It's been an awful few seasons for my beloved Tranmere Rovers
football club we have gone from Top of League 1 at Christmas in the 2012/13
season to 21st in 2013/14 and ultimately relegation to League 2 along with
Shrewsbury, Carlisle & Stevenage.
The season has been a disaster for the football club in more ways than one here are my thoughts on the season and the real reason that the clubs board chairman manager(s) and players has failed the fans this season.
From 1st January 2013 the club has been in absolute free fall loosing 36 times drawing 17 and winning just 17 times giving the club one of the worst records in the football league for the same period! So what went wrong and why? There are many factors contributing to this record both as a result directly and indirectly.
The free fall period started with Jake Cassidy returning to his parent club Wolves who had just been relegated from league one and who were struggling themselves with trying to stay in the Championship, Cassidy had proven a bit of coup for Tranmere having bagged 11 goals in 26 in his second loan spell for the Wirral club thus putting him back in contention with the wanderers management team who were looking for a hero in their own battle. Once Cassidy left Tranmere never really replaced him and started to struggle but when a club with such a low wage structure & transfer policy like Tranmere has then they are always going to rely on loan players some think that in the modern game is so common amongst clubs but in my opinion it isn't always the best thing, what I hear you say, utter rubbish well let's put it like this say you bring a lad in from the league above give him 46 games but his parent club have already stated that he's a potential first teamer next season, his club are mid table do you really think he is going to bust a gut in a relegation dog fight? Didn't think so. Don't get me wrong the loan market is a good thing for emergencies and short term deals but in my opinion you shouldn't build a first team around 5 or 6 season loans.
Cassidy wasn't the only player who's loan deals undid Tranmere in that period, Tranmere have always has a reliable centre half Ian "goody" Goodison who would be an absolute rock at the back but the problem was he was touching 40 so needed long term cover and alongside Ash Taylor a young local lad but who needed mentoring a little the club brought in Ben Gibson from Middlesbrough who was the chairman’s nephew, Gibbo came in on an initial one month loan but that was extended to January after he became a vital player for Tranmere but disaster struck when he got injured and again Tranmere struggled to replace his presence at the back.
The problem at a club like Tranmere is they gain little in income especially having two Neighbouring footballing clubs like Liverpool & Everton so the majority of fans supports one of the big two teams or a premiership team like UTD, Arsenal, City etc. so attendances at Tranmere have gotten progressively lower over the last few years, so as a result the chairman Peter Johnson has refused to use his own money anymore to bail the club out coupled with the alleged sums the club already owes him it's a fair point. That brings me swiftly on to Peter Johnson.
Peter Johnson is a local businessman who has been associated with Tranmere for many years since bailing out the club after the Bruce Osterman years where the American "Clown" had run up some debts at the club, Johnson stepped in and set about turning Tranmere around at the same time things on the pitch where looking up and it wasn't long under the management that Tranmere started to rise up into the "old" third and second leagues, it's fair to say Johnson funded the rise but here is my biggest bug bear in the time since he took over the club has sound millions and millions of pound of players plus TV and other such income yet Johnson still maintains that the club owes him, not being funny but piss off Johnson you have taken all this income and never really invested any back! We are a club whose record transfer fee stands at £450k for Shaun Teale back in 95 you can start to see what I mean. Firstly and I know this will irk most / all Tranmere fans I think Johnson has been good for Tranmere! The club has never been run beyond its means we have only ever spent what we could afford so for that I say IMO Johnson has been good, ok as far as ambitions go that doesn't leave you with any living by your means but at least we have never gone into administration or worse and for that PJ I salute you. Although I do think that the way he has handled this year’s takeover saga has been nothing short of diabolical, having stated he was looking for a buyer to take of the club PJ dropped a major clanger when he came out in the press and said in front of local and national footballing journalist "the club is weeks away from being sold" then two weeks later he turns round saying that he didn't think the deal / bidder was right for the clubs future, ok fair enough I don't want another Osterman but surely PJ must of spoken to this person many times as a bloody successful businessman and known that the bidder wasn't right for the club and coupled with all the bad off the field publicity the club was receiving (I will elaborate later for those who don't know) to be publicly humiliated in the football world was the last thing Tranmere and it's long suffering fans needed. It's not the first time PJ has dropped Tranmere in it regarding the clubs sale back in 2009 PJ appointed US firm Dornoch Capital to broker a sale for his shares in the club to a responsible US investor only for Dornoch to put the club on eBay with a starting price of £6million this caused outrage and the listing was soon removed. He has now brought in a new chief executive who has made some noises about turning things around but without solid investment I doubt this will happen but time will tell.
