• 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 Lilywhites

Sparky

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The great result at MK Dons last week takes some pressure off this game against a Preston side doing well in the league and unlucky to go out of the FA Cup against Forest last night.

Ronnie was at the game so knows what to expect. Preston don't concede many and have experience with the ever physical Kevin Davies up top (will be a challenges for Ash and young Arthurworry), ably supported by in form Joe Garner with back up from the likes of Iain Hume. Other ex rovers players include John Welsh and David Buchanan.

Ronnie has a fit squad so we may be unchanged with Jake/Ryan up top again with Koumas/Wallace/Jenno & Kennedy in the middle. Hopefully another weeks training will mean Robbo can be effective from the bench if required (hopefully earlier than the last 15 mins against Gillingham). Would be nice for Jake to get off the mark too.

Preston will bring a few so hopefully a decent crowd and good atmosphere. I'm going for a score draw which I would take right now.
 
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A really tough game against a Preston side that have only lost four times all season and look certainties for the play offs. In addition to the players Sparky mentions, North End have also brought in Craig Davies up front (I think he was cup-tied on Wednesday) who looks a formidable player at this level. He and Joe Garner will certainly prove a handful. Of the ex-Rovers, both Welsh and Buchanan seem to have been playing regularly this season but neither will get the warm reception that is always afforded to Ian Hume.

I would start with the same line up and formation as at MK, with Lowe switching between wide right and centre forward in a 4-5-1. Unfortunately, from Ronnie's comments it sounds as if we will go back to a two man midfield, which would probably mean Koumas missing out again: a mistake, I think, as he has been a vital player for us in recent weeks, particularly against strong opposition.

Preston expect to bring 1,500 - 2,000 fans, so Saturday's gate could be the biggest of the season.

I would guess most of us would settle for a draw, but a victory would be a fantastic boost following the events of last Saturday and could have us dreaming of genuine mid-table obscurity.
 
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bigmart

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I watched their game last night and thought they were very unlucky to lose and for large periods were the better team. I would happily take a point but think our dismal hope record will continue 1 2
 

Boz

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I'd agree with what RLC says about formation and think Koumas who sounded like one of our better players last weekend should start. It will be interesting to see who makes the bench now everyone is fit. I read that Preston haven't won at PP since the late 80s, not that we've been regularly in the same league. Hope that run continues.

Prediction: Don't think PNE have sold all their tickets yet, so while a good crowd is expected, can't see it topping 6k. I would take a point, but have a fear one of our old boys will come back to haunt us.
 
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
For once, this is not a "massive" game. For the first time for a long time, even if we lose, we can't end up back in the bottom four. I don't expect Rovers to get any points tomorrow; I just hope for a battling performance. Preston are a form side, unlike MK Dons and it feels like a 1-2 defeat to me. However, this team is capable of surprise results.
 
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andrewesq

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For the first time for a long time, even if we lose, we can't end up back in the bottom four
Indeed i cant remember the last time this happened!
If this was the last game of the season we would be staying up! Unfortunately need a few more points on the board and ill be happy with just 1 tomorrow delighted with 3
 
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Frustrating. Had the manager started the game with the team we finished with we could definitely have taken something today. As it was, we wasted the first 30 minutes playing a 4-4-2 with Koumas sitting on the bench. When Jason came on, we improved dramatically and went toe to toe with Preston for the remainder of the game. However, by that stage we were a goal down and chasing, having been overrun in midfield in the first half an hour. Perhaps Ronnie should read White Review when making his team selections, as most people on here were clamouring for Koumas to start. At least he recognised his error and made the tactical change before the end of the first half.

Preston's winner was particularly sickening as it came against the run of play in our best period of the game: Koumas's shot against the bar thirty seconds earlier was obviously a turning point, but we had further chances to equalise, notably Lowe's one-on-one with the keeper in the closing stages. Arthurworrey appeared to make a mistake for the equaliser and made a similar rick later on to let in Davies: hopefully such mistakes won't become too regular. Elsewhere, I had no complaints with the effort and commitment from thirty minutes onwards, and we played some good stuff at times. Koumas was man of the match, but I thought Cassidy and Jennings also worked hard and did well, although Jake and Lowey were much too far apart at times. Wallace also had a decent game. Defensively, I thought the back four did quite well to keep the score down to one in the first half, although Pennington's distribution was a bit ropey at times.

Results elsewhere were not too bad for us, but there is now massive pressure on the next two away games.
 

