• 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.

Rovers v Brewers

Boz

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Table-topping Burton are at Prenton Park next. Their last game saw a 2-1 home win over Southend, who were one of the better sides we've played, despite playing the whole of the 2nd half with 10 men after ex-Rover Robbie Weir was dismissed for an elbow. McGurk went off injured, so it looks as though only Akins and Sherrif of the old boys will feature against us. It sounds as though they have a few injuries so from that angle it might be a good time to face them.

However, Rovers have a few injury problems of our own and also without suspended captain Steve Jennings. It was a failing of Adams' January spree not to bring in another player who could fill the defensive midfield role. Laird is more box-to-box. Molyneux, who has disappeared out of the squad recently[didn't expect a footballer to take all his paternity leave during the playing season], didn' t look comfortable playing there. No sign of a loan even being considered.
Then Holmes, Thompson, Ihiekwe, Gardener are all doubtful, added to the long-term absentees list. It means that if they don't recover, we will be especially thin at the back. It may be that Gumbs or Duggan come into the picture, although the manager has shown a reluctance to start any of our youngsters and would be rightly wary again such difficult opponents. As for the rest of the side, who knows?

Prediction: Unsure what level of travelling support Burton will bring; guessing around 500. The home crowd may be bolstered a little after the midweek win, so we should be around 5k. Really need to take something from this game, but think a draw would be a decent result.
 
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As Max Power rightly said, we have nine cup finals until the end of the season. On paper, Saturday's game is as difficult as they come. Fortunately, Rovers don't play football on paper and many of our results this season have defied logic. We have already beaten Wycombe and Shrewsbury, so is it too much to expect us to complete the hat-trick of wins over the sides which have been in the promotion frame for most of the season? It would be a great result and the first time we'd recorded back-to-back victories all season. Apart from Oxford, all our rivals seem to have easier fixtures this weekend, so we need to get something on Saturday or risk dropping back into the bottom two. It's difficult to predict, so I'm sitting on the fence and expecting 1-1.
 

Ian

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With the points we need to get out if this mess I'd say we need to be at least winning our home games. It will be a tough game and I'm a little bit anxious as there's no Jennings to provide cover at the back. A win however would be a huge boost to confidence and it might spur us on for the final run in.

Another gritty performance similar to Tues night should see us get at least a point.
 
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Although Jennings will be missed on Saturday, I would not agree with Boz that we should have brought in another defensive midfielder; Laird is a reasonable substitute in that role and we can't realistically carry two or three players in every position at this level.

I think the manager is playing smoke and mirrors regarding the injury situation and I would expect several of the doubtful players to start. I would imagine the starting line up will be as close as possible to Tuesday's and we will play 4-3-3 again.

In the reverse fixture Burton looked a decent side and I think this is a more difficult match than the games against Wycombe and Shrewsbury, not least because of the current form of The Brewers. I agree that there will be a healthy gate around the 5,000 mark, perhaps boosted by a number of Scandinavians here for the Liverpool game on Sunday. A draw would be a good result and might keep us out of the bottom two, as I doubt all the strugglers will win again tomorrow.
 

Higgy

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I agree with RLC that Micky might be over egging the injury situation - hope so anyway. However, I think if he has enough centre backs available he will go three at the back, although Jenno will certainly be missed and he will have to ensure the middle of the park is secure - maybe insert Holmes or Ridehalgh in front of the back 4. I do like the way Laird gets stuck in, but not sure he likes just sitting there.

Think we might need to be more mobil against the brewers - so only bring the big man on if we need him.

OFW,
Donacien, Thompson, Dugdale/Ihiekwe
Holmes/Ridehalgh
JMW, Power, Laird, Kirby (not everyone's cuppa:) )

Gardener

Donnelly

Gate - 4,850

2-1 home win!!!!
 

Boz

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Although Jennings will be missed on Saturday, I would not agree with Boz that we should have brought in another defensive midfielder; Laird is a reasonable substitute in that role and we can't realistically carry two or three players in every position at this level.
Totally disagree. MA has brought in 3 central defenders plus Donacien, 3 attacking midfielders, both of which could be seen as excessive given the players already here in those areas. Yet only 1 defensive midfielder, in Jennings, a position where there's always a danger of picking up a ban, even assuming he stays clear of injury. Cover was needed. Laird is a decent player, will get stuck in, but as Higgy suggests is more likely to wander.
 
