Rikulec Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Looks like a good move. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Alright alright.. Always a wrench to leave a club but Tranmere looks like a good opportunity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Äktsjon Männ Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 A professional club with potential for another promotion or two... good luck Had you gone up with Boreham Wood would you still have left? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Good luck at Tranmere mate! I'm sure you will do fine! Cheers DB, I'm hoping so! Looks like a good move. It's interesting, I was secretly hoping Birmingham would come down from League 1 but sadly they didn't. Alright alright.. Always a wrench to leave a club but Tranmere looks like a good opportunity. Definitely a good opportunity, got a lot of work over the summer first though! A professional club with potential for another promotion or two... good luck Had you gone up with Boreham Wood would you still have left? I asked myself this question when we entered the play-offs and I didn't know. Looking back, if we had gone up I would have stayed again to try my best to keep them afloat in League 2. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Tranmere Rovers Pre-Season 2020-2021 It was a summer of upheaval at Prenton Park as I got straight down to business. The squad was a mess, there were overpaid players in every position and contracts running out that I wouldn't be renewing. I very quickly realised this wasn't going to be as plain sailing as I'd thought. Back at Boreham Wood I'd been replaced by Gary O'Neil and he was quick to make his mark as goalkeeper Luke Southwood agreed a new 2 year contract with the club. Something he wouldn't even talk to me about! I was glad but slightly disappointed as I was looking to bring Southwood along with me to make him my 1st choice. Who knows, maybe it's personal? Speaking of personnel I started bulking up my backroom staff including signing Paul Green as my U18's Assistant Manager on the 30th May, so I was surprised to see that on the 31st he'd had a change of heart and decided to retire from the game completely! Friendlies - All much of a muchness that finished with a good 3-2 victory over League 1 Swindon. Squad - A big squad where I am yet to have any idea of my best 11. My main worry is the lack of out and out wingers, as you can see the players in the AMR & AML positions are mainly Strikers that have converted into Wingers so it'll be interesting to see how these fare. Also, I'm lacking a Goalkeeper as my scouts have yet to find a suitable player that I've been able to agree a deal with (this could be due to the fact I'm overspending on wages!) Transfers - A very busy summer saw us sign a total of 17 players and let 18 players leave. Notable signings are: Stephen Wright, the only player to be offered a contract on £1,000 a week or more. Corie Andrews, who my scouts rate very highly for the future. Max Ross, the young Brentford midfielder who was on loan with me at Boreham Wood last season, his contract expired so I snapped him up. Unfortunately, he's in the U21's as he picked up an injury which ruled him out for 5 months. Under 21's - Much smaller than my Boreham Wood reserves but with no real talent of note. Under 18's - Again with no real talent of note I'm going to have to look into the Youth setup. Finances - They're okay for now but I fully expect them to deteriorate over the season especially as I'm £800 over my wage budget (something I'm not happy about!) A Swift Summary A hectic summer sees us slightly ready for the new campaign. The first 10 games I fully expect to use just to establish my strongest 11 as I've not had regular chance to see them in action together. We drew Blackburn Rovers away in the Capital One Cup, a cup which has seen Tranmere exited at the first round every year so far (a feat I think we'll equal if truth be told). Might have only had 4 seasons at Boreham Wood but it feels odd preparing a new team for a new season. I don't expect too much, just a comfortable mid-table finish will do me for this year as we look to build. Final note: If anyone wants any screenshots I'm more than happy to provide but with 17 new signings I wasn't going to go through them all individually! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Tranmere Rovers Opening 10 Games 2020-2021 Well that didn't go to plan. We kicked off the new Sky Bet League 2 season away at the seaside in Morecambe. After a bright start we let them back into the game and it looked like the game would finish 1-1, especially after Leslie Mosley blew 2 clear cut chances late on to grab us the win. Annoyingly though Morecambe managed to nick all 3 points in the 91st minute and we made the short trip home with nothing to show. Blackburn Rovers away in the Capital One Cup followed just a few days later and they made their way to an easy 2-0 win with both goals coming in the 1st half. Then in front of a home crowd of just under 5,000 people we failed to show up in a disappointing 0-0 with Southend United. I believed we were just gelling as a team and finding our best 11 with the early games so I was trying to focus on improving game by game. But at half time vs Stevenage we were 3-0 down and already out of the game, a Jorell Howe goal in the 89th minute was nothing more than a minor consolation. We then failed to score in our next 3 games which left us 23rd just ahead of Coventry who only had 1 point. As we were clearly lacking goals I switched my 4-2-3-1 formation to a straight forward 4-3-3 and it seemed to work as we were 2-0 up within 4 minutes against Newport County. Sadly the lack of wingers cost us dear as our full backs couldn't cope with the pressure and we let in 4 goals which cost us all 3 points. I gave the 4-3-3 another try out in the Coventry game, on paper it worked as we took our first win of the season 2-1 but in the performance we lacked again. An own goal in the 91st minute gave us the win and we were under pressure for most of the game. I looked at new formations for the Preston North End game but decided to stick with the 4-3-3 from the previous 2 games. Quite quickly it was clear we would leak goals as we went down 3-1. Yet again a new formation was needed. I reverted back to my 4-2-3-1 but altered the way we played, it worked. We ran out 2-1 victors over Wycombe Wanderersto give the fans, who were sticking by me, a bit of belief. The performance was still below par and we'd need to improve if we wanted to go places but right now, points are my only worry. - Sky Bet League 2 - Not a pretty picture right now, only Gateshead and Coventry City below us A Swift Summary Given time the squad will gel, we had a wholesale of changes in the summer and made another signing in the shape of Niklas Jensen on loan from Liverpool. I did expect a shaky start (just not that shaky!) but once I've nailed the formation/tactic I think we can kick on picking up points. Followed hopefully by improving performances! