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By Matthew Jones
August 10 2009
League Cup Form:
Despite reaching the final in 2000, and the fourth round in 2001, Tranmere haven't played well in the League Cup over the last four seasons, having lost in the first round on each occasion. You do in fact have to go back to 2004 for the last time that Rovers reached the second round of the competition.
2008: Lost first round to Grimsby Town (2-0) (a)
2007: Lost first round to Stockport County (1-0) (a)
2006: Lost first round to Hull City (2-1 after extra time) (a)
2005: Lost first round to Scunthorpe United (2-1) (a)
2004: Beat Shrewsbury Town first round (2-1) (h), lost second round to Portsmouth (1-0) (h)
Knocking Tranmere Rovers out in the first round last season meant Grimsby have already won one more League Cup game in the last four seasons than Tranmere, and their form in the competition over the last five season has been much better than Tranmere's, having knocked out Tottenham and Derby in previous years.
2008: Beat Tranmere first round (2-0) (h), lost second round to Blackburn Rovers (4-1) (a)
2007: Lost first round to Burnley (1-1 after extra time, lost 4-2 on penalties) (h)
2006: Lost first round to Crewe Alexandra (3-0) (h)
2005: Beat Derby County first round (1-0) (h), beat Tottenham Hotspur second round (1-0) (h), lost third round to Newcastle (1-0) (h)
2004: Beat Wigan Athletic first round (1-0) (h), lost second round to Charlton Athletic (2-0) (h)
Double Hit:
Grimsby Town centre-back Paul Linwood signed for the club on a free-transfer in the summer from cash-strapped and struggling Chester City, who were relegated from League Two last season.
Linwood started his career with Tranmere Rovers, where he made his debut during Brian Little's first game in charge of the club, a 3-2 LDV Vans Trophy defeat to Blackpool.
Linwood made the centre-back position his own during Little's first season in charge of the club and won many admirers in the Tranmere fans for his wholehearted and consistent performances.
However, somewhere it all went wrong for the Wirral born centre-back, who after such a successful 03/04 season, made just 11 appearances for Tranmere the following year.
During the 2005/06 season, Linwood was loaned out to Wrexham, where he made nine appearances, before after his contract expired at Prenton Park at the end of the same season, he joined Chester City, having made 53 appearances for his home town club.
At Chester, Linwood became a firm fan favourite, putting in a number of crucial and impressive performances for the club, and in his final season at the Deva Stadium, he wore the captains arm band.
Linwood was a near ever present in his three years at the Deva Stadium, as he made 133 appearances and scored five goals, but financial problems, which have recently seen Chester docked points, meant Linwood was to leave at the end of the 2008/09 season.
Over the summer, the 6'02" centre back signed for Grimsby on a free-transfer, but watched from the bench as his new side lost 2-1 at Cheltenham on Saturday.
Aged 25, Linwood has been around a long time but is an experienced and still young player. He is sure to play a vital role for Grimsby this season.
One To Watch: Barry Conlon
31 year old Barry Conlon is an experienced striker currently playing for his twelfth club in English football, although three of those clubs have been loan spells.
The striker started his career with QPR, where he rose through the youth ranks and then signed for Manchester City on a free transfer, without even making an appearance for the London club.
Making eight appearances without scoring for City, he joined Plymouth on loan before joining Southend on a free transfer in 1998.
A year later, he made a big money move to York, having scored seven times for Southend, before joining Colchester on loan from York in November 2000.
It wasn't until Conlon moved to Darlington in 2001 that he began to make a name for himself though, having signed for the club for £60,000.
He stayed with the club for three years, his longest spell with any side as a professional to date, and made over 100 appearances, netting 42 times.
Such form convinced Barnsley to sign him on a free transfer in 2004, and he stayed at Oakwell for two years, but netted just eight times.
Now becoming somewhat of a lower league journeyman, Conlon had spells with Rotherham (loan), Darlington and Mansfield before finding his way to Bradford in July 2007.
A two year spell with the Bantams yielded eighteen goals in 80 appearances, before last season he joined Grimsby on loan.
A run of five goals in eight goals, which was a huge helping hand in Grimsby avoiding the drop to the Blue Square Conference, was enough to convince Grimsby to sign Conlon on a permanent deal over the summer.
Wearing the number ten shirt, the well travelled front man, who has over 100 goals in English league football, scored on his debut for Grimsby on Saturday, and is a player who must be watched, both in and outside the penalty area.
He has the knack of being in the right place at the right time, a thing all good strikers have, and will have to be watched by Rovers defender Ian Goodison throughout.
Carling Cup, Round One:
There are plenty of interesting fixtures and potential banana skins in the first round of the Carling Cup this week, as a number of lower league teams look to knock out Championship and League One opposition.
One interesting fixture is between Rotherham and Derby of League Two and the Championship respectively, whilst Championship new boys West Brom travel to Bury.
Middlesbrough and Newcastle have both received byes to the second round of the competition, whilst Reading host Burton and Crystal Palace host Torquay United.
Elsewhere, Leicester City, winners in 2000, when they beat Tranmere 2-1 at Wembley in the final, travel to Macclesfield Town and Nottingham Forest host Bradford City at the City Ground. Sheffield Wednesday take on Rochdale at Hillsborough whilst Leeds travel to cash-strapped Darlington.
Morecambe travel to Preston in a local derby between the two Lancashire sides, whilst Norwich will be looking to bounce back from Saturday's humiliating 7-1 defeat to Colchester when they travel to Yeovil.
Team News:
Ian Goodison and Gareth Edds both return to the Tranmere squad after suspensions, picked up last season, ruled them out of Saturday's season opener at Yeovil.
Whilst Goodison is expected to return to the side for on-loan Gunning, who is cup tied, Gareth Edds may miss out in favour of on loan Logan at right-back.
Charlie Barnett could also return for Rovers after a back injury ruled him out on Saturday, though an Achilles injury means Bas Savage will remain on the sidelines until February.
Jones' Prediction: Tranmere Rovers 1-0 Grimsby Town
This is a game that Tranmere Rovers should win. They are a division above Grimsby, and although both suffered defeats at the weekend, Rovers should be able to beat their lower league opposition on home soil.
Rovers can welcome back club captain Ian Goodison for this fixture, and that is a huge boost as he will bring some welcome experience to a young back-line.
Tranmere though must focus on getting more goals, as a 2-0 defeat against Yeovil on Saturday proved that there are goals lacking through-out the side. New captain Ian Thomas-Moore must step up to the plate and start scoring for John Barnes' side, whilst wide men Chris Shuker and Alan Mahon will be key to Tranmere's strike force, as they send in crosses from the wings.
Rovers though should be too strong for Grimsby, and with a competitive edge to their game, they should be able to battle past Grimsby and book their place in the second round for the first time since Brian Little was in charge of the club.
