Match Discussion: Altrincham (H)

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016:01:01:13:03:18 by Deadly Submarine.

We must not let them bully us out of the game like they did at Moss Lane. Until the thugs of Eastleigh turned up at PP,I had thought that they were the dirtiest team I'd seen us play this season. But Eastleigh took it to another level.

According to the Macc Manager, are we the new "Eastleigh"

As you say if we stand up to Altrincham, we should win the game.

2-1 with our new found steel

Win 3 - 1 for the Rovers......

Every ball is a white ball............TRFC

Tomlinson starting but same line up as game at macc I think. come on the rovers!

watching cricket, footy and darts all day, magic!

commentator on wirral radio at half time says we are playing decently and closing down well, said jenno is having good game.

chester and wrexham both 2 down. he he he!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:12:28:16:22:54 by hong kong rover.

got the last 5 mins of commentary, sounded like a real nail biting ending. great result rovers. commentator said exciting game and altrincham played their part. 5 pts from 5th place but teams below us with games in hand. southport win yet again, bang in form or what



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2015:12:28:17:10:41 by hong kong rover.

That will do nicely, good Xmas spell so far. Onwards and upwards hopefully! 😀

Good first half and fully deserved to lead. Not so good second half and very lucky they didn't equalise. Yes, I thought Jennings was good.

After recent games where we have dominated long spells and got nothing from the game, that was the kind of hanging on and surviving win we needed today! Call it justice!!

Good result but we looked tired towards the end and lived very dangerously for the last 20 mins.

Held on nail biting at the end. Three points again as long as we win I don't care how we do it SWA

Every ball is a white ball............TRFC

Quote:

coltran
Good result but we looked tired towards the end and lived very dangerously for the last 20 mins.

I was concerned by this too, but I think their game on Boxing Day was postponed so they have had about 9 days rest compared to our one. Not so surprising when you bear that in mind.

The biggest frustration was that we didn't come out and dominate the second half. A 2 or 3 goal dominant performance would have done wonders for us. Still I'll take the win.

Successive wins are very welcome but do disguise the fact that we are not playing convincingly. The real value is that we just stay in touch with the play off places and if we can sustain that until the transfer window opens then we might just get the signings needed to turn hanging on into a real challenge.

Thought we were good first half, second half was pathetic. I have never seen anything like it. We hung on because we invited them on not because they were better. If I was Altricham I'd be gutted they deserved 3 points. We just hoofed it blindly and when Norwood did get on the end of something nobody supported him. No one showed any composure or guile bar Jennings/Mekki/McNulty/Maynard. Mangan was woeful, so poor it as unbelievable. I'm sick of watching poor standard players and even more sick of some of our fans. They are morons, and I don't mean the abuse either. I know where all the missing jellie babies are from those who are short a couple, Prenton Park. I was in John King stand today and first half when we were good. The general shout to anyone within cruise missile range of their goal was Smash it, even if he had his back to goal and 3 players snapping his heels followed by the customary jeer when they never smashed it. Then there was the yelling for Vaughan to close him down, when he should not closing anything down, followed by more jeers when he did the right thing and didn't close down. Then there was the fool behind me constantly baying for Norwood to be subbed as he is garbage, fair play not shouting but in general discussion with his pal however Norwood has kept us in the playoff chase without him we would be bottom 4. A large majority of Rovers fans are completely and utterly clueless about football and I'm fed up listening to it and I'm fed up watching players a fair proportion of Rovers players who wouldn't have got in any side I played in. So in conclusion I'm not going again, mainly because of the fools I have to listen to.

I've criticised Barbin this year but after today I don't know whose to blame, him or the players, I think I have changed my opinion and have to lean towards the players being at fault, yes he signed them but most came with good reps and I just don't think many of them have delivered this season. We have a good spine Davies, McNulty, Ihweike, Maynard, Mekki, Jennings, Norwood. The rest is poor though Hill & Vaughan are poor both are so positionally clueless and Hill lacks basic football skill, and we have no wingers we are playing forwards out there who get dragged inside to often.

