Swindon Town v Tranmere Rovers Match Preview
By Matthew Jones
January 22 2011
Total Tranmere brings you all the stats, facts and team news you need to know ahead of Tuesday nights re-arranged League One game against Swindon Town.....
Tuesday 25th January 2011 - N Power League One
Swindon Town v Tranmere Rovers
Kick Off 7.45pm at County Ground
Tranmere Rovers and Swindon Town finally meet this Tuesday as Rovers travelled to the County Ground to take on the Robins after the game was originally postponed on December 18th due to a large snow fall.
Following on from their confidence boosting victory on Saturday against Southampton, Tranmere will be hoping to pick up another win against an oppostion who they have rarely very beaten away in recent years in what is a big game for both sides.
Swindon are struggling down the wrong end of the table, like Tranmere, with Rovers able to pull at least three points clear of the relegation zone if they win, and hopefully close the ten point gap between themselves and the play-offs.
Swindon Town Factfile:
Ground: The County Ground
Formed: 1879
Nickname: The Robins
Manager: Danny Wilson
League Finish 2009/10: 5th (Defeated in Play-off final)
Kit
Colours: red shirt with white trim, red shorts with white trim and red socks with white stripes around top (home), white shirt with black marking on top and bottom, all white shorts and socks
(away), all blue shirt, blue shorts with white trim and blue socks with white stripes around top (third)
Previous Meetings:
Swindon Town did the double over Tranmere Rovers last season, starting with a hugely disappointing 4-1 defeat for Rovers at Prenton Park on 31st October, the day the club celebrated their 125th anniversary.
Tranmere started brightly, with Edds, McLaren and Goodison all having early chances, but on 34-minutes Billy Paynter opened the scoring for Swindon, netting after McGovern's cross wasn't cleared, before five minutes later Paynter doubled the away sides lead as he converted from Amankwaah's cross.
On 65-minutes, it was 3-0 as dangerous winger McNamee fired low into the box from just inside the area before Chris Shuker pulled one back on 78-minutes as he ran on to Goodison's flick on.
This was a dawn of false hope for Tranmere though as Simon Ferry made it 4-1 from McGovern's short corner just moments before the final whistle.
At the County Ground in April, Tranmere put in a similarly disappointing display as Tranmere lost 3-0 in front of a crowd of nearly 10,000.
This time is took just ten minutes for Swindon to take the lead as on-loan Chelsea full-back Ben Gordon put the ball into his own net, past Luke Daniels, from Alan Sheehan's cross.
25-minutes later, things went from bad to worse for Tranmere as Terry Gornell was shown a straight red card for an elboy inside the penalty area, with Billy Paynter stepping up to double Swindon's lead with the resulting spot kick two minutes later.
Tranmere battled hard, but it was all a lost cause and just before the hour mark Swindon completely cut off any hopes Rovers had of a survival as Charlie Austin raced clear of the Tranmere defence to score past Daniels.
Vital Stats:
Tranmere and Swindon have met on 30 previous occasions at the County Ground, with Swindon winning on 19 occasions to Tranere's four
Rovers have failed to keep a clean sheet on any of their last eight trips to Swindon
Tranmere have netted 28 times in their 30 away games against Swindon, conceding on 55 occasions
In five January meetings between the two teams, the home side has won on four occasions
Tranmere's last three wins at the County Ground have been midweek matches, two of them on Tuesday nights
On This Day:
2005: A Russell Howarth error gifts Oldham a goal as they come from behind to draw 1-1 and then beat Tranmere on penalties in the Johnston Paints Trophy
2003: Late goals from Marvin Robinson and Simon Haworth pull Ray Mathias' Tranmere from behind as they win 2-1 at Loftus Road against Queens Park Rangers
1983: Tranmere are held to a 1-1 draw at Prenton Park by Aldershot in Division Four
Tranmere Rovers have played ten previous games on this game, picking up three wins, six draws and just one defeat. In tehse ten games, they've scored 20 goals and conceded on sixteen occasions.
Rovers have played five away games on this day and are yet to lose, picking up two wins and three draws, whilst they have never lost a league game on this day.
The Form Book:
Swindon Town last six home games: LLDLWW
Tranmere Rovers last six away games: LLWWLL
Swindon Town have struggled both home and away this season, and coming into this fixture having won just two of their last twelve games in at all venues, with only one of these wins coming at home.