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDH38 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Hope that it improves and you can stay in the league, fortunately looks as if you might have a couple of awful sides below you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Hope you can turn it around as it does seem to be a better move for you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTM1977 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 It is always tricky when you have new signings who don't yet know your playstyle and tactics or the guys they are playing with. Hopefully they learn quickly and you start to get more marks to the win column! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Ouch, very tough start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Hope that it improves and you can stay in the league, fortunately looks as if you might have a couple of awful sides below you. Hope you can turn it around as it does seem to be a better move for you It is always tricky when you have new signings who don't yet know your playstyle and tactics or the guys they are playing with.Hopefully they learn quickly and you start to get more marks to the win column! Ouch, very tough start. It has been a poor start. I'm just hoping it's purely down to the amount of change that has gone on at the club, 17 new signings with a new manager and a tactic they've never played before? I wasn't expecting to be firing on all cylinders, just maybe one would have been nice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTM1977 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 It has been a poor start.I'm just hoping it's purely down to the amount of change that has gone on at the club, 17 new signings with a new manager and a tactic they've never played before? I wasn't expecting to be firing on all cylinders, just maybe one would have been nice 17 new players is a HUGE change. Adding the new tactics to that... no wonder it has been a bit on the poor side You just have to hang in there and see what happens when they learn to play together and with the new tactics. On that kind of situations i first concentrate on getting the tactics fluid and after that on teamwork (as long as assistant says that someone isn't blended to the squad). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Tranmere Rovers Half Season Update 2020-2021 Looking prettier After beating Wycombe at the end of September we carried on with 2-0 wins against league leaders Torquay United and Gillingham. These wins installed confidence into the team and gave us the belief we were growing in performances. Walsall was a minor blip for us, we could have won the game but didn't and sadly that ended David Nugent's time at the Banks Stadium as he was sacked after the game. After climbing the table we faltered slightly with 2 wins in 6. During the run we had a disastrous defeat to near rivals Blackpool as we went down without a fight. This was followed by a disappointing draw to Notts County who find themselves in the drop zone. However, buoyed by the tight league we put together a solid run during December as we won all 4 games against Gateshead, Cheltenham, Bury & Colchester. It wasn't enough to win me Manager of the Month but I did come runner up. - Sky Bet League 2 -Looking very healthy, exactly where I'd like us to be FA Cup - In the 1st and 2nd rounds we came up against league opposition in the form of Scunthorpe and Northampton. After edging past Scunthorpe we could only draw with Northampton and to a replay it went. We knew the winners would have Tottenham Hotspur at home, the prize was huge and we made the very most of it. Leslie Mosley was on scintillating form as he bagged a hat trick within the first 28 minutes and then fired in the cross that resulted in the own goal for our 4th. It finished Northampton Town 0-4 Tranmere Rovers. A Swift Summary We've improved greatly since the start of the season, which is what I expected. It took time to adapt to each others style of play and the tactics but once we'd established the best 11 we kicked on and started to look dangerous. On top of the great results in December, Niall Heaton won Player of the Month, Leslie Mosley picked up Young Player of the Month and to round the year off Mike Conneh won Young African Footballer of the Year. The squad looks very healthy, they're a couple of unhappy players but I am looking to move them on to satisfy both theirs and our needs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTM1977 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Nice turn in form, looking good Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 - Sky Bet League 2 -Looking very healthy, exactly where I'd like us to be Ugh, looking like Coventry will be sent to the Conference. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 That's more like it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDH38 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Nice work Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Good turnaround, definitely on course for promotion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Ugh, looking like Coventry will be sent to the Conference. It does look that way, they only have the odd win and don't look like they're going to ever put together a run! That's more like it Nice work Good turnaround, definitely on course for promotion. Thanks, it was a solid turn around but this one was even better... Tranmere Rovers February/March Update 2020-2021 In the first game of the new year we faced Tottenham Hotspurs of the Premier League in the FA Cup 3rd Round. Prenton Park was a sell-out and the atmosphere was electric, we could feel a cup upset on the horizon. I told the boys to go and give a performance for the fans, after all they'd stuck by me in the sticky start to the season so we owed them. We held our own for the first 20 minutes until Kyle Walker was left all alone in the box to head Tottenham into the lead. We hit straight back, Calum Murrary who replaced the injured Leslie Mosley, neatly beat the entire Tottenham defence before forcing Lloris into a decent save. