• 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.

FA Cup Orient v Rovers - FA Cup Second Round

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I feel the same about Feeney and he's been with us longer and gets deployed in the same position, but after a bright opening game has contributed little. I agree Watson's been disappointing.

I am yet to work out exactly what Chris Merrie and Stephen Merrie have to do to get a chance in a game other than the Pizza Cup!
Walker seems to have attitude problems, and Merrie has not looked any better than the other midfielders when he has played there in the Trophy games. People made similar comments about Harvey Gilmour when he was left out of the side.

Feeney should not have been offered a contract, a decision where Mellon probably relied heavily on Dawes / Parkinson / Beck, but Watson has offered even less in my view.
 
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I though Cogley played quite well yesterday, and there was more a defensive problem at left back, where MacDonald was way too far off his man when Orient switched the play.
We switched to a midfield diamond at half time, which was even less effective than the 532, then played with wing backs for the final half an hour.
 

Boz

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I though Cogley played quite well yesterday, and there was more a defensive problem at left back, where MacDonald was way too far off his man when Orient switched the play.
You were there. I didn’t take it as a criticism of Cogley, simply that he was so busy with defensive duties that he couldn't venture forward as much.
 

Boz

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Walker seems to have attitude problems, and Merrie has not looked any better than the other midfielders when he has played there in the Trophy games. People made similar comments about Harvey Gilmour when he was left out of the side.

Feeney should not have been offered a contract, a decision where Mellon probably relied heavily on Dawes / Parkinson / Beck, but Watson has offered even less in my view.
A lot of those who did get on the pitch yesterday seemed to have attitude problems in terms of lack of commitment. Still think Micky should bite the bullet, give Walker some game time between now and January, if he doesn’t deliver it’s an option we’ve tried and failed with. Merrie is a different case to Gilmour he’s got playing experience at a higher level and given how little protection the midfield appeared to offer yesterday deserves another chance. We’ll have to agree to differ about the relative lack of merits of Watson and Feeney.
 

Sparky

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Re hawkes, I wasn’t at the game but he is one of our few players who have pace so I’d try and keep him on as much as we could. His absence was being blamed previously for our poor form
 
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Merrie has played at a higher level, but only because Wigan were in administration last year and were forced to play the kids. When they were taken over, they were happy to let him leave. I think people tend to overstate his potential.

Feeney still gets on the ball and works hard, but has simply lost it due to age. Plus, he made a positive contribution last season. Watson must be one of our highest earners but does not get on the ball, does not work hard, and offers nothing.
 

Boz

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Merrie has played at a higher level, but only because Wigan were in administration last year and were forced to play the kids. When they were taken over, they were happy to let him leave. I think people tend to overstate his potential.

Feeney still gets on the ball and works hard, but has simply lost it due to age. Plus, he made a positive contribution last season. Watson must be one of our highest earners but does not get on the ball, does not work hard, and offers nothing.
Think Merrie was offered a deal by Wigan and I believe we paid a fee to get him. Haven't seen enough of him to form a definitive assessment and two of those games were playing left-back, but he has shown some backbone when playing, something which appeared to be sadly lacking in places yesterday.

The 'wage table' you disbelieve has Feeney on a higher wage than Watson, my guess is that there's not much to choose between them, though Watson may have accepted a financially less lucrative package for reasons of geography. Think saying he offers nothing is harsh, although with around a third of the season gone, he definitely falls into the could do better category. He won't be alone by himself in there!

You've not mentioned Micky's inability to accommodate Hawkes in the second half yesterday, so guessing that you're as puzzled as the rest of us about that particular substitution?
 

Sparky

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Watson earning a bit less than Feeney each week if true might be because he got a two year deal. I’m a big fan of Watson but Micky has not been able to get the best out of him.
As has been said a lot of our problems boil down to recruitment. It’s just not been good enough. Either retaining players like Feeney, loans not working out like Walker, and all round poor and wasted signings like Mani, Maguire plus others like Maynard who haven’t been able to make an impact so far and we’re a third of the way into the season.

Despite our defensive issues yesterday it was another game yesterday with only one shot on target. We were poor at both ends.

the social media reaction has been the usual over the top but if we lose at Oldham on Tuesday then it’ll start getting toxic
 
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Think Merrie was offered a deal by Wigan and I believe we paid a fee to get him. Haven't seen enough of him to form a definitive assessment and two of those games were playing left-back, but he has shown some backbone when playing, something which appeared to be sadly lacking in places yesterday.

The 'wage table' you disbelieve has Feeney on a higher wage than Watson, my guess is that there's not much to choose between them, though Watson may have accepted a financially less lucrative package for reasons of geography. Think saying he offers nothing is harsh, although with around a third of the season gone, he definitely falls into the could do better category. He won't be alone by himself in there!

You've not mentioned Micky's inability to accommodate Hawkes in the second half yesterday, so guessing that you're as puzzled as the rest of us about that particular substitution?
My apologies for not responding to all of your enquiries. I thought I had addressed most of them. ;)

Hawkes did not play well in the first half, but was no worse than several others. I imagine it was a tactical change, but I don't see any reason why he should be a sacred cow if he is not performing.
 
