• 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.

James Wallace

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With the exception of Macclesfield away, I think Wallace has stood out. He was exceptional in the home game against Macc and also did well at Gateshead and Wrexham. While Harris may be disappointed to be out of the team, there is no doubt Wallace's arrival has caused Jay to raise his game in recent weeks. Just the kind of competition we need.

I think Kieffer Moore is a decent player at this level, but no more really. I don't think he is in the same class as forwards like Miller and Cook and I am amazed Ipswich have signed him to be honest.

On other matters, it will be interesting to see how Lincoln get on against Ipswich tonight (match live on BBC). They have an incredibly hectic schedule, with Dover at home on Friday and Barrow away next Tuesday, all tough matches.
 

Boz

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I didn't see the Gateshead away game, but the Wirral radio commentary suggested Wallace did exactly what was needed. An exceptional midfielder in the Macclesfield home game would have closed opponents down and tracked back; Wallace did neither. There were some good defence-splitting passes and distribution was sound, certainly enough class there to provide some hope of a return to former glory, but Jeff Hughes was the stand-out midfielder for me that day. Macclesfield away was a tactical error by Micky meaning we were overrun in midfield. Wallace 2017 is not the same player that we had in L1 and I'd hope MM does not try and shoe-horn him in to every starting xi.

.
 

Sparky

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Looks like Lincoln are through. Fully deserved they've been excellent and hopefully it'll mean they are distracted from the league and may have some league clubs after their players.

They centre halves have over 13 goals between them this season and Arnold has 11 now
 
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Yes, a deserved win for Lincoln. Difficult to know whether that is good or bad news for us: their confidence must be through the roof now, but they are fighting on three fronts and will have a lot of fixture congestion.

I could not believe how poor Ipswich were but doubt The Imps will beat Brighton in the next round. Apparently, it is the first time Lincoln have reached the fourth round since 1976, which puts our recent record into perspective: three quarter finals and two fifth round appearances for us since then.

I stand by my comment that, with the exception of Macc away, Wallace has played very well.

A great result for Sutton tonight as well, congratulations to them.
 

Ian

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I think Wallace has played quite well but he's still got a lot more to give. He needs a really good run to get his fitness levels up and some confidence back in his game.

We'll done to Lincoln, who really didn't look out of place against a Championship side. I wonder if the gap really is that great anymore? There's the enormous gulf to the Premiership and then there's everyone else.
 
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I think there is no doubt that cowley has a talent. What is impressive is his ability to recognise the strengths of a group of players early on and get them playing to those strengths. The style of play of his lincoln team is nothing like his Braintree side, which played more football through midfield and relied on the pace of akinola. He is the complete opposite of someone like brabin, who never developed any kind of team identity at pp. I still think mellon is a better fit for rovers though.

It will be interesting to see how lincoln get in a very tough game against dover on Friday, as they will have had very little recovery time. If they win that one at a canter it might be time to worry.........
 
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Mal

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I think Lincoln are on that kind of roll that means they are motivated to play and do well in the extra games. They seem to have a decent squad. I understand they beat Gateshead with half the team different to that which played against Ipswich? Not that I have given up but I don't think we have a Tranmere team quite there with the Johnny King want-to-win team mentality . I have a feeling we will have to do a Bristol Rovers this season if we are to progress to League 2. Still, a good few games to go yet. I hope both teams get promoted.
 

Boz

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I agree with Mal on Lincoln and in large part think it's due to the Cowley factor, able to motivate players to go the extra mile. Braintree last season had a weaker squad than the Imps and a fixture backlog were written off, but still made it as far as the play-offs, thanks in large part to the Cowleys. There isn't much to choose between us, probably the away side was better in both games, yet the Imps get a crucial 6 points from our clashes.

It's not all over at this stage. If Lincoln pick up injuries to their key players along with the inevitable odd suspension, then they may not have as much strength in depth as Rovers. However, all we can do is keep wining our games and at least that will put Rovers mentally in the right place to emulate our West Country namesakes in the play-offs.
 

Sparky

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No news from the club on James' injury. Don't know if that's good or bad. It didn't look good but fingers crossed
 

Sparky

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Whilst the injury James received recently is in no way linked to his previous issues, it does raise my eyebrows once again as to why we gave him an 18 month contract and not one until the end of this season. I bet Sheffield United fans couldn't believe what they were reading!

In all seriousness he still arguably didn't look 100% match fit and although not all his fault, he did contribute to some disappoint performances. MM said it would be a minimum of 4 weeks. That takes us towards the end of March with the season finishing little over a month later. If he hasn't been training in that time then surely MM will not shoe horn him into the team.

Whatever league we are in next season, perhaps a full pre season with us may do him the world of good. Surely however the terms of his 18 month contract do represent a pay as you play element.
 
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Mal

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Whilst I hope he recovers well, I would rather it be a slow and steady one with the emphasis on full fitness for the start of next season when hopefully Tranmere will be in League 2.
 
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I am not sure the gamble with Wallace is going to pay off to be honest.
 

Sparky

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The sad irony I guess is that he's probably too good a footballer for our level. I'm guessing he's the best passer we have however at this level he doesn't get the time and a lot more is dependent on fitness, mobility, and pace (apart from Big Mac!).

He'd probably cope better at a higher level with technically better players around him - yet it's unlikely a club above our level would offer him a chance.

Anyway, let's cheer on Sutton now!
 

Boz

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Whilst I hope he recovers well, I would rather it be a slow and steady one with the emphasis on full fitness for the start of next season when hopefully Tranmere will be in League 2.
I'd agree with this. Micky has been a bit generous with allowing Wallace match-time and the contibutions have been variable. Could be a useful player to bring off the bench, but even if he regains fitness to the level when he re-joined us last year, he should only start in exceptional circumstances.
 
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He'd probably cope better at a higher level with technically better players around him - yet it's unlikely a club above our level would offer him a chance.

I agree with this. I think Wallace's quality on the ball is always obvious, but at this level a midfielder has to be able to get up and down the pitch and muck in physically.

I don't think he stood any chance this season. As has been said above, he needs a full pre-season to get to a physical state where he can play regular games. Let us face it, even after three months of regular starts he still did not look match fit.
 

Ian

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Can't argue with the above even though I'd like to as I regard Wallace as one of the best players in the team however his fitness is an issue. Lets hope he recovers well, has a decent pre season and can play a part in the team next season. I think what is clearly evident is that we are not missing him at present and we have a great balance in the side deploying the 442.
 
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