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep the pressure up and the Premier League quality showed just before the break as Andre Schurrle broke free and fired the ball into the bottom corner. We went into the break 2-0 down. The spirits were high in the dressing room, we weren't out of it and we'd shown we could create. Just 5 minutes into the 2nd half Jensen punted the ball down field, it evaded everyone bar Holt who latched onto the through ball and took his chance excellently to bring us back into the game. We had to push on and get at them while we had the chance. Sadly, we showed nothing to get the much hoped for equalizer and on 80 minutes Jordan Goddard sealed the win for Tottenham. With nothing to lose we went for it, everyone forward but we lacked at the back and a daft challenge from Stephen Wright gave them a penalty to really wrap up the game. Niklas Jensen had other ideas as he saved brilliantly to his right to keep us with a tiny glimmer of hope. Wright almost atoned for his error but Lloris denied him twice with two fabulous saves. The game finished 3-1 Tottenham but we’d turned up for our fans and not disappointed apart from the half an hour spell where we didn’t push harder for the equalizer. If we’d have played like we did in the last 5 minutes in that half an hour we’d have almost certainly got back into the game. Keep rising up Back to league action, where I took charge of my 300th game in management, we were suffering from the Tottenham game. It's as though the players had really tried to impress me to guarantee a place against Tottenham but now the cup run was over they weren't bothered - we suffered 3 straight defeats to Morecambe, Southend & Stevenage. 2 draws followed the defeats, 1-1 with Northampton and 2-2 against Preston North End where we threw away a 2 goal lead late in the 2nd. We were falling back down the table and something had to change. Up steps Corie Andrews, asking why I wasn't playing him and requesting feedback. After a brief discussion I agreed to give him a chance, now I don't agree to give players a chance if they're kicking up about not playing but with us in poor form I had nothing to lose. We faced Grimsby Town and as promised, Andrews was in the starting line-up. He linked brilliantly with Mosley as we played out an entertaining 4-2 win. We followed this victory with a 0-0 draw at Newport County, not too disheartening but we wanted to get back on track. 3rd and final game for Andrews to impress I thought. I told him to perform and he truly delivered with a stunning performance in a 2-0 win. Our form took us on a scintillating run - a Mosley hat trick saw us put 5 past Coventry before two 3-0 wins on bounce against Wycombe & Torquay saw us climb into the play offs. Against Barnet we made it 5 wins from 5 and strengthened our hold on the play off position. We couldn't make it 6 out of 6 against Gillingham as we had to settle for a point. - Sky Bet League 2 -Exceeding all expectations A Swift Summary Couple of outgoings in January as we got rid of some deadwood in Liam Sercombe to Chesterfield, Nathan Cameron to Preston & James Gray to Burton Albion. The Yeovil takeover saga that has been ongoing all season finally came to a close as well but unfortunately The Glovers wont be seeing any change in fortunes just yet! February was a sensational month for Leslie Mosley as he scored 10 goals in 6 games which of course gifted him Player of the Month. He was also the reason I'd picked up Manager of the Month. Our Youth Candidates weren't much to shout about but there is a little bit of potential there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 Tranmere Rovers End of Season 2020-2021 The race for the play offs was on and we started well against Walsall taking a 2 goal lead at the break. Annoyingly we let them back into the game on 67 minutes and then gifted them the chance of a point on 85 minutes when we gave them a penalty. 2 points dropped as we couldn't hold onto the lead and our play off spot looked even more shaky! We got back to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Chester but then threw it away again against AFC Wimbledon. 2-0 up at half time I told them specifically to concentrate and to guard against complacency but goals in the 81st and 90th minute meant it was a share of the spoils. On Good Friday we had rivals Blackpool who had battered us 5-2 in the reverse fixture earlier on in the season. I was determined to give the fans the bragging rights this time round. Sadly, we didn't perform, we choked and Blackpool strolled to a 2-0 victory which ended our 13 game unbeaten run and pushed us out of the play off spots. We took all 3 points in vital game against Scunthorpe United who were 6th before kick-off. And with how tight the league was those 3 points moved us from 8th to 4th and put us level on points with the automatic promotion spots. The pressure was building and at half time against Notts County we were 2-1 down. My assistant manager was obviously watching a different game as he told me to tell them we were pleased, rubbish, I told them to show me something else. And show me something else they did, we hit back with 3 goals before County grabbed a late consolation in an entertaining 4-3 win. Automatic promotion was still in our hands, with 4 games left the table looked like this and we faced Colchester United in the next game. 14 minutes into the game Abdi Noor was first to rebound to a well saved shot to fire Colchester into the lead. 4 minutes later we were back in it, Josh Smile bent a free kick into the top corner that even David Beckham would have been proud of. But on the half hour mark Colchester retook the lead after Davies latched onto an Adams shot that had cannoned off the post. We tried to get back into it in the 2nd half but never mustered any chances and the game petered out. Colchester had taken all 3 points in a must not lose game. Any chance of automatic promotion was gone as we suffered a disappointing defeat to 23rd in the league Gateshead but the win against Bury all but sealed my play off spot. Mathematically it was still possible to sneak into 3rd but we needed a Colchester defeat along with Southend and Gillingham dropping points which didn't happen. - Sky Bet League 2 -An unbelievable season