• 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 Cambridge

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Norwood
Totally agree. Even if he has a stinker 1. He doesn’t do it deliberately and 2. He could be playing next week and needs confidence.

Remember he hasn’t played for weeks due to injury. He’s not good enough in my view but the cheers were out of order
Totally agree Sparky -0 he put in a shift had some nice lay offs everyone forgets about and yes was coming back from injury - I apprecaite he will never be a fan's favourite but to come back to Tranmere as he did took courage and if that header had gone in I am sure we would see a very different Stockton going forward.
 

Cowshed Kid

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Mullins may still have been carrying his knock from cup hence why he was benched. I thought he came on at just the right time - his running and mobility keeping Cambridge on the back foot.
If DMH injury ensures a shirt for Smith then, on yesterday's performance, every cloud and all that. He was excellent, particularly in second half. He's such a different player when he can do has work in opposition half.
I can honestly say I've never booed a player or the team, whatever the performance. For me, if you want to do that then go in the away end.
What about the weather! It's some time since I've seen it that bad at PP. The players are only human and it would have been easy for them to put their heads in their shirts like they did in similar weather at Fylde. Every credit that they went for it and got their reward.
MM days the fans spurred them on. It's a bit of chicken and egg situation though. After a quiet first half the volume increased with the pressure we were exerting. Fans and players have to feed off each other.
 

Ian

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Not sure I'd agree with the comments about Smith. Apart from a decent 10 minute spell, he did nothing for 80 minutes. Drifts in and out of games and for me isn't consistent enough or has the stamina to last 90 minutes.
 

Sparky

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Not sure I'd agree with the comments about Smith. Apart from a decent 10 minute spell, he did nothing for 80 minutes. Drifts in and out of games and for me isn't consistent enough or has the stamina to last 90 minutes.

I think he was the best of an average bunch in difficult conditions. Jennings is still played out of position but always has a moment of magic in him or a goal. At one point I was thinking get Tollit on for CJ but unless we’re winnint comfortably Connor will always play for his defensive work
 

Sparky

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To be fair to smith he set up yesterday’s goal and has a few this season. I’m guessing he’s third top scorer behind Nors and Mullin so should always start IMO
 

Boz

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Stockton perhaps should make more of a nuisance of himself, but I thought he did ok yesterday, good header at the start, one decent lay-off first half, in the right position but didn't finish a decent chance just before he was subbed. Like other posters, I don't think booing helps any player.

While in general terms, think there is some merit in Ian's observations re Smith, thought he played well for all the time he was on the pitch second half, and he was right in front of me in that half. Also involved in Norwood's early goal attempt. Definitely a better player than DMH or Tollitt 2018 version and hope the foot injury he picked up won't keep him out of the replay.

Elsewhere, felt that Monthe, who had the harder job of the two central defenders did well, particularly with inconsistent refereeing meaning that shirt tugging and grappling by his opponent was permitted, while the tiniest contact in the middle of the park got penalised. McNulty did ok, Ridehalgh linked up better with CJ on the left than Zoum had done recently. Felt Buxton had a poor first half, where he was one of the culprits for lumping the ball upfield, but improved in the second half, by carrying the ball upfield and putting some decent balls in their box. Thought Jay Harris, given his limitations did ok, but never going to be as good a creative player as Banks and McCulloch for all of his strengths doesn't offer much creatively either.

It will be an interesting team selection exercise for the trip to Notts County, given the crucial replay which follows...
 
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Smith is a much better player than Tollitt or DMH and was our best player in both halves yesterday. He is in good form and is vital to us at the moment, with the injuries we have in the creative areas.
 
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bigmart

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The main problem with Stockton is he is not rally a target man as he is not that good in the air, he can hold the ball up well when played into his feet and can link up play well.

Not the best of performances but just about deserved the win as we had 3 good chances in second half before the goal, keeps us in the promotion picture
 

Ian

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Elsewhere, felt that Monthe, who had the harder job of the two central defenders did well
Yeah, I thought he had another solid game at the back.
 
