FA Trophy - Rovers v Wrexham

[Cowshed Kid]

In my 30 plus years as a Tranmere supporter we have had our share of disappointments and failures, a number in the last few seasons, but today was the lowest I have ever felt watching Rovers at Prenton Park. Another shambolic, disjointed performance and an utter humiliation at the hands of our historic rivals who did not have to be any more than adequate to thrash us. Taunted with chants of 'Are you Chester in disguise ?', 'There is only one Gary Brabin' and most pertinently and accurately 'You are shit', a sentiment it is difficult to argue with given the dross we were witnessing.

If Brabin does not go tonight any remaining faith I had in Palios, let alone the manager, will evaporate. I am utterly sick of the inept management of the football operation at this club from top to bottom. I would rather watch AFC Tranmere playing at Lairds with owners who are in some way responsive to the demands of the supporters than pay to watch the piffle that is being served up week after week at the moment.

As for the game itself, in the first half we were the better side but paid for our usual failing of missing chances and gifting the opposition goals through horrendous defending. The second half was an utter mess, a shambles and much of this was Brabin's responsibility. At 2-1 down when we were still in the game Wrexham were getting control yet no changes were made. When the third and fourth goals went in, Dawson and Mangan were thrown on with the game over, but both out of position (a GB speciality). Mangan was on the left wing and Dawson on the right ?! Go figure. This compounded the bizarre decision to start the game with Mekki up front behind Norwood and Tomlinson out of position on the left wing.

At 4-1 there was a mass exodus the like of which I have never seen at a Rovers game with half an hour to go. A substantial number of fans chanted 'Brabin out' which I was delighted to join in with. My sister came to the match today and said she had never known such a subdued atmosphere at PP, even before the shambolic performance unfolded.

A memo to Mark Palios: you need to remove the clown who is ripping the heart out of this club. It is time for you to take responsibility.

BRABIN OUT.

 

[Mal]

After 50 years of watching Tranmere, I have seen worse. Last season"s team for one.... I have also witness far better behaved attendees. I hesitate to call them supporters or fans, as only winning is acceptable. I could see elements of good football but the defence is still an Achilles heel. I am willing to wait for the January window because quite honestly another manager change is unlikely to improve things. We nerd stability. It may be that we have to give up idea of playoffs this season. No worse a situation than Wrexham and Grimsby have been in last fee seasons. There was one person behind me who spent virtually the whole match slagging the team and manager off. His loudest ironically coincide with norwood's first goal. I feel sorry for norwood. If brabin is sacked then all I can say is there was no point to all the Palios 'we back him' communications.

Wrexham were not that good. Our defence was woeful and certainly needs addressing.

I did see seeds of good play.more than can be said of last season.

Guess I am using a king canut strategy relative to tide of attendees at today's match and on some threads.

 

[Higgy]

Agree 99.99% RLC. Apart from the inept management from top to bottom. It is appalling at the moment and all I want to do is heap blame on GB, as I do have time for Palios....so just trying to stick up for him a tad as he is running the club with good governance and administration so would not like to see him depart. Having said that, you would be right to point out he is the one who makes the appointment and sticks with the manager.....albeit far to long in this case. hope things change pdq so that we can get the benefits of Mark's good governance. Palios could be one of the best things that could happen to the club in a while - just hope he gets a manager who can realise his ambitions. Dark days or what. Derbies next year could be at Vauxhall's((

 

[Ian]

Oh dear. SOS. Same old shit. I missed it because I chose to work instead, something I have not done in 30 years watching Tranmere.

Just when you think it can't get any worse. MP simply can't allow this to go on.

Feel sorry for you guys who made the effort to go watch another shambles. Result comes as no surprise.

How did Kirby get on?

 

[Cowshed Kid]

Evening all. Long time since a post due to login/email issues.
Credit to RLC for posting a lengthy, reasoned summary rather than just a single sentence of profanities!
Only the second home game I've missed this season and have to confess I'm so glad.
Can we really afford the present management the purse strings in Jan to what limited budget is available?
I lost any remaining sympathy for GB last week. There was a break in play thanks to their keepers theatrics and GB was motionless on touchline. No instructions, no arm waving, no ideas.
And we were beaten by a team playing football not usual bullying tactics.
I'm sure we have players who would, on paper, walk into most teams in our league. Motivation and organisation must stop with GB.

