• 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.

Keith Hill

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15 Mar 2010
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Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
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John King
I was happy when Keith Hill was appointed, on the basis of his very good record at Rochdale and because a lot of the realistic alternatives were unappealing. However, ten or twelve games into his tenure I did not think his appointment was going to work. Performances were patchy and inconsistent, I could not identify a clear direction and pattern of play and there was little continuity in team selection. After the Stevenage game, I thought there was very little chance of Rovers being promoted this season under Keith Hill.

However, full credit has to go to the manager for the way he has turned things round since that disappointing match. He would probably rightly argue that he was already laying foundations that would put us in good stead in the longer term, but in the last month the upturn in performances and results has been dramatic. The football has not always been scintillating (although it has on occasions) but it is clear that we are trying to play a high energy, passing game, and when the game becomes a scrap we are willing to fight. We have a settled starting eleven and formation, and the squad players fully buy into the manager's ideas and are willing to play for him, as we saw tonight.

I am sure there will be bumps in the round and disappointments ahead, but it seems we have appointed a very good manager.
 
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1 Oct 2005
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
Fair play to you, RLC, for admitting you were wrong. Although I never despaired, I think we all underestimated Keith Hill. He could have just kept the Dawes-Parkinson formula going, but instead he made radical changes. He dropped some of our favourites and played others out of position. When things initially went wrong, he persevered and has been vindicated. Four league wins on the trot were pleasing but tonight was a triumph for his man management and tactical skills.
 

Ian

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Aldo
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Kingy
He certainly has the team playing and long may that continue. Now we are in a really good league position, so it will be interesting to see how things pan out for the rest of the season. With the strength and depth of the squad, we have to be looking at those auto places. I don't think it's realistic to expect rock 'n' roll football every week. There will be plenty of scraps ahead but as long as we show fight and desire, we will win more than we lose. It's nice when Rovers put a smile on our faces and even better to see them performing and winning games.
 

bigmart

bigmart
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Ian Muir
I was fairly similar over Hill lot of experience suggesting a good appointment but lack of a proper style along with seemingly settling for a draw early on at Barrow followed by the dire performance at Stevenage led to major concerns.

Hopefully all that is behind us now and we can carry on in the same vain and get promotion which with this squad should be achievable
 
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Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
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Fair play to you, RLC, for admitting you were wrong. Although I never despaired, I think we all underestimated Keith Hill. He could have just kept the Dawes-Parkinson formula going, but instead he made radical changes. He dropped some of our favourites and played others out of position. When things initially went wrong, he persevered and has been vindicated. Four league wins on the trot were pleasing but tonight was a triumph for his man management and tactical skills.
I don't think it is really a question of people being 'proved wrong' as Hill was always going to get to the end of the season and we can only go off performances on the pitch, which were not good enough in the first couple of months. Blind faith is not more rational than responding to the evidence before you.

However, as I have said, I was happy with the appointment and I am glad Hill has been able to turn things round.
 

ONIGP

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Eddie Bishop
Similar thoughts to you, RLC. It was a great run that Dawes and Parky had but it feels like we now have a strength/cohesion/ethos/identity through the squad that had not previously been present. Credit to Hill for joining in an almost no-win situation and sticking to his guns. There will be ups and downs before the season ends but I feel that we are in a better shape to deal with the downs. Sometimes you need to take a step back to take 2 forward.
 
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18 May 2012
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ian goodison
my thoughts on the new manager whoever was appointed at the time was wishing him well as we all want Tranmere to do well, this forum to be fair has cut him some slack not like the paddock were some went mental, conducts himself in the media very well and to me tries to be as honest as possible,yes he,s altered the team/tactics hopefully for him/rovers we keep it going
 
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aldo
I will admit I was wrong and I am more than happy to say it, fair play to Hill I like his interviews, and the way he comes Across seems a level headed bloke and has got us playing football, and we are getting goals all over the park I am a happy Rover
 
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ian goodison
the best thing about football is opinions I've lost count of the number of times I have had different views on managers/players/tactics/team selection than my son-in-law but we all see things differently, some are puzzled/upset that ferrier/ctb are not in the squad and it takes me back to brian little moving tyrone loren (who I loved) to port vale, players will come & go at every club, we also don't know what goes on behind the scenes
 

Sparky

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8 Sep 2009
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Chris Greenacre
The problem was whoever took over from Parky and Dawes was in a no win situation. Win every week and it’s because of their work, or lose and he’s undone all their good work.

I agree I think we are seeing the fruits of his labours. His message is you train as you play (what I try and tell the u14s I coach!), and I think it is getting through to the players. The football on show last night was good to watch and with a reserve team arguably. The players are clearly working for the manager which can’t be easy with such a big squad, especially as Keith has made it clear he wants stability so in league games he won’t make changes unless he needs to. So for several players last night they know that if we keep winning they won’t get much league action, but still put in a real shift last night so he clearly has them motivated.

Apart from CBT and Ferrier though it would seem. Just on that’s subject, now we have Nugent and assuming he is fit I can’t see Ferrier featuring much. But CBT has something to offer with his pace against tiring defences so I do hope he gets back on the bench at least
 
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Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
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I would guess that both Ferrier and CBT had moves arranged that fell through at the last minute and there has been a negative reaction. However, I would still expect them to be involved again before the end of the season, as it is not in their interests to sulk indefinitely (although there have been off the field issues with Ferrier previously).
 
Joined
1 Oct 2005
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
the best thing about football is opinions I've lost count of the number of times I have had different views on managers/players/tactics/team selection than my son-in-law but we all see things differently, some are puzzled/upset that ferrier/ctb are not in the squad and it takes me back to brian little moving tyrone loren (who I loved) to port vale, players will come & go at every club, we also don't know what goes on behind the scenes
Exactly, KTF. There’s always controversy to stimulate debate. People see the same thing happening and end up with contrasting views. It’s the same with managers as it is with fans.

Being a football manager must be a really difficult job. You are guaranteed to be unpopular with at least some players. You just hope that most are on your side. And almost all careers end up in failure, usually forcing an early retirement. The likes of Ferguson, Shankly and Paisley are the exceptions.
 

Boz

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30 Sep 2005
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Iain Hume
Just as I wasn't calling for Keith Hill to be axed a month ago, I'm holding back on crowning him, until we see exactly where we end up this season. The football has got a lot better recently, the squad has been strengthened in the January window and while my reservations persist about using players out of position, so far it's worked out. However, on how the club has developed recently, if we don't get promoted, I would still be happy if we offered him a new deal, which is very different to my thoughts after the Barrow game.
 

Ian

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Aldo
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Wait until we lose a game or two, we'll be on his back again :D
 
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