The Robins did however start their six match sequence with successive wins, firstly against Colchester United as Dossevi and Austin scored in a 2-1 win, before Austin was again on target in Swindon's next home game as Town beat Sheffield Wednesday by the same scoreline.
Swindon are however without a win at home since, starting with a 3-2 F.A. Cup defeat to Crawley Town, before Austin scored a second half penalty to earn Swindon a 1-1 draw with Peterborough United.
Successive defeats have followed for the club at the County Ground since though, starting with a 2-1 loss to Bournemouth, before Yeovil Town defeated Danny Wilson's side 1-0 in their most recent home game thanks to a strike from Dean Bowditch.
Other notable results at the County Ground for Swindon this season include wins over Southampton (1-0), Huddersfield (1-0) and Bristol Rovers (2-1).
The Robins have played thirteen home games so far this season and picked up eighteen of an available 45 points, this thanks to five wins, three draws and five defeats.
Impressive results away from home for Danny Wilson's team this season include successes over Charlton Athletic (4-2), Plymouth Argyle (4-0) and Southampton (3-0), though only the former of these three results came in the league.
Swindon come into this fixture in twentieth place in the League One table, one point and one place below Tranmere Rovers, having played 25 games and picked up 28 of an available 75 points, this thanks to seven wins, seven draws and eleven defeats.
Rovers did however start their six match sequnece with successive defeats, firstly to Carlisle United (2-0), a game in which both sides missed penalties before they came from 3-0 down to make it 3-3 against Bournemouth in the F.A. Cup first round, before Rovers eventually lost the game 5-3.
Tranmere turned that form around as they beat League Two side Bury 1-0 in the Johnstone Paints Trophy thanks to a strike from Ian Thomas-Moore in their next away game however, before making it successive away wins as a goal from Enoch Showunmi was then enough to secure Tranmere a 1-0 win away at Notts County.
Rovers have however been beaten twice on the road since, twice coming from behind to draw level with Rochdale before losing 3-2, before in their most recent away game, Tranmere lost 2-0 to MK Dons at Stadium:MK, managing just 26% in the game.
Other
impressive results away from home for Tranmere this season include wins
over Walsall in the League Cup (1-0) and Bristol Rovers (1-0) in the
League, as well as a 0-0 draw with Huddersfield Town.
Les
Parry's
side have played eleven away league games this season and picked up eleven
of an available 33 points, this thanks to three wins, two draws and six
defeats.
Notable
results at Prenton Park for Tranmere this season include victories over Southampton (2-0), MK Dons (4-2), Carlisle (2-1) and Peterborough United (1-0).
Les
Parry's side currently lie in 19th place in League One, having picked
up 29 of an available 72 points from 24 games, thanks to eight wins, five
draws and eleven defeats.
Double Hit:
Former Rovers striker Wayne Allison spent two years
with Swindon during the mid-90s, having joined the club from local
rivals Bristol City.
Allison started his career with local
Yorkshire club Halifax, before moving to Watford in 1989. He spent just
one season with the Hornets before moving to Bristol City in 1990,
where he would make 225 appearances and score 57 goals, a decent record
of nearly one goal in every four games for the striker.
In 1995
he moved to Swindon for £475,000 and became a successful player for the
club, playing 122 games and scoring 36 goals, before opting for a move
back to Yorkshire with Huddersfield in 1997.
His
spell with Huddersfield was followed two years later by a move to
Tranmere, for £300,000, still one of the highest transfer fees Tranmere
have paid for a player to date.
The Chief became a firm fan
favourite at Rovers and was part of the side that reached two F.A. Cup
Quarter Finals as he stayed with the club for three years and made 116
appearances for the club, scoring 32 goals, including the winner in an
F.A. Cup tie against Premier League side Sunderland at Prenton Park.
Allison
left Tranmere in 2002 and went on to have spells as a player with
Sheffield United and Chesterfield, before moving in to coaching with
Chester City.
After the sacking of John Barnes in October 2009, Allison
became Les Parry's assistant manager, along with Shaun Garnett, at
Tranmere Rovers, making a much supported return to Prenton Park before making a controversial exit at the end of the season.