So above I mentioned off the field problems this is basically 3 major events this season that have ruined Tranmere's reputation in football although it has to be said only one is the clubs fault and that is the lesser of the 3 offences, it started years ago and has blighted the English and world game for years MATCH FIXING or SPOT FIXING, two of Tranmere's players this season have been arrested along with other players in connection with the latter offence AKPO SODJE and IAN GOODISON when Sodje's brother Sam was caught on tape by a national newspaper saying he could arrange for players to pick up yellow or red cards in exchange for money although innocent until proven guilty with Tranmere's recent decision to release Sodje it does make you wonder and although Ian Goodison hasn't been released yet I hope the offences aren't true because in his testimonial year at Tranmere the Jamaican legend would have ruined and destroyed his loyalty to the club and the fans instantly of he's guilty. Talking of corruption that leads me to the next incident this season saw Tranmere's manager Ronnie Moore be charged for betting on matches something that is against the FA's betting rule which I think state it's against the laws of the game to bet on any division that your actively involved in e.g. if you play in league 1 you can't bet of games in that division and the same hoes for the cups as well. Ronnie's admitted to the charge but has stated he's never bet against his team to lose to be honest I believe this but just being charged with such offence Ronnie has soured his relationship with the SWA and has since been sacked as manager.
The final incident and as I mentioned the least damaging out the three came in a local derby this season at homage to Oldham when at half time the bar in the away end was closed as the away fans discovered that out of date booze was being sold to the Oldham fans this caused some embarrassment in the media with the club making a statement that although catering is provided by a third party the club will speak with willow catering to ensure that this never happens again, these 3 incidents coupled with the sale of the club has thrust Tranmere into the media's spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
So now the club is a joke off the field with no manger, a chairman who isn't willing to invest in players and a current team of players who apart from a few who I won't mention as everybody has the own opinions (mine can be found on twitter @andm76) just aren't simply good enough or committed enough to keep Tranmere in the division so ultimately we were relegated to L2
You may think that it's the off the field troubles that I blame for relegation and to some extent I do but let's have it right the manager before he was sacked bought some absolutely shocking players to the club, ok we have a poor wage budget I understand so we can't attract some of the better players but seriously most Tranmere fans can spot a good play or two but a some of the impostors at Tranmere lately have made Ali Dia a player Graeme Souness once signed for Southampton thinking he was George Weah's cousin and who turned out to be awful look like Messi. The real blame though has to lie with the everyone the board should of sacked Ronnie based on results back in 2013, the players bar a few haven't showed any fight or character all season on a consistent basis in fact we have only won back to back games once all season which is in itself a frightening stat and on that basis a team should deserve to go down.
The season has had a few pluses though Ryan Lowe scored 20 goals not bad for a 35 year old, Jason Koumas fell back in love with the game and showed signs at 34 that he still has the skills to pay the bills, Steve Jennings came back to the club and looks like he's matured into a great player, Max Power in my opinion is the future of Tranmere, he's reliable talented and passionate about the club and I have said this before but he is a future captain in my opinion, Ash Taylor is player I have criticised many times but have to say this season Ash Taylor has been a plus point reliable solid and if he stays might be a star of L2 next season, Matthew Pennington of Everton came in towards the end and looked like he's going to be a good player for someone one day and Tranmere record of loanee's who have gone on to be good players is excellent Gibson (boro), Sordell (Watford at the time) Palmer (sheff wed) and going back a little further Joe Hart so Penno would be in good company.
The players I haven't mentioned including Ridehalgh, Mooney, Kirby, Rowe and of course Stockton who in my opinion should of played 70% more games than he did will all be big players next season for Tranmere providing they are retained that is, so although we have been relegated and it's the worse feeling at the moment I sit hear writing this the Sunday after as most Tranmere fans would agree Tranmere is not a normal football club it's way of life, a passion so my season ticket is renewed for next season and well after 46 poor performances in the whole the inevitable happened but we will regroup and go again next season! Maybe we will never return to our better days but my word I will always SUPPORT #SWA #TRFC
Tranmere accepted a bid from League two rivals Bury in the summer and sold Ryan Lowe for a fee the club have said was too good to turn down which in my opinion shows a lack of ambition although the player had made his feelings of wanting more money known in the local media prior to the bid that had suspicions of a ploy to be sold by Lowe again though this is only my views. Tranmere offered new contracts to Ash Taylor, Steve Jennings, Jason Mooney, Jason Koumas, and James Wallace but at the time of writing only koumas has penned a contract. Although they have tied up Jake Kirby to a longer deal emphasising the clubs vision of building a squad of younger players for the future which only bods well for the future of the club providing they appoint the right manger to oversee this new era.
