• 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 Cobblers

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Alan King, Barry Dyson
Unusually, we have two games in 48 hours, giving us a quick opportunity to banish the Boxing Day blues. While getting anything from Burton even with a full team would have been difficult, our home game with Northampton is the nearest you'll get at this stage of the season to being a "must win, six pointer". They have lost their last four, and their last eight out of ten, worse even than our recent record.

If we turn up, show character, avoid sloppy defensive mistakes and manage to create a couple of chances - and get a Cambridge ref rather than a Burton one, we might snatch the points. With York playing Carlisle and Daggers away to Southend, we have a great chance to leave the relegation zone and make ground on our fellow strugglers.

Ridehalgh was the last player we wanted to lose for three games. There's no ready replacement - either defensively or up the left wing. I suspect Holmes will get the job, but that leaves a vacancy at right-back. Normally, I'd go for Donacien, but we're too short at centre-back, so I'd plump for Rowe. The rest of the team selection may be affected by fitness and fatigue.

fon Williams
Rowe, Donacien, Thompson, Holness, Holmes
Laird, Jennings, Power
Stockton, Fenelon
 
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I agree with BBTC about the significance of this game. If we start with five at the back I would imagine Laird will move to right back, as he did yesterday, and Rowe or Martin will start in midfield. However, Micky may be tempted to start with a back four to avoid too many square pegs in round holes. I think the strikers may alos be rotated, with Odejayi perhaps starting ahead of Cole.

I think Ridehalgh only misses one game, as he was not dimissed for violent conduct.

Northampton are in dreadful form and a defeat at Prenton Park might even cost Chris Wilder his job. A must win game for Rovers.
 

Ian

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Yes, their recent form is pretty dire and we really have to be looking at all three points here. As long as the confidence and performance is there, we should be able to score a couple. My fear is, as always, if we make a good start and take the lead we'll end up pushing back and putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves.

If we win tomorrow it will be a welcome change from our usually dire Xmas period.
 

Higgy

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Possibly Donacien at right wing back and bring young Gumbs into the middle - possible option.
 
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Relief. Just one word to sum it up. We may have spent Christmas in the zone, but we will start 2015 out of it (just). We can start the New Year looking up! I look forward to the reports.
 
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A deserved win for Rovers after a really strong second half display. The starting line up was a surprise, with Micky opting for a back four and playing Shuker behind the strikers. However, we generally defended well and Shukes was influential: their back four struggled to pick him up and he showed his experience and quality by getting into good areas, before inevitably tiring in the second half.

In the first half I thought they were better in possession, with O'Toole influential, but we looked more dangerous. Odejayi held the ball up very effectively before going off injured, and took his goal fantistically well. Fenelon worked hard as always and Shuker was always available in good areas. Northampton will think they deserved to be level at half time, but the manner in which we conceded the goal was frustrating, Jennings uncharacteristically giving the ball away on the edge of our box to gift them their only real opportunity of the half. As in other recent games, we sat too deep for ten minutes after taking the lead, and it proved costly.

However, all credit to the players for upping the tempo after half time, playing some really good football at times and securing a deserved win. It was pleasing to see the much maligned Jake Kirby score the winner, a cracking strike only seconds after coming off the bench.

I thought there were a number of good individual displays, but my men of the match would be Max - excellent again - and Josh Thompson, who gave a towering dispay at centre half.

The only area of concern for me, and not for the first time, was Fonners' communciation (or lack of it). On two or three occasions there were mix-ups between him and a defender as a result of him not shouting, and the final one of these almost gifted Northampton an undeserved equaliser, with Sinclair missing an open goal and inexplicably hitting the post. An area of his game which has to improve, but never seems to.
 

bigmart

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An ok game which I thought we just deserved to win. Holmes & Jennings were the pick of the players for me with Thompson not far behind. Glad we tried a flat back four at home as im not a big fan of playing 3 centre halves
 
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Thompson for me was Awesome. Eventho OFW tried to sell him down the river on more than 5 occasions. (wont come off his line for 'bread n butter Northampton long balls and crosses'

Holmes was again a beast, playing in an unflavoured left back roll.

