said that he won't just sell the club to anyone, but only to the right kind of buyer who has our long-term interests at heart. He doesn't owe us anything and I think the fans should cut him a bit of slack. I just hope we can sell the club before he dies (I think he's 69?) otherwise things could get really messy as I doubt the Johnson family share the same affection for the club as he does.

Boz, PP won't be sold before Ingleborough is developed IMO.

 

[DWaltz]

I cannot believe people are guessing about how many games were going to win in first 20 and stuff?? is it just me that finds this stupid?? obviously it is!

Allot was let go to ALLOW us to sign other players and we dont need a replacement for Allot we have have about 8 central midfielders, his wages will go towards a new centre half probably Saah or Oji. Plus we will probably sign a striker and a centre half on loan.

We are not in a piss poor position, we are in the same boat as most teams in this league.

 

[Mal]

I've bet on Tranmere getting promoted for 20 odd years so having a guess at games to be won, lost, drawn is just a bit of 'fun' based on what I have seen over the last 20 years. I've only won a couple of times in that time.

I see a team without a decent defence, and a set of forwards who haven't been able to score freely for 3 years or so. At the moment guessing that we'll concede more than we will score isn't exactly low risk. I'll be delighted if my guesswork is cobblers and we sail into the top 6 just like we have done regularly for 20 odd years. mmmm wait a minute.

Besides these forums are only about self-opinion and disagreement (in general) Oh no they're not.

 

[TheBunnyBellEnd]

wednesday is now gone and still no centre backs. I honestly think we need to start worrying, is there something more sinister going on? There are simply to many baffling things going on at the club, we know that money is tight but for sods sake surely we can at least afford enough players to kick off the first game of the season. Sorry friends but i cant predict anything good coming from this current mess. If results go badly then attendances will suffer even more. This current fiasco will also effect this. Lesser crowds will again put strain on a budget that is seemingly stretched to absolute breaking point.

 

[SCooperSomersaults]

Reckon all our worries would disappear if we get 3 points on Saturday and make it to the 2nd round of the Carling Cup to draw a decent Premier League team at home.

On the playing front, I don't believe we're a million miles away from having a decent side. A centre half or two to go alongside Goodison and our starting XI doesn't look bad. It's if we build up an injury list when we need to worry on that front as there's no depth.

As for the Johnson situation. I was away down south and bought the paper to see the club up for sale on ebay! It's a bit of a joke and we have become high profile but not sure in a good way. Barnes adds to the profile of the club and has had a high amount of media attention in the last few weeks. PJ just wants to sell the club and is doing what he can to try and make it as sellable as he can so he can get what he wants, can't blame him really, just hope the club or the team don't suffer as a consequence.

 

[Boz]

Barnes' comments on Monday suggested that we haven't got enough money to give anyone else a contract, hence the mooting of pay as you play deal. It does raise a query about where the Allott wages money has gone...