Ubi Fides Ibi Lux Et Robur (where there is faith there is light and strength).
The season has been a disaster for the football club in more ways than one here are my thoughts on the season and the real reason that the clubs board chairman manager(s) and players has failed the fans this season.
From 1st January 2013 the club has been in absolute free fall loosing 36 times drawing 17 and winning just 17 times giving the club one of the worst records in the football league for the same period! So what went wrong and why? There are many factors contributing to this record both as a result directly and indirectly.
The free fall period started with Jake Cassidy returning to his parent club Wolves who had just been relegated from league one and who were struggling themselves with trying to stay in the Championship, Cassidy had proven a bit of coup for Tranmere having bagged 11 goals in 26 in his second loan spell for the Wirral club thus putting him back in contention with the wanderers management team who were looking for a hero in their own battle. Once Cassidy left Tranmere never really replaced him and started to struggle but when a club with such a low wage structure & transfer policy like Tranmere has then they are always going to rely on loan players some think that in the modern game is so common amongst clubs but in my opinion it isn't always the best thing, what I hear you say, utter rubbish well let's put it like this say you bring a lad in from the league above give him 46 games but his parent club have already stated that he's a potential first teamer next season, his club are mid table do you really think he is going to bust a gut in a relegation dog fight? Didn't think so. Don't get me wrong the loan market is a good thing for emergencies and short term deals but in my opinion you shouldn't build a first team around 5 or 6 season loans.
Cassidy wasn't the only player who's loan deals undid Tranmere in that period, Tranmere have always has a reliable centre half Ian "goody" Goodison who would be an absolute rock at the back but the problem was he was touching 40 so needed long term cover and alongside Ash Taylor a young local lad but who needed mentoring a little the club brought in Ben Gibson from Middlesbrough who was the chairman’s nephew, Gibbo came in on an initial one month loan but that was extended to January after he became a vital player for Tranmere but disaster struck when he got injured and again Tranmere struggled to replace his presence at the back.
The problem at a club like Tranmere is they gain little in income especially having two Neighbouring footballing clubs like Liverpool & Everton so the majority of fans supports one of the big two teams or a premiership team like UTD, Arsenal, City etc. so attendances at Tranmere have gotten progressively lower over the last few years, so as a result the chairman Peter Johnson has refused to use his own money anymore to bail the club out coupled with the alleged sums the club already owes him it's a fair point. That brings me swiftly on to Peter Johnson.
Peter Johnson is a local businessman who has been associated with Tranmere for many years since bailing out the club after the Bruce Osterman years where the American "Clown" had run up some debts at the club, Johnson stepped in and set about turning Tranmere around at the same time things on the pitch where looking up and it wasn't long under the management that Tranmere started to rise up into the "old" third and second leagues, it's fair to say Johnson funded the rise but here is my biggest bug bear in the time since he took over the club has sound millions and millions of pound of players plus TV and other such income yet Johnson still maintains that the club owes him, not being funny but piss off Johnson you have taken all this income and never really invested any back! We are a club whose record transfer fee stands at £450k for Shaun Teale back in 95 you can start to see what I mean. Firstly and I know this will irk most / all Tranmere fans I think Johnson has been good for Tranmere! The club has never been run beyond its means we have only ever spent what we could afford so for that I say IMO Johnson has been good, ok as far as ambitions go that doesn't leave you with any living by your means but at least we have never gone into administration or worse and for that PJ I salute you. Although I do think that the way he has handled this year’s takeover saga has been nothing short of diabolical, having stated he was looking for a buyer to take of the club PJ dropped a major clanger when he came out in the press and said in front of local and national footballing journalist "the club is weeks away from being sold" then two weeks later he turns round saying that he didn't think the deal / bidder was right for the clubs future, ok fair enough I don't want another Osterman but surely PJ must of spoken to this person many times as a bloody successful businessman and known that the bidder wasn't right for the club and coupled with all the bad off the field publicity the club was receiving (I will elaborate later for those who don't know) to be publicly humiliated in the football world was the last thing Tranmere and it's long suffering fans needed. It's not the first time PJ has dropped Tranmere in it regarding the clubs sale back in 2009 PJ appointed US firm Dornoch Capital to broker a sale for his shares in the club to a responsible US investor only for Dornoch to put the club on eBay with a starting price of £6million this caused outrage and the listing was soon removed. He has now brought in a new chief executive who has made some noises about turning things around but without solid investment I doubt this will happen but time will tell.
