• 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 Rovers v Exiles

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Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
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Newport are the next visitors to Prenton Park, as Rovers look to back up two superb away performances with a first home victory in three games.

Our visitors are still in the thick of the promotion race, but their form has tailed off considerably in recent weeks, having topped the table in the autumn. Their downturn in results seems to have coincided with the loss of some key players in January, notably Scott Twine, who I thought was their best player when they beat us at Rodney Parade. However, they still have some decent individuals in the attacking areas, such as Amond, Maynard and Telford.

Of even greater concern to me is their style of play: they are probably the most cynical team in the division, and we can't be sucked in by their gamesmanship if we are going to win three points. I would expect this match will be a scrappy, stop-start affair, similar to the Stevenage game, and we have to keep our composure better than we did in that match. We have to keep the ball on the ground, even if they want to draw us into an ugly game.

In terms of selection, if Vaughan is fit I would expect us to play the same team as Saturday, save for Morris starting ahead of Lloyd. If Vaughan is out, there could be a number of selection and tactical changes.

Prediction: Rovers to edge a tight affair.
 

bigmart

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Fairly safe to say that they will come to stifle and frustrate us, will be a cagey affair which I think we will edge 1 0
 

Ian

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Yes. this could be a really rough affair. I noticed their disciple is also pretty poor with 4 sendings off in their last 10 games, although they have been card free for the last 3 games so maybe they've toned it down a little!
 

Boz

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Apart from Connor Jennings' extra-time winner in the play-off final, don't think we've beaten these, since their return to the FL, although we dropped out the following season, so not that much to go on. They've a couple of ex-Rovers in Labadie and Ellison in their squad, though the former was injured and veteran Ellison mostly restricted to cameos off the bench. They've also players we've been linked with in the recent past, Liam Shepard and Nicky Maynard in the current squad.

I'm fearing a repeat of the Stevenage game. Newport are a niggly side, though with a more talent-rich squad than the Borough and well capable of putting one over us, if we turn in a below par performance again. They've played with 3 at the back in their last couple of matches. We seem to struggle against teams of this ilk, you'd expect Keith Hill would have come up against opponents of this nature before and have some answers. Agree with RLC, we've got to try and play the game our way and not become poor imitators of our opponents, the way we appeared to v Stevenage.

Agree with Morris for Lloyd if Vaughan is fit. Some hard choices to make if he's not.
 
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
I’m uneasy about this match for similar reasons to those already given. At home, we are often at our best against the better sides, the ones who have the confidence to take us on rather than concentrating on stopping us scoring at all costs, hoping to nick a goal and then hanging on to the end. Confidence is so low for the visitors that they will frustrate and forget about entertaining, so I think an early goal or a lot of patience will be needed.

I’m predicting at low-scoring draw.
 

Sparky

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Any news on Vaughan? I can’t decide if no news is good news or whether we are just keeping it under wraps to not give Newport a boost. Of course we may just be waiting for scan results but hopefully it’s nothing
 
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Richard Garnett has Tweeted that he is being 'assessed' ahead of the game. He has not been ruled out yet, but possibly because we don't know the extent of the injury, or do know but don't want to disclose it.

So basically, keep worrying. ☺
 

Ian

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I have a gut feeling he’ll be fine :speechless:
 
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if it was a season-ending one they would have said so did not see what happened so can't say much but lets hope he is a ok
 
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A reliable poster on another forum has said he could be out for six weeks, depending on the results from a scan.
 
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I would guess we will use Woolery as a false nine with Nugent as back up. It will put a hell of a lot of pressure on Woolery, as he is not an instinctive goalscorer in the same mould as Vaughan.
 

bigmart

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I would guess we will use Woolery as a false nine with Nugent as back up. It will put a hell of a lot of pressure on Woolery, as he is not an instinctive goalscorer in the same mould as Vaughan.
Lewis as a false nine ?
 
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Was thinking especially for tomorrow's game against a physical team.
Yes. You could even alternate him and Nugent in that role, once Nugent is fit enough.

The saving grace is that we know that Nugent is a quality finisher once he gets up to speed. If we were relying on Ferrier to score goals, we might as well give up now.
 

Boz

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It is going to create a challenge in terms of adopting our play and making the best use of those in our squad, which may require some experimentation.
Nugent isn't fully fit and is a different style of forward.
Woolery does some of his best work coming from deep and may find it difficult in the more advanced position.
Lewis' height is useful in midfield and pushing him forward potentially leaves us exposed there.
Blackett-Taylor isn't a front man.
Danny Lloyd has been lacking fitness/stamina in recent games.
Jolley/Burton too raw, though think we will need one or other on the bench now.

Who'd be a football manager...?
 
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