Tranmere 2-2 Wolves

[Joe_TRFC]

Wolves took and early lead but Tranmere equalised after a good move which ended in Greenacre finishing a Taylor knock down. Wolves then went 2-1 up until sub McAteer scored with a deflected free kick. Apparently it went off when Tremarco nearly broke a Wolves players leg! I don't know if anyone can shed anymore light on that? Pretty pleased with that as we sounded good at times.

Team: Ward, Stockdale, Tremarco, McCready (Goodison), Sheriff, Ellison, Shuker (Jones), Mclaren (McAteer), Mullin, Taylor (Zola), Greenacre.

 

[NeverBeatDaveHiggins]

Delighted. What a great game of football.


We played the ball on the floor, the movement was good and the sharpness was there. Almost all the signings look to be many many times better than the players they replace.

The football played was fast and fluid, players moving well and taking positions, finding one another with passes. We were ORGANISED!! The contrast between the utter dross we've been served the last two seasons is amazing - what was on show was the polar opposite of that rubbish.

We held the pressure 'line' right up about 10 yards from their box, what's often described as 'defending from the front'. Which was brilliant, and so different from that line being 10 yards inside OUR box like last season. Throughout our tackling was hard but fair and definitely remained in the spirit of a friendly. Yes Tremarco took "ball then man" a couple of times but neither resulted in even a foul, although the second one wasn't well received by the Wolves fans who were concerned their player could be injured before the season even starts. The guy was helped to his feet and walked to their dug-out to be subbed, so clearly no breaking of anything happened and anyone who says different know NOTHING about broken legs. If your leg is broken you ain't walking anywhere and that's a fact.

Top class performances from: Greenacre, Ward, Tremarco, Mullin and Shuker.
Good quality performances from: Sherriff(capt), McLaren, Ellison, Taylor.
Neither good nor bad: McCready, Stockdale, Zola(sub), McAteer(sub), Jones(sub), Goodison(sub).
Bad game: Nobody!

Stockdale has yet to convince me entirely, I'm guessing he's lacking in match fitness more than anything, he hasn't lived up to the hype yet. McCready was at fault for their first goal, but otherwise put in a reliable performance and everyone makes mistakes... still reserving judgement to an extent.

Some of the through passing and balls into space from Mullin, Greenacre and Shuker, mostly to one another was simply sublime and if we can play like that every week then the gates will go up and up. Brilliant stuff.

 

[Prenton]

Thanks for the match summary there NBDH. Sounds like the team gelled (sp?) well which was my only worry, what with so many new faces.

Reading that summary has made my day, thanks.

 

[white life]

thought mclaren had a good game but i'm not that sure on mullin and ellison but as NBDH said, nobody had a bad game. if the nutter from the main stand is on who shouted for ronnie moore to sort it out then please can he resort to the psychiatric ward for help.
p.s why didn't moore use more of the youngsters in the second half?

 

[DixieDean]

anyone who says different know NOTHING about broken legs. If your leg is broken you ain't walking anywhere and that's a fact.

unless it's a hairline fracture :-D

anyhow glad the lads are starting to gel so soon. A whole new team takes weeks to gel and anyone that says different knows NOTHING about football and that's a FACT.

Who did that remind you of

 

[NeverBeatDaveHiggins]

The lads ran around for the 90, they showed willing, even our pint-sized right winger was tracking back and keeping the pressure on. Pretty much attacked throughout the game, every chance we got, and as I've conveyed lots of silky football which was a pleasure to watch... and yet still a person near me was letting out groans and "oh come on" noises, the timing of which suggested he wasn't satisfied with how quickly we were getting forward. Totally baffling as someone who sat through the endless draws and defeats at home last season, I personally came away from this particular draw with a massive smile plastered across my face.



While Dixie has me thinking of my own unnecessary capitalisation I'm reminded of the unquestionable champion of it, a fella who used to reply on the connect.org mailing list (back in the day)... one whose tone forced you to *ahem* harken well to what was said.

 

[DixieDean]

still a person near me was letting out groans and "oh come on" noises, the timing of which suggested he wasn't satisfied with how quickly we were getting forward. Totally baffling as someone who sat through the endless draws and defeats at home last season, I personally came away from this particular draw with a massive smile plastered across my face.

I can't understand anyone getting miffed at a pre-season friendly performance when the team has only just met each other. That guy needs taking into the carpark and beating with a sockful of his own sh*t, or worse, a sockful of mine :-D :-&

Seriously, people like that wind me up something rotten. They just don't understand the game and should have their (season) ticket taken off them and shoved out the door with a "sorry mate, SUPPORTERS only" whispered in their ear.

