• 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 Colchester

Boz

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On paper this could be seen as easier than our last couple of games, but the Us had a good win over Franchise and I have an uneasy feeling that this will be quite a tough game.

How Rovers line up will be interesting, given the new loanees, although we're limited to only playing 5 of them. I would presume Ridehalgh and McNulty, who have a decent understanding on the left side of defence will start, Edwards in for Goodi in central defence and given we're at home Peterson also seems likely to get an outing. So Atkinson/Otsemebor to miss out?

I think this will be a tight game a draw or narrow Rovers win, with an attendance just scraping 4k as the visitors won't bring many.
 

bigmart

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Need to win this if we are to pull away from the bottom 4 think we will nick it 2 1
 

drwhoman

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Yes - the team will be interesting. I would be surprised if John Otsemebor misses out. He played a few game for the Liverpool first team a few years ago but did not quite make the grade. I have seen Petersen on Liverpool TV and he looks quite good at that level. A bit different in Division One perhaps - a lot tougher physically. He is presumably a short term replacement for Joe Thompson. With the Xmas busy time coming up Ronnie was wise to get some more bodies in.
 
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How Rovers line up will be interesting, given the new loanees, although we're limited to only playing 5 of them. I would presume Ridehalgh and McNulty, who have a decent understanding on the left side of defence will start, Edwards in for Goodi in central defence and given we're at home Peterson also seems likely to get an outing. So Atkinson/Otsemebor to miss out?
Under the loan deal, Atkinson has to play, so I assume Otsemobor or Edwards will play alongside McNulty.

BTW, How does the 5 loanees rule work with the subs?
 
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A trickier game than it looked a week ago, with Colchester drawing at high flying Preston last Saturday and putting MK Dons to the sword in midweek. Difficult to tell how we will line up with the trio of signings this week, but I certainly would not want to upset the back four, save for a straight swap of Edwards / Otsemobor for Goodison.

Hopefully the gate will be closer to 4,500 than 4,000 following Rovers' recent improvement. A big game as victory should finally give us some breathing space at the bottom and bring midtable within reach.
 
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Excellent performance from Rovers, just a pity that the scoreline does not reflect our dominance in the second half: we should have won by three or four clear goals. I raised an eyebrow at the starting line up, particularly the inclusion of Wallace in a two-man midfield, but the selection worked and we played with real freedom and confidence at times. A number of players put in excellent displays: Holmes, Kirby, Akpro and Lowe in particular did well, but Wallace and Petterson were outstanding. The latter was a breath of fresh air with his skill and directness and looks a fantastic signing, just the kind of wide player we needed to enable us to switch back to 4-4-2. Wallace's performance was remarkable for a player returning from long term injury: he was fantastic at both ends of the pitch, winning tackles and headers and showed really quality in the attacking third, notably with his rasping shot in the first half.

I thought the first half was even and end to end, but we did well to cope with the almost farcical loss of two defenders to injury. Ibehre was a real handful and gave McNulty a really tough time, and Colchester probably felt aggrieved to be one down at the break. I thought Colchester missed a trick in not switching to 4-4-2 earlier to put Ridelhalgh under more pressure; as it was he had a fairly comfortable afternoon as a rookie centre back.

In the second half we were dominant and should have scored a couple more from the catalogue of chances we created. Petterson tore their back four to shreds for most of the half, the one area for improvement in his play being his final ball. After half time there was real quality in our performance and I am confident we can improve further if we keep the nucleus of the side that started today together (plus the absent defenders). We are now only two points from twelfth and a mid table finish must be a realistic target.
 

Boz

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RLC raised an eyebrow at the starting line-up; mine were at comet orbiting the sun altitudes;). Hindsight's a wonderful thing, but it did seem very risky picking Goodi, who'd apparently been running on 50% at Wolves and Wallace who'd not played a full 90 since his recent return from injury. Holmes has improved recently and it seemed harsh to drop him for Otsemobor, who could have been deployed in central defence instead. Ronnie had less choice given the "Atkinson must play" agreement, but it seemed a shame to leave Koumas out just as he'd played himself into some sort of form.

The early injuries to Otsemobor then Goodi and the clash of heads involving JLAA, which required both him and the Colchester player to be stitched off the pitch for around 20 minutes certainly unsettled Rovers. Our lead came a bit against the run of play, but Wallace was instrumental both in earning the corner and heading the ball on for Lowe to finish. The visitors came back at us and McNulty rescued things on one occasion. Second half was real end-to-end stuff, Rovers having the better chances and extending the lead from a penalty missed by the ref, but spotted by the AR, but Colchester were by no means subdued and had a couple of decent efforts before their last-minute consolation. They were a strange side, not without skill but physically they had a few big lads and were not adverse to the swinging elbow.