sees us in the play offs! A Swift Summary We exceeded all expectations again, the way we were playing towards the end of the season was fantastic and means we're in the lottery for promotion. I said I'd struggle to enjoy a team more than Boreham Wood but this bunch of players has also been a real joy to manage! Going into the play offs we face Southend United, the team that beat me in the semi-finals last year with Boreham Wood in the Conference - what are the chances!? Unfortunately, Corie Andrews who has been a real star these past few months picked up an injury in the last game of the season that keeps him out for 7-8 weeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nottingham Forest Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 That's extremely unlucky to miss out on one point. Hopefully you don't become like Forest in the play-offs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTM1977 Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Good luck in the play offs! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Good luck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 So close to going up automatically! Fingers crossed for the playoffs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 That's extremely unlucky to miss out on one point. Hopefully you don't become like Forest in the play-offs. Or Sheffield United's ha Good luck in the play offs! Good luck So close to going up automatically! Fingers crossed for the playoffs. Thanks guys... So for the 3rd time in my career I was in the dreaded play-offs and for the 2nd time in 2 seasons I was up against Southend United. What are the chances? No, seriously what are the chances!? vs Sky Bet League 2 Play-Off Semi-Final 1st Leg As we’d finished 6th the home leg was first, an almost sold out Prenton Park eagerly anticipated the game. We’d been on a decent run and the belief was there. 13 minutes into the game Max Ross played a delightful ball over the defence into the feet of Leslie Mosley who despatched with ease into the bottom corner to send us off to the best start. The next chance came for Spence Hall whose darting run put him into a shooting position but the effort was straight into the arms of the keeper. Southend hit back forcing Niklas Jensen into a fabulous diving save minutes before they equalized on the break. We’d wasted a corner allowing Southend to bomb down field and make it 1-1. The end to end 1st half carried one as Jorell Howe had an opportunity to put us back in the lead but a smart save resulted in a corner from which we went close but couldn’t find the target. 5 minutes after the restart that man Max Ross worked his magic again finding space to play Stephen Wright in on goal who made no mistake putting it beyond the keepers reach and into the bottom corner. The 2nd half really petered out after that and the only other chance fell to Wright but this time his shot was straight at the keeper. We walked away deserved winners but also knew there was a job to be done in the second leg. Tranmere Rovers 2 Southend United 1 vs Sky Bet League 2 Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg We arrived at Roots Hall with a 2-1 lead over our opponents and knowing another solid performance would see us on the road to Wembley. Early on Ross and Mosley linked up brilliantly to carve out the first chance of the game but a good save kept the game goal less. Mosley then fired inches wide of the post from the resulting corner. We carried on our domination and on 33 minutes Jorell Howe was given the opportunity to control the ball, turn into the box and unleash a powerful strike which whistled past the keeper and into the top of the net to send the travelling Tranmere fans into delirium. A few minutes after the restart Leslie Mosley had to go off injured, replaced by Calum Murrary. He made an instant impact as he latched onto a loose ball to tap it in from 3 yards out. The hotels were being booked, the plans were being made, we 4-1 up on aggregate! An unfortunate own goal brought Southend back into the game but it was too little, too late. Our ticket to Wembley was all but rubber stamped on 82 minutes as Murrary bagged his second of the game to restore our 3 goal cushion. So just as Southend had done to Boreham Wood last year, we’d won the first leg 2-1 and then the second 3-1. Southend United 1 Tranmere Rovers 3 (Agg 2:5) Unfortunately the injury to Mosley rules him out for 7 to 8 weeks. Yet another big loss in a play-off campaign for me. vs Sky Bet League 2 Play-Off Final The play-off final, I couldn’t believe it. We’d made it all the way to Wembley and were just 90 minutes away from promotion to League 1. I felt confident, the team had showed me how well they can deal with pressure and they’d never had problems against Southend. We knew Gillingham would be thinking the same, we both deserved to be there and we both had a good chance of going up. I told the boys promotion was the prize, go out and give it your all. 12 minutes in and Jorell Howe whipped in a free kick that went over the wall and over the bar. Then on 24 minutes Gillingham won a corner which was whipped in, headed down to Wells who unleashed a shot, the effort was cleared off the line by Tenai Watson only to cannon off Sonny Black then rebound and hit Tenai Watson again before falling at the feet of Rhys Turner who had the simplest of all tap ins. Gillingham fans were in raptures, Tranmere fans were silent – the breakthrough had been made. Calum Murrary and Max Ross both tried to get us back into the game but neither could hit the target with their long range shots. Dominic Hearn had the last chance of the half forGillingham but his shot was straight into the arms of Niklas Jensen. We went into the dressing room 1-0 down. Down but not out I told them, we’d got a lot left to show them. Into the second half Wheeler whipped a free-kick up and over our wall but Jensen was on hand to keep them at bay. We were desperate to get back into the game, Spence Hall and Mike Conneh tried their luck to no avail. Then with 82 minutes on the clock Mike Conneh played Mark Freeman in but he fired wide from a tight angle. We could see the game slipping away, we could see nails firmly in the mouths of our fans, we could see nothing but blue shirts in front of us. The boys gave it their all but it wasn’t enough and the referee signalled the end of the game and the end of the season. Gillingham were promoted. Tranmere Rovers 0 Gillingham 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nottingham Forest Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Such a shame. Is it wrong that the style of writing along with the detail made me think I was there . