Tranmere Rovers vs. Norwich City Match Preview
By Matthew Jones
March 31 2010
Matthew Jones brings you all the stats, facts and team news you need to know ahead of this big Good Friday fixture, that is live on Sky Sports, at Prenton Park as Rovers take on League leaders Norwich City.........
Friday 2nd April 2010 - Coca-Cola League One
Tranmere R v Norwich C
Kick-Off 7.45pm at Prenton Park
The Sky Sports camera's are at Prenton Park for Tranmere Rovers' second and final Friday night home match of the season as Rovers go in search of their first win in five matches. Les Parry and his staff will no doubt be hoping that as is traditional under the Prenton Park floodlights, the Tranmere faithful can get right behind their team and push them forwards, helping to get them a decent result.
This is Tranmere's third game that has been broadcast live this season, with Rovers having lost the previous two 1-0, to Stockport and Wolves, and with Rovers' last win on TV coming five years ago, a 2-0 win over Hartlepool in the play-offs, Les Parry will no doubt be keen for his side to put on a show for the nation and end their poor run of form on TV.
Norwich come to Prenton Park as the League One leaders and the top scorers in the division, so there is no doubt that this will be a tough game for Rovers, but under Les Parry, they have had a habit of causing shock results every now again, something that Parry will be hoping his team can repeat this Friday, as they know that a win could well lift them back out of the relegation zone, something that would once again be a confidence boost to all the Tranmere players and fans.
Previous Meetings:
When these two sides met in November, Tranmere were without doubt the best team for the opening hour, as they battled hard and attacked the Canaries, but a failure to take any of their chances was as often has been the case their downfall, and when a harsh penalty was awarded against Rovers midfield John Welsh on the hour mark, with former Blackpool player Wes Hoolahan scoring the kick, Tranmere seemed to be drained of all confidence.
Rovers started the game with midfielder Ryan Fraughan starting for the first team, and the youngster, who is currently out on loan at Aberystwyth, was a shining light for Les Parry's side, as he made several darting runs towards the Norwich goal as well as creating a couple of chances for his team.
Tranmere had several chances in the first half and were indeed the better side, with Chris Shuker forcing the first save of the game with 'keeper Forster turning his shot around the post early on, before Forster was again in action to save from Fraughan with 21 minutes gone.
Daniels was in action at the other end as he saved from Martin, but it was Forster who was busiest as he was forced to make a very good save from McLaren just before the break.
The first action of the second half though was when Norwich were awarded and after going 1-0 up, there was only ever going to be one winner, as soon after they doubled their lead when former Spurs defender Gary Doherty headed home from Lappin's cross.
Vital Stats:
These two sides have met just ten times before at Prenton Park, with Tranmere picking up two wins and three draws, losing therefore on five occasions
Rovers have netted nine times in their ten home games aainst Norwich, with the Canaries scoring eleven goals
Tranmere haven't won in their last seven games against Norwich
These two sides haven't met outside the top two divisions since the 1959/1960 season, when they faced each other in Division Three
Tranmere and Norwich have played each other five times in April, producing four draws and one win for Norwich
On This Day:
2007: John Mullin and Chris Greenacre score the goals as Ronnie Moore's Tranmere beat Chesterfield 2-0 at Prenton Park
2002: A first half Danny Allsopp hatrick helps Notts County to a 3-0 win over Tranmere at Meadow Lane in Division Two
1985: Rovers draw 1-1 with Torquay United in Division FourTranmere have played ten previous fixtures on April 2nd, picking up four wins, two draws and four defeats. In these ten games they have scored ten goals and conceded eight. They have never lost a home game on this day, picking up three wins and a draw.
The Form Book:
Norwich City Last Six Away Games: DWWWLW
Tranmere Last Six Home Games: DLWLWL
Norwich City are not top of League One for no reason, and come to Prenton Park having lost just once in their last six away games and just six times all season in the league, and that's including their home fixtures!
The Canaries are the top scorers in League One this season with a hugely impressive 78 goals, 35 of which have come on their travels, again the highest amount in League One, but they have also conceded 38 goals and kept just one clean sheet in their last six on the road.
Paul Lambert's side started their six match sequence with a win, beating Walsall 2-1 thanks to late goals from Martin and McDonald, but they then lost for the only time in their last six away matches, as despite an early strike from Martin, Norwich lost 2-1 at the New Den to Millwall.
Norwich have been unbeaten on the road since, starting with successive wins, firstly beating Brighton 2-1, with Holt and Doherty scoring in the last ten minutes to secure the win, before beating Oldham 1-0 thanks to another strike from Holt.
A third successive win was then secured over high flying Huddersfield, with Elliot netting twice as well as Holt scoring as the Canaries secured a 3-1 win, before in their most recent away match Norwich drew 1-1 with promotion chasing Swindon.
