• 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.

Friday Night Football

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1 Oct 2005
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
Nice little article in the Wirral Globe about Dave Russell and the start of Friday night football at Prenton Park. I have memories of some great nights in the 60s!
Thanks! I think this link should work.
It doesn’t say a lot about the Friday nights, but it did tell me some interesting things about Dave Russell I did not know. He certainly was an innovator and an excellent general manager, but I thought he underachieved as a team manager. We struggled to get promoted from the Fourth Division and struggled to establish ourselves in the Third. The club always struggled to keep its best players, although that may have been the directors’ short sightedness. His teams always entertained but also frustrated the fans. His legacy was probably the white strip and the improvements to Prenton Park. I still remember him as one of our best and best loved managers.
 

drwhoman

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30 Jun 2008
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Thanks! I think this link should work.
It doesn’t say a lot about the Friday nights, but it did tell me some interesting things about Dave Russell I did not know. He certainly was an innovator and an excellent general manager, but I thought he underachieved as a team manager. We struggled to get promoted from the Fourth Division and struggled to establish ourselves in the Third. The club always struggled to keep its best players, although that may have been the directors’ short sightedness. His teams always entertained but also frustrated the fans. His legacy was probably the white strip and the improvements to Prenton Park. I still remember him as one of our best and best loved managers.
A fair assessment BBTC. I just remember the change from the blue v neck shirts to white which did relate a new image.After all, some of the players of that time were ex Everton! To a teenager, a night out at a full Prenton under the lights was exciting. No cars to and from the games back then. Travel on the bus with other fans. They all used to line up outside the ground to take you home, perhaps clutching something from the chippy across the road from the ground. Nostalgia although we always forget the wet nights when we were beaten!
 
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