• 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.

Brentford v Rovers

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High-flying Brentford are up next for Rovers and, regardless of the result, I am hoping that we put in a convincing display to draw a line under Saturday's debacle. A heavy defeat could seriously damage our confidence and goal difference and is to be avoided.

Griffin Park has been a happy hunting ground for us in the last couple of years, with last season's victory there one of the most enjoyable away days I can remember. However, much has changed at Prenton Park in the intervening fourteen months and even the most optimistic Rovers fan can probably only forecast a defeat in this one. Brentford have had a slight wobble in recnet weeks, but appear to be back on track after a comfortable victory at the weekend.

Selection wise, I would play a 4-5-1 once again, ideally with Ryan Lowe as the central striker. However, as Cassidy is not really mobile enough to play a wide role and is apparently obliged to feature under the terms of his loan deal, it seems Ryan will start on the right hand side again. At left midfield, Jake Kirby should perhaps be given the nod due to his energy and workrate. However, Junior Brown can only be assessed once he is fully match fit and has adjusted to the pace of League One, so I would not object to him starting, despite his struggles on Saturday.
 
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bigmart

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Cant see anything other than an easy home win 3 0
 

Boz

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The assistant manager's remarks suggest a similar line-up to Stevenage, which to my mind would be a mistake. If Cassidy's got to play then put him out wide; he's not seemed capable of delivering as the main striker and Lowe, however willing is wasted out there. We don't have the luxury of playing Brown into match-fitness in games like this, so if he's not ready start Kirby, even Horwood at left midfield.
As for the result, I agree with bigmart.
 

Sparky

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Having to play Cassidy is a mistake if it is to the detriment of our overall form and results. We have the leagues top scorer and are in dire need of wins so playing Ryan out wide is a mistake (hopefully I'll be proven wrong).

I would not be totally surprised if we got a draw if Jonny Mac can sort them out. He is making all the right noises with his pre match comments but it is up to the players at the end of the day.
 
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With the lack of quality we have out wide, a diamond formation with a front two of Lowe and Cassidy might make sense. However, it is a bit late in the day for fiddling with new formations when every game we play is so significant.
 
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With the lack of quality we have out wide, a diamond formation with a front two of Lowe and Cassidy might make sense. However, it is a bit late in the day for fiddling with new formations when every game we play is so significant.
With both Lowe and Cassidy having to play (for different reasons), I agree with RLC that perhaps we should have adapted our formation to suit them and surely this should have been done as soon as Jake was signed. What's sad is the apparent lack of flexibility over Cassidy. Of course, Wolves don't want him warming the bench every week, but an occasional break from the action would benefit all parties.
 

Ian

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I would not be totally surprised if we got a draw if Jonny Mac can sort them out. He is making all the right noises with his pre match comments but it is up to the players at the end of the day.
They always make the right noises, but very rarely back it up. What we need first and foremost is for the players to go out there and give 100%. I think we need to pack the midfield for this one. If we concede first, the floodgates might open. We need to keep this tight and try and nick it.
 
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Looking on Livetext, it's half time and already a much better show than Saturday. Let's hope we can keep it up. Other scores are favourable too.
 

Ian

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It's all gone wrong after a decent 1st half showing.
 

Sparky

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Oh dear. Not a total surprise but a shame given a decent first half by all accounts.

Results were not great around us so we slip into the relegation zone for the first time in a while. Let's hope it's not for long.
 
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Sounded a decent performance from the commentary. We just needed a bit of luck with the two efforts against the woodwork in the first half. Pleased to see Lowe played as the central striker but I am not sure how many more times we can bring Robbo off the bench to contribute nothing: the substitutions could have been more imaginative.

I think the other results were actually ok apart from Bristol City winning, but I don't even want to contemplate failing to win on Saturday.
 

bigmart

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25 attempts on goal of which 10 were on target to our 6 on goal with 1 on target think tells the proper story. We simply have to win Saturday as anything less I think will doom us to relegation
 
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25 attempts on goal of which 10 were on target to our 6 on goal with 1 on target think tells the proper story. We simply have to win Saturday as anything less I think will doom us to relegation

So you really expected us to get anything tonight at a team that has won 13 of its last 14 home games, the only defeat coming against Wolves ? Very harsh on the players.

Your second sentence is right though.
 

bigmart

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I didn't say I expected us to get anything tonight, people were saying we matched them which we probably did for half an hour im just pointing out the facts.
 

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Bristol city did win but draws for Stevenage, Shrewsbury and Crewe didn't help either.

The stats don't look good but are not a surprise. The Stevenage game was the more winnable but we have lost both.

Need to regroup for Saturday but johnny mac is really out of his depth but what else do we have?
 
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im just pointing out the facts.

Which are pretty irrelevant as an indicator of our chances of survival, as Brentford have comfortably beaten virtually every team in the division at home: it is games like last Saturday and this coming Saturday that will decide our fate.
 
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It's a shame my optimism at half time was so misplaced. However, of the other teams around us, three lost and four drew. Bristol City won, but they are no longer likely to struggle. I'm not too despondent about tonight. At least it was a great improvement on Saturday.

It would be great to win next Saturday, but even a defeat would not be the end. Three defeats on the bounce would damage confidence, but would not be fatal. There's still time and a couple of wins would make a lot of difference. I am worried, but still optimistic.
 

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Sounds like an improvement on Saturday, but no way back once we fell behind. Again, as RLC highlights, some unimaginative substitutions from McMahon as he preserves his 100% nil points record away from home.

If 50 points is the survival target (and it could be more, given no side's been cast adrift) then we have to win FIVE of our remaining ten games and I'm not sure that I can see that happening.
 
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If 50 points is the survival target (and it could be more, given no side's been cast adrift) then we have to win FIVE of our remaining ten games and I'm not sure that I can see that happening.

Yes, I agree. Four wins plus a couple of draws will probably do, but even that is stretching things when you consider we have only won 9 games out of 35 all season. Plus, our 'easier' games are at home and we have only won four times at home all season.

I think we really do have to beat Notts County to stand any chance.

On a more positive note, the general consensus on the Brentford forum was that we looked a decent side, were better than Bradford and could easily have had two goals in the first half.
 
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The next four games should all be winnable, even by the standards of this season (i.e. we've won tougher ones). So I'll reserve judgement until we know how many of the next 12 points we've bagged. With Rovers, you just can't predict, so I won't bother.
 
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