Tranmere 0-0 Yeovil

[SonkORLY?]

Possibly the most predictable scoreline and performance in the history of football.

Robbie Weir was fairly convincing in his role as Andy Robinson impersonator for the afternoon, which was an unexpected and welcome source of interest, as I expected Labadie to be our most advanced central midfielder. His movement was good between the lines and he was efficient with the ball, especially in the first half. He struggled in the second for a number of reasons; firstly because we stopped passing the ball; secondly because Yeovil's midfield sat about 10 yards deeper; thirdly because he was shattered from running around everywhere in the first half. With Tiryaki coming deep to win flick ons from the right, and Zoum thoroughly confused on the left, our formation ended up looking like a 4-1-4-1 at times, with Weir playing further upfield than both of our wingers, behind Enoch as a Trequartista. He's improving and looks versatile.

Sadly, Weir was the more underused of our two outlets; the other being the unconventionally large head of our unconventionally slow right-wing-target-man, Mustafa Tiryaki. He worked really hard and won about 900 flick-ons for Enoch, who duly ignored every single one of them, and generally seemed apathetic about our intentions for taking 3 points from the game.

Labadie and Welsh were good without the ball, and created space for Weir by occupying Yeovil's two central midfielders, but they need to take much more responsibility for instigating our transitions from defence to attack. Both were anonymous in this regard, and we were far too content to play long balls from the back as a result. Tiryaki's height should have been plan B, not plan A.

We didn't create much, but we made enough half-chances to win the game. Taylor, Enoch, Akins and Welsh all wasted good opportunities, and Bakayogo's apparent obliviousness to the offside rule further limited our ability to build attacks. if I were Les, I would have been tempted to swap him round with Buchanan. Either way, the fitness of McGurk and Devaney is now a matter of urgency.

We were very good at the back and I would probably give MOTM to Raven.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Our poorest performance in a league game this season, which was predictable given our absentees and Yeovil's tactics which were identical to last season: their approach was pretty dire and negative and will win them a few points away from home, but few friends. In fairness to The Glovers, they are extremely well organised and were only beaten by MK and Sheff Utd by the narrowest of margins, whereas they have been steamrollering everyone else.

Had Devaney stayed on the pitch we may have eked out a couple more chances to win the game, but once he went off we lacked quality in the wide areas (Teriyaki is a decent player, but not a winger - a square peg in a round hole if ever I have seen one) and had no creative spark. We need Robinson and / or McGurk and Devaney back ASAP if our good form is to continue. We have much more quality in the squad this season, but it is still thin compared to most of our rivals.

Without Robinson linking play in the middle, and with Yeovil closing the space in midfield so effectively, we resorted to long balls too often and our play was of nowhere near the quality we have seen in recent matches.

I would agree with Sonko that Weir and Raven were our best two players. I thought Buchanan also did well, but Joss and Zoum did not do enough to suggest they are worthy of starts when the absentees return. Ash did well in the first half, but then made two horrific errors in the second, and I am a little more nervous about the loss of McChystal now.

On the positive side it was yet another clean sheet, we are still unbeaten at home and remain in the top six. Last season I think we would have lost this game, which shows the strides we have made since the summer. But we need our injured players back.

 

[Ian]

Had Devaney stayed on the pitch we may have eked out a couple more chances to win the game, but once he went off we lacked quality in the wide areas (Teriyaki is a decent player, but not a winger - a square peg in a round hole if ever I have seen one) and had no creative spark. We need Robinson and / or McGurk and Devaney back ASAP if our good form is to continue.

Couldn't agree more. The loss of Devaney so early meant the loss of the only creative player in the team and we struggled after this. I really like Turyaki and I'm sure his effort and work rate will be awarded with a goal soon but keep him off the wing! He would have been much more effective in the middle.

Showumni wasn't in the game much at all and at least we had a late flurry when Akins came on.

Joss was disappointing ableit a few long range efforts. Welsh fairly anonymous and Weir put in a good shift.

It was the first time I'd seen Raven this season and he played really well and put in a great tackle after one of Ash's mistakes.

Buchanen continues to impress but I would certainly have doubts about keeping Ash in defence.

Fon Williams was hardly tested, so it was a shame we couldn't step up and nick it by a goal. We had some really great chances to score and wasted them. But.. we have improved as our results against Yeovil are usually shocking, and we didn't get beat.

Little disappointed to hear a few people booing at the final whistle. What are they expecting? There will be more games like this on the horizon but as long as we don't get beat, I'll be happy.

The game wasn't a great spectacle but it wasn't that bad.

It's been mentioned above but cannot emphasise the importance of getting our injured players back ASAP. Robinson, McGurk, McChrystal, Devaney all big players who really make a difference to the way we play and perform.

5th in the league, not too bad then.. =D>

 

[SonkORLY?]

Without Robinson linking play in the middle, and with Yeovil closing the space in midfield so effectively, we resorted to long balls too often and our play was of nowhere near the quality we have seen in recent matches.

