24424

Now then Latics, I just came over to ask if you wouldn't mind beating Notts County next Saturday, as we appear to be in a bit of a pickle, and could do with your help. Come on, you know you enjoy your visits to Prenton Park really, as even though you may say otherwise, you quite like us really, and I am sure you wouldn't want to spoil my summer!

Seriously lads, I know we are rivals and all that, but I wouldn't wish Vaughan on anybody. Don't let this man anywhere near your club!

Afternoon gents. Based on a few assumptions which hadn't been resolved at the time, I asked this question back in February. http://www.owtb.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=41701&st=0 Now that the dust has almost settled, and my pessimism has proved to be justified, your season looks a hell of a more attractive than ours in hindsight, and yes, I am more than a little jealous. Anyway, have a good summer (do you get one in Oldham - it always seems to be freezing at your place?) & as ever, see you next season!

Perhaps if we did go up, there may be some initial impetus, although I fear for any team from our league to be competitive in the 2nd division these days requires resources that the likes of Tranmere or Oldham can only dream about really. I suspect any success would be short-term at best, as the economics of the situation could simply not sustain a prolonged stint in the higher division. Assuming we don't go up, which is more realistic, it's hard to say. Given that for a number of years now, our chairman has wanted to sell (he's already retired to Switzerland) and insisted the club be run on a break-even basis year on year (notwithstanding the £6million we owe him on paper), we have one of the lowest, if not the lowest, budgets in the division. After 3 years of struggle after Ronnie Moore's previous sacking, his achievements after returning to Prenton Park have been remarkable, and it would be unfair to simply say he got lucky. I appreciate the man is not to most Oldham fans' tastes, for various reasons, but it can't be denied that he has had Rovers punching well above their weight this season. You can see it in his post-match interviews - he almost has to pinch himself to believe some of the results. Realistically though, the law of averages suggests you can't assemble such a competitive squad every year, and I guess we would be pushing our luck to think that next season would again start so well. So, to answer your question, and speaking like many a stoic lower division club supporter, my honest answer is I think better players may ultimately view this season as a shop window for themselves, and I think we may struggle to hit the heights again for a while. Maybe it will be your turn?

.......... to wish you good luck in the replay tomorrow! Wouldn't have minded watching on tv, but we have a prior engagement at home to Notts County. The question is though, win, lose or draw tomorrow, and assuming you don't get bogged down in the relegation scrap, which recent results suggest you won't, would you swap the eventful season you've had for a solid league campaign similar to Tranmere's? By the way, I'm basing our likely outcome on punching above our weight for the majority of the season, only to probably fall away when it matters (pessimism/realism borne out of years of disappointment ) My personal view is that as we will both more than likely be in the third division against next season, I am a bit envious of your cup run, and on balance, would have settled for indifferent league form and a magnificent cup run as an alternative. So..... anyone wanna swap seasons?

Congratulations & well played chaps - fully deserved, and very enjoyable watching on the tv! Just be careful not to take your eye of the ball as regards the league though, as we did in 2000/01, and ended up getting relegated.

Tranmere have tried this type of price promotion on several occasions previously, with varying degrees of success. As regards last Friday, I guess the thinking was to attract a decent crowd in front of the Sky Cameras, and any shortfall in revenue would be more than compensated for by the TV money, plus merchandising etc. One of the major plus points was that it was pay cash at the turnstiles, rather than having to buy tickets in advance to take advantage of the offer, which as put people off in the past due to the inconvenience of that arrangement. Personally, I would have been delighted with an 8K crowd, but over 10500 was remarkable, especially on a poor night weather-wise. That said, no doubt most of the day-trippers will have drifted away before Tuesday's home game v Walsall, but as a season-ticket holder, I support any initiative by the club to raise the profile of TRFC locally, & attract latent but apathetic support back through the turnstiles. Years of decline have led to thousands drifting away, and once fans are lost, it is very hard to entice them back. The problem is the same for the likes of ourselves, Stockport, Rochdale, Bury etc - namely that it is hard to keep a visible profile, even in your own towns, with the glamour of premier league football being so accessible, both geographically & of course with Sky TV in direct competition, especially for youngsters. That's why price-promotions, or other innovative marketing, is so crucial, as we all have to sell a match-day experience that may not be as sophisticated as the big boys, but offers something better in other respects, be it a sense of community, belonging, civic pride or whatever. The thing is though, although we all moan about the way things are these days, we all love it really - the quirkiness, and often perceived eccentricity, of being seen to support your local club through thick and thin, and not having to justify this to superficial glory-hunters who have succumbed to the bright lights of big city neighbours. No, when it comes down to it, we know that any thrill the tele-clappers have is ultimately vicarious, whereas in those all to brief moments when our own clubs make us proud, there is no better feeling in the world. It was a shocking performance by us on Friday though!

Must admit, when Ronnie Moore came back, the prospect of taking 17 points from 24 seemed a remote prospect, but fair play, he has really turned things round for us in the short term. To me, this also indicates that Les Parry was not making the most of the squad, so perhaps Ronnie has got a little lucky, walking into a job with a decent blank canvas to work with. Whether he is the man to take us forward is a different matter, and with the majority of players out of contract this summer, and more savage budget cuts on the way, the future is not particularly rosy. Still, lower division football eh - you just can't beat it can you? Anyway, I think we are both reasonably safe now, so see you next season, and if Ronnie is still in charge, that'll spice up our games again - there's no doubt about that!