Sparky

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This was always going to be a tough game given their form but we more than matched them for long periods i felt, they were clearly rattled in the 2nd half. Football can be decided by fine margins and jasons freekick rattled off the bar and they went up the other end and scored.

Defence i felt did ok apart from arthurworry for the 2nd goal and liam was beaten a bit easy in the air for garners first, maybe i am being harsh.

Ronnie needs to look st his selection though. Koumas has been immense of late. Techincally he is our best player. It is ridiculous he isn't starting.

Like the rotherham game i felt robbo should have been on a lot sooner. 10 mins isnt enough to make an impact

We can take heart from the performance though. Still need a goal from jake tho....
 

bigmart

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A decent game on a difficult pitch, I don't think we can really have any complaints over the result as the better team won. I thought Cassidy was poor today he doesn't get into any scoring positions and to me for all his effort he doesn't look any threat at all & should have been taken off to give Cole a run out.

The midfield looked a lot better once Koumas came on but I thought Arthurworrey & Ridehalgh had poor games in defence and struggled a lot of the time.
 
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Preston have a team of big players and big earners (check out there bench)

But I thought we done well.

OFW's top corner save in the first half was a stormer. But Rudd made some good 2nd half saves.

Our team line up looked the best I have seen in years, add Zooom to that team and it would be top half of the league.

I enjoyed the game but not the result.
 

bigmart

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Preston have a team of big players and big earners (check out there bench)

But I thought we done well.

OFW's top corner save in the first half was a stormer. But Rudd made some good 2nd half saves.

Our team line up looked the best I have seen in years, add Zooom to that team and it would be top half of the league.

I enjoyed the game but not the result.

I cant see how you think a left back would turn our squad into a top half of the table team, we don't score anywere near enough goals and still look vulnerable at the back.
 
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Goodison
I didn't go to the game as I have to follow the results from afar a lot these days but as a side question, is Ronnie making the exact same mistake as last year? Last season he spent the first half the season insisting we needed a target man and he ended up with Sidibe. He spent the second half of the season trying to get the best out of him for the detriment of the team.

This season he's spent half the season saying we need another striker, despite the team obviously lacking in midfield - in terms of supply, defensive cover and ability to dictate games, and he's ended up with Cassidy who basically hasn't played well for over a year. Is he going to spend the rest of the season trying to get the best out of him, to the detriment of the team? Sticking Lowe out wide etc. Just a thought, I was wondering if anyone else thought this.
 

Sparky

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Jakes confidence is clearly lacking and I agree there was an argument that Stockton should have come on yesterday.

Despite jakes history with us he is not beyond being substituted-no one is.
In a good side in good form jake will score goals if playing regularly.

The problem is that in a team not creating much and losing, he will not really contribute much. He isn't quick and wins very little in the air. Cole would have offered a bit more yesterday and something different.
 

bigmart

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RTD, yes I think you are right, Ronnie to me is obsessed with a target man and it is a waste of our top scorer playing him out wide especially at home
 

frenchrover

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I agree with most of what has been said above, as much as I like Kirby's work rate the decision not to start with Koumas was totally crass and together with the decision to play Lowe, our most potent striker, out wide right goes to demonstrate Moore's lack of tactical awareness. Continuing to stick with Cassidy, who despite his height fails to win much in the air and who is clearly struggling with his confidence level, suggests that the deal with Wolves is that he must play every game from the start and possibly for the full 90. It's beginning to look like his signing was a poor decision given that Stockton, and dare I say Akpro Sodje, are available to support Lowe.
I'm not a massive Taylor fan but I thought he had a great game yesterday and was only shaded for MOM by Jason Koumas. For me Wallace had a poor game particularly once he had received the yellow card and was lucky not see a "red" for what was another stupid needless tackle. He really must curb this reckless side of his game.
Although Preston are a well balanced side, and will be there or there abouts come the end of the season, I thought we matched them for long periods of the game and a draw might well have been a fairer result. If we can sustain this level of performance in our remaining games then I think we will stay up but the worry remains about our lack of consistency.
 
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I can't agree with RTID's comment that central midfield is our weakness: if anything I would say it is our strongest area, as Wallace, Koumas and Jennings would get in to most sides at this level. Despite having decent creative players in the middle, we still do not score enough goals and are heavily reliant on Lowe in this regard, so I think it was reasonable to bring in an additional striker who had a history of scoring at this level (albeit not recently!). I also disagree that last season we tried to get the best out of Sidibe to the detriment of the rest of the team: we were playing poorly well before he arrived and, while he contributed very little, he was simply the best replacement available to us when Cassidy left.

