Tranmere Rovers v Exeter City Match Discussion

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:05:05:20:21:43 by Mikey.

3-0 up with 20 mins left ,well done to Les & the players looks like safe again for another season ,lets hope we rip Swindle a new one in the last game of the season

Well we can put the slide rules away put the cover back on the calculator and loose the BBC league table predictor were safe for another season dam good result today
I think playing Robbo and Jennings from the start changed the style of play less of hoofball more football even Akins put a shift in(not in my top ten of players in a white shirt)but I take my hat off today(if I had one)he played well today and put put iceing on the cake took his 2 goals
well so perhaps he can kick off from here into next season.
So the 4-0 win lets us relaxon the sofa instead of looking at the league position from behind it.
Enoch could be missing for the rest of the season (do not know the extent of his injury)but know we can relax and plan for next season who do we keep and who should we bin perhaps Mahon/ Morrow/Broomes/Wood and we need striker as number one
recruit and a midfield play maker and a centre back to take over from Goodison(his last season next year?) so the coming months before next season to see who Les keeps hold of and who he brings in.
TRANMERE 4 EXETER 0 WELL DONE

A magnificent performance by the Mighty Whites against an Exeter side who looked devoid of ideas and didn't seem to know how to challange us when we came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders.

I thought it was going to be another one of those days early on, as we had plenty of chances but just kept missing them.

Then out of the blue, that quality strike by Screech! Left footed screamer, cutting in! Reminded me of Ryan Shotton v Colchester a few years ago.

We carried on pressing and pushing second half, in my opinion because the pressure was off the lads as they knew their league position was all but mathmatically safe.

Then Akins popped up with a stunning lob, Showunmi provided an excellent finish for the third, and then a quite superb cross by McGurk was headed home by Lucas for his second.

It was no coincidence to me that with Robinson pulling his weight in midfield, Weir finally finding his passing range and Jennings back fit and full of confidence following his goal against Hartlepool that we completely dominated the game.

Robinson was superb. His passing, link up play and general work rate was so vastly improved on what else we've seen in his spell. That is the type of player we have been hoping to see since he signed.

Weir and Welsh worked very well in midfield, both got forward and back very well and their passing opened up the flanks.

We attacked with purpose and we managed to get men forward and into the box, something we've really struggled to do this season. To score four goals is a testiment to how well we did that, and to be honest, we could have had more.

I thought our defence was stunning again. Ash Taylor, in particular, for me, as he won every header, every tackle and made every interception. Yes, he put a few passes out of place, but in general he was superb and I thought he was MOTM.

Hugely improved performance after the nervy display at Hartlepool and great to not only make ourselves mathmatically safe, but also surpass last season's points total of 51.

Now we need to push on and look at getting at least one win in the next two games, hopefully. If we play again in the next two like we did today, we'll destroy Leyton Orient and Swindon.

Radio Devon described it as Exeters worst performance of the season but they also said that Rovers played like league leaders.

Very impressive performance today and all 11 played well. It just shows that they are capable of playing rather than playing direct all the time.

Exeter didn't look like play-off contenders on that showing, devastating journey for their fans - must be gutted!

Had to chuckle when Les offered me a shirt after I headed the ball back onto the pitch! Made my day!

Fantastic to see the lads playing footy instead of hoofy, tremendous performance and win. Shame we couldn't have performed half as well against Notts Crapty, we may have kept some of those freebie fans.

I just wish we'd have played with that mentality all season. Obviously we're a L1 team so we wouldn't be able to play with that skill consistently but if we played with that mentality we'd be ten times better off to watch and we'd probably have more points on the board. Coupled with more fans too!

If I was rating players I'd go for...

Tony Warner - n/a, had sod all to do!

Kay - good finish, decent game, not the best on the pitch but still had a good game - 7
Taylor - 9, much better today, in midfield he plays to similar a role to Welshy but he was ten times better at the back today and I don't think he lost one tackle or header, covered for Goody a few times too!
Goodison - 8, the mans a rock and did what was needed, only error I can think off right now was a miss kick in the first half.
Cresswell - 7, didn't think he was all that good today, one or two good crosses but that was it - the Exeter scout had done a good job as nearly every goal kick was launched at Aarons head - and heading isn't his greatest skill!

Jennings - 8, been off form but nearly back to his best today. Much improved and he was exciting to watch as you don't know what he's going to do next, nice dribble for Kay's goal to.
Welsh - 8, he did what he had to do and do it well. We played some good football today but that's not his game really, his strength isn't passing the ball around, but he sat in front of the back four extremely well.
Weir - 9, best game today by far, some brilliant passes and shots, looked really creative and willing to run everywhere, with a little more experience I think he could be a good player.
Robinson - 9, immense today! Previously he's only really been given the opportunity on the wing, I don't think his legs allow him to do that effectively now but his experience and creativity in the middle were an asset today, some great passes and bits of play!
Akins - 8, two good finishes and worked hard again. The first half though he still had no end product at all, the first finish was brilliant and although he had a good game today he's not become a brilliant player all of a sudden in my mind. I'd be fickle if I said that

Enoch - 8, ran his socks off, took his goal well, he's an asset to our team and I hope his injury isn't too bad.