 

[Ian]

I'd agree entirely.
As the game kicked off and I saw a whole new team, it felt good. Like a dark cloud had been lifted.

They certainly played well. OK, the pace from both teams was a little slow, but they are gaining fitness with every game, and there certainly looks like the making of a very good team.

A backline of Stockdale, Tremarco, Sherriff and McCready looked solid and comfortable.

Ellison impressed me a lot with his workrate. He was all over the pitch. I think he'll be one of the better players this season. Great signing by the looks of it.

McLaren and Mullin in the centre looked far superior to the likes of Harrison and Jennings (who i hope we dont see too much of this season).

I was surprised at how tall Taylor was up front. He's certainly a good target man and I'm sure with more games, he'll become more dangerous.

Ward make some cracking close range saves too. (must be his boots)

I'd agree with HBDH though. Overall, very positive and looking forward to seeing what the lads can do when the season starts.

 

[Ian]

On the subject of crowds and friendlies, people do seriously need to calm down. There was a guy in the JK stand shouting for the whole game. What was he doing? It's a friendly!!

Thought it was also a little sad of the Wolves fans to chant "wankers" when Tremarco slid in for that ball late on.

 

[nomur]

This is exactly why White Review is head and shoulders above any other Rovers Fan site. After a match you all give a really good detailed account of what went on, both on the pitch and off. There's very little Bull***t and always a good laugh.

Thanks for the memories (I'm fillin' up) :cry: =D>

 

[Birkenhead Born and Bred]

We done well, playing aginst a side that will be there or there abouts at the top of the championship next season, we showed we have gelled a bit since the Cammell Larids game and we never done much wrong and I was happy that I got value for money instead of last seasons **** like. The new centre back done ok he looks a bit unmatch fit along with Stockdale but I think they will both get match fit and turn out to be good players for us. My Man of the match: Carl Tremacro nothing got passed him solid as a rock and I think he doesnt do friendlies lol.

 

[Joe_TRFC]

Sounded good... lets hope they continue to gel and keep up the level of performances!

 

[Boz]

Grateful for the report from NeverBeat, doubt I'll get to a game before Oldham. It sounds fairly positive, although still have reservations about the central defence...are the new two significantly better than a Sharps/Linwood combo would be? Glad Tremarco's been starting, looks like Goodison will be for back-up rather than anything more significant.

 

[NeverBeatDaveHiggins]

@Boz - I'd say Shane Sherriff is at least a division above Sharps and Linwood in terms of quality. Still reserving judgement on McCready, although being a product of the Crewe youth system he will be a decent sort - the kind of player you want around the club.

Ward make some cracking close range saves too. (must be his boots)

Yes. Must be.

 

[NeverBeatDaveHiggins]

@Boz - I'd say Shane Sherriff is at least a division above Sharps and Linwood in terms of quality. Still reserving judgement on McCready, although being a product of the Crewe youth system he will be a decent sort - the kind of player you're happy to have around the club.

I was surprised at how tall Taylor was up front. He's certainly a good target man and I'm sure with more games, he'll become more dangerous.

Taylor did look like and play like a proper number 9, something we've been lacking for a long time.

Ward make some cracking close range saves too. (must be his boots)

Yes. That's the reason.

 

[Super_white_army]

"If your leg is broken you ain't walking anywhere and that's a fact."

Any one remember Stuart Pearce break his leg for City (I think) and play on until the end of the game?

I am getting really excited about the season coming. A few more games and a bit more fitness and I think we will be a force.

 

[championship_here_we_come]

Thought it was also a little sad of the Wolves fans to chant "wankers" when Tremarco slid in for that ball late on.

what i dont get though is that some people of the top of the kop started to boo tremarco when he picked up the ball yes i did say boo, thats why he got cheered by the real fans the next few times he got the ball. it was really wierd

 

[SCooperSomersaults]

Gotta say it all sounds positive. From what I've heard and read, the team seems to be playing a more attractive and attacking style of football which has got to be good, whether it is successful remains to be seen, but if it's good to watch that's part of the battle to get people back through the turnstiles again.

As for ppl getting worked up about pre-season games, well, I can kinda understand it from one point, they paid their admission and want to see a good game and a good performance, but these games are all about building fitness levels and blending in ALL the new signings! If we play well and win it's a bonus. The real stuff starts on August 5.

 

[Ian]

the team seems to be playing a more attractive and attacking style of football

it was just refreshing to have width again! we looked a lot more dangerous in midfield whether it be in the middle or out wide. the team had shape!