 

[Stickman]

Things seem to be going from bad to worse. The link below is from a Luton Town fans forum, shortly after they sacked Brabin and is worth a read. I wouldn't give him a penny to waste in the transfer window.

https://lutontownblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/brabin-had-to-go/

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Things seem to be going from bad to worse. The link below is from a Luton Town fans forum, shortly after they sacked Brabin and is worth a read. I wouldn't give him a penny to waste in the transfer window.

https://lutontownblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/brabin-had-to-go/

A well argued piece without a trace of rant. Ironically, the second paragraph could have been written this season.

 

[Ian]

Good read Carthorse. Slightly uncomfortable reading though as it appears a lot of what is written is echoed on this forum.

I think we have to accept that MP is sticking by his manager and we have to put up with whatever is dished out.

 

[drwhoman]

I agree with your second paragraph Ian. I wonder if Mark would like a copy of the Luton article?! Seriously, I suspect that there will have been some meaningful conversations in the Palios household as to why they got involved with Rovers. However, I know that most, if not all, the correspondents on this forum are grateful that they did. It would clearly cost them a lot of money to sack GB and at the same time they would have to have some idea as to who a suitable replacement would be and whether they are available at short notice. GB should do the right thing and fall on his sword but that is highly unlikely.

 

[Boz]

Glad I wasn't able to make this, thanks for all the reports and links.

Mal suggests the defence is the main problem. Not entirely sure of that, but we have struggled to accomodate McNulty. I do agree with RLC that one of Brabin's failings is deploying players out of position. However Ian is right and the Palioi have opted to stick with Brabin. We have to hope he gets a footballing brain from somewhere.

 

[Sparky]

One things for sure and that is GB won't be going anywhere yet. Nicola Palios' statement earlier this week gave him plenty of backing and one bad result since then won't change things. As drwhoman states surely GB won't take much more and walk away but he undoubtedly has confidence in himself to turn it around. What more can he do on the training ground though?

Just as bad as today's result was Dawson's return to Kidderminster. A great player for us up until his injury and as I said earlier in the week, what are we left with in terms of midfield creativity? I'd love to get him permanently but will he want to return as things are?

We still have a few games before MP gives GB his chequebook in January. Surely if things carry out he won't be given license to spend, especially when you look the disastrous recent signings of GTF, Tomlinson and McNulty.

That Luton article is startling. Especially the bit about players playing out of position.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

After 50 years of watching Tranmere, I have seen worse. Last season"s team for one.... I have also witness far better behaved attendees. I hesitate to call them supporters or fans, as only winning is acceptable. I could see elements of good football but the defence is still an Achilles heel. I am willing to wait for the January window because quite honestly another manager change is unlikely to improve things. We nerd stability. It may be that we have to give up idea of playoffs this season. No worse a situation than Wrexham and Grimsby have been in last fee seasons. There was one person behind me who spent virtually the whole match slagging the team and manager off. His loudest ironically coincide with norwood's first goal. I feel sorry for norwood. If brabin is sacked then all I can say is there was no point to all the Palios 'we back him' communications.

Wrexham were not that good. Our defence was woeful and certainly needs addressing.

I did see seeds of good play.more than can be said of last season.

Guess I am using a king canut strategy relative to tide of attendees at today's match and on some threads.

We are currently in our lowest position in 125 years, so unless you watched us in the Lancashire Combination you have not seen a poorer performing Tranmere team. The comparison with last season is not reasonable, as Brabin has had a decent budget and six months to put a reasoanable team together. Today's performance was on a par with, if not worse than, the majority of last season's.

I don't defend the actions of every supporter, but the majority of fans have been incredibly loyal and patient through the dross of the last three years. The criticism of the manager at today's game was entirely justified.

