Tranmere 2-1 Stoke

[white life]

great performance by us, we were all over them and now i am feeling optimistic for the new season. Even though we conceded in the second half, i thought we looked stronger defensively, as we were relatively untroubled for most of the second half. Davies looks ready for the upcoming season, running at players and causing them all sorts of problems, plus wing to wing, davies and shuker linked up well with each other. Best player for me though was zola, without a doubt. he held up the ball well, drew numerous fouls from the stoke defence and looked comfortable when running with the ball. we could be in for a big season from him. curran, when he came on, looked lively and was another who caused problems, whilst jennings looked calm and composed, eager to receive and distribute the ball. cant really comment much on paul henry, as he didnt really touch the ball. good to see clint hill and les parry sharing a joke at the end and it was good to hear the reception both hill and simonsen received. like i said at the start, looking forward to the new season now.

 

[Joe_TRFC]

Yes it sounded impressive. I heard Davies was qualtiy but Ahmed may have to be a bit more careful otherwise we could see some red cards for him although we don't want him to lose his competitive edge. Any other views from people who went?

 

[white life]

admittedly, ahmed was, lets say, 'late in the tackle', but if thats how he plays then it might be hard to change. plus, if he gets a reputation as a hard tackler then teams might be wary of him.

 

[Ian]

Damn, I should have gone to the game now. Sounded like a decent performance. Davies has been impressing in pre-season and it will be interesting to see how he gets on this season. As some of you may know, I'm not the most complimentary when it comes to Davies as I believe he doesn't have what it takes. Maybe this could be his season.

I'm also pleased about Zola. I've said all along, if he keeps himself fit for a whole season, we would see at least 15 goals from him. Let's hope this is the case and he proves people wrong.

 

[SCooperSomersaults]

I'm also pleased about Zola. I've said all along, if he keeps himself fit for a whole season, we would see at least 15 goals from him. Let's hope this is the case and he proves people wrong.

Just spotted a flying pig go past Ian... sorry.

 

[NeverBeatDaveHiggins]

From what I've seen Ahmed is a midfielder who doesn't know how to tackle and doesn't do a lot of work chasing back either. Against Stoke was what's often called a 'forward's tackle', suggesting the player trying to win the ball doesn't really know how to tackle and ends up committing the foul. Maybe I'm way off in my assessment, and after all if Ronnie sees quality in him then there must be some hiding away that is yet to reveal itself.

Made up for Davies, he's getting past the gangly, badly-coordinated stage he was in and becoming a real footballer. Like Ian's said this could really be his season, that is if he can go at the games with the level of drive and confidence that we've seen in pre-season.