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTM1977 Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I wonder if it is the same Rhys Turner who was my best striker in FM14 when i was managing Stockport in Conference... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Gutting result, I'm sure you'll get there next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Unlucky there mate, hopefully you can make the step up next year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 Such a shame. Is it wrong that the style of writing along with the detail made me think I was there . What a compliment, thanks NF I wonder if it is the same Rhys Turner who was my best striker in FM14 when i was managing Stockport in Conference... He's not a regen so there's a very good chance. He scored a couple against me in normal season as well. Gutting result, I'm sure you'll get there next year. Unlucky there mate, hopefully you can make the step up next year Cheers, we did exceed expectations so it'll be interesting to see how we cope next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTM1977 Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 You came very close, so maybe just a few signings on summer and you're set for next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 Tranmere Rovers Season Review 2020-2021 Sky Bet League 2 - A great season saw us finish 6th just a point off automatic promotion. After a slow start we turned it round expertly and exceeded the expectations of a mid-table finish. FA Cup - Defeated league opponents Scunthorpe United & Northampton Town in the 1st and 2nd Rounds respectively before giving Tottenham Hotspur a good game at Prenton Park. Capital One Cup - For the 5th year running Tranmere were out at the 1st Round but against Blackburn Rovers there were no complaints. Johnstones Paint Trophy - A bye to the 2nd Round where we lost to Preston North End on penalties. Squad - After wholesale changes we built well for the season bringing in quality in every position and decent cover. The room for improvement is on the wings as we lack real out-and-out wingers. Under 21's - Won the league! Under 18's - Finished 7th out of 14. Finances - The screenshot was taken when at the healthiest, 350k from the Tottenham game, Wembley gate receipts and our finishing position have all helped improve our financial situation this year. Key Players Max Ross CM - He didn't feature much as he was out injured for the 1st 4-5 months but when he came in he kicked on from his form at Boreham Wood last season and ended up creating 7 goals. Stephen Wright AMC - Struggled to find his natural position early on but once he moved into the AMC role he took off and proved to be a solid performer week in, week out. Leslie Mosley ST - What more can you say about a guy who scored 33 goals in 38 starts? And to think at the start of the season I was playing him CM! Just a real shame he missed the final, if only... A Swift Summary A thoroughly enjoyable season where our form really got us going and earned us a spot at the play-offs. It was a shame to miss out at Wembley but I'm not too disheartened, I'd budgeted 2/3 years to get out of this league so it could have been a tale of "1 step forward, 2 steps back" if we had gone up. Squad wise we don't need to change much at all, I'm happy for us to just go again with a couple of additions and see how we get on. The board have already set us the task of a mid-table finish again so really there is no pressure to succeed yet. With Coventry City being whitewashed this season and falling into the Conference I've been keeping an eye on their manager situation. IF the opportunity arises, I will put my name in the hat as I believe the challenge of turning them and their finances round would be too hard to resist. Season Team League Position FA Cup FA Trophy Johnstones Paint Trophy Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2014/2015 Hednesford Town Vanarama Conference North 8th 4th Qual Rnd 1st Round - Took over in October [i]2015/2016 Hednesford Town Vanarama Conference North - - - - Sacked in August[/i] 2015/2016 Tamworth Vanarama Conference North 21st - 3rd Qual Rnd - Took over November, Relegated 2016/2017 Boreham Wood Vanarama Conference South 2nd 3rd Qual Rnd 3rd Qual Rnd - Lost in Play-Off Final 2017/2018 Boreham Wood Vanarama Conference South 6th 2nd Qual Rnd 2nd Round - - 2018/2019 Boreham Wood Vanarama Conference South 1st 3rd Qual Rnd 2nd Round - Promoted as Champions! 2019/2020 Boreham Wood Vanarama Conference 5th 1st Round 3rd Round - Lost in Play-Off Semi Finals 2020/2021 Tranmere Rovers Sky Bet League 2 6th 3rd Round - Northern Area 2nd Round Lost in Play-Off Final Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Unlucky in the playoffs, hopefully you can do better next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 Tranmere Rovers Pre-Season 2021-2022 I kept the board sweating just to see what my options but as nothing interesting showed up and Coventry City decided to stick with their manager I finally signed a new 1 year contract the day my old contract expired. Friendlies - An expected defeat to Hull City before a good win over Carlisle United. Lost to Falkirk before beating Albion Park & Glossop and we drew with Dumbarton to finish pre-season. Squad - A squad that hasn't really changed much, I am looking to sign both trialists but Kilkenny is currently demanding too much for me to consider offering . As stated in my season review, I'm happy to just go again with this team, they're easily capable of a mid-table finish so we'll just asses as we go through the season. Transfers - A very quite transfer window in comparison to last season. Niklas Jensen extended his loan for another season at the end of last season then we also loaned Freddie Ludlow from Sunderland and Steve Riley from Rotherham United. I expect to see Ludlow make an impression this year but Riley was more of a back-up signing. A player I had at Boreham Wood, Oli White joined on a free transfer to give us the option of an out-and-out AML then to wrap up proceedings we signed Bernard Layne who comes in as cover for the LB. Expectations Sky Bet League 2 - Mid-table finish FA Cup - 2nd Round Capital One Cup - Be competitive Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Be competitive A Swift