• 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.

Les Parry. What to do

SonkORLY?

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It's a fact, I'm afraid. 2 of them on around a million a year. Don't know which Norwich players. And Kasper Schmeichel (League 2) is on £1.5m per year. One-and-a-half times our annual wage bill. This is the reality of what we are dealing with at Rovers.

With all due respect it's not a fact at all, because you don't know what our wage budget is, nor do you know how much Norwich players are earning, because neither are published.

£1m a year is equivalent to ~20k p/w which seems fairly unrealistic for a club at this level regardless of its relative size. For what it's worth I'd expect our wage budget to be similar.

Regarding Les' tactics and player selections, you have to also understand the delicate position he was in. I don't think he could afford to be swapping players around and trying different tactics. He didn't have that leeway and his only goal was to keep the team up this season. It's understandable.. erring on the side of caution.

You, like Les, assume the best way to achieve this goal is to play a load of 'grinders' and hope for the best. Recent results following the forced inclusion of Robbo and Labadie indicate otherwise.
 

NeverBeatDaveHiggins

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Quite a lot of fans have bemoaned the tactics that Les has used this year and point to them as a reason not to give him a go next season. He inherited a situation and had to make a decision on how to turn things around. Formation seems to have been square peg in square hole. Having made his decision he had the bottle to stick to it instead of tinkering. I respect that in itself, regardless of whether I agree with it and am disgusted with anyone who doesn't respect him for that.

In my eyes Parry has done a magnificent job, put points on the board and restored a part of the heart and soul of the club that had been lost. He's earned the job if he wants it. Tout names around as much as you like, what have any of those names done for us lately, or ever? I'd still have Ray or Ronnie back, as they are as much Tranmere Rovers as you or I, but Les will do just fine.
 
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OneNightInGayParis

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NBDH, well put, I entirely agree with your sentiments. Give him a one year rolling contract on Monday and a real crack at the job. If his first full season in management is in League 1, then all the better ...
 
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After today's events, and whatever reservations some of us may have had at times, I think ONIGP's suggestion would be the honourable way forward.
 

drwhoman

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LES PARRY

Great job from Les and his assistants. How anyone can argue that he should not get a go next season if he wants it really needs their heads testing. He took over an unbalanced team that had managed seven points from eleven games, had no money and was heavily reliant on short term loanees. If you extend his points per game record for the whole season we would have finished mid table comfortably. Yes - he had a bit of luck with the loanees - Labadie in particular came good at the end - gave them the creativity that McLaren could not. Also, his key players like Goodison stayed fit and avoided suspension at the wrong time!
Still a great effort. People talk about his football style - this is Division One. The huge error D and D perpetrated was to encourage Div One players to try and play like the EPL. It is a rough tough route one League really. Ronnie knew that - his teams had a good record and his team were not exactly Barcelona!
If Les wants the job he should be told immediately so he can start signing the best of the free transfers available. He needs a goalie and a right back for a start. No doubt Charlie Barnett will go as should Mahon if he has any integrity - forget the stupid contract Barnes gave him - Mclaren should retire etc - I wonder if Labadie would come? Highly unlikely I suspect. Les or whoever will always have to work on a shoestring unless PJ puts some more money in or finds some Middle Eastern investor!

Go the Rovers!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

SonkORLY?

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Quite a lot of fans have bemoaned the tactics that Les has used this year and point to them as a reason not to give him a go next season. He inherited a situation and had to make a decision on how to turn things around. Formation seems to have been square peg in square hole. Having made his decision he had the bottle to stick to it instead of tinkering. I respect that in itself, regardless of whether I agree with it and am disgusted with anyone who doesn't respect him for that.

People criticised Ronnie for never deviating from his preference for 4-2-2 with wingers. When Les does the same the rhetoric changes to "bottle", "sticking [with his ideas] instead of "tinkering". Very fine line. Parry has been tactically naive at times this season, to claim otherwise on the basis of "we're still in league 1" misses the point entirely. Sorry if I disgust you.

Still a great effort. People talk about his football style - this is Division One. The huge error D and D perpetrated was to encourage Div One players to try and play like the EPL. It is a rough tough route one League really. Ronnie knew that - his teams had a good record and his team were not exactly Barcelona!

Sigh. Nobody ever suggested we should play like Barcelona. Parry is at the complete opposite end of the scale to Barnes, somewhere in the middle (like a Ronnie Moore 4-2-2 with wingers) would suit most of us critics quite nicely I think.
 

drwhoman

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LES PARRY

I take your point SonkORLY but Les inherited a squad of questionable value and a defence that was shipping goals like no tomorrow. 4-3-3 was the best way to stop the goals and he succeeded. This ultimately helped us survive although things looked very dicey for a long time because other than Moore we had no one who could score goals regularly. Clearly Les felt that the attacking benefit of including, say, Barnett and Shuker on a regular basis was outweighed by their lack of defensive capability. It remains to be seen what Les does next season if he gets the gig. I would imagine that much will depend on the quality and strengths of the free transfers he is able to attract. Hopefully we will not be left having to seek a goalkeeper and a right back on loan at the start of the season! If the team is going to play 4-2-2 with wingers we need guys who can operate in this set up. As you will appreciate, the Manager has to be confident about this or you lose out to the teams playing in a tighter fashion.I tell you who was really missed this last season - Antony Kay - a really flexible player who could defend and score goals.
 