One To Watch:
Though he has handed in a transfer request at the County Ground, Charlie Austin is still, without doubt, one of the most talented players in this division and if his head is on the game on Tuesday night, then Tranmere will have a very tough striker to mark.
Swindon picked up the want away player from Non-League Poole Town in October 2009 after the striker had scored 48 goals in 43 appearances for the side last season.
He started his career with Reading, where he was in the clubs youth system but never progressed to professional level with the club.
Upon leaving the club in 2004, first team football at Thatcham Town and scored an incredible 73 goals in 59 games before moving on to
Knitbury Rangers in 2006 and Hungerford in 2007.
It was a move to Poole in 2008 that raised eye brows though, as the striker continued his incredible goalscoring form, with many league clubs displaying an interest in the player.
Bournemouth were the first club to get a shot at signing Austin, offering him a trial in pre-season 2009, but a transfer embargo placed on the club
by the Football League meant he could never sign permanently with the
club, and as such not play for the first team.
Bournemouth's loss
was Swindon's gain, as after an initial trial with the club Austin
signed permanently for Swindon on October 2nd 2009 for an undisclosed
fee.
Since joining the club, the 21-year old hasn't looked back, going from strength to strength as he netted 20 goals in his first season with the club before adding another 17 so far this term, a total of 37 goals in just 62 goals, an incredible return which has brought interest from many Championship clubs.
A quick and a very natural finisher in front of goal who seems to manage to often be in the right place at the right time, Austin wears the number 32 shirt for Swindon but it depends very much on whether his head is on the game or on a move away from Swindon come Tuesday evening.
Around League One:
There are just six fixtures in League One this Tuesday evening, all rearranged games due to the bad weather late in 2010:
Team News:
Tranmere were once again hit by a defensive injury on Saturday against Southampton as Marlon Broomes injured his knee ligaments in the first half and is set to be out of action for at least two months.
Broomes is likely to be replaced in the starting line up by Nick Wood, who replaced the experienced defender at centre-back on Saturday, though Les Parry could always opt to drop Ash Taylor back into defence. This however is unlikely after the youngster put in an excellent performance in midfield against Southampton.
Alan Mahon returned to the substitutes bench on Saturday, much to the delight of Les Parry, and could make a brief appearance late on, whilst Rovers may opt to bring Liam Benson on to the bench as defensive cover.
Max Blanchard, Ian Goodison and Tim Cathalina will all miss the game through injuries picked up at the start of the month whilst Zoumana Bakayogo is doubtful with a injury to his left foot.
Jones' Prediction: Swindon 1-2 Tranmere
Swindon are struggling in League One, and with star striker Charlie Austin hopefully having his mind occupied by a move away from the club, perhaps the club will struggle in attack too.
I know Tranmere are struggling too, but they should be full of confidence following their excellent 2-0 win over Southampton on Saturday and can hopefully carry that forward into their performance on Tuesday night.
Rovers should stick with 433 following Saturday's success, with Ash Taylor playing a key role in front of the back four where he is able to sweep attacks whilst also allowing John Welsh and Joss Labadie to push forward more in midfield.
On top of this, in a 433 formation, Dale Jennings is given much more space to attack, whilst Enoch Showunmi has more support up front, with Alliyu and Jennings both able to help him out.
If Tranmere put anything like the work rate in as they did on Saturday, and are able to do the above, then they will hopefully be able to take the game to Swindon and pick up three huge points.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:01:26:18:20:45 by Deadly Submarine.
They will be dangerous with Austin up front, but maybe less so at the back, now Morrison has gone, but Tranmere do have quality in the back 4 and goal to mute someone like Austin and they desperately need a win in light of a recent string of games, but Tranemre having the edge over them in terms of league placing, could count in their favour as well as the boost you can get from beating someone like Southampton.
The team need to remember performances like Bristol Rovers and Notts County and know they can make it work away from home.
I think Tranmere can win the game, but if they have to go there and steal a 1-0, so be it, but maybe there is a second goal in there, becasue thay have scored more than 1 away from home, but Walsall was the only win where they did it, so law of averages says it should happen again sometimes soon.
I'll plump for a 1-0 victory for Rovers.
I'm thinking draw, could even be a boring 0-0, to be fair though that would do us, but lets hope les pulls out a suprise and gives us a win, at least I can go in to work with my head held up high, like on Saturday.