Summary I can only see a relaxing season ahead, we're under no pressure to suceed like last season and as I know my best 11 already it should be pretty straight forward. I've left £15,000 in the wage budget so I could practically sign a whole new team if required. In the past I've not really signed anyone during the season but I fully accept that we probably will need to bring in a little more quality throughout the year. My eyes are still open to any jobs that may possibly come my way but I'm happy at Tranmere at the sign time so it would have to be the right club at the right time to tempt me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 Tranmere Rovers September Update 2021-2022 We started the season as we finished last, on good form. We breezed our first 3 games picking up 9 points without conceding a goal and as the stats show we absolutely battered Preston at their ground. Northampton brought us back down to earth as they defeated us 2-0 but we bounced straight back with 3 wins on the bounce. Unfortunately, we ended September with 3 poor defensive performances. A 1-0 defeat to Chester was followed by a 2-2 draw with Oxford, a game we really should have won. Then against Wycombe I wanted us to hit back and take all 3 points to re-establish our early fight for the title. Sadly, in a frustrating performance we came out on the end of a 4-2 defeat. - Sky Bet League 2 -We’ve had a strong start but the 3 performances towards the end of September cost us a place in the top 3. Capital One Cup - In the 1st Round we faced League 1 Shrewsbury, Leslie Mosley was on fine form to fire us into the 2nd Round for the first time in 6 years! Against Bournemouth we put up a great performance but in the end Championship quality prevailed. Johnstone's Paint Trophy - We romped to a 3-0 victory in the 1st Round over League 1 Carlisle and are up against Preston North End in the next stage. A Swift Summary Our squad is strong, with the addition of Corey Taylor I think we’ve got a group of players who are ready to challenge this year. Leslie Mosley has been on fire bagging 13 goals in 13 games but I do wish we’d spread the goals out so we’re not fully reliant on him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Tranmere Rovers Half Season 2021-2022 What a poor 1st half of the season we've had. After we'd started so well in our opening games we just collapsed and picked up 3 wins from 16, the only thing that saved us against being in a relegation dog fight was the early wins. A change of formation against Newport County seemed to spring us into life as Leslie Mosley picked up a hat trick in a 4-1 win but a 4-2 defeat to Plymouth blew my confidence on the new tactic. A good win 3-1 victory against Preston North End reinstalled a bit of confidence but a defeat to Chesterfield and draws with Walsall & Burton have dashed my hopes we'll get going again anytime soon. - Sky Bet League 2 -It's a bloody good job we had such a strong start or this would look a lot worse than just mid-table FA Cup - A bright light to our season is the FA Cup, a 4-1 victory over 7th tier Eastbourne Boro put us into the 2nd Round where we came up against rivals Blackpool. In the 1st game we were 1-0 down and had been reduced to 10 men - a draw looked unlikely but on 66 minutes Leslie Mosley was clean through on goal to take the tie back to Prenton Park. A very tight affair saw us come back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 in extra courtesy of 2 goals from Leslie Mosley. The reward was Arsenal at home in the 3rd Round! Johnstone's Paint Trophy - In identical fashion to last season we lost 5-4 on penalties at home to Preston North End after a 1-1 draw in the 2nd Round. Complete deja vous. A Swift Summary This is not what was hoped for the season, yes okay my board are pleased as mid-table is all they ask and we have a lucrative home tie against Arsenal in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup but given the start we made I really thought we'd challenge for the top 3 this time round. Something has to change for us to improve, I've agreed a deal to sign young Irish Striker Liam McCarthy from Cork City but with Leslie Mosley on good form (25 goals in 28 starts) I'm not sure he'll feature to help turn our fortunes. The transfer window has opened though so alongside McCarthy I will look to sure up the defence. In December Coventry City were 15th in Vanarama Conference and decided enough was enough, their manager was gone. It's a post that really interests me so I put my name into the hat, quietly confident my time at Tranmere was coming to an end. Maybe I was a bit too big headed as I wasn't even interviewed for the job and a week after telling me I was unsuccessful they appointed a non-league manager who was at the time at Barrow. Fortunately my job application didn't upset the board as they publicly came out saying they'd hope I'd stay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Blade Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Too many yellow and reds there! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Still not far away from 2nd, get on a good run and you should be well in the promotion mix. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Too many yellow and reds there! Simple but true. Still not far away from 2nd, get on a good run and you should be well in the promotion mix. The league is again ridiculously tight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Close last season. Need to get closer next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Tranmere Rovers February/March 2021-2022 We won the last game of 2021 and the first of 2022 beating Cheltenham 5-2 and Bury 2-1 respectively. The players performances possibly enhanced by trying to secure a starting position for the FA Cup 3rd Round at home to Arsenal. Preton Park again was a sell out, 16,000+ fans had packed into the stadium hopeful of a true giant killing. There was absolutely no pressure on the boys, I just wanted them to give it their all. Both teams wasted chances early on as we fired a free-kick wide before Hahn missed a point blank header for the visitors. Hahn atoned for his miss on 20 minutes as he put Arsenal in the lead with a well placed finish. In the 2nd half we came out and really took control of the game and asserted dominance throughout the 45 minutes. Leslie Mosley came close with 3 free-kicks and then had a great chance which on any other day he'd have finished. Talbot then tried his luck from