• 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.

Shrewsbury v Rovers

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Alan King, Barry Dyson
If you are looking for a crumb of comfort, one of our promotion rivals, Stevenage, lost 8-0 at Charlton Athletic in the same competition. They also had a weakened side like us. It'll be interesting to see how they perform on Saturday.
 
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Mellon has clearly been willing to make changes for tactical reasons and when players have been in or out of form. He has not needed to do it often because we have mad a strong start. I don't want to get into a semantic argument about the precise meaning of 'rotated'......
 

bigmart

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George played for Liverpool under 23's at the weekend so presume they have ended his loan, it is vital Davies stays fit as we only have kids with little experience as back up.

With more games under his belt Sutton will be fine along with Ellis provide good competition for the defence as well as Caprice.

As for Tollitt I heard he has been told he cannot go out on loan, which to me if true does not make sense as he clearly needs game time and to restore his confidence
 

Boz

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Just seen the goals. There were a couple where you felt Wharton would look back disappointed that he let them in, though there was a lack of protection for him.
 

Ian

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It was a relatively strong defence as well. Caprice, Buxton, Ellis and Sutton.
 
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We played as a back five last night with DMH as left wing back, so it was not a system the players were familiar with, added to which Sutton is not fit enough to start yet. The biggest problem was actually midfield as Williams was not mobile enough to contribute and there was no protection for the back five at all. Wharton was at fault for the second and fourth goals, but strangely I still thought he did ok overall.

Returning briefly to the 'rotated' debate, there are a number of examples of Mellon making changes because of form this season: Ellis deputised when Zoum was injured, but was then supplanted by Monthe; Mullin replaced Stockton, lost his place again and now both will be replaced by the 451 system; Gilmour came from nowhere to get a place on the bench and is now starting; Harris started the season and was then replaced by McCullough; Smith briefly lost his place to DMH.

However, in general Mellon does not like to mess around with the starting line up for its own sake, which is surely a good thing when you are seventh in the league ? Most managers who constantly tinker do so because they don't know their best team, or what they are trying to achieve.
 
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As for Tollitt I heard he has been told he cannot go out on loan, which to me if true does not make sense as he clearly needs game time and to restore his confidence
Salford and Fylde want him on loan apparently. I think Salford would be a good move for him as they are winning games easily and his confidence would get a boost if he played regularly there.

Apparently Bristol Rovers also wanted to take him on loan, but Mellon refused. I would guess the club were afraid his head could be turned if he went to a club in a higher division, even temporarily.
 

drwhoman

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Just goes back to the mind set perhaps plus lack of familiarity as a team. One to forget that is for sure! I think everyone thought George would get more or a run in the first team but Davies recovered more quickly than expected.
 
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Mungy's Hairdresser
Spot on there RLC! Salford would be a good fit but would we be playing Red Devil’s advocate by potentially enhancing their promotion opportunity and also head turning Ben with their ridiculous financial situation? Fylde sounds a good opportunity though!
 

Ian

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I don’t think we have a great deal to lose with Tollitt. I think if he stays at Tranmere he won’t get near the first XI which will do him no use at all. He really needs games and an opportunity to get his confidence back as he’s not been the same since his injuries.
 
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I still think Tollitt has the ability to be a good Football League player but he has had pyschological issues since the injuries. His decision making was so poor last night, trying to beat players in our own half and giving the ball away in terrible areas. It seems like he is trying too hard a lot of the time, when he really needs to do the simple things until he recovers some form.

By contrast, I don't think DMH is good enough to play in League Two and it is quite frustrating that we brought him back. In the National League his burst of pace was enough to take him away from two or three players, but at this level you need more trickery and imagination to beat the full back, which I don't think he has.
 
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RLC your comments regarding DNH are spot on in the game against Newport I don,t think he got past their full back once
 

Boz

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While he's not our player, think it's too soon to be writing DMH off yet. Barnsley gave him a new deal, he's a couple of years younger than Tollitt and the first game I saw him after his return, think it was Port Vale, when he came on as a sub, he was testing their full-back and challenging for every ball. He's been nowhere as good since, alas.
 

joe

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I have said before Micky uses the word Group instead of Team. I believe he looks at 15 - 20 players and plays a team which he thinks will do the job for that match. I don't think its entirely rotation just full use of a squad.
With regards to Tollit, I think he wants to get stuck in and prove to Micky that he's a first team player. I have also said before that I think he wants to beef up a bit, put a bit more muscle on.
 
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