A much needed 3 points though.

Another brilliant result, only 5 pts off playoffs with a game in hand! how quickly things can change!.

Very, very, very, lucky today. 1st half worth the 1-0 , 2nd half must of been a decent team talk in the Altricham dressing room, as they were like a team possessed! must of had like 10 corners. Mcnulty today was outstanding, well worth the MoM, Maynard very good too with some important blocks and challanges. And im gonna put it out there and say Norwood is our best striker since Greenacre, never gives us and his shirt is always black by the end of the game, great stuff!. Sub mentioned that we got some luck back today and i agree with that, 2nd half was a nail biter. Nice to see Kirby and Mangan get on the pitch too.

Well done to the lads. I don't care what the score was, I just wanted the win.

Just got back from a fantastic day at the cricket. Fellow Durban boy Nick Compton played great cricket again. England were on top again and tomorrow is going to be a tough day for SA.

The Barmy Army were in good spirits. Good to see some lads from Port Vale, Luton and Bradford. My Tranmere Rovers scarves were proudly displayed. There were plenty of beer marinated 'lobsters' walking out the ground after play ended.

Very happy with the win who cares if we rode are luck maybe that's what's been missing a bit of luck here and there with all the pressure we invited second half still think there keeper made more saves the company I work for gave mom to mcnulty he had good game don't think he missed a header all game but I would have gone for Norwood for his tireless running never mind his goal what a pass from Tomlinson Norwood was dead on his feet at the final whistle hopefully do the double over m'field to soften the blow of having to go back to work 2 days later

Looked good first half, lost our way when Mekki (who was great) went off. Had no link from midfield to Norwood when he went off. Lucky to get the 3 pts, could have won 5-0 or lost 1-3. BUT....6 points out of 6 over Christmas

Happy with the win, I felt we let alty back in by sitting to deep rather than them being better 2nd half. 1st half we won everything 2nd half we didn't seem to compete, happy to let them have the ball. Mangan had another poor game but don't see left wing as his position.
Tomlinson had a decent game and I have been critical of him previously.
Still feel we need a goalscorer, Norwood good and full of endeavour and hard work but a more natural finisher would have had 3 I feel. He never really looks like scoring 1 on 1, I always feel more likely to miss than score. Couple him with a poacher and I think we would see many more goals flying in.
Couple more wins and we are right back in it.
Mcnulty looked the part today, and some great saves by Davies.
A win is a win, Long may it continue

As was previously mentioned, we played the day before yesterday and they had a big rest, it was no surprise we faded in the second half, you could see that coming before the game kicked off.

Another valuable win though it doesn't do much for the nerves at times good to keep a clean sheet for a change. Win again on Saturday and with the transfer window about to open could be a bit more interesting times ahead

Quote:

South African Super White
Well done to the lads. I don't care what the score was, I just wanted the win.
Just got back from a fantastic day at the cricket. Fellow Durban boy Nick Compton played great cricket again. England were on top again and tomorrow is going to be a tough day for SA.

The Barmy Army were in good spirits. Good to see some lads from Port Vale, Luton and Bradford. My Tranmere Rovers scarves were proudly displayed. There were plenty of beer marinated 'lobsters' walking out the ground after play ended.

well done with your TRFC scarves at the cricket today. England in a good position in the test match. i watched quite a lot of todays play on tv. 2 wins on the bounce for the rovers too. get in.

We almost paid again for not converting our chances when on top, very good for most of the first half but, lost it completely for long periods in the second half.

James Norwood missed two more one on one with the goalkeeper which, would have given us a breathing space but, worked his socks off as usual.

I was very surprised that we did nothing tactically when Alty took the big centre forward off and starting playing through us causing most of the trouble or am I being over critical?

In the end, another three points. Round this off in the Macc return with three more and maybe we can start believing the play offs are still possible?