a free-kick but he was off target. The pressure was being piled on and Arsenal were having to defend, Corey Taylor's effort beat the keeper but also beat the post. We kept pumping the ball into the box however we could but unfortunately we couldn't get the equalizer we richly deserved from our 2nd half performance and Arsenal in the end held out. Back to league action and our good form carried on as we made easy work of Port Vale before taking a point away to league leaders Northampton. We made it 7 unbeated with another 3 points against Scunthorpe United and seemed to be putting a real promotion challenge together. However, when we faced bottom of the league Cambridge we came undone. After taking the lead early on we just lost all concentration and let them back into the game before they took all 3 points late on. We let another 1-0 lead slip against AFC Wimbledon and our good form was now suddenly back-to-back defeats. I didn't want our heads to drop as we were still in touching distance of the top 3 and we bounced back against Chester as we fought hard to win 2-0. We then beat Oxford by the same scoreline before making it 3 from 3 against Wycombe Wanderers. Yet again we were to throw away a lead down south in Torquay and I was worried it would cost us at the end of the season. The following defeat to Fleetwood was my fault, I'd let sub goalkeeper Jordan Walker go out on loan after he asked but forgot to remove 1st choice keeper Niklas Jensen from international football so we looked to my 17 year old from the youth side and it's fair to say he isn't quite ready yet! Twice we took the lead against Morecambe and the 2nd time it was late on in the 80th minute but true to form we threw away the lead and had to settle for a share of the spoils. - Sky Bet League 2 -If only we hadn't thrown away so many points FA Cup - An honourable defeat to Arsenal in the 3rd Round. A Swift Summary Transfer news: Danny McCallion was signed to challenge as the first choice LB and Scott Smith was also signed to challenge for the CM role whilst we let a couple go out on loan for first team games. Finally, our youth candidates are, well, I'll let you say the words! Job news: Torquay United approached me but I said no thanks, 17th in the same league was of no interest to me. Cambridge United also offered me an interview but again I said no. Now when this dropped in my inbox I had no hesitation of applying, a few days later I was donning the suit and tie for my interview before this: Blackburn are currently 20th in League 1 I've already made my mind up of what my decision will be (and it took some deliberating!) but I'm intrigued, what would you do? And yes - they rejected my request to delay till the end of the season! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tranmere Rovers in the play-off positions but only on goal difference but the chance of going one better than last season and taking them up. or Blackburn Rovers in a relegation fight for League 1, a big sleeping giant but with possible financial problems and pressure of succeeding (not to mention I've got to actually attend media conferences as part of the agreement) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Tough, but I'd lean towards staying, partly because of the media conferences requirement and partly because of the potential financial situation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTM1977 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 What, you don't want to attend press conferences? Shocked I always attend them, i don't trust my assistant at all, who knows what he'd say edit: I wouldn't go to Blackburn though. They want you to play attacking football. I never agree to certain playing style. I can agree for certain transfer policy and i am more than happy to bring young players in to the senior squad, but the way we play, that must be up to the manager and no one else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 Tough, but I'd lean towards staying, partly because of the media conferences requirement and partly because of the potential financial situation. The finances don't bother me, I really enjoy teams that are financially crippled where you can sign practically no-one What, you don't want to attend press conferences? Shocked I always attend them, i don't trust my assistant at all, who knows what he'd say I wouldn't go to Blackburn though. They want you to play attacking football. I never agree to certain playing style. I can agree for certain transfer policy and i am more than happy to bring young players in to the senior squad, but the way we play, that must be up to the manager and no one else. I don't enjoy them, same questions repeated and just use my assistant for what he's good at! I was the one to put forward attacking football, they asked me to play possession football but I did tell them it didn't fit my style and they had no qualms. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 I decided to reject the Blackburn Rovers job, I did want to go and take the challenge but with just 10 games left in the season I didn't want to leave Tranmere given we were in the play-off position Tranmere Rovers Last Games of Season 2021-2022 I took charge of my 100th game for Tranmere against Barnet but it was a game where we took our win-less streak to 4. March finished with just 1 win from 6, the poor form was back and it was costing us. However, it didn't seem to be just us on a bad run as we were still within touching distance of the play-offs. A 2nd win on the bounce against Newport County gave us belief we could somehow just sneak 7th place but then we didn't show up against 22nd placed Cheltenham which cost us dear. With 4 games to go the task was tough but do-able. We had the worst start against Bury though going 1-0 down inside 3 minutes. That seemed to galvanize us, the players suddenly started playing and trying and fighting and still not scoring. But at the break I told them to keep going, they could get back into the game and get back into the game they did. Niall Heaton levelled on 47 minutes before the endless pressure finally told for the 2nd goal on 83 minutes. In true Tranmere fashion though we blew it giving away a needless penalty just 5 minutes after taking the lead. Our chance of play-offs dwindling by the second. More dropped points against Burton Albion meant we were all but out of the chase and a 2-1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle confirmed our place in League 2 for another