Overall, it was a decent team effort by Rovers. Wallace played like he'd never been away, but understandably faded a little towards the end of the 2nd half and perhaps should have been subbed earlier. Petterson after a quiet start got into the game well and I think Horwood, who had one of his best games in a Rovers shirt, was a factor there. McNulty was steady again, hope the change of management at Barnsley doesn't reduce our chance of extending his loan. Kirby worked really hard and the defensive side of his game has come on considerably. On the debit side, JLAA really needs a goal to boost his confidence and am still unsure quite what Atkinson brings to the party.
 
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still unsure quite what Atkinson brings to the party.

Interesting point that. I think he is a decent player who makes good forward runs and probably has more of an eye for goal than Power or Rowe. However, without the ball he does not contribute a great deal and at League One level it is really crucial that central midifield players contribute to the physical side of the game (particularly in a midfield two).

We now have a plethora of midfielders available to us, and I would be inclined to let Atkinson go back to Huddersfield in January, unless we can renegotiate a deal where he is not obliged to play. Certainly I don't think he should be starting ahead of Koumas or Power. I would probably prefer to see us keep Hateley on for another six months, as he is the only specialist holding player we have, let Jennings and Atkinson go and let the remaining midfielders fight it out to partner Wallace.

You also raise an interesting point about Akpro. He probably had his best game of the season today and does have a talent; however, he simply does not score enough goals as a centre forward and the absence of a reliable second striker puts a lot of pressure on Lowe to maintain his current scoring rate.

A reliable source on another forum has said that we were set to sign Cassidy on loan on Wednesday until a Wolves loan signing fell through and they decided to keep him. It seems this move could be resurrected in January and I would certainly welcome him back here, as I am sure he would benefit from playing alongside Lowe and would score goals for us.
 

Ian

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Really pleased with the game today. The lads are certainly playing with more confidence and belief. It's amazing to think another win could propel us to mid table. It looks like we've finally turned the corner and we are on a decent run now.

Really pleased with the signings made by Ronnie. I thought Petterson was excellent in the second half. Very direct and a threat going forward. In fact, I as really pleased with our attacking play. Most of it was on the floor and we pushed forward with conviction. If it wasn't for a few dodgy final balls and some poor finishing by JLAA (who had a decent game) we could have had a couple in the second half.

Wallace was excellent in midfield. Glad he's back. In fact the whole team performed well. Defensively solid, midfield linked up well and were instrumental in our forward play. Gutted for Lowe who came so close to getting a third but more goals from him and another excellent game.

Things are finally looking up..
 

bigmart

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We thoroughly deserved the win and it really should have been a more resounding win than it was, we wernt as solid at the back but with the injuries that wasn't that surprising although in the first half McNulty didn't look at his usual reliable self. Petterson had a cracking debut & hopefully can give us an extra attacking threat, Wallace had a good game and Lowe played well but really should've had a hat trick.

Were does this Atkinson has to play come from? Personally I think hes a decent player and deserves too keep his place in the side, hes a good passer of the ball can link up play well and gets into scoring positions quite often.
 

Boz

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We now have a plethora of midfielders available to us, and I would be inclined to let Atkinson go back to Huddersfield in January, unless we can renegotiate a deal where he is not obliged to play. Certainly I don't think he should be starting ahead of Koumas or Power. I would probably prefer to see us keep Hateley on for another six months, as he is the only specialist holding player we have, let Jennings and Atkinson go and let the remaining midfielders fight it out to partner Wallace.

I'm puzzled that Hateley has fallen out of favour to the extent he wasn't on the bench yesterday. I agree that he's a decent holding midfielder and can fill in at right-back, but Ronnie doesn't seem to fancy him.

Atkinson has started every game we've played so far. I accept the strengths Bigmart outlines in terms of his attacking play, but concur with RLC about his lack of physical presence when we're not in possession. Wouldn't mind him staying on a play on his merits basis, but it seems a waste to get Koumas fit then not use him.

I didn't think McNulty did much wrong yesterday, but he was playing on the right side of central defence and suspect he favours the left.

On squads, it was interesting to see Colchester had significantly bigger one than Rovers, although a fair number of names I didn't recognise. I would imagine that, based on their crowds and history, their player budget shouldn't be significantly greater than ours, so a bit surprising. Quantity not quality perhaps?
 
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i really enjoyed the game...

10 mins in there forward looked a world beater, and strong as an ox. By 30 miles once everything had settled down, McNulty had worked him out and he hardly got a touch after that.. THIS alone is the turning point of the game, as he is there spearhead and main attacking quality.

Wallace was awesome, even his headers have class!!!!

Where does Robinson fit into this team? He is a god and a legend in my eyes, but for once we have a very, very good player in his position
 

Ian

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Regarding Robinson. I don't think he'll feature an awful lot anyway. I'd like him to, but I think he really struggles with injury now. He's a good player to have on the bench or when other injuries/suspensions catch up with the squad, but I certainly don't think he's physically capable of playing week in week out.
 
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