Think that does a disservice to Weir, who consistently took up good positions between the lines, but was under-used. Robinson has the benefit of playing in front of Weir, whereas Weir had Joss behind him, who doesn't provide the same quality of service. I think he's an able deputy for the injury-prone Robinson, with the quality of our second-choice wingers being a greater concern.

Couldn't agree more. The loss of Devaney so early meant the loss of the only creative player in the team and we struggled after this. I really like Turyaki and I'm sure his effort and work rate will be awarded with a goal soon but keep him off the wing! He would have been much more effective in the middle.

We put him there for half an hour and he wasn't. But more importantly, if you take Tiryaki off the right wing, you shoot yourself in the foot because you then have to play Weir there rather than in the middle, where he has been playing very well. You have a square peg in a round hole either way, with Weir being the squarest imo, both literally and idiomatically. Parry has conceded that the move to 4-4-2 didn't work out and I agree with him.

 

[Tartantranmere64]

Think Les gambled with playing Enoch rather than going with Teryaki, because Enoch was clearly either injured or not fully back from his last knock. I don't think you can ever accuse the big man of lacking effort or commitment, I just think he wasn't fit.

There's nothing we can do about the injuries. The players will be back when they are ready. I think Les will move into the loan market now. Imagine no Robbo, McChrystal, McGurk, Davaney and Showunmi for a month?

I thought the lads battled well in difficult conditions. They made three good chances and put Yeovil under a reasonable amount of pressure. We ended the game camped in their box with three corners.

Not too disappointed, just worried by the injuries.

 

[SonkORLY?]

Not too disappointed, just worried by the injuries.

Les intends on dipping into the loan market next week, which perhaps means that Devaney is set to be out for a while.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

We put him (Tiryaki) there (at centre forward) for half an hour and he wasn't.

But he did excellently there at Brentford, and he is a centre forward after all. Tiryaki is fine up front with his back to goal, but shouldn't be played on the wing. He doesn't have the pace, trickery or crossing ability to play that position.

I agree it makes sense to keep Weir in the middle, but if so we should be playing Akins on the right, not someone who is completely ill suited to the position.

I also still believe the quality of our football suffers with Weir playing the 'Robinson role'. Robbie takes up good positions, but does not carry the ball nearly as well as Robinson or have the same spark of creativity, and as a result our play becomes more bitty and we lose possession more frequently.

 

[SonkORLY?]

Yeah, Robbo is obviously better than Weir. But Weir was very good first half, and I think Robbo would likely have struggled just as much as he did in the second for reasons already outlined. I think we're lucky to have both in the squad given the system we play.

But he did excellently there at Brentford, and he is a centre forward after all.

So is Akins. That's kind of the problem.

Does everyone think Tiryaki played badly or something? Or that Akins would have played better?

Hard to argue that Tiryaki was anything other than effective given the amount of flick-ons he won, even if his contribution was unconventional for a right-winger. Obviously he would be better through the centre, but then so would Weir, it's not an ideal situation and you have to play someone out of position. I felt we got it right today in that regard.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Obviously (Tiryaki) he would be better through the centre, but then so would Weir, it's not an ideal situation and you have to play someone out of position. I felt we got it right today in that regard.

Maybe. Even with all options available we probably would have struggled today given Yeovil's approach. As I said above, MK and Sheffield United only beat them 1-0 after all.

To be clear, I like Tiryaki more than Akins, but Lucas, while not a winger, does have some of the attributes you need to play out wide.

 

[SonkORLY?]

Before the game I would have agreed, and I was surprised Akins didn't play, but I feel Tiryaki played well and justified his selection in doing so. Akins is usually less effective than Tiryaki was today, even if he is a more traditional choice for that position (i.e he is not incredibly slow, even if he is incredibly bad)

 

[Ian]

Mix that with Bakayogo who can't cross a ball to save his life and you start to realise why this ended 0-0.

Also, two things that annoyed me.

1. Corners. Just whip the ball into the box! None of this short corner business.
2. 11 men camped in half. There were times when we had all 11 men in our half when they had a set piece. Not one man up front! Come on..

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Regarding the set plays, I was surprised Buchanan didn't take a few as he has a good left foot. It would at least have given us some variation.

I quite like the idea of Buchanan playing ahead of Zoum on the left, as Bakayago has rarely delivered from dangerous positions in recent games.

 

[SonkORLY?]

I was saying all game that I was surprised that Buch wasn't on set piece duty

Welsh's corners were pretty good though imo

 

[Boz]

Some interesting issues raised. Given the injuries, I'm not that disappointed with a draw; we lost this one last season. Yeovil are a well-organised side, like Rovers at the moment a bit toothless up front, but unlikely to be in danger of going down. It certainly wasn't a performance worthy of booing imo.

As far as Rovers are concerned here goes;

Defence. Fon Williams was steady save the odd handling problem caused by the slippy conditions. Both full-backs played well, Raven saving us a point with his perfectly-timed last ditch tackle on Agard. He perhaps didn't get forward often enough, but put in one decent cross-cum-shot which troubled their keeper.
The performances in central defence were a bit more patchy. Goodi made one major slip when he was rescued by Ash, but was generally assured and battled on with a stomach injury. Ash did fairly well for the first hour or so, but made a couple of bad mistakes late on including the one leading to Raven's saving tackle. However neither were as bad as the two recent underhit McChrystal back-passes. Taylor gets criticised for playing long ball, but he's not particularly good at carrying the ball out and the deeper sitting midfield player/s don't seem to make themselves available for the short ball.

