• 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.

League Two Os v Rovers

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It would be disastrous if Vaughan was seriously injured, but I am unsure how we could possibly know the extent of the injury until we have had the result of scans etc, unless he went straight to hospital last night and I have seen no indication that happened.
That could change our season, but we have others who can step up. That was surely one reason why Nugent was signed. We have back-up for all positions.

It's easy with the benefit of hindsight, but I was thinking at the time we could have withdrawn James after our third goal or after he had been booked. But I can't criticise anyone. These things happen.
 
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Nugent is a good player but he is 36 and has barely played in the last eighteen months. He would not be able to replicate the all action performances of Vaughan.

Anyway, hopefully it does not come to that.
 

Ian

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Yeah, finger crossed it's not a serious one as that would be a big blow.
 

Boz

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I think the problem was, as Ian suggests, he had inexperienced players alongside him in Nelson and Monthe, both of whom were also very poor last season, and starting his Rovers career at a higher level probably did not help either. None of that trio looked good enough for League One last season but Ray seemed to be singled out for criticism.

It would be disastrous if Vaughan was seriously injured, but I am unsure how we could possibly know the extent of the injury until we have had the result of scans etc, unless he went straight to hospital last night and I have seen no indication that happened.
We'd lost McNulty and Buxton, while Ellis was long-term injured, but think Ray was one of the first signings we made after promotion. Suggestions of an option to extend after his 2 year deal, impression he was to be the cornerstone of our new defence. Think all of his previous games had been at L2 level, so to that extent less experienced at a higher level than Nelson, who'd got some Championship experience under his belt. Agree that none of the trio (with Monthe) looked L1 standard, but think Micky might have done better starting with Monthe-Nelson as the central pairing, given they had played together before. Monthe-Ray didn't work as neither are adept as defensive organiser's and need a Clarke/McNulty figure alongside. The fact that George didn't put his body in the way like a Nelson/Ellis would and was involved in some poor defending contributed to the negativity. Fast forward 18 months and he's playing much better, whether that's down to having the experienced Clarke alongside, KH seeming to rate him more highly, or other factors is hard to call.

We're not a one man team, but I agree that Vaughan would be a major loss and just have to hope that any injury isn't serious.
 
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Ray actually played regularly in League One in his first three seasons at Crewe, so clearly managed to cope at that level with better players around him than we had last season.
 

Boz

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Ray actually played regularly in League One in his first three seasons at Crewe, so clearly managed to cope at that level with better players around him than we had last season.
Just checked and you're correct with the first part, but don't recall who else was playing at Crewe during that period. It make his first season with us look more even disappointing given that experience.
 

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Who would people prefer as the central pairing? Clarke/Ray or Clarke/Monthe?

I like Monthe for his physical attributes but his distribution is terrible for the most part and I do not miss those aimless balls up field.
 

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Who would people prefer as the central pairing? Clarke/Ray or Clarke/Monthe?

I like Monthe for his physical attributes but his distribution is terrible for the most part and I do not miss those aimless balls up field.
Could have Clarke/Ellis or Clarke/Nelson. There might even be combinations involving Rides, though don't think he's played much for us in a 2 man central defence?

Currently Ray has taken his opportunity well since being recalled, so no need to change things.
 
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I prefer Ray now assuming he remains defensively solid. We are a passing team and I think we need both centre backs to be comfortable on the ball. It was too easy for the opposition to let Monthe have it and then turn possession over or kick it into the stands.
 

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If Vaughan has a serious injury then we are in trouble. At Carlisle he scored twice and cleared one off the line. Then he set up Woolery yesterday. James has had injuries over the years and you do wonder if part is down to his all action display where he throws himself into tackles a lot more than most strikers would.
Keeping everything crossed...
 

Gray

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I suspect so are Newport. Some talk of them playing their remaining home games away from Rodney Parade.

Report says they were unable to re-lay the pitch last summer due to 'covid issues', but I'm failry sure most teams, including us, laid new pitches. I wonder if they spent the budget on players? In which case make them play at home. No doubt the EFL will roll over though.
 

bigmart

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If Vaughan has a serious injury then we are in trouble. At Carlisle he scored twice and cleared one off the line. Then he set up Woolery yesterday. James has had injuries over the years and you do wonder if part is down to his all action display where he throws himself into tackles a lot more than most strikers would.
Keeping everything crossed...
Theres no getting away from the fact that it will be a big blow if it is a serious injury, especially with a 3rd of the season still to go.

But we have won games this season without him and will do so if he is out. We do have a few options and if need be we may need to tweak the system
 
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Theres no getting away from the fact that it will be a big blow if it is a serious injury, especially with a 3rd of the season still to go.

But we have won games this season without him and will do so if he is out. We do have a few options and if need be we may need to tweak the system
I don't think we would collapse if he was out for a long period, but his absence could be the difference between automatic promotion and having to settle for the play offs.
 

Sparky

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I don't think we would collapse if he was out for a long period, but his absence could be the difference between automatic promotion and having to settle for the play offs.

yes I was thinking along similar lines. We have enough quality all over the pitch to win games to claim a top 7 place but it could easily impact our chances of automatic promotion.
 
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But we have won games this season without him and will do so if he is out. We do have a few options and if need be we may need to tweak the system
Agreed, bigmart. We got to the cup final largely without him, beating Peterborough and Oxford teams. Let’s not be too downbeat. Keith is no fool and has good players at his disposal.
 
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look we go into this very positive we have beaten forest vegan and Morcombe, we are a super positive team scoring loads of goals, let us just be as positive as we can and keep rolling on Nugent will score goals when he gets a chance and with Woolery the little Messi scoring loads and Lloyd who can get the goals we will be good
 
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Vaughan has scored roughly half of our League goals this season and is our talisman. His contribution is much greater than just his goals (which is enough in itself) as he leads the line superbly and does a tremendous amount of defensive work.

If we lose him, it will be a major problem and will necessitate a tactical rethink at the worst possible time, as we approach the run in. I don't think that is being negative or defeatist, it is being realistic.

The division is so tight automatic promotion will be decided on small margins, and losing Vaughan could tip the balance against us.
 
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