However, I would agree that Lowe should generally be played as the central striker. The problem for me at the moment is that if we switch to 4-5-1, none of the wide players other than Kennedy are playing well enough to deserve a place in the team: Robbo is probably past it now, Kirby is struggling for form and Bell Baggie is completely out of the picture. So a 4-5-1 with one of the strikers flitting between the wing and the centre forward positions is probably the best of the options available to us when we play the better sides. Although some have cited the decision to play Lowe wide as evidence of Moore's 'tactical ineptitude', he did score our winning goal from that position last week and had our best chance in the second half yesterday as well: he is actually fit and intelligent enough to still get into the box from a starting position on the right, although ideally he should be in the middle.

Although Cole weighs in with the odd goal from the bench, I still think Cassidy offers more in terms of physical presence and workrate outside the box than Stockton. Time will tell whether he can also contribute some goals before the season is out.
 
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Boz

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It seems to be one step forward, another back for Rovers just now. We started terribly, it was well against the balance of play that Ash Taylor equalised near the end of the first half. We were much brighter opening the second half with Koumas hitting the bar. However Preston regained the lead on the break, they could have had another with the ball scrambled off the line soon after. Lowe didn't make the most of a one-on-one chance to level it, but while a draw wouldn't have been daylight robbery, I thought the final score was a fair reflection of the game.

I agree with those who felt Koumas should have started yesterday. We lined up with a 442, then Kirby seemed to be switched to the middle before being hauled off after half an hour. It will hardly do Jake's dwindling confidence much good.

To my mind only Taylor and Koumas were exempt from criticism in this game and I'd make Ash MOM on the basis that he scored and was on the pitch the full 90, but no doubt Jason transformed us when coming on. The rest weren't rubbish, but a mix of good and bad. Taking a few examples;

OFW. Some good saves kept the score respectable, but fails to command his area and stayed on his line on occasions he'd be better coming out.
Pennington. Some decent defending, though gather he was at fault lagging behind the rest of the back four for the second goal, preventing an offside. However his unwillingness to venture beyond the half way line and poor attacking throw-ins late in the game make me wonder if Holmes couldn't do a better job.
Wallace. From the moment he got carded for a two-footed albeit ball-winning tackle, he seemed to lose his way. Very little leadership in this game.
Cassidy. He worked hard, but a lot of the game neither he nor Lowe was in the centre, so when there were balls played in that area, he was unable to capitalise.

Sparky suggests Robinson should have been introduced earlier, but I didn't see any signs in the 15 minutes or so he had on the pitch of him turning things round. I felt there was a case for either Power for Wallace or Stockton for Cassidy to try and change things around.
 
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I cant see how you think a left back would turn our squad into a top half of the table team, we don't score anywere near enough goals and still look vulnerable at the back.

I think Bossman's comments are actually pretty accurate. If we could play the team we finished with yesterday for 46 games - which for a whole host of reasons we are not able to - we probably would finish top half. Our first eleven now is certainly stronger than the one we started the season with, but the lack of depth in the squad remains, as does the reliance on loan players in several areas.
 
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I can't agree with RTID's comment that central midfield is our weakness: if anything I would say it is our strongest area, as Wallace, Koumas and Jennings would get in to most sides at this level.

It's a strong selection of players on paper, but the few times I've seen us play this season they always part like the red sea in the midfield when the opposition gets the ball, leaving the defence completely exposed. If they're good players, maybe the manager has some questions to ask on how he's organising the team without the ball.
 

Ian

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Not playing Koumas from the start like has said a few times in this thread was a mistake. We struggle to keep hold of the ball at the best of times. Koumas is one of our best players in terms of passing and keeping the ball. This was evident when he came on. We were never in control of the game and we did well to go in at half time 1-1. I thought we gave away two cheap goals. Arthurworrey had a poor game and made a huge mistake when the ball went through his legs for their second and nearly caused a third.

As is the case in most of our games, we just don't have enough quality to break these teams down. I thought we spent a lot of the time hoofing the ball forward without much purpose. Our play improved down the middle when Koumas came on but there's little creativity in the squad. Still not testing the keeper enough.

I don't think we'll go down but because we are horribly inconsistent, we'll be hovering in the same spot for the rest of the season.
 
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