• 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.

Bolton Wanderers v Tranmere Rovers

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Alan King, Barry Dyson
It amazes me to think that any true fan would want to see Micky go. His redundancy would cost a lot and there is no guarantee any decent manager would want the job. He’d be stuck with the same squad. The transfer window is now shut and there is probably no money left for new players anyway. Sheer madness.
No, we’ve just thrown the dice for the last time and spent a fortune (by Rovers’ standards) on new players. Give Micky time to work with them before passing judgement.
If we do go down, at least we will be financially secure with an affordable squad next season. And hopefully the same manager, if he still wants the job.
 
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Sparky

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I agree BBTC - but many football fans are fickle and have short memories.
If we go down I’d give Micky a crack at getting us back up.

I keep going back to after we beat borehamwood, most SWA would have taken say a mid table finish in L2. But because Micky worked wonders in getting 2 successive promotionS, he’s now being punished.
All this nonsense that he can’t manage at this level - apart from a short stint at Barnsley once, he’s only ever had Shrewsbury in league one and will have similar budget issues after taking them up.
 
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Boz

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Did we underestimate Bolton? With hindsight, should Micky have set us up more like at Southend to earn a rot-stopping draw?

I’m not being hopeful that we’ll get anything from the next two home games against promotion changing opponents. Yet we need to. Cookie without better supply lines isn’t going to make much impact.
 
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Did we underestimate Bolton? With hindsight, should Micky have set us up more like at Southend to earn a rot-stopping draw?

I’m not being hopeful that we’ll get anything from the next two home games against promotion changing opponents. Yet we need to. Cookie without better supply lines isn’t going to make much impact.
I think the formation may have been determined by the injury list. We were very short of central defenders.
 

Higgy

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As a big advocate of Gilmour it was good to hear from RLC that he impressed at times. However, I did feel the centre midfield looked lightweight with just Woodyard and Gilmour in there. Woodyard (a good addition) puts himself about around the pitch, but with just Gilmour in there who is going to sit in and stop players running directly at our centre backs. Wide midfielders won't. Maybe a job for McCulloch or even Woods.
Apart from attitude issues it might explain why Bolton out battled us.
I thought the Vaughn and Ferrier combo was a tad predictable, although not a big fan of Ferrier. Of those available, Jennings may have been a better foil.
 
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ian goodison
I think the formation may have been determined by the injury list. We were very short of central defenders.
can,t have been that short BBTC as we had nelson on the bench, as another poster suggested nelson should have started with woods full-back and caprice left on the coach
 
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Simply not good enough - no creativity whatsoever, terrible distribution with crosses woeful and most worrying for the first time this season a fair few players looked like they didn't want to be on the pitch. Bolton looked way better than us and hungry for it which is miraculous considering their position. Yes it was unfortunate that Cook wasn't available but would it have made much difference? I doubt it. Why Caprice is still picked is beyond me.. surely MM and Jackson know that he just is embarrassing at this level. Whatever your views on MM his stubborness is so ingrained I just don't see how he will change things round now. I mean we have Walker-Rice who from what I have seen is the best set piece specialist in the club. Play him and play for corners and attacking free kicks. Yes he may not be the best in midfield but he has bundles of energy. Might not be pretty but we are in the last chance saloon and I don't want us to go down even tho I am 90% certain we will now. As to MM future I see no reason to have a poll either as we have no say in the matter. Suffice to say however that generally on social media the desire for MM to go is much higher than on here. If we lose Tuesday then for me something has to be done - if MM isn't to be sacked then why not sack Jacko as our defence organisation remains appalling and bring in someone like Higgy to try and marshall the defence and sort things out. If MM feels that makes his position untenable then fair enough.
The vast majority of supporters are still behind Mellon. A minority on Twitter are not representative of the wider fanbase.

Even on the Cowshed site the majority of (sensible) opinion is behind him, which is saying something.

Even aside from the ethics of the situation, and the contribution Mellon has made to the club in the last two years and the manner in which the club should treat him, I would love to know how you think we could possibly afford to sack him and appoint a manager of similar quality and experience, having just backed him in the transfer window. It could be a catastrophic decision for the club financially and operationally, with an impact on future seasons, not just this one.

Palios had just backed Micky in the transfer window, which (rightly) confirms that he is going nowhere.
 
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Did we underestimate Bolton? With hindsight, should Micky have set us up more like at Southend to earn a rot-stopping draw?

I’m not being hopeful that we’ll get anything from the next two home games against promotion changing opponents. Yet we need to. Cookie without better supply lines isn’t going to make much impact.
I don't think we underestimated Bolton. Clarke and Monthe were huge losses when we were coming up against physical centre forwards like Murphy and O'Grady. I think Nelson should have started, but it would still have been tough for us defensively, and the wider problems of lack of creativity and goal threat extend beyond one game and one team selection.

As I said previously, in the second half it seemed like confidence was draining away from the players after such a poor run of form.
 

Sparky

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Let’s face it, Nelson has struggled this season which is why Clarke was brought in.

higgy makes a good point about having a proper defensive midfielder protecting the back 4, especially as woods is a full back and Feeney wasmaking his competitive debut. The problem isMcCullough can’t be match fit but we have no one else who can do that particular job
 

Sparky

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As a a aside. Liverpool ladies game at PP today called off because of waterlogged pitch. Lots of rain last night. Hopefully Tuesday isn’t in doubt.....
 