Hardly pointless for us though was it - we're still very much in the middle of a real dogfight to avoid the drop! I think many Rovers fans were shocked that our "manager" set us up to protect a point against a team who, let's be honest, were previously in freefall. As it was, we all saw that in the end, we were probably fortunate to escape with a draw, but such lack of ambition and the dreary, overly cautious approach is causing something approaching civil war at our club. Lower division football eh - don't you just love it!

To be fair, I thought it was decent enough crowd under the circumstances , and although a smallish away contingent, I was surprised there were even as many Rovers fans there as that, given the deep dissatisfaction at our club. Pop over to The Cowsheds, and you'll see what I mean!

Given the disenchantment at our club at the moment, I can't see much of an away following either. Home gates at Prenton Park have sunk as low as just over 4000, a level we haven't seen for over 20 years, and although its only down the road to your place, I think many will settle for watching on TV. By the way, and I haven't come over to gloat (& haven't read the other threads on here yet) but I hear that the Failsworth plan is dead - now I know that leaves you with short term problems, with players not being paid and that, but in the bigger picture, I'm guessing most of you are relieved that a proposed move away from your spititual home, and much further in towards the city centre, is not happening? Can you not now redevelop on your current site, or does the financial situation make that a non-starter?

I'll admit that is pretty cringeworthy, but that's local radio for you I guess - subjective to the point of not letting the facts get in the way sometimes. Is your local station as bad? As for the game, you'll get few complaints from Tranmere fans as to the fairness of the result - we all saw the game & what we witnessed rather spoke for itself, sadly for us.

Rapier-like wit - must make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up watching that? Congratulations!

I'll be gutted when if / when he does leave us to be honest. Whatever you think of him personally, he is far from ":censored:e". Just out of interest, what game are you referring to with 3K fans?

Sour? Go on then Sexy, you set 'em up and I'll knock 'em in the back of the net! We could be the new Little & Large!

I hope you are recovering well from your irony bypass Sexy?

Think Les Parry's already pencilled himself in mate - maybe next season eh?

Well done mate - I was falling about laughing in the home paddock at your comedy genius! By the way, this thread is very self-congratulatory - we have some similar stuff on our board making observations about some of your lot too. Either way, I guess it's just banter, and maybe this is a sign of middle-age on my part, but I can't really get a bone on these days about weak humour as a form of "my town's better than your town" or such like. Anyway, good luck in your new comedy career!

1) So I believe - shame we ever let him leave! 2) On the evidence so far, I fear we have another long season ahead, as it is difficult to see where the goals are going to come from, especially if Ronnie's lad leaves, as now seems likely. What stood out for me yesterday was the difference in attitude between the two clubs, and indeed the supporters. You guys seemed to be well up for it, as despite having many similar difficulties as ourselves, and also the ground issue, the new managerial appointment seems to have galvanised your club and given it a fresh impetus. On the other hand, despite the euphoria of us getting out of jail at Stockport on the final day last season, there is little that has happened since at Prenton Park to give any indication that this season will be anything else that one of struggle. I guess the majority of Tranmere fans turned up more in hope than expectation yesterday, and sadly, our worst fears were realised.

I'm still too gutted to offer much of an objective view at the moment, but I think the above is fair comment, and Reuben Hazell had his customary impressive game against us. Taking nothing away from you - you did a job and were clearly the better team on the day - but we do seem to be in some disarray, and I am far from convinced that Enoch Showumni is the answer to our lack of punch up front. As for Ian Thomas Moore, I was disappointed to see him rise to the bait yesterday. It's a bit like us with Sean Thornton - when we give him dogs abuse and he responds, we know we have him rattled. Anyway, I'm off to lick my wounds, but may pop back when I've calmed down!

Now then fellas. Just a thought on the manager front that may enable us to renew proper hostilities? http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_6159229,00.html Have a good summer & see you next season, Kindest regards, 24424

Sadly for us, I think the result could well prove season-defining for both clubs. Of course we're not doomed yet, but it's hard to be positive when our strikeforce is largely anonymous, and the league table now makes depressing reading. Yesterday was a classic example - lots of hustle and bustle from Tranmere, but how often did we get close to troubling your keeper? To be honest (and this isn't sour grapes), but I thought both teams looked poor yesterday, but at this stage of the season, it doesn't matter how you play, it's points on the board that count. I would have been more than happy with a terrible performance and a 1-0 win, and it's no different for yourselves I guess? It was a game we had to win - we didn't, and I haven't felt as gutted as that leaving Prenton Park for a long time!

With comments like that, you won't have a leg to stand on! Seriously, big, big game now with us both being in trouble..... hope Jason Price doesn't come back to haunt us - I could never quite make my mind up about him - on occasions he looked absolute quality, but at other times like his limbs weren't even co-ordinated - a bit like a 3 legged dog I guess? We've become solid and workmanlike {post John Barnes}, without much of a cutting edge - do you think you will have the advantage of fresh legs on Saturday, with so many postponements, or is it more likely that you'll be ring-rusty. Anyway, it's an archetypal six pointer and a difficult one to call.

How is your guide dog?

Quite right - we're a bit choosy about the quality of our "guests!"