You will notice from this run though that Norwich tend to score most of their goals in the second half, and indeed just one of their last fourteen goals has come in the first 45 minutes of a game, so Tranmere's defence will certainly have to keep going right up until the final whistle.
Other notable results on the road this season for Norwich include wins over Colchester United (5-0), Southend United (3-0), Hartlepool United (2-0) and Carlisle United (1-0).
Norwich City have played nineteen away games so far this season, picking up 35 of an available 57 points, thanks to ten wins, five draws and four defeats.
Impressive results at home for the Carrow Road side this season include wins over Leeds United (1-0), Wycombe Wanderers (5-2), Bristol Rovers (5-1) and Leyton Orient (4-0).
Norwich City come into this game top of League One, and clear of second placed Leeds United by eleven points, having picked up 82 of an available 114 points, thanks to 25 wins, seven draws and six defeats from their 38 games.
Les Parry's Tranmere side have been very inconsistent at home of late, having two three, drawn one and lost three of their last six games on home soil, whilst they come into this fixture having not won in their last four matches, form that Rovers will be desperate to turn round in this fixture.
Les Parry's side started their sequence with a hugely disappointing defeat at home to Oldham Athletic, losing 1-0 at a very foggy Prenton Park before returning to form next time out on home soil though, as Ian Thomas-Moore and Marvin Sordell scored in a 2-1 win over Leyton Orient.
The inconsistency continued against high flying Huddersfield Town a few days later, Lee Novak scoring both goals in a 2-0 win for Lee Clark's side over Tranmere, but Tranmere then picked up argueably their bet result of the season, as Marlon Broomes and Ian Thomas-Moore scored in a 2-1 win over newly crowned Johnstone's Paints Trophy champions Southampton.
However, Les Parry's side followed this up with another defeat next time out, as they comfortably lost 4-1 to high flying Leeds United, John Welsh scoring the Tranmere goal, before in their most recent home game, two weeks ago, Tranmere played out a dour 0-0 draw with Hartlepool, who came to Prenton Park having lost nice successive away games.
Other notable results at Prenton Park for Tranmere Rovers this season include wins over Gillingham (4-2), Brentford (1-0), Bristol Rovers (2-0) and Carlisle United (2-0).
Tranmere have played nineteen home games so far this season, picking up 27 of an available 57 points, thanks to eight wins, three draws and eight defeats.Notable results away from home for Les Parry's side this season include wins over Wycombe Wanderers (1-0) and Gillingham (1-0), as well as a 3-3 draw with Huddersfield Town and an F.A. Cup win over Aldershot (2-1).
Les Parry's side come into this match in 21st place in the League One table, one point away from safety, having played 37 games and picked up 38 of an available 111 points, thanks to ten wins, eight draws and nineteen defeats.
Double Hit:
One played two have played for both Tranmere and Norwich is midfielder Ged Brannan, who also spent part of his career with Manchester City and Motherwell.
Brannan came through the youth ranks at Prenton Park and made his debut during the 1990/91 season whilst John King was manager of the club.
Brannan was one of a number of several good youngsters to come through the clubs youth ranks at the time, with the likes of John McGreal, Tony Thomas and Kenny Irons also emerging from a Centre of Excellence that would later go on to produce the likes of Clint Hill, Jason Koumas and Ryan Taylor.
Brannan remained at Prenton Park for seven years, making 348 appearances for the club and scoring 25 goals in all competitions.
In 1997, the midfielder left Prenton Park for £750,000, joining Manchester City, where he would remain for only 18 months, making 46 appearances in the process.
It was whilst at Manchester City that Brannan played for Norwich, joining the club on loan in August 1998. He remained at Carrow Road for two months, making twelve appearances, scoring once in a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
He left Norwich when he was sold to Motherwell by Manchester City in October 1998, where he remained for just over two years and played nearly 90 games, before moving to Wigan in February 2001.
Brannan played for Wigan for nearly three years, and spent time out on loan at Dunfirmline and Rochdale, and later had spells with Accrington and Morecambe, before retiring from football at the end of the 2006/07 season, aged 35.One To Watch: Grant Holt
Former Rochdale and Nottingham Forest striker Grant Holt is a player with an eye for goal, and having already netted 28 times for the Canaries this season, he most certainly comes into this game in fine form, with four goals in his last five games also to his name.
The striker started his career at Workington, and later had spells with Halifax, where he played in the Football League and scored his only goal for the club against Tranmere in the League Cup, and Barrow, where he netted 35 times in 69 games, before returning to the Football League with Sheffield Wednesday in March 2003.
