Renovating the Cottage - A New Journey for Success

Sort of sounds like a Harry Hill thing "Best Story Of The Week"
 
February Update:

FA Cup 4th​ Round

Watford 0-5 Tranmere
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A fantastic performance. The amount of goals we scored is really pleasing and all without our Attacking Duo of McCarthy and Gonzalez. The new boy Pelletier got himself a hattrick which is quite a rarity for Centre Backs , he’s had a good start to his Tranmere career. Ihar Shytau made his way back into the first team , he’s been out with a injury for awhile and i’m glad to get some experience to help with the youth in the backline. Thomas Reilly proved that he is just as good as McCarthy for banging in the goals as he scores yet another goal to his tally which brings him up to 11. Another a disappointing show in the League Cup i’m glad to proceed into the next round of this prestigious trophy.

Barclays Premier League:

Sheffield United 1-1 Tranmere
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Definitely a relegation battle as 18th​ plays 19th​ in this fixture. We started off fairly well , immediately getting a foothold in the game. We created a few chances in the first half but nothing solid. The Blades on the other hand , had plenty of chances in the first half but our rock solid defence and some good goalkeeping kept the score level going into Half-time. Thomas Reilly again added to his goal tally with a lovely finish after some good play by The Rovers midfield. The team are starting to gel well together and a good run of form could be on it’s way. We’re due a bit of luck this season.

Tranmere 2-1 Birmingham
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A really good show against another relegation rival. We were ontop of them for the duration of the game , really pilling the pressure on them in the first half but they held out well until the Mid-way interval. I threw on McCarthy during the break and he showed his skill to outclass the Birmingham defence 3 minutes into the second half and then again 9 minutes later. Things quieted down after that and we just tried to keep possession and let Birmingham do the pressurising. Delighted with the 3 points , getting closer to that vital 17th​ position.

Arsenal 0-1 Tranmere
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What a magnificent performance against the Gunners! We didn’t look like a team fighting relegation and we really brought the fight to the Emirates Stadium. It was an entertaining first half with end to end football , Arsenal having the better chances but nothing of great importance. As soon as the second half had come underway it was a different story. We got on top then and got a good chunk of the possession and created many chances and were unlucky not to have the back of the net. We eventually got the vital goal 20minutes into the second half and there was no surprise as to who had scored it. The Young Welshmen continues his great return to the first team and wins the team an invaluable win.

FA Cup 5th​ Round

Everton 3-1 Tranmere
I wasn’t willing to risk my first team members again, afraid of them picking up injuries so i played a second string team again. Despite the weak team , we managed to dominate the entire game. We held the possession for most of the time but we couldn’t do much with it as you can see in the stats. With 59% of the possession we only managed to make 6 attempts which is pretty poor. Everton were hard to get by. On the other hand , we made a lot of mistakes. The inexperience began to show as Everton start their counter attacks. Ryan Shawcross landed in our Penalty area twice to nod in too crosses after a brilliant counter attacks in the first half. Then 6 minutes from time Everton put the game to bed with another great counter attack finished off by Yannis Tafer.

Barclays Premier League:

Tranmere 1-2 Fulham
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I’ve been looking forward to this fixture since the new year, but unfortunately it didn’t go to plan. We didn’t exactly play bad but we definitely didn’t deserve anything out of the match. We had just as much possession as Fulham , but Fulham showed their experience at this stage , by creating more chances by continuing to frustrate us and then pounce , something we were doing all of last season but forgot to apply it this season. Have they been stealing my ideas?

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A fairly good month , we got a few wins under our belt. A fantastic win at the Emirates was unbelievable and sent the Morale sky high. Hopefully we can keep this up. I’m not too disappointed with the FA Cup exit , i didn’t really expect us to do that much in it but i am slightly annoyed at the loss to Fulham , i wanted to get a win over them to get some revenge, nonetheless a fairly successful month as we are edging closer to safety which is 3 points from our grasp.