Their manager changed the game when he took off the number 9 and subbed him with the number 11 who caused plenty of problems on the left. Also the number 7 made himself lots of space in between our defence and midfield and should have had a hat trick. For the last half hour,they absolutely battered us and could have scored a hatful. We had about ten games luck rolled into one in that period.

However,our central defence were both excellent and we held out.


All the players gave 100% and this is the sort of game we would have lost earlier in the season.The magnificent Norwood needs much more support up front-don't know what's happened to Mangan's form recently.


It was one of the most enjoyable games of the season and the three points are very welcome. If I was an Alty player or fan I'd be gutted to get nothing out of the game.

Roll on Saturday.

Hoots, Mangan hasn't played that well since returning from injury but being played out wide has not helped him, he needs to be played through the middle.

Quote:

bigmart
Hoots, Mangan hasn't played that well since returning from injury but being played out wide has not helped him, he needs to be played through the middle.

I don't think Mangan and Norwood can play together really. It's one or the other. They are too similar. I suspect Mangan is the better finisher, but Norwood the better player. I wish we had a good physical centre forward who could hold the ball up, be a target man, bring others into the game and allow others to make runs down the channels, which is their strength.

Quote:

Doogie'sGhost

Quote:

bigmart
Hoots, Mangan hasn't played that well since returning from injury but being played out wide has not helped him, he needs to be played through the middle.

I don't think Mangan and Norwood can play together really. It's one or the other. They are too similar. I suspect Mangan is the better finisher, but Norwood the better player. I wish we had a good physical centre forward who could hold the ball up, be a target man, bring others into the game and allow others to make runs down the channels, which is their strength.

We won't know unless it is tried out on a few occasions. Judging on what I have seen so far,it's Norwood every time. I wish we had ten of him.

Quote:

Doogie'sGhost

Quote:

bigmart
Hoots, Mangan hasn't played that well since returning from injury but being played out wide has not helped him, he needs to be played through the middle.

I don't think Mangan and Norwood can play together really. It's one or the other. They are too similar. I suspect Mangan is the better finisher, but Norwood the better player. I wish we had a good physical centre forward who could hold the ball up, be a target man, bring others into the game and allow others to make runs down the channels, which is their strength.

mangan and Norwood were starting to get a good understanding before is injury I might be wrong

Mangan can score, because he was top scorer until his layoff with 6.

The 6 points from 6 is a welcome return and does Brabin no harm either.

I'm still a little concerned about the conversion of goals, because there's enough chances to get more from some of the games. I think today a second wouldn't have been spawny, when a decent chance creation level was achieved, but the three points were the important thing and McNulty as now scored in one match and contributed to another clean sheet, just like he did against Borehamwood, so that won't do him any harm either and I think if that deal is on the table next month for him, he's worth the punt now.

3 wins in a row would be great, but it's just a shame that Macclesfield have enough of a goal difference the Tranmere would need to win by 3, but you never know with these things, as they have scored more than that in games at times this season.

Currently top 4 for goals conceded which is nice and that's atoned for the Woking fiasco now, as that rekindled defensive solidity that was prevalent before that game, could come in very useful if the goal scoring goes up a touch.

I'm beginning to feel like there is a growing possibility the playoffs are becoming more realistic, but that 3rd win a row would help, because many teams that do that at least once in a season, can be playoff contenders.

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

I haven't been to a game for a few weeks and sat in the main stand today with a different view on the game. Personally I thought Hill was poor, he provided no attacking options for Mekki who played well. First time I've seen Vaughan play and I thought he was very poor. Backed off his man all game, and he couldnt put a cross in. I also think Jennings was very poor. He contributed very little until the 80 minute mark. He only won one challenge I can remember and he seemed to be out of position throughout the game. I wasn't sure what his role was today, and by the looks of it he didn't either. If altrincham had a decent striker, we would of lost today. Second half was very poor and negative. However a win is a win and 3 more points in the bag.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:12:28:23:46:29 by KW88.