season. I changed the team round for the game against play-off bound Walsall and we took all 3 points in what was a classic, nothing to play for final game of the season. - Sky Bet League 2 -Targets were met but it's a story of what could have been A Swift Summary We weren't good at the end and seemed to just hit the self destruct button. Looking back, not signing many players at the start of the season was possibly our downfall as we never reached the heights of last year after we exceeded expectations. It wont go down as a disappointing season, we have still done well to finish 10th given what we're spending and the expectations the board had but I do feel we could have done a lot better than what we did. Hindsight is a wonderful thing Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTM1977 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I don't enjoy them, same questions repeated and just use my assistant for what he's good at! I was the one to put forward attacking football, they asked me to play possession football but I did tell them it didn't fit my style and they had no qualms. I agree that the press conferences can get a "bit repetitive and dull". However, i like to think that by carefully selecting answers, it can affect to the morale of my own team and/or individual players and sometimes even on the opposition. I understand your selection on the playing style, the reason why i don't want those to be on the list is that what if the selected style doesn't suit the team at all? Or i want to change tactics completely at some point. Sorry to see that the end of season didn't go as well as hoped. Still, a respectable season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Tough break, still meeting expectations though which is the main thing. Looking at a radical overhaul of the squad or will you be making changes gradually? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 Sorry to see that the end of season didn't go as well as hoped. Still, a respectable season. No doubt a respectable season, just pure frustration not making the play-offs. Tough break, still meeting expectations though which is the main thing. Looking at a radical overhaul of the squad or will you be making changes gradually? I overhauled in the first season and only added a few last season, I think I'll have to add a bit of quality and spend a little more on wages but there wont be many additions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Next year is your year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Tranmere Rovers Season Review 2021-2022 Sky Bet League 2 - After finishing 6th last season I was hoping we'd be able to finish in the play-offs again for another shot at promotion but with mid-table the expectation I was relatively relaxed for the year. However, as we started so well and were in the play-off positions with 10 games left it is frustrating to finish 10th and not progress on last season. Sky Bet League 2 (Salary Per Annum) - Fits in with the style manager I like, low on wage budget but still performing well. FA Cup - We made light work of Eastbourne Boro before facing near rivals Blackpool, we did well to hold them at their place and managed to come from 1-0 down back at Prenton Park to earn ourselves a luxury tie against Arsenal in the 3rd Round. We dominated the game but couldn't find a goal we thoroughly deserved and went out 1-0. Capital One Cup - In the 1st Round we beat League 1 Shrewsbury to reach the 2nd Round for the first time in 6 years and we gave it our all against Championship side Bournemouth but they ultimately had too much quality for us. Johnstones Paint Trophy - Breezed past Carlisle in the 1st Round before coming unstuck against Preston North End in the 2nd Round for the 2nd year running. Squad - We kept the squad similar to last season with just a few additions and they started brilliantly but again weak spots appeared and one of the main problems was the lack of goals from anyone but Leslie Mosley! Under 21's - 4th out of 13 after winning the league last year. Under 18's - 8th out of 14 when we finished 7th last year. Finances - When I took charge we were in debt and my aim was to secure the finances a little bit more and I'm pleased hat I've not Key Players Niall Heaton CB - Missed just 2 league games all season and managed to gain an average rating of 7.07. Max Ross CM - My most underrated by far with 9 assists and 5 man of the matches over 40 games he makes the Box to Box midfielder role his own and earned an average rating of 7.05. Freddie Ludlow AMC - On loan from Sunderland Freddie Ludlow contributed throughout the season with 11 goals and 11 assists which helped him rack up an average rating of 7.21. Leslie Mosley ST - Equalled his goal tally of last season with 33 but with how well he'd started the season I was hoping he'd have hit the 40 mark. A Swift Summary It was a frustrating season in the end, even though we surpassed the boards targets and kept them happy it's difficult to take not making the play-offs after 2 terrible runs of form. I was hoping to improve on last seasons good performance but ultimately the squad was too weak in certain areas, most notably the defence. Job wise: I've not extended my contract yet as I'm keeping my options open but as there is very little on offer at the moment it looks as though I'll be in for a 3rd season at Tranmere Rovers which I'm happy to go for. Chesterfield did approach me but ultimately it would have just been a needless sideways step. Season Team League Pos FA Cup League Cup FA Trophy/JPT Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2014/2015 Hednesford Town Conference North 8th 4th Qual Rnd - 1st Round Took over in October [i]2015/2016 Hednesford Town Conference North - - - - Sacked in August[/i] 2015/2016 Tamworth Conference North 21st - - 3rd Qual Rnd Took over November, Relegated 2016/2017 Boreham Wood Conference South 2nd 3rd Qual Rnd - 3rd Qual Rnd Lost in Play-Off Final 2017/2018 Boreham Wood Conference South 6th 2nd Qual Rnd - 2nd Round - 2018/2019 Boreham Wood Conference South 1st 3rd Qual Rnd - 2nd Round Promoted as Champions! 2019/2020 Boreham Wood Conference 5th 1st Round - 3rd Round Lost in Play-Off Semi Finals 2020/2021 Tranmere Rovers Sky Bet League 2 6th 3rd Round 2nd Round 2nd Round Lost in Play-Off Final 2021/2022 Tranmere Rovers Sky Bet League 2 10th 3rd Round 2nd Round 2nd Round - Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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