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Shuker can also play the holding role, as he did for Adams at Vale, so that gives 2/3 players to cover that position depending on how you look at it. We may have too many players in other areas of the team - hence our lack of consistency in team selection, and perhaps a lack of team spirit since January - but that is another matter. Jennings is rarely injured, so anybody brought in purely to deputise in that role would be getting splinters in his backside by the end of the season.
 

Boz

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Again, I'd have reservations about Shuker as the holding midfielder. He's not renowned for his tackling. Will be interesting to see how it all pans out.
 

bigmart

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regardless of who plays can only see them winning, 2 1 away win
 
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I thought it was a decent effort from the players today, working hard and playing some good football and the scoreline is harsh on us. The penalty was obviously the turning point; had we scored, we would have been deservedly level having dominated the first twenty minutes of the second half. Poor defending let us down again, as all of their goals were avoidable and we were ragged at the back in the closing stages. However, luck was also against us as their first two goals were contentious; there was a possible foul in the build up to the opener, and the second looked offside.

Playing the 4-4-2 I thought we looked dangerous throughout the game, and some of our football was decent. The first half was fairly even and we were on top in the second prior to their third goal, with Burton apparently happy to defend deep and waste time from the 45th minute onwards. However, I think the shape of the team and certainly the team selection could be questioned. Injuries obviously limited our options, but would we have been better off playing three in midfield ? The game was very open and Burton were able to get at our back four too easily at times, particularly on the break. Similarly, I thought we should have started the game with Donnelly up front and Molyneux on the left wing, as Hugill was poor and contributed little.

Individually, I thought Odejayi, Power, JMW and Ihiekwe had particularly good games. Ridehalgh struggled to cope with Akins, in the first half in particular.

A real frustration was the lack of professionalism we showed in the closing stages to allow Burton to get their third and fourth. The goal difference has taken another hammering, and confidence can't be helped by another heavy defeat either.

The real concern is the number of games we have against other promotion chasing teams in the last eight matches. Hartlepool are on our coat tails now, and it certainly seems likely they will pick up more victories in the run-in than we will. If that is the case, we have to leapfrog at least one of the teams above us between now and May. The Wimbledon game really is must-win.
 

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Agree with RLC assessment. We weren't that bad today and I left the ground deflated as 4-1 sounds like a hammering. Defensively we were poor to concede those goals and we made Akins look good.

The penalty was definitely the turning point. It wasn't a bad penalty but a good save from their keeper. Confidence took a battering then and they went on to score two more soft goals.

Situation looks grim again. With Hartlepool winning their form is so much better than ours. In a game or two they'll be above us and we'll be bottom two with Cheltenham. With possibly York being dragged into it too.

Very depressing..
 

frenchrover

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Also agree with RLC's assessment, we played with passion today and on another day we could well have taken all 3 points. Their first goal was a travestry, the ball had been taken out of play by at least a foot by a Burton player on the half-way line but the linesman failed to keep up with play and therefore failed to see this, from the subsequent cross they scored.
Their second saw Akins a mile offside but again we were let down by the imbecile masquarading as a linsman, incredible.
We showed great fighting spirit to pull one back through Odejayi and we were well on top when we were rightly awarded a penalty at the Kop end. Up steps Power and promptly places a powerpuff pass to the keepers left hand side which he had no problem collecting. Had that penalty gone in I have no doubt we would have gone on to win this game such was our dominance at the time. As it was heads went down and further tinkering with the team totally undermined any chance of another fightback. That penalty miss could well prove to be the final nail in our survival coffin. Man of the Match by a mile, Odejayi.
 

Ian

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I didn't think the penalty was that bad, maybe lacked a bit of power (sorry)...

A comment on twitter pretty much summed up the game.

Burton had four chances and scored them all. Simple lesson taught to us today.


I think they actually had five with Williams making a decent save in the first half.
 
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I didn't think the penalty was that bad, maybe lacked a bit of power (sorry)...

I thought Max played well today, his best game for some time.

It is interesting that Jimmy Floyd acknowledged we were a trifle unlucky and considers us a good side, despite our position.
 

Boz

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I'm feeling less charitable than you guys about Rovers after this performance.

Team selection with what's left after injuries and bans was poor. Hugill doesn't look match fit, but because he's one of Micky's mates so gets picked, whereas a kid who's been out injured most of the season makes the bench ahead of Hume, who's apparently training with the youth team. Donnelly isn't a winger and when it became clear early on about the threat Akins posed, Rory and JMW should have switched wings. Ihiekwe offers less than Danny Holmes going forward, Donacien has an eye for the attacking break, so he should have been at right-back and Michael in central defence.

