• 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 Mansfield

Ian

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Both teams go into this one having lost their opening games. Not expecting a big attendance here but there are some savings to be made. If you take advantage of the 2 for 1 offer, you can watch the game for as little as £6.

Ronnie is promising changes for this one, and you would expect changes to be made in the midfield areas and possibly up front.

Game could go to extra time and pens, so you may well get your money's worth.
Good chance for the team to redeem themselves after Saturdays poor display.
 
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bigmart

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In need of a morale boost after Saturday think we will just about win.
 
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Ronnie has said there will be three or four changes, so I would guess JLAA will be dropped or moved up front and Thompson (hopefully) will start. Atkinson may be cup-tied in which case Rowe will probably play alongside Max. I would not be surprised if Taylor is dropped for Goodison. Koumas is not ready for ninety minutes yet.

I think we will win.
 

Boz

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I'd also hope Thompson would get a start. It would be a mistake to ditch Ash Taylor on the basis of one bad game. Not sure what to expect result-wise.
 
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I hope Ronnie treats this like an ordinary league game and doesn't make changes for their own sake, e.g. bringing in Mooney or Stockton to give them a workout. We haven't had a decent run of results in 2013 and our form this year has been relegation standard. It's important we try to get a settled team which can win matches. So not too many changes and give most of the players a chance to redeem themselves.

It would be horrific if we lost at home to L2 team and would put even more pressure on the team for Saturday. I'm reasonably confident of winning this one if Ronnie chooses the right team. I would leave the back five in place to give them a chance to gel. I'd give Rowe a go as the defensive midfielder (unless we have to play Atkinson in the JPT) and bring in Thompson to provide service to Lowe.
 
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WildRover

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Tranmere: Fon Williams, Holmes, Taylor, Foster, Horwood, Thompson, Power, Rowe, Robinson, Lowe, Sodje.

Tranmere substitutes: Mooney, Goodison, Atkinson, Koumas, Baggie, Akpa Akpro, Stockton.
 
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Great start. For once, the team is as I suggested. However, according to BBC Live Text, Chris Atkinson is not playing but has scored the second goal. What's happening?
 

Ian

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Atkinson did play whilst Power missed out through illness.
Mediocre performance. Just did enough to win.

We were never going to lose but didn't really get out of 2nd gear. Midfield looks weak and I don't think Lowe or Sodje were really in the game. Defence looked OK but didn't really get tested. First half there was too much passing back to defence/keeper and not much movement. Second half improved in this regard.

Proper test when we return back to the league on Sat.
 
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A decent enough performance, in the first half at least, and we just about deserved the victory. I don't agree with Ian about the midfield, as I thought Atkinson was our man of the match and had an excellent game going from box to box; also took his goal extremely well.

Our build up was too pedestrian at times in the first half, but a least we were trying to play out from the back and did not resort to hacking it. After half time we took our foot off the pedal and the game became far scrappier.

Although it was a bitty game there were several good performances: Foster was commanding at the back and marshalled the back four well; Robbo was good again; Thompson looked lively on the right, but we never quite managed to work the ball into the areas where Lowe really wants it and we need to do better in this regard.

I still think we have a decent squad this season and I am looking forward to Saturday.
 
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I enjoyed the game,

OFW didnt have much to do in the 1st half, which is good.

Horwood- did a job

Holmes- solid and a did a job.

Foster was good/solid.

Ash Taylor was all over the place at times, missing the tackle, miss hitting the ball etc.

Atkinson was good put a real shift in and will get better with time as he settles.

Rowe- is a concern for me, strong/rash in the challenge... but so right footed its untrue, in the first 20mins Mansfield had worked him out, and would hassle him backwards towards the left side of the pitch, he would keep trying to turn onto his right foot so much that he would end up on the edge of his own area or on Horwoods toes!!!!
Then he would give the ball away or give Horwood or Foster a hospital ball to deal with.
One of these incidents led to him losing the ball and then he dived in with 2 footed lunge...... luckily for him and us he never made contact with the opposition player, or he would have been off.

Robbo, was great again, scored one and made one. 'nuff said.

Sodje - tried hard, a few times he forgot to jump for balls and got beat by the average size defender.

Lowe- ran the channels, did everything right without any real good service.

Thompson- So good to see him back in some good form, Hungry/brave/strong/hardworking.... tricky stuff didnt work to good, but that will come. :)
 
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I'm just grateful we won. We haven't done that since March and it's only our sixth win in 2013. We've only scored twice five times in the same period. It's only our third clean sheet in 26 matches. Any improvement in form is welcome.
 
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frenchrover

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It was good to get the win but at times last night the game felt more like a pre-season friendly than a fiercely fought cup match.....clearly the players are still needing time to get used to each others style of play. Although in the end a comfortable win, there were times in the second half when the defence looked a total shambles and Mansfield could, and should, have easily scored on a couple of occasions. Better teams will certainly make us pay for such defensive frailties. Mansfield looked like what they are a "promoted" Conference side alredy struggling to find their place at a higher level and the real test for where the SWA really are in terms of shaping this seasons challenge will be against Crawley on Saturday.
It was good to see Koumas back in action on home turf (albeit in a time limited "cameo" role) but he clearly needs minutes on the field under his belt before he can make a real impact. Performances that caught the eye last night included Thompson and Atkinson but for me, "man of the match" was Robbo who dominated play particularly in the first half.
 
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bigmart

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thought we played some good passing football in the first half, we tried to get the ball down most times and there was some good link up play and a really good goal from Atkinson. The 2nd half wasn't upto all that much but job done and through to the next round hopefully for a good draw.
 

Ian

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It was good to get the win but at times last night the game felt more like a pre-season friendly than a fiercely fought cup match.....clearly the players are still needing time to get used to each others style of play.
I'd agree with this. I think it will take a few more competitive games until the team gels a little more and becomes match sharp.
 

Higgy

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Rowe- is a concern for me, strong/rash in the challenge... but so right footed its untrue, in the first 20mins Mansfield had worked him out, and would hassle him backwards towards the left side of the pitch, he would keep trying to turn onto his right foot so much that he would end up on the edge of his own area or on Horwoods toes!!!!
Then he would give the ball away or give Horwood or Foster a hospital ball to deal with.

Rowe looked energetic and powerful in pre-season and was not too embarrassed on the ball, without doing anything clever. Not surprised he was selected from the trialists as possibly these were the attributes Ronnie was looking for, but of the midfield trialists I really thought Scott Donnelly had some class and could really use the ball and was a clever player. Maybe the prospect of Koumas coming back into the fold swayed the decision in the direction of energy and power. Just hope Rowe develops.

Sat ...2 - 2 Hope Lowe gets on score sheet:)
 
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Rowe had a poor game the other night but from what I saw in pre-season is a very good player, potentially one of the best signings of the summer.
 

Higgy

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who was the midfielder who looked like Max Power, I thought he looked very good in the trial games

That would be Rowe bossman - looks strong and energetic, but doubts about his football nouse expressed above. Jury out.
 
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