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As a a aside. Liverpool ladies game at PP today called off because of waterlogged pitch. Lots of rain last night. Hopefully Tuesday isn’t in doubt.....
A postponement might not actually be the worst thing in the world, given the injury situation and the need to bed in the new recruits.
 

rossb07

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I’ve seen once on this forum and a few times on the others for people wanting Jacko gone and to be replaced by Higgy.
Do they think a postman with no coaching quals who’s been away from the game for around 20 years can really do a better job than a UEFA A level coach?
 

ONIGP

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Having slept on it, I think a part of the strong reaction to yesterday's performance relates strongly to a misconception of our opposition. Yes, it was a shocking performance but Bolton aren't a typical "cast adrift at the bottom of the league" team. Apart from the point deduction they started the season with a vastly inferior team than they have now. It was ridiculous really to see anything but a comfortable win as a failure. To me they looked better than either Sunderland or Ipswich (first half, at least). If they had the team they had now for the whole of the season and no points deduction they would be nowhere near the foot of the league. In fact, although it is a bit galling to say it, hats off to their players for showing such fight and determination in the dreadful position they find themselves.
 

bigmart

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Having slept on it, I think a part of the strong reaction to yesterday's performance relates strongly to a misconception of our opposition. Yes, it was a shocking performance but Bolton aren't a typical "cast adrift at the bottom of the league" team. Apart from the point deduction they started the season with a vastly inferior team than they have now. It was ridiculous really to see anything but a comfortable win as a failure. To me they looked better than either Sunderland or Ipswich (first half, at least). If they had the team they had now for the whole of the season and no points deduction they would be nowhere near the foot of the league. In fact, although it is a bit galling to say it, hats off to their players for showing such fight and determination in the dreadful position they find themselves.
But we're was the effort from our players ? We are in a relegation battle yet the players didn't put enough effort in, excuses are being made for a symbolic performance same as when we drew at sohthend
 
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ONIGP

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But we're was the gift from our players ? We are in a relegation battle yet the players didn't put enough effort in, excuses are being made for a symbolic performance same as when we drew at sohthend
Not disagreeing at all bigmart and I said it was a "shocking performance" - not making any excuses at all, we didn't show enough grit or put in enough effort - I'm just making the point that even if we had this game was never going to be an "easy" one as had been suggested. To expect we would turn up and amble away with the 3 points was unrealistic.
 
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I’ve seen once on this forum and a few times on the others for people wanting Jacko gone and to be replaced by Higgy.
Do they think a postman with no coaching quals who’s been away from the game for around 20 years can really do a better job than a UEFA A level coach?
tongue in cheek rossb07 but I reckon after some of the defensive performances this season quite a few on the forums feel they could do better than jackson
 

Boz

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I don't think we underestimated Bolton. Clarke and Monthe were huge losses when we were coming up against physical centre forwards like Murphy and O'Grady. I think Nelson should have started, but it would still have been tough for us defensively, and the wider problems of lack of creativity and goal threat extend beyond one game and one team selection.

As I said previously, in the second half it seemed like confidence was draining away from the players after such a poor run of form.
If we’d packed the midfield say started with McCullough and Potter, maybe could have protected the defence. I understand why Micky went with a more attacking option though.
I’ve seen once on this forum and a few times on the others for people wanting Jacko gone and to be replaced by Higgy.
Do they think a postman with no coaching quals who’s been away from the game for around 20 years can really do a better job than a UEFA A level coach?
Turn your question on its head. Shouldn’t a UEFA A level coach have spotted the weaknesses in Ray’s game and counselled against signing him or picking him ahead of Nelson? Shouldn’t a coach with those qualifications have developed a promising youngster like Nelson, rather than regressing him? Higgy probably isn't be the answer but it’s legitimate to raise Jacko’s failings as a defensive coach
 

ONIGP

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I’ve seen once on this forum and a few times on the others for people wanting Jacko gone and to be replaced by Higgy.
Do they think a postman with no coaching quals who’s been away from the game for around 20 years can really do a better job than a UEFA A level coach?
You never know he might deliver by stamping his authority on the training sessions and cutting out the telegraphed passes from defence, but I doubt it....
 
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If we’d packed the midfield say started with McCullough and Potter, maybe could have protected the defence. I understand why Micky went with a more attacking option though.

Turn your question on its head. Shouldn’t a UEFA A level coach have spotted the weaknesses in Ray’s game and counselled against signing him or picking him ahead of Nelson? Shouldn’t a coach with those qualifications have developed a promising youngster like Nelson, rather than regressing him? Higgy probably isn't be the answer but it’s legitimate to raise Jacko’s failings as a defensive coach


I am not sure we have enough knowledge of what goes on in training to deem Jackson a 'failure'. His success in partnership with Mellon suggests he is anything but. To turn your questions around, what if Ray was simply the best we could afford and Nelson simply is not quite up to League One standard (at least, not yet) ?

If he is such a poor defensive coach, how has Monthe developed so rapidly under his supervision ?
 
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