We don't have 'stability'at the moment, we have an underperforming team that lurches chaotically from one week to the next. There is no point in sticking by an incompetent manager for its own sake. We made the same error with Adams last season (something you supported I remember) and look where it got us. Our situation is worse than Wrexham's and Grimsby's in the majority of their seasons at this level, as they were in financial meltdown when they were relegated, yet still made the play-offs most years.

You are correct that Wrexham were 'not that good' And yet they hammered us. That is the problem. They are organised and play as a team, we don't. That is the manager's responsibility.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

We still have a few games before MP gives GB his chequebook in January. Surely if things carry out he won't be given license to spend, especially when you look the disastrous recent signings of GTF, Tomlinson and McNulty.

There is no way Brabin should be given money to spend in January. If he is permitted to 'spend his way out of trouble' (as Adams tried to last season) the board need their heads testing in my view.

 

[drwhoman]

I agree re your last post RLC. Interesting to reflect that we were reportedly interested in Mills before he chose Wrexham. I see parallels in what GB is doing with what Brendan Rodgers in his later days. An increasingly illogical approach that had fans scratching their heads about his team selections and tactics. Rodgers should have gone in the summer but the Pool owners were presumably concerned about who would replace him. Only when Klopp put his hand up did they move. It would be nice if something similar happened at Rovers but I suspect we will have to endure more mediocrity before that happens. It sounds very doom and gloom but I cannot see this guy turning it around. It has gone on too long without any sign of improvement. I thought the signing of McNulty and GTF were smart moves based on their track record but clearly both have passed their sell by dates and this has had a detrimental effect on the team as a whole. Their signing has only exacerbated an already poor situation.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Reflecting on the game today, I think the midfield was the major problem. There was little protection for the back four, particularly when Wrexham broke with pace which they did on a number of occasions. Their first goal was a case in point. We lost the ball on the edge of the eighteen yard box and within five or six seconds and a couple of passes Wrexham were in on our back four. Maynard was poor today and Jennings was worse than useless again. We badly missed Harris.

Defensively, McNulty was poor, but Vaughan was also exposed by the pace and skill of Dominic Vose. However, he won't be the only full back at this level to struggle with him.

Individually, Norwood was good and Kirby did pretty well in the first half, but it is difficult to take positives when there is so much wrong with the side at present.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

It's hard to believe that as recently as February 2013, we were sitting on top of League One. In less than three years, the combined efforts of five managers have plunged us two and a half divisions down to where we are now. It is difficult for any Rovers fan to be optimistic.

If we had an Abramovic or a Mansur as owner, I'd say sack GB and replace half the team. But we have limited resources and I'm not sure how much more money the Palioses can afford to write off. If we replace Brabin with another Adams, we could be in financial meltdown by the end of the season. I say balancing the budget, avoiding relegation and preparing for next season should be our priorities now. I'd rather we put ourselves in a good position to challenge next season than spend a lot of cash chasing an unlikely promotion this term. That probably means hanging on to GB for a while longer, but insisting he makes do with what he's got and trying out the youngsters occasionally. Some will fail, but one or two will make it. No matter what, at least we'd have some local lads in the team who are fans and care about the club, rather than the mercenaries who have let us down during the Adams and Brabin eras. By February/March, the owners can look again at the managerial position and make a change if necessary.

I know I'm mainly an armchair fan now and this opinion will get a lot of flak, but I'm as unhappy as you all are. I just think getting rid of GB now could be more risky than hanging on to him for a while longer.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Bbtc i would agree with your suggestion provided brabin was given no more funds to waste in january. However it sounds like palios and brabin are planning another spending splurge in the new year which is contrary to what you suggest.

 

[drwhoman]

Maybe yesterday will get Mark to change his mind. We can only hope!

 

[Cowshed Kid]

Eight defeats in twelve games. Call it a day on this season if you want but a continuation will see us at Telford next season (if they stay up!).
There's often a point when a struggling manager pulls a result out of the hat. Don't think a 6-0 victory at Halifax will paper over many cracks though.

 

[Ian]

That win ratio is going down every week!