Foz

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.......

Can we not get Gulasci on loan again next season? He is quality!

Les has to get the job. If we are saying we have no money then if we have a physio manager who has done such a good job surely we may as well stick with him as it saves money for starters! At the moment we are saving ourselves money on having a physio & manager because Les is combining the roles!!!

Les have been superb..... I can't believe the quality of signings he has made on the whole. For a first attempt with no preseason he has been excellent.
 
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money matters

We're most unlikely to get anyone cheaper than Les - so johnson will give him the job. The question is for how long. I favoured a three year contract because I believe a manager needs to know the club is commited to him too.
But a rolling contract would suffice, more so if the club was working in the direction of a longer term plan, namely, preparing and putting the finishing touches to Garnett so that we have a succession plan in place. Stability like that helps no end.
If that gets sorted out reasonably quickly the management team can turn attention to who stays and who goes and trying to find the right players to fill the gaps.

Time for leadership and direction from the owner, come on Johnson, we're listening......
 
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I think the major concern of most people with Les is that even if he is able to put his own squad together and has a slightly higher quality of player than last August (due to better selections, not greater resources I hasten to add), will he be able to send the team out to play a formation to be positive and seek to win games, rather than the slightly negative tactics (but ultimately successful in achieving our goal) deployed this season ?

I think we simply have to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that as a reasonably bright bloke, and with the able support of Allsion and Garnett, this will not be beyond him. Let's face it, it's not rocket science.

Even if he is incapable of this, and is as tactically inept as some people believe he is, we at least have the comfort of knowing that he can put together a hard-working, solid side that will be more than capable of keeping out of trouble.

I think we also have to wake up and realise that the budget is not going to improve significantly on last season. As a result, promotion will probably be out of the question anyway, in which case a manager with Les's attributes may be exactly what we need to stay out of the drop zone.
 
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The players who Les doesn't want to keep will be told on Tuesday. Some others will be offered new contracts but given our lack of financial muscle, we will struggle to get free agents in quickly as they will be looking for better deals elsewhere and will hold out until the last minute. That's how it works these days. Especially as our budget will be the smallest in the division again (it was smaller than Stockport's this season, btw).

Not getting my excuses in first, just stating the facts.
 

SonkORLY?

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Especially as our budget will be the smallest in the division again (it was smaller than Stockport's this season, btw)

just stating the facts.

Not until you prove it you aren't.

does anyone know who is out and in contract?

I believe: Welsh, Goodison, Taylor, ITM, Mahon

Maybe a few kids, Cresswell, Fraughan etc.

(In contract)
 

TRFC

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If my maths is right...

Under Les, 30 games for 41 points. Over a season of 46 games that would leave us on 63 points - 8th position. Plus it's not easy coming in in a crisis situation. I think he deserves another season
 

lonerover

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When you look at it like that, he achieved more than double the points to games ratio of Barnes / McAteer. It's a modern day miracle he got us out of that :lol:
 
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Not until you prove it you aren't.

Nice try. Journalists never reveal their sources. But this one doesn't lie. Only Rochdale's budget will be as low as ours, and they will lose a couple of their best players (ie Dagnall).
 

SonkORLY?

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If my maths is right...

Under Les, 30 games for 41 points. Over a season of 46 games that would leave us on 63 points - 8th position. Plus it's not easy coming in in a crisis situation. I think he deserves another season

44 points in 35 games
44/35 = 1.25714286
1.25714286*46=57.8 points

We would have finished 15th instead of 19th (not 8th)

Nice try. Journalists never reveal their sources. But this one doesn't lie. Only Rochdale's budget will be as low as ours, and they will lose a couple of their best players (ie Dagnall).

Highly unlikely that you know someone who knows the exact budgets of every single team in the league IMO, so unless you're willing to substantiate these "facts" I'm sure you'll accept my scepticism even if you know it to be misplaced. But of course we'll have one of the smallest budgets in the league, as we did this year. We're starting to fall out of our depth in this league.

John Welsh is out of contract.

"Tranmere Rovers have today completed the signing of former Liverpool and England U-21 midfielder John Welsh on a two-year contract becoming John Barnes's third new signing of the summer so far."
 

SonkORLY?

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John Welsh is out of contract.

"Tranmere Rovers have today completed the signing of former Liverpool and England U-21 midfielder John Welsh on a two-year contract becoming John Barnes's third new signing of the summer so far."
 

bigmart

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Mclaren has another year on his contract, i read at the time that welsh was only given a 1 year contract but we will find out soon enough.

Ive heard weve offered a contract to Labadie so i presume wba will be releasing him, i would be delighted if he signed for us.

Les was quoted as saying we have the lowet budget in the league so it could well be true and it will be cut again
 
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