the rest of the Team :-
OFW- 6, made some nice saves... but has the defence on pins.
Holmes-7, was put under a lot of pressure all game an did very well.
Holness-6 did a job
Thompson-9... a Towering performance.... will have a bright future.
Dolcian- 8 .. excellent, very little gets past this man
Laird-6, covered ground but needs to learn to pass to a white shirt......... time running out for this guy
Jeno-6, not his best, but up against a strong and busy O'Toole
Power-7, very nice performance always calm and smooth..... 2nd to last game in a white shirt?
Shuker-5, very busy and found space, but under hit passes, handled the ball 3 times to control it (1st half), and wouldn't carry the ball, after a very bright 20 mins he went missing for 20 min.
Odejaye-7, looked strong, aggressive, won headers and scored.... was kicked all over the shop before the injury
Fenlon-7, great pace worried the opposition, gives 110%


A good win, I'm happy
 

frenchrover

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Great summary by RLC, a fully deserved win although a tentative final 10 minutes during which the referee, who had been atrocious the whole match, seemed determined that we'd not get those 3 deserved points. One wonders where these officials are dragged up from...totally inept. A well taken goal by Odejayi who other than scoring did little else for me. Stockton when he came on proved twice as strong holding the ball up and his overall performance was much better than Odejai's. Wlilst Max, Jenno and Danny Holmes all had good games, the Man of the Match (well 3/4 match) for me was Shuker who continually exposed the weaknesses in the Cobblers defence and sought to direct the play throughout his time on the pitch. He looked at home sitting behind the front two pulling the strings and making most positive things happen. An inspired substitution by Micky when Shukes finally ran out of steam when following some great link-up play Kirby hit a cracker for the winner.
Totally agree about Fon Williams, a great shot stopper but totally fails week in week out to dominate his box. His indecision cost us 2 points against Cambridge and the same thing nearly happened again today. Is it any wonder that our defence looks suspect at times when they can have no confidence in the man behind them.
 

frenchrover

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Should also mention that heard at the match today it is rumoured that Max is leaving to join Burnley and we are hoping to bring in a mid-fielder from the Red Bulls in the MLS. Don't know if anyone else has heard anything.
 

Boz

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My first Rovers game for almost 6 weeks and a good result to end the year. I didn't think there was much to choose between the teams to be honest. Rovers had a makeshift defence, while the Cobblers had two defenders leaving the pitch injured in the first half. We took the lead probably against the run of play at that point, when Odejayi volleyed in a cross from Donacien. However,we gave them a way back into the game; too much messing around on the edge of our area, Jennings gifted a ball to them, it was passed to Richards who finished clinically. While Jenno was at fault, I did think with some aggressive closing down of space we could have redeemed the situation, instead of standing off and inviting them to finish. The second half, I thought the visitors started the brighter, but within a minute of Jake Kirby coming on, he'd been involved in a great passing move with Max and the ball finished in the back of their net. Again, for a period Rovers sat back and one of the keeper-defender mix-ups, RLC refers to resulted in a clearance off the line from Donacien to secure the 3 points. That seemed to knock the stuffing out of the visitors and we finished stronger.

I was a bit puzzled by Micky's team selection tbh. Shuker starting; did ok, but lack of match-fitnesses ultimately told. However the lack of any defenders on the bench?? Gumbs played 15 minutes at Luton, didn't look totally out of his depth, it would have made more sense to me to have a defender of some sort as a sub, in case the any of the back four needed replacing.

Here are the marks from the Huddersfield jury...

OFW 5 One great save, distribution better than usual, but too many mix-ups with defenders.
Holmes 8 Did well in an unfamiliar left-back position
Holness 6 Mixed bag, but kept battling
Thompson 8 Calm, steady. There were a couple of times when I felt he ought to have gone for distance rather than direction with headers, but would be happy if he stuck around.
Donacien 7 Started exceptionally nervously, but settled. I don't think he's as assured a defender at full-back compared to the centre, but did play a pivotal role in securing our win at both ends.
Laird 6 Took a lot of flak from the crowd near me. I didn't think he was that bad, one peach of a ball to set up a first half attack, but not consistently reliable.
Jennings 7 Aside from their goal, did well.
Power 7 Great involvement for the winner, a decent showing overall.
Shuker 7 Calm, set up some good moves from the hole behind the front pair
Odejayi 7 Seemed much more involved in the game and took his goal well.
Fenelon 6 First time I'd seen in action. He didn't make the most of the possession he was given, not really a striker or winger, but something in between. No complaints about work-rate
Stockton 7 Held things up well, good link-up play, even a spot of defending.
Kirby 7 The early goal gave him confidence and he was more prepared to try things.