Holt was largely unsuccessful with the Owls, and it wasn't until 2004 when he moved to Rochdale for an undisclosed fee that his career really took off. Form which produced 42 goals in 83 games thrust Holt into the spotlight, and in 2006 he was on the move again, joining Nottingham Forest for £300,000. He was replaced at Spotland by Tranmere striker Chris Dagnall.
Holt's form was strong at Nottingham Forest too, but he was never a fan favourite at the City Ground, and his goalscoring record wasn't as good. Having scored 24 times in just over 100 games for the club, and spent time on loan at Blackpool, Holt joined Shrewsbury for the 2008/09 campaign and netted a further 28 goals in 51 appearances, playing in all but three of the Shrews league matches last season.
This form earned him a move to Carrow Road in the summer and he hasn't looked back since his big money move, scoring 28 times in just 40 games this season, a record of nearly three goals in every four games he plays. 
The 28 year old, who was born in Carlisle, will also be going in search of his 100th goal in League football on Friday night, with 99 already to his name ahead of the match.
Standing at six feet tall, Holt is a key player for the Canaries, capable of scoring goals with his head and feet. He is strong and works hard in side the area, where he often pops up with a poachers goal.
League One Fixtures:
With this being Easter weekend, the League One fixtures are spread out right across Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Saturday, with Good Friday seeing games kick off at both 3.00pm and 7.45pm.
Brighton vs. Southampton (Thursday)
Carlisle vs. Bristol Rovers (Friday)
Exeter vs. Colchester (Friday)
Leeds vs. Swindon (Saturday)
Leyton Orient vs. Hartlepool (Saturday)
Millwall vs. Brentford (Friday)
MK Dons vs. Charlton (Saturday)
Oldham vs. Gillingham (Saturday)
Southend vs. Yeovil (Saturday)
Stockport vs. Walsall (Saturday)
Tranmere vs. Norwich (Friday)
Wycombe vs. Huddersfield (Saturday)
Team News:
Tranmere boss Les Parry is sweating over the fitness of captain Ian Thomas-Moore, who has missed the last two games with a knee injury and is a hugely important striker to Rovers, though Parry will be without new signing Andy Robinson who starts a three match suspension picked up for his red card at Brighton and right-back Shay Logan who is out with a hernia injury.
Defender Zoumana Bakayogo is available for selection though after completing his two-match ban, and could replace Chelsea loanee Ben Gordon in the starting line up after he made his debut at Brighton last weekend. Though Aaron Cresswell is once again suspended, another piece of good news for boss Parry is that Gareth Edds is fit again and should replace Marlon Broomes at right-back.
Jones' Prediction: Tranmere Rovers 2-2 Norwich
There is of course every chance that I am in dreamland with this prediction, but I'll continue to be ever the optomist and believe that Tranmere can at least get something out of this game against the League One leaders.
What Tranmere need to do more than anything in this game is not be scared of their opponents and attack when they can, instead of sitting back and waiting to be attacked, as they have in recent games. If they try to defend for 90 minutes against Norwich, then they could well end up losing very heavily. Afterall, as it has been famously said, "the best form of defence is attack".
If Tranmere can sneak a point, or three, from this game, then it would be a huge bonus, and they are capable of upsetting a few of the big boys in this league, but they need to be at the top of their game and make sure they don't play hoof ball to Bas Savage up front all game.The likes of John Welsh in midfield and Ian Thomas-Moore up front are absolutely crucial, with Welsh a very strong tackler and passer when he plays well, and Thomas-Moore a crucial influence and good goalscorer up front when he's on form.
Rovers of course do need to hold tight at the back, Goodison will have to be watching Holt all game, whilst it will be useful to have Bayakogo back in the team, if he's selected, but defending all game will not get Tranmere anywhere in this game. They have nothing to lose. They may as well go for the win.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:04:03:10:21:59 by Deadly Submarine.
Quote:Mikey
Just don't go to sleep.
as long as the game dont put me to sleep we will be fine
Parry talks in riddles in the paper.
cant see anything other than norwich in reality, they score loads and we hardly score. If we are to have any hope we have got to score first.
Everything that was missing from the hartlepool game was there in abundance tonight, fight commitment effort and crucially goals and a little bit of luck with the decisions.
Special meantions elsewhere though to the likes of Curran, Broomes, McLaren, Welsh, Gornell and Goodison. Great performances all round.
Quote:bigmart
Everything that was missing from the hartlepool game was there in abundance tonight, fight commitment effort and crucially goals and a little bit of luck with the decisions.
Also Bas Savage was missing tonight and as I've said before it's nothing against him but our form since he came back into the side and the change last night is no coincidence for me.
Aside from that though a great team performance and we actually played good football and weren't particularly made to look good by Norwich I didn't think although I will concede that they certainly didn't seem fully at the races last night.