So above I mentioned off the field problems this is basically 3 major events this season that have ruined Tranmere's reputation in football although it has to be said only one is the clubs fault and that is the lesser of the 3 offences, it started years ago and has blighted the English and world game for years MATCH FIXING or SPOT FIXING, two of Tranmere's players this season have been arrested along with other players in connection with the latter offence AKPO SODJE and IAN GOODISON when Sodje's brother Sam was caught on tape by a national newspaper saying he could arrange for players to pick up yellow or red cards in exchange for money although innocent until proven guilty with Tranmere's recent decision to release Sodje it does make you wonder and although Ian Goodison hasn't been released yet I hope the offences aren't true because in his testimonial year at Tranmere the Jamaican legend would have ruined and destroyed his loyalty to the club and the fans instantly of he's guilty. Talking of corruption that leads me to the next incident this season saw Tranmere's manager Ronnie Moore be charged for betting on matches something that is against the FA's betting rule which I think state it's against the laws of the game to bet on any division that your actively involved in e.g. if you play in league 1 you can't bet of games in that division and the same hoes for the cups as well. Ronnie's admitted to the charge but has stated he's never bet against his team to lose to be honest I believe this but just being charged with such offence Ronnie has soured his relationship with the SWA and has since been sacked as manager.
The final incident and as I mentioned the least damaging out the three came in a local derby this season at homage to Oldham when at half time the bar in the away end was closed as the away fans discovered that out of date booze was being sold to the Oldham fans this caused some embarrassment in the media with the club making a statement that although catering is provided by a third party the club will speak with willow catering to ensure that this never happens again, these 3 incidents coupled with the sale of the club has thrust Tranmere into the media's spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
So now the club is a joke off the field with no manger, a chairman who isn't willing to invest in players and a current team of players who apart from a few who I won't mention as everybody has the own opinions (mine can be found on twitter @andm76) just aren't simply good enough or committed enough to keep Tranmere in the division so ultimately we were relegated to L2
You may think that it's the off the field troubles that I blame for relegation and to some extent I do but let's have it right the manager before he was sacked bought some absolutely shocking players to the club, ok we have a poor wage budget I understand so we can't attract some of the better players but seriously most Tranmere fans can spot a good play or two but a some of the impostors at Tranmere lately have made Ali Dia a player Graeme Souness once signed for Southampton thinking he was George Weah's cousin and who turned out to be awful look like Messi. The real blame though has to lie with the everyone the board should of sacked Ronnie based on results back in 2013, the players bar a few haven't showed any fight or character all season on a consistent basis in fact we have only won back to back games once all season which is in itself a frightening stat and on that basis a team should deserve to go down.
The season has had a few pluses though Ryan Lowe scored 20 goals not bad for a 35 year old, Jason Koumas fell back in love with the game and showed signs at 34 that he still has the skills to pay the bills, Steve Jennings came back to the club and looks like he's matured into a great player, Max Power in my opinion is the future of Tranmere, he's reliable talented and passionate about the club and I have said this before but he is a future captain in my opinion, Ash Taylor is player I have criticised many times but have to say this season Ash Taylor has been a plus point reliable solid and if he stays might be a star of L2 next season, Matthew Pennington of Everton came in towards the end and looked like he's going to be a good player for someone one day and Tranmere record of loanee's who have gone on to be good players is excellent Gibson (boro), Sordell (Watford at the time) Palmer (sheff wed) and going back a little further Joe Hart so Penno would be in good company.
The players I haven't mentioned including Ridehalgh, Mooney, Kirby, Rowe and of course Stockton who in my opinion should of played 70% more games than he did will all be big players next season for Tranmere providing they are retained that is, so although we have been relegated and it's the worse feeling at the moment I sit hear writing this the Sunday after as most Tranmere fans would agree Tranmere is not a normal football club it's way of life, a passion so my season ticket is renewed for next season and well after 46 poor performances in the whole the inevitable happened but we will regroup and go again next season! Maybe we will never return to our better days but my word I will always SUPPORT #SWA #TRFC
Tranmere accepted a bid from League two rivals Bury in the summer and sold Ryan Lowe for a fee the club have said was too good to turn down which in my opinion shows a lack of ambition although the player had made his feelings of wanting more money known in the local media prior to the bid that had suspicions of a ploy to be sold by Lowe again though this is only my views. Tranmere offered new contracts to Ash Taylor, Steve Jennings, Jason Mooney, Jason Koumas, and James Wallace but at the time of writing only koumas has penned a contract. Although they have tied up Jake Kirby to a longer deal emphasising the clubs vision of building a squad of younger players for the future which only bods well for the future of the club providing they appoint the right manger to oversee this new era.
Ubi Fides Ibi Lux Et Robur (where there is faith there is light and strength).