Quote:

Doogie'sGhost

Quote:

bigmart
Hoots, Mangan hasn't played that well since returning from injury but being played out wide has not helped him, he needs to be played through the middle.

I don't think Mangan and Norwood can play together really. It's one or the other. They are too similar. I suspect Mangan is the better finisher, but Norwood the better player. I wish we had a good physical centre forward who could hold the ball up, be a target man, bring others into the game and allow others to make runs down the channels, which is their strength.

In response to this, I'm going to stick my neck out and say it....Stockton? Give the lad a chance to do this job and ease some of the pressure on Nors?

Enjoyed the game, fully deserved the win. Yes, we should of been out of sight in the first half, but a win is a win.

Always knew we'd struggle in the 2nd half. We had 1 day between games where-as they had 10 so it was to be expected towards the end. Full credit to the players for the shift they all put in.

Full marks to the team on the performance yesterday. It's a difficult situation going into the match when you've had 48 hours rest and the other team has had 8 days. Once again lack of finishing could have cost us points.

I feel that what we are most missing right now is someone that can shoot from distance. We must have lost about 10 points this season to far to long range strikes but I can't think of any games that we've won/drawn thanks to a goal from distance. It's not just the lack of goals, it's also the fact that teams are hitting us on the break when we are trying to walk the ball into the net when a shot on goal would have been the best option. The only one that ever seems to have a go is Maynard, whose efforts are more like back passes.

Quote:

coltran
Good result but we looked tired towards the end and lived very dangerously for the last 20 mins.

Yes we looked tired but I think that could reflect the very real effort and commitment from all the team.

Nobody was taking it easy,nobody was hiding. OK, it didn't always look like we were so dominant late on, but Altrincham are no mugs.

Good result.

Quote:

MalkinsNobblyKnees
Full marks to the team on the performance yesterday. It's a difficult situation going into the match when you've had 48 hours rest and the other team has had 8 days. Once again lack of finishing could have cost us points.
I feel that what we are most missing right now is someone that can shoot from distance. We must have lost about 10 points this season to far to long range strikes but I can't think of any games that we've won/drawn thanks to a goal from distance. It's not just the lack of goals, it's also the fact that teams are hitting us on the break when we are trying to walk the ball into the net when a shot on goal would have been the best option. The only one that ever seems to have a go is Maynard, whose efforts are more like back passes.

First game of the season Harris scored from outside the box and Matt Hill against Gateshead but I know what you mean. We have conceded a large number of long range shots this season.

Quote:

Armaghwhite

Quote:

MalkinsNobblyKnees
Full marks to the team on the performance yesterday. It's a difficult situation going into the match when you've had 48 hours rest and the other team has had 8 days. Once again lack of finishing could have cost us points.
I feel that what we are most missing right now is someone that can shoot from distance. We must have lost about 10 points this season to far to long range strikes but I can't think of any games that we've won/drawn thanks to a goal from distance. It's not just the lack of goals, it's also the fact that teams are hitting us on the break when we are trying to walk the ball into the net when a shot on goal would have been the best option. The only one that ever seems to have a go is Maynard, whose efforts are more like back passes.

First game of the season Harris scored from outside the box and Matt Hill against Gateshead but I know what you mean. We have conceded a large number of long range shots this season.

Hill has continued to have 1 or 2 long range efforts a game when he gets up the other end to support an attack.

Harris looks like he's been told to reign it in a bit and play it off instead of hitting them.

I dont think jennings was poor.

He wasn't MOTM by any means, but put a shift in and much improved compared to recent weeks.

The fatigue thing was always going to come into play so lets just look at the positive.

A fan walked out the kop complaining about what is wrong with the team and how they are a disgrace to the club. We just won a game for FFS!?!?!

How about being happy that we managed to fight to a win and show some grit to get the game over the line?