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I was willing cole to score just to give him some confidence but also to shut the so called fans by me who slaughtered him all game, I may not agree with MM,s team selections at times but whoever he picks is a Tranmere player and hopefully gets our support, I thought ibhere was a handful for them but monthe was again superb
 

Ian

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Stoockston’s an easy target for the moaners because he’s one of the weakest links. I’m not his biggest fan but would never boo him or cheer when he’s subbed.

Nothing wrong with having a moan as we all have players we dont like but to do it publicly is this way is no good to anyone.
 
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I just thought I would add that McNulty was excellent again yesterday and won every header. He really is taken for granted by a lot of our supporters.

Monthe is receiving all the plaudits at the moment, but while he is great using his power and strength when he is one-on-one with a striker, he is not fantastic in the air and does not have the leadership qualities of Steve.

Macca is still our best and most important centre back in my opinion.
 
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The main problem with Stockton is he is not rally a target man as he is not that good in the air, he can hold the ball up well when played into his feet and can link up play well.

Not the best of performances but just about deserved the win as we had 3 good chances in second half before the goal, keeps us in the promotion picture
Norwood and Mullin are excellent players but have not really gelled as a partnership. I think this is the crux of the problem. Micky probably knows that Stockton is not good enough long term, but Norwood has generally looked more comfortable playing alongside him and we have usually functioned better in a 442 when those two have played up front.

Unfortunately, players like Cook and Akinde are out of our price range, and Stockton is the only forward we have who is capable of operating as a link player. On that basis, he is clearly going to be used a lot this season, which is why I find the barracking of him idiotic. A lot of people may not like him, but he is the best we have in that role and he is going to play games.
 

Boz

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I just thought I would add that McNulty was excellent again yesterday and won every header. He really is taken for granted by a lot of our supporters.

Monthe is receiving all the plaudits at the moment, but while he is great using his power and strength when he is one-on-one with a striker, he is not fantastic in the air and does not have the leadership qualities of Steve.

Macca is still our best and most important centre back in my opinion.
I think Monthe's aerial ability is improving, most of his headers get some distance now. He also was up against the more challenging forward yesterday and made his physical strength count.

McNulty is invaluable for his organisational skills, as none of the other defenders are adept in that department. I don't think he put a foot wrong defensively in this game, though he made less attempt to carry the ball out of defence than usual. The question will be how long he wants to carry on playing, as he's allayed a lot of fears about his continued ability to cope at L2 level in the last 4 months.
 
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Monthe probably is improving in the air, but it is amazing how we struggle to deal with crosses when McNulty is not playing. That was really evident in the second half at Grimsby, where two of their goals resulted from poor corners lobbed into the box which we failed to clear, resulting in goalmouth scrambles. It was noticeable in the cup games where McNulty was rested earlier in the season as well.

We assume it is easy to deal with balls pumped into the box, but it really is not. Set pieces are a massive part of the game at this level and you have to be able to defend them.
 
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Looking forward to Saturday . And then the big one. Let's hope the boys get in to some decent form b4 the port game . Soooooo looking forward to it .
 

Ian

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McNulty is definitely our best defender although I think Monthe is our most improved. Remember when we signed him and a lot of us were unsure as it looked like he had a mistake in him.

He’s now a regular in the side and putting in consistently solid displays.
 
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
Yes, Ian. Our player recruitment has improved no end over the past twelve months. The majority of signings in summer 2017 were poor, but i think this summer's crop has been excellent. The only doubt is Ryan Williams, who has yet to have a proper chance. Akammadu also needs a bit more time and opportunity.
 
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McNulty is definitely our best defender although I think Monthe is our most improved. Remember when we signed him and a lot of us were unsure as it looked like he had a mistake in him.

He’s now a regular in the side and putting in consistently solid displays.
I think Mellon and the coaching staff have to take a lot of the credit for that. One of Mellon's strengths is improving players, not just Monthe but Caprice, Cole and others.
 
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Mungy's Hairdresser
I was reading this in thread order & as oft is the case RLC took the words out of my mouth about MM & coaching staff working with the other MM. Especially when coach MJ’s pro career was at centre back! The coaching staff generally instil their personality on the pitch... as long as they’re good communicators to the players. For this reason, I’ve always maintained that the most balanced coaching staff comprise a defender, midfielder & forward. Must help with positional meetings too. Keeper coach is obviously a given.
 
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