I agree with frenchrover that the referee was mediocre.

There have been a number of rumours about Max going. If it happens,we need to ensure that there's someone recruited who can take set-pieces in his place.
 
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In addition to set plays, I think Power's departure would leave a gaping hole in our midfield to be honest. Laird has workrate and generally plays a couple of good passes every game, but his first touch and short-range passing is often poor and he gives the ball away on a consistent basis; Rowe has the quality on the ball, but does not necessarily have the physical presence that is required at this level. That leaves Max and Jenno as our only really consistent performers in midfield.

In the last eight games under Adams we have won four, drawn three and lost just one - automatic promotion form really. In his fifteen games in charge, our three defeats have all come against top five sides. I know some on here question his team selection and working methods, but you can't really argue with those stats.
 

Ian

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Much better team performance and what we have come to expect under Adams, but there are still issues to be worked on. We scored two good goals but gave away a daft one and nearly did the same in the second half, but thanks to the post came away with the win.

OFW is terrible at commanding his area. He stays rooted to his goal line and causes all sorts of problems at the back. Great shot stopper but sadly it ends there.

Gutted for Odejayi who was having a great game and is now starting to reward the manager with goals. I thought we suffered when he went off as he was winning a lot in the air and was causing their defence loads of problems.

Agree with RLC. If Power goes we'll have a huge gap to fill in midfield.
 
M

Mal

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He is going to Leicester....no wait . he is going to Burnley. No wait. He is going to Rangers. No wait. He is going to Celtic. No wait. Rumours. Bah humbug. Lol.
 

Boz

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In addition to set plays, I think Power's departure would leave a gaping hole in our midfield to be honest. Laird has workrate and generally plays a couple of good passes every game, but his first touch and short-range passing is often poor and he gives the ball away on a consistent basis; Rowe has the quality on the ball, but does not necessarily have the physical presence that is required at this level. That leaves Max and Jenno as our only really consistent performers in midfield.

I agree that Power would be a big loss. Each of the other midfielders brings something to the party, but all have their shortcomings; Jennings doesn't contribute in an attacking sense in the way Max does as well as those you've highlighted for Laird and Rowe. Koumas doesn't feature regularly enough to be seen as a solution to a set piece player, should Max move on and it is that area where there is no obvious cover in the current squad.

No idea if he is moving on, but would rather we get some money for him now than he disappears for nothing when his contract runs down Ash Taylor style.
 
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I agree totally with RLC's and Boz's posts. Max has been our most improved and most influential player this season. He's also our leading goalscorer and penalty taker. He'll take some replacing.

Last time we lost our best player (James Wallace, through injury), we didn't attempt to replace him and our form plummeted, costing us promotion to the Championship. This time, we can't let our performances slip. Ironically, we now have an in-depth squad with adequate back-up in virtually every position - except Max's.
 

Sparky

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I have been a critic of Max but he has really stepped up to the plate recently. It would be a big loss because as has been stated, we don't have any real centre mid like him. Koumas is going to be a bit part player and may retire at the end of the season.

Going back to the game on Sat, the main thing for me was it was another game we have got a result from without playing too well. I felt we were ok in patches but not great at times. You wonder whether Micky is a lucky kind of manager although with the decision to bring on Kirby he made his own luck. Many around me were not happy Baggie had not come on but credit to Jake to getting the winner.

Fonners does have his weaknesses but I still maintain most if not all L2 keepers will be far from perfect....
 

Ian

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I was cursing Micky for bringing on Kirby as I'm not his biggest fan. Funny old game.. Needless to say, I was jumping up and down when he scored :D
 
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