Quote:

Armaghwhite

Quote:

MalkinsNobblyKnees
Full marks to the team on the performance yesterday. It's a difficult situation going into the match when you've had 48 hours rest and the other team has had 8 days. Once again lack of finishing could have cost us points.
I feel that what we are most missing right now is someone that can shoot from distance. We must have lost about 10 points this season to far to long range strikes but I can't think of any games that we've won/drawn thanks to a goal from distance. It's not just the lack of goals, it's also the fact that teams are hitting us on the break when we are trying to walk the ball into the net when a shot on goal would have been the best option. The only one that ever seems to have a go is Maynard, whose efforts are more like back passes.

First game of the season Harris scored from outside the box and Matt Hill against Gateshead but I know what you mean. We have conceded a large number of long range shots this season.

We try to walk it in too much.

I,ve had a go at jennings in the past but I have to say he has played better in the last two games

Quote:

Eric01 Tranmere

Quote:

coltran
Good result but we looked tired towards the end and lived very dangerously for the last 20 mins.

Yes we looked tired but I think that could reflect the very real effort and commitment from all the team.

Nobody was taking it easy,nobody was hiding. OK, it didn't always look like we were so dominant late on, but Altrincham are no mugs.

Good result.

Altrincham's away record is woeful and with better finishing we would have been comfortably ahead of them, the fact that they had their boxing day game called off was a factor as we tired towards the end whereby they were fresh.

Quote:

bigmart

Quote:

Eric01 Tranmere

Quote:

coltran
Good result but we looked tired towards the end and lived very dangerously for the last 20 mins.

Yes we looked tired but I think that could reflect the very real effort and commitment from all the team.

Nobody was taking it easy,nobody was hiding. OK, it didn't always look like we were so dominant late on, but Altrincham are no mugs.

Good result.

Altrincham's away record is woeful and with better finishing we would have been comfortably ahead of them, the fact that they had their boxing day game called off was a factor as we tired towards the end whereby they were fresh.

They looked fine on the TV when they won away at Bromley.We were all watching it in the club bar at Lincoln before our dismal defeat there in the league game.

Quote:

Matt34
Mangan can score, because he was top scorer until his layoff with 6.
The 6 points from 6 is a welcome return and does Brabin no harm either.

I'm still a little concerned about the conversion of goals, because there's enough chances to get more from some of the games. I think today a second wouldn't have been spawny, when a decent chance creation level was achieved, but the three points were the important thing and McNulty as now scored in one match and contributed to another clean sheet, just like he did against Borehamwood, so that won't do him any harm either and I think if that deal is on the table next month for him, he's worth the punt now.

3 wins in a row would be great, but it's just a shame that Macclesfield have enough of a goal difference the Tranmere would need to win by 3, but you never know with these things, as they have scored more than that in games at times this season.

Currently top 4 for goals conceded which is nice and that's atoned for the Woking fiasco now, as that rekindled defensive solidity that was prevalent before that game, could come in very useful if the goal scoring goes up a touch.

I'm beginning to feel like there is a growing possibility the playoffs are becoming more realistic, but that 3rd win a row would help, because many teams that do that at least once in a season, can be playoff contenders.

You can get 3/1 on them finishing in the top 5 not a bad bet that!

Quote:

lennyb1983
I dont think jennings was poor.
He wasn't MOTM by any means, but put a shift in and much improved compared to recent weeks.

The fatigue thing was always going to come into play so lets just look at the positive.

A fan walked out the kop complaining about what is wrong with the team and how they are a disgrace to the club. We just won a game for FFS!?!?!

How about being happy that we managed to fight to a win and show some grit to get the game over the line?

They all put a shift in and the atmosphere was much improved as a consequence so we should be pleased with that.

It was also a great result and a clean sheet so there are two more positives to point to.

If we can do it all again on Saturday and string three wins together, the confidence will grow and the feel good factor will start coming back.

I still have concerns about certain players and formations but if we keep winning then I will just have to lump it! But I totally get where people are coming from with their complaints and I also heard similar views in the family enclosure on the way out.