24424

Spoken like a true optimist - Sir I salute you! I would like to think the same about my club, but the years have taken their toll and worn me down to a more pessimistic standpoint!

Just thought I'd pop over to enjoy the quality banter - well done everyone! Two towns with their own social problems, and as regards their football clubs, both facing uncertain futures as support continues to be seduced away by big city neighbours. I'm all for a bit of banter, but when it comes down to it, we're much the same really - supporting our local clubs, however crap they may be, in the hope that there just may be the occasional island of success in the otherwise large ocean of sh1te. Who'll be next out with the collection buckets I wonder - you or us? We must all be feckin' mad!

Sadly, it's the same everywhere. Many of the younger generation of Birkenhead / Wirral are aspirational scousers, as they seem to think that label will provide them with extra kudos or urban "street cred". Of course this attitude extends to football too, and those brought up as part of the "Sky Generation" will more than likely gravitate towards Liverpool or Everton, rather than supporting their local team. Apologies if this has already been said, as I've not trawled through the majority of this thread, but I reckon clubs like Oldham & Tranmere have to position themselves very much as part of their local community, where fans can actually feel appreciated and actually feel part of the club, rather than merely being an anonymous customer, like at the big clubs. Let's face it, we can't compete in terms of the quality of football, but surely we can provide a more authentic matchday experience? Unfortunately in your case (and I'm not gloating by the way as we have more than enough issues of our own at the moment), the problem I foresee for Oldham is retaining that local community feel if you do move to Failsworth, as the issue is not so much that it's a great distance away from your roots, but rather the direction - i.e. much nearer the city centre, and that could ultimately erode your fanbase further, the less committed of whom may be drawn to the delights of the big city. Regrettably, like you, I do fear that despite our best efforts, the situation will only get worse.

Not really fan pressure in my opinion. The two guys who run "The Cowsheds" forum, by far the busiest Tranmere message board, were invited in for a meeting with Peter Johnson last Thursday, at which point they showed him some of the current threads reflecting the depth of feeling and concern of us fans. Apparently, the chairman was taken aback by the level of disquiet and concern, but in reality, come on, he's a shrewd businessman {despite some recent decisions}, so is it really plausible that he was unaware of the level of disenchantment? As has been suggested on our forum, more likely that the chairman had already taken the decision, but wanted to be seen to be listening to the fans before finally wielding the axe. Cynical view? Perhaps, but then recent events at Prenton Park have seldom been as they seem. Fair play to the chairman though - one of the criticisms at Tranmere Rovers has always been the lack of communication between the club and its supporters, so if nothing else (and even if it was just paying lip service on this occasion), I view it as a positive step in the right direction.

To be honest, I'm just relieved the pair of them have gone. I wish we could turn the clock back to before Moore was sacked, but we can't, things move on, and the current situation is what it is. Les Parry and Shaun Garnett are both well respected at the club, and I suspect the vast majority of Tranmere fans will give them their full backing, but it is really only a short term solution. As for the longer term, after Peter Johnson's recent decisions, and the meagre budget, the manager's job at Tranmere is something of a poison chalice, so recruiting the right man to take us forward is going to be extremely difficult, and as fans, we are realistic in our expectations. Whatever the future holds though, what is nice is that there already seems to be a sense of re-connection between the club and its supporters, which was present towards the end of last season, but had largely evaporated during the subsequent shenanigans! As old purple nose once said: Football eh? Bloody Hell!

There were some Tranmere fans who didn't want Ronnie back, but I think the majority of us would have been delighted if Peter Johnson had accepted he made a major blunder, got rid of Barnes & McAteer, and re-instated Moore as manager. After our near-miss on making the play-offs last year, I guess nobody would have predicted the events of the summer and our current predicament, but that's football! Most lower division football clubs exist in volatile conditions now though, so who knows what other dramas are yet to unfold at Prenton Park or Boundary Park. Just on your gaff, is it cut and dry you are moving to Failsworth, or is there still a chance you will remain where you are, or at least move somewhere acceptably close to the town? Shame if you do have to move there, as although still technically in your metropolitan borough, it seems very close to the City itself, and could compromise your identity over time. For our part, there are rumblings of a move away from Prenton Park, but at least the River Mersey provides a clear and unambiguous "boundary" between Wirral & Liverpool. Back to Ronnie Moore - good luck to him I say - hope it works out for him at Rotherham (oh, and just to amuse you, someone on our message board wildly speculated that our chairman could enlist the help of Joe Royle to help get us out of our mess).

Your concern for our well-being is touching - thanks for you kind thoughts at this difficult time lancy. kindest regards, 24424

You were mildly amusing, but to be honest, we have more pressing things to worry about than a bit of ribbing from our dear old friends.

Morning guys. Well as a Tranmere fan, not much I can tell you about being at Scunthorpe yesterday, other than yes, you are right, it was absolutely devastating. Over the course of the season, Scunthorpe probably deserved it, but from our perspective, having slowly clawed ourselves back into contention and given ourselves hope, it was a horrible way to fall short, especially so late in the game. For those of you that want to, fair play, enjoy the schadenfreude - and let's be honest, if the roles were reversed, I'm sure many Rovers' fans would feel the same. I don't think any Tranmere fan was prematurely celebrating yesterday by the way - like yourselves, we are largely a pessimistic bunch and have seen disappointment far too often to count our chickens. Certainly we were getting behind our team, but wouldn't you be doing the same? Yesterday was a bad day {for us} but roll on next season now, and let's be honest, you would have missed us a bit if we had gone up See you in 2009 - 10!

John, I'm a Rovers fan

Funny how perceptions change...........win your game in hand and you are only a point behind us, & we're feeling a little optimistic at the moment. Not trying to patronise but come on, your season's hardly over is it?

To be fair, you have got a decent away support, but your home support is fairly poor.

Lee Hughes threw it..........so it missed the target

Well done soldier - truly the people's poet

An eminently well written & readable post, but why let yourself down with lazy stereotypes? I'm sure there are plenty of available connotations I could make about your, or any other town, but why bother - surely life's too short. Like any football fan, I recognise the disappointment and anticlimax you feel tonight - we've all been there and I am sure us Tranmere fans will be there again soon enough, but today was our day and those who went & those who didn't enjoyed it. There's nowt wrong with banter, but the phrase you use just comes across as disingenuous.

No, you're not, seriously. He can be frustrating at times but hey, brought in on a free transfer after shipping Calvin Zola off to Crewe for a sizeable fee - gotta be good business that

Yawn......................ooh, my dad's bigger than your dad Birkenhead may or may not be economically poorer than Oldham but let's face it, we are both towns in the shadow of a big city neighbour, and at times, especially as our respective football clubs suffer as most people make the short journey to more glamorous preimiership grounds, it can be frustrating. Come on though, people in glass houses and all that

Ronnie Moore's long ball game you see - wears down the opposition

Come on, try some original thinking rather than following the crowd. Are all your opinions formed by received information?

....or sounded like Oasis

Flippin 'eck Rosa, won't be a good night in your house then

You clearly have "anger issues"

Whoosh.......................and neither are we

Waking up a Manc must be no fun either