Players of the month:
Ihar Shytau

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The Belarusian veteran showed his experience this month , helping the team to it’s first run of good form this season. He’s nearing the end of his career and is losing a bit of pace but this didn’t stop him in racking up some good performances with an Average rating of 7.25 over the last 5 games!
 
this is brilliant, been following! well done on winning the best story! keep up Tranmere and you on your way to being a legend!;)
 
Congrats on your reward, you really deserved it! And great win against Arsenal!
 
So glad you reverted back to the monthly updates with screen shots.. And well done on winning the story of the week award.
 
March Update:

Barclays Premier League

Everton 0-2 Tranmere

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Quite a fortuitous victory , but a victory nonetheless. We took an early lead through a Shytau Penalty just before the 10th​ minute mark. After that Everton started to kick into gear flooding our half. After a counter attack which gave us a corner , Ryan Shawcross headed into his own net to the horror of his team mates. Quite funny actually, he actually directed the ball into his own net. After that the match went fairly quiet, no real chances. Our defence held up wall whenever Everton did look dangerous and the 3 points will give us a big boost in confidence as we edge closer to the safety zone.

Tranmere 3-2 Manchester United
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Terrific win! Despite being two-one down after 25 minutes , we managed to turn it around and get a victory and with 10 men aswell. The Turk CB Cavus got a sending off for two malicious tackles. Our cause was also helped by an own goal from United Centre back Danny Burnside. This is a fantastic victory and great performance. We dominated majority of the possession but we didn’t really put it too use other than our own two goals, but that’s understandable considering our opponents were the Red Devils.

Norwich 2-0 Tranmere
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After our win against United , i thought we might of been able to ****** another win here against our relegation rivals Norwich but it wasn’t too be. Two goals late on in the second half got Norwich the 3 points. I’m quite disappointed really because we did dominated possession and created plenty of chances , but couldn’t really challenge the keeper that often. This defeat could mean the difference at the end of the season.

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A very good month , other than the defeat to Norwich. 6 points from a possible 9 isn’t bad at this stage in the season and if we can keep up this form , it won’t be long before we are safe from relegation.

Player of the Month:
Thomas Reilly

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This lad had a fairly good month and deserves our player of the month award. With a few goals to his name and a few assists he’s helped us on our way to the victories at Goodison Park and at home to United. Hopefully he can keep up this form!
 
Thanks for all the comments guys! Really appreciate it and it gives me motivation! I could have the season finished today , depends on how depressed i get from revising :p
 
Fantastic victory over United, keep it up and get outta the relegation zone!
 
Bad result against Norwich it could be all the difference
 
April Update:

Barclays Premier League:


Tranmere 2-0 Leicester
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A fantastic performance against over-achievers Leicester in this tight fixture. We fairly dominated the majority of the match causing alot of problems for the Leicester defence. We took the lead with ease , Thomas Reilly showing his class by beating two defenders and then sending a strike from 20yards into the top right hand corner, Kasper Schmeichel had no chance. 12 minutes into the second half Kenny McClean gave us another goal too give us a little comfort with a lovely free kick just outside the area sending Schmeichel the wrong way all together. We were very unluck not to have added even more to our total, the woodwork saving Schmeichel just before the full time whistle. Really good 3 points.

Tranmere 1-5 Blackburn
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Not exactly how i planned my encounter against my former international star Junior Hoilett. I don’t understand how we lost 5-1. We didn’t play bad our anything like that , i think we were just unlucky if anything. Hoilett’s hattrick was a complete fluke , 2 crosses that he sliced into the bottom corners and the 3rd​ goal was just from lack of concentration on the keepers behalf. We did manage to create plenty chances for ourselves but Blackburn Goalkeeper Lapa had a phenomenal game keeping his team in the lead. Frustrating defeat.