Midfield. Undoubtedly missed Robbo. Weir played well, what he lacks in creativity is more than made up for in effort and stamina. Welsh was largely anonymous. Labadie was a disappointment. No problem with his willingness to shoot on sight, even if nothing came off here. However, he needs to invest in some decent studs as kept falling over and it was worrying he added little in a creative capacity.

Forwards. Losing Devaney after 15 minutes was a major blow. Zoum came on and made little impact. Agree with TartanTranmere that it was a lack of fitness rather than effort on Enoch's part. Had he been fitter, perhaps he might have featured on the right or alternated with Tiryaki, given he is a reasonable crosser of the ball. Unsure about Tiryaki and whether he's capable of cutting it at this level tbh. He, like Gornell, isn't suited to playing out wide, though he won most things in the air. It's a shame his team-mates didn't anticipate and make more use of his flick-ons. I'd have put Akins on ahead of Zoum, though Lucas did fluff a header late on. One shot on target all game tells it's own story though.

I'd agree that we didn't make best use of set pieces. There's nothing wrong with short corners or complex free-kick routines when they come off. Given the slippy conditions it was a day when pinging the ball into the box aiming to make something happen was the better option and we troubled Yeovil most when a more direct approach was taken near the end of the game.

Also agree with Ian that keeping 11 back for defending set pieces is inviting trouble, leaving just one man forward increases the options. As a corollary when we attack from set pieces need to set up better as too often when we lose the ball the opponents are able to make considerable ground without being challenged; this happened a few times yesterday.

 

[DIW]

Mmm, agree with a lot of what has been written so far. In truth it was a very flat afternoon from start to finish and the game had 0-0 written all over it from very early on.

I think what was clear was that we severely lacked a cutting edge with the likes of Robbo out and Devaney going off injured. Weir did have a good game in there and I thought that Welsh played very well in the first half. On the subject of Tiryaki - clearly he was well out of position and looked totally out of place on the right. Personally I thought he was very ineffective out there, yes he won a few flick ons but they all went to nobody. Pains me to say it but I thought that Akins should have come on earlier, as he is more of a right sided player. Defensively we mostly looked sound although well played to Raven for a couple of great tackles near the end. Ash is an able replacement for McChrystal defensively, but his distribution and use of the ball is simply appalling.

Still, we didn't lose and remain in the top six. My head says that we will slip down the table soon, but I'm still confident of a top half finish. Unless we can keep Robbo and Devaney fit all season we won't get near the top six. The boos at the end were typically ignorant of some football fans these days - there seemed to be some strange chants coming from the back of the Kop, couldn't quite make them out but the stewards didn't look very impressed.

Most depressingly though, who is on the half time music now? Where has the classic rock stuff gone? Disappointing.

 

[DIW]

Also, two things that annoyed me.

1. Corners. Just whip the ball into the box! None of this short corner business.
..

Particularly in the last minute of injury time.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Little disappointed to hear a few people booing at the final whistle. What are they expecting? There will be more games like this on the horizon but as long as we don't get beat, I'll be happy.

The game wasn't a great spectacle but it wasn't that bad.

I was Les's biggest critic in the second half of last season, but the fickleness of some people is unbelievable given the start we have had. With the players we have out there will be more tough games ahead, and the moaners had better get used to it. We have serious injuries. They are beyond our control.

I noticed that the whiner behind me in the JK Stand was back in full voice yesterday. He sits a few rows in front of you Ian, perhaps you could have a word......

 

[SonkORLY?]

Where abouts are you two sat? Some of the comments that get pinged around by the regulars are so ill-informed and ridiculous

Boz, champion summariser. Although on the point of leaving 11 men back, we actually built one good counter attack by doing that, with Weir breaking forward and playing in Enoch who wasted a good opportunity. Agree in general though.

 

[Sparky]

I'm with RLC on the Akins/Tiriyaki issue. Akins should have started wide right.

I don't want to criticise Les as we were missing a few key players and we are 5th in the league, but Lucas should have started.

Its ironic that last season I thought Lucas was useless but he did well in pre-season and would be far more effective IMO that Tiriyaki. I never ever thought I would be screaming for Lucas to come on in the hope he would change the game.

I'm still not convinced about Tiriyaki. He has had a fair bit of game time now and still hasnt looked like scoring at this level. I hope I am wrong but we need Enoch to get fit asap as we still don't have a striker who can score. This may catch up with us sooner or later. Someone mentioned Gornell, who was never given a fair chance IMO and is a lot more of a goal threat that Tiriyaki albeit a different type of centre forward.

Like I say, we have had a great start to the season, lets not forget that - and put Saturday down as inevitable given the players we missed. Our strikers not scoring hasnt meant we're not winning games but they need to start weighing in with some goals.