We started brightly, Hugill fluffing an early chance, Dugdale heading just over from a corner. However, we lost possession from a poor JMW set-piece in the Burton half and they ran through our midfield and defence before a good save from OFW. We didn't heed the warning and Burton took the lead. The ball appeared to have gone out of play in the build-up, but still ample time to defend it, we switched off and they scored. Akins added a second shortly after, putting in a rebound after OFW had saved the first, totally unmarked. He looked in an offside position when the ball landed, but couldn't tell at the time it was played. At that stage, Burton were totally dominating and cutting through us at will. However Odejayi with an awesome volley got us back in the game and we ended the half on top.

Second half, Hugill hooked off Molyneux on and Donnelly moved into the striking role. More sense if we'd lined up like this from the off. However although we were on top for the first 25 minutes, Max's failure to convert the penalty proved costly. It wasn't a bad penalty, though fairly clear from the run-up which way it would be placed. However, given he'd missed the last two, might have been better to let Jennison take it. Burton's 3rd was their first goal effort of the second half, a break on ball to unmarked player in the box who finished well. At that point heads dropped and MA made two puzzling substiutions. Laird being replaced by Jago, left us more exposed in the middle and couldn't figure Kirby for Ridehalgh. I'd have gone for damage limitation; Shuker for Donnelly/Laird, possibly even Gumbs for Dugdale, given goal difference might yet play a part. Instead, another soft goal, an og from Dugdale, gave a final scoreline which flattered Burton.

I take no comfort from a consoling pat on the head from the Burton manager. They, like Wycombe, make the most of what resources they have and deserved their win for the teamwork and taking their chances.

Player ratings.
OFW Don't think he could be blamed for the goals, 1 good save and distribution better than normal 7
Ridehalgh One or two positives going forward, but poor marking contributed a couple of the Burton goals 3
Dugdale Dismal 2
Donacien Not commanding enough for a central defender 5
Ihiekwe Doesn't look as comfortable at right-back and out of position at time 5
Myrie-Williams Good general play, some poor set pieces but kept trying 6
Laird Quiet game 5
Power Tried and worked hard, one of his better recent games, but will be remembered for the penalty miss 6
Donnelly Little impact, even when moved into a striking role 4
Hugill Contributed little 4
Odejayi Amazing goal, foul on him earned the penalty, kept going all game MoM 8
Subs
Molyneux Reined in Akins a bit 5
Jago Some nice touches, but not the kind of game you'd want for a debut 5
Kirby No impact kept losing the ball 4

Finally, I'd agree that nothing less than a win over Wimbledon will do now.
 
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They, like Wycombe, make the most of what resources they have and deserved their win for the teamwork and taking their chances.

Unlike Wycombe, Burton actually have considerably greater resources than us.
 
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
You can't deny that's our worst league result for about two years. No-one had beaten us by more than two goals this season except Swansea. I hope they see the positives and the if onlys. For once I agree Wimbledon is a must win. We need to get back on track asap and will be lucky to get anything from the three games that follow.

By the way, how did the crowd react?
 
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bigmart

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I didn't think the penalty was that bad, maybe lacked a bit of power (sorry)...

A comment on twitter pretty much summed up the game.

Burton had four chances and scored them all. Simple lesson taught to us today.


I think they actually had five with Williams making a decent save in the first half.


Had more than that as they had free header from a corner in first couple of minutes.

They were the better team clearly although the scoreline did flatter them a bit. Our defence is shambolic Ridehalgh got torn apart by Akins time and again. The penalty miss was costly but still think they would've won can only see relegation for us unless we start keep clean sheets
 

Ian

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I agree, the defence was symbolic. If we keep conceding goals like that we are down as we cant recover from 2 goals down a game.
 

Boz

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Unlike Wycombe, Burton actually have considerably greater resources than us.
What's the evidence to back that up? I've no idea of the accuracy of your assertion though a little surprised if 'considerably greater' is correct.

BBTC asked about the crowd reaction. Fairly subdued was my recollection, at half time the ire was mainly directed at the officials for failing to spot the ball going out of play in the build-up to Burton's first. There was some booing at full-time and a bit of heckling at the substitutions. Micky seems to be getting much less flak than Rob Edwards, although the fact that he scuttles down the tunnel as soon as the final whistle blows may be a factor.
 
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