Tranmere 4-0 Huddersfield
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A thumping victory over poor Huddersfield who will find themselves playing in the Championship yet again next year. They are currently equalling Derby County’s worst point total in the Premier League with 11 points. We got off the a fantastic start , 3 goals within 35minutes and 2 of them from our Star Player Fraser McCarthy. Defensive Midfielder Chavez got himself on the scoresheet as well after having a crack from 20 yards when nothing else was on. McCarthy completed his hattrick 8 minutes into the second half , to pick up his 4th​ hattrick of the season (I think) and is currently 8th​ in the Top goalscorers list. Our defence held up extremely well keeping out any Huddersfield attack that looked in anyway dangerous. Another valuable 3 points which lifts us out of the relegation zone , but only on Goal difference! Hopefully we can stay out of there now!

Leeds 2-0 Tranmere
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Unfortunately we couldn’t take anything from this match and find ourselves back in 18th​ position , a point behind Sheffield United and 2 points behind Norwich City. We had a woeful game against Leeds, we didn’t look comfortable at all and nothing like the team who has beaten United , Arsenal and Man City this season. We created very few chances and when we did create them we didn’t have the decisiveness or the composure to make them count. A victory here could of more or less guaranteed our safety but unfortunately we have to do it the hard way and win the next few matches to secure our place in the Premier League for another year.

(I forgot to screenshot the Table and i'm now into the next month so i'm not going to spoil it, but we were in 17th position)
A decent month, 2 fantastic victories against Leicester and Huddersfield but i’m really disappointed at the hammering we got from Blackburn at home and our dismal performance against Leeds that lacked about everything. Hopefully it doesn’t hamper our chances to much.

Player of the Month:
Fraser McCarthy

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Fraser has had a brilliant month this season scoring a total of 4 goals this month. He also looked extremely dangerous with the ball at his feet pulling off some wonderful passes in order to give us a chance in some of the difficult matches. Really happy with his recent performances.
 
May Update:

Barclays Premier League:

Aston Villa 1-1 Tranmere
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What a lucky point! We were totally and utterly dominated and ripped apart by Aston Villa and we somehow even managed to take the lead with the only attempt we had on target. Aston Villa are having and extremely good season , comfortably in the top half and have a good squad. I can’t fault our defensive play , exceptional. Goalkeeper Hubert had a sublime game pulling off some fantastic saves to keep us in the game.

Tranmere 1-0 Tottenham
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Another fortunate result against League leaders Tottenham who have taken over English football this year already winning a trophy. We played fairly well can’t really fault our play against a superior team. Our goal was rather fortuitous though , a long range effort that bounce before the keeper and bounced over him but I’m not complaining. This victory lifts us out of the danger zone for the time being.

Chelsea 3-1 Tranmere
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Our luck was bound to run out at some stage and Chelsea took advantage of it. Our defence was very leaky today letting through too many attacks and you can’t afford to do that when your up against the likes of Ramires and Vaclav Kadlec who both got on the score sheet. Attacking wise we created plenty of chances but couldn’t really capitalize on them. Fraser McCarthy got himself a nice goal 11 minutes from time but it only proved to be a conciliation prize.

Tranmere 2-1 Liverpool
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Luck returned to our side against our Fierce rivals Liverpool. We conceded very early on and from that point had a tough battle ahead of us. Thomas Reilly equalised for us just before half time to sink the Scouser hearts and send his own team mates over the moon. A good confident half time team talk spurred the lads on , knowing a victory would guarantee us safety. Stefan Bell took a chance taking down Fraser McCarthy inside the area and getting himself a red card for his mistake and Pedro Gonzalez wasn’t about to blow his opportunity to win our first 3 points over Liverpool. A quality performance ensures out place in the Premier League for the next season at least. Brilliant!

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Brilliant month! Big victories against the big boys Liverpool and Tottenham and a good point at Villa Park secured our place in the Premier league for another season. We ended up surviving the drop by 5 points and our tough work all year proved to pay off. A good second half of the season seen us claw up the table after a poor first half when we only got 1 win.

Player of the Month:
Sercan Cavus

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The young turk had another fantastic month. His performances against the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool made sure that we held the lead with some brilliant defensive actions. I’ll have a big task ahead of me trying to keep this fella at the club , but i’ll tell you this it sure will take a big price to take this superstar off my squad sheet.
 
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