Final mention for McGurk - his cross for Akins header was absolutely amazing!

Delighted obviously that we have stayed up. We were brilliant today and it proved what we can do when we attack and go at teams. Jenno and Robbo were great but then again everyone was.

I still have reservations about Les, and would prefer him to step aside. However I will congratulate him on keeping us up, well done to him and the boys.

So pleased for you guys. You got lots of cheers today from my little section and the kids were running up and down to check your score and report in! Every time you scored we cheered!

Today we went for a different theme of how not to play, we came out sleepwalking, kept sleepwalking when 1-0 down, bad challenge one of theirs off, we carried on sleepwalking, one of ours woke up, got himself booked , almost had a second yellow about 2 mins later, and before I had even managed to stop abusing the ref for the first yellow he was off . We sleepwalked in at half time. Manager went nuts, broke some rather fine china but it woke the lazy oiks up. Then just for once instead of throwing the game away in the last 5/10 mins (23 points dropped this season that way) we actually finally woke right up and played for 10 mins and got 2 instead of conceding 2!!

All in all a good day results wise - you guys are now mathematically safe, which pleases me. We can take 5th if we up our game for the final 2 and even 4th if we can win our last 2 and franchise and peterboro both lose their last 2! I think we will make the playoffs now but feel we'll be playing you again next season!!

Oh and Swindon relegated - like that one as well

[www.courtoffside.com]

A simply stunning performance from us today, best I've seen us play in a long time and left me wondering why we hadn't performed like this for most of the season at home and then we wouldn't have had to wait this long for guaranteed safety.

A few points from todays game. Firstly, been highly critical of Akins for most of the season but we saw signs of what he can do today, two goals both of which were very good finishes. It's obvious he is a confidence player and it's sky high at the moment, is he worth keeping.

Secondly onto Weir. Many have been highly critical of Weirs performances this season but for me he is starting to show huge potential and hopefully if we get him he will be a good signing. All I think he needs is a good pre season to get his fitness up and maybe he won't drift out of games so much.

Another player who could benefit from a good pre season is Andy Robinson. He makes things happen on the pitch and for me he is a must signing for the summer because with a fully fit Robbo, we could be a force to be reckoned with next season. His vision and passing is just exactly what we need.

Got to mention Ash Taylor too, he looks much more comfortable in defenced that midfield and I believe that if we can get McChrystal, the two of them will make a very good partnership. However, he needs to work on his passing which i have to be honest is atrocious at times. He and the other defenders also need to stop hoofing it all the time, because this is the main cause of our hoofball problem. Weve got some very good midfield players so lets use them more because as we've seen today, we can turn it on when we play football.

All in all a stunning performance today and a great way to secure our league one status for another season.

What a great result.Les sent out an team who rewarded his selection by playing some of the best football I have seen this season. Robbo in particular must have covered every blade of grass, his presence was the missing link as far as I was concerned. He harried and chased the ball all afternoon and the remainder of the team supported him. This was what I call getting stuck in, Exeter had little time to settle and produced very few shots on goal. Was pleased to see Kay's screamer hit the back of the net just before half time.The deft finish by Akins for the second goal was superb and he appeared to be playing with much more confidence. Enock's strike finished off the chance of Exeter getting back in the game and Akin's second goal crowned a superb display. What a great bank holidya day out. Man of the match for me was not surprisingly Robbo.
Oh yes and we will be staying up ! (glad I have already bought my season ticket for next year
Bring on the Orient

Really impressed with the little cameos that McGurk is currently getting with the team. He has had a horrendous time with injuries and he now seems to be enjoying his football. Definitely one for the future and hopefully we will sign him up on a long term contract.

Completely agree Joe. He has an air of quality about him that few others in the squad can match. I'd get him tied down for two years.

matty, that was a top header and great moment with les

A great result and something that could have happened a bit more this season.

I think Taylor could be a possible successor to Goodison, but I do think Goodison should still be considered a first choice with McChrystal next season.

That combination of Warner, Kay, McChrystal, Goodison and Cresswell / Bakayogo, has been the reason why Tranmere currently average a goal a game concession in the last 21 games and at one point averaged about 0.9, before the Huddersfield game.

Great result though and the only dissapointing thing was Oldham holding onto their place on goals scored, because getting 2 league places, after 4-5 weeks of being in the same league position would have been nice.

Then I ate his Liver.......... with some baked beans and a can of coke.

Cheers bigmart, when he got the shirt, I told him I needed a few sizes up....pleased with the header though! Ha!

Yeah.Great header Matty, good direction on it. Les offered you Ryan Fraughan's shirt, I could see what you meant about needing a bigger size.


COME ON YOU MIGHTY WHITES

Haha!!