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and he is supposed to be a fan, if I was a Tranmere fan and I got to play for my Beloved club I would run through brick F%&king walls and die for the team,playing bad and not giving a sh%t would not be an option, if they can't be bothered fk em off and get players in who five a toss,as for recruitment if MPs management ones apart from mm has been piss poor most of the time
 

Outoftowner

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I don,t know whether mellon picks the team on merit or from a personality view, I,ve only seen merrie at the game were he was sent off playing full back but as he was signed as a mid-fielder on a 2yr contract his exclusion is a mystery, we could all pick different teams which is why the forum is a great place to argue/differ with each other, I do think we have a half decent squad but his selections/tactics seem all over the place, football is a simple game why complicate things
I agree with you about selections/tactics and frankly I’m also baffled as to why Merrie is excluded from his natural position in central midfield ? Mind you he seems excluded from the squad full stop these days ! - wonder what he did to upset Micky ?
 

Sparky

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Merrie is another example of recruitment that for whatever reason, hasn’t worked out. As I think Boz said, Merrie really impressed on the opening day win v walsall before his harsh red card, but hasn’t even been on the bench even though he can cover more than one position. You can only assume that as with Stephen Walker, he’s not impressed micky in training and or hasn’t had the right attitude.

A fairly large proportion of the squad, either existing or brought in on loan or a permanent deal, just hasnt shown they are good enough. Maguire, Mani, Walker, Feeney, Merrie, Watson, Nevitt, Mcmanaman as examples. A few have shown the odd spell but have not been good enough over a long enough period.
 
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A fairly large proportion of the squad, either existing or brought in on loan or a permanent deal, just hasnt shown they are good enough. Maguire, Mani, Walker, Feeney, Merrie, Watson, Nevitt, Mcmanaman as examples. A few have shown the odd spell but have not been good enough over a long enough period.
Yes, I agree with that, although Nevitt has actually performed above expectations given his background. I think having so many players on one year contracts has been a major problem, although that was probably necessitated by Covid.
 

Ian

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I think having so many players on one year contracts has been a major problem, although that was probably necessitated by Covid.
Do we know what other clubs have done regarding contracts? I understand the caution with 1-year contracts but it means the pool you are fishing in is not great as per the players Sparky mentions above.

I think there needs to be a serious overhaul of the recruitment next season as I already believe this season is a non starter due to the inconsistencies in the squad.
 

Sparky

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Maybe SWA expectations are too high given the recruitment and suggesrions that certain signings were not on mickeys shopping list. Perhaps a mid table finish would be reasonable and look to improve next season, although plenty of points left this season
 

Ian

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I would not usually write us off so early Sparky but I do not believe the players are consistent enough to challenge for anything this season. I also do not think there is enough winning mentality/strength in the team. The players are either too young and still learning or are towards the end of their careers. We have a few hungry players but not enough for me.
 

Sparky

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I agree Ian. Hopefully we’re proven wrong over the coming weeks and months.
 
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Maybe SWA expectations are too high given the recruitment and suggesrions that certain signings were not on mickeys shopping list. Perhaps a mid table finish would be reasonable and look to improve next season, although plenty of points left this season
We lost about fifteen players in the summer, including our only proven goalscorer. It often takes two or three transfer windows to rebuild from such a low base, but there is an unrealistic expectation from some people that we can turn that situation around immediately.

The recruitment process is flawed, but even with good recruitment some signings would not work out. It generally takes time to build a successful squad. Even in the National League years, the squad we had in the first season - minus Cook and Jennings - was not good enough for promotion.
 
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Merrie is another example of recruitment that for whatever reason, hasn’t worked out. As I think Boz said, Merrie really impressed on the opening day win v walsall before his harsh red card, but hasn’t even been on the bench even though he can cover more than one position. You can only assume that as with Stephen Walker, he’s not impressed micky in training and or hasn’t had the right attitude.

A fairly large proportion of the squad, either existing or brought in on loan or a permanent deal, just hasnt shown they are good enough. Maguire, Mani, Walker, Feeney, Merrie, Watson, Nevitt, Mcmanaman as examples. A few have shown the odd spell but have not been good enough over a long enough period.
I have said it many times before, but I think a big problem with our recruitment process is the absence of a proper Director of Football. And by Director of Football, I mean a professional with recent scouting or coaching experience at this level of the game. Micky has commented many times that he does not have the time to scout all of the players available to us in academy teams, the bottom two divisions and non-league and local football. That leaves us dependent on the recommendations of Palios and Beck, neither of whom are qualified for the job in my view.

None of that is to suggest that Mellon is completely blameless when it comes to recruitment, because he is one third of the process. However, I don't think he is helped by that process, and any manager would experience similar difficulties.

Port Vale appointed a Director of Football in the summer, despite having a talented and experienced manager in Darryl Clarke, and the improvement in their performance is obvious. Forest Green recruit from a certain pool of players, generally in their early twenties and capable of playing a passing game, irrespective of who the manager is.

I think it is a route we should consider.
 

Outoftowner

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Merrie is another example of recruitment that for whatever reason, hasn’t worked out. As I think Boz said, Merrie really impressed on the opening day win v walsall before his harsh red card, but hasn’t even been on the bench even though he can cover more than one position. You can only assume that as with Stephen Walker, he’s not impressed micky in training and or hasn’t had the right attitude.

A fairly large proportion of the squad, either existing or brought in on loan or a permanent deal, just hasnt shown they are good enough. Maguire, Mani, Walker, Feeney, Merrie, Watson, Nevitt, Mcmanaman as examples. A few have shown the odd spell but have not been good enough over a long enough period.
You could be right, or perhaps the problem is that Micky’s team selection is highly questionable!
 
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