Tranmere Rovers 2014-15... Sky Bet League 2 Champions and FA Cup WINNERS

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Match day 4: a poor game for Tranmere. Kent came off injured after 16 mins, then on 70 mins Torrano was injured and I brought on two subs - all three subs used. Towell was injured on 73 mins so we are down to 10 men. Then Da Silva is sent off on 90 . Fortunately there was only a few minutes to play and we survived with 9 men. Not happy with 3 injuries, and a red card!

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Spent 4.6m on Gabriel, he's already valued at 9.75m. It was a **** of a bargain really, I was fortunate to get him for that fee.
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As far as the board is concerned, my goal is to avoid relegation. Personally, I'm hoping for a lower mid table finish, well out of the relegation zone. If we do well in the cups I'll be happy. I want to be challenging for Europe spots in 2 years, maybe three at the outside.
 
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Spent 4.6m on Gabriel, he's already valued at 9.75m. It was a **** of a bargain really, I was fortunate to get him for that fee.
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As far as the board is concerned, my goal is to avoid relegation. Personally, I'm hoping for a lower mid table finish, well out of the relegation zone. If we do well in the cups I'll be happy. I want to be challenging for Europe spots in 2 years, maybe three at the outside.

That is a bargain, i guess you havent got to give gremio any % of profit if you sell him? Cause if he valued at £10m already and he is only 18, come even end of this season its gonna be close to £20m if he carry on scoring, i think you may have a future tranmere icon in your hands
 
That is a bargain, i guess you havent got to give gremio any % of profit if you sell him? Cause if he valued at £10m already and he is only 18, come even end of this season its gonna be close to £20m if he carry on scoring, i think you may have a future tranmere icon in your hands

The biggest problem will be keeping him - I can't imagine the board letting me say no to Barca or Real if/when they come knocking in a couple of years...
 
October update:

We're 9 games into the Premier League season, and Tranmere is playing exceptionally well. We have been exposed a little by the better teams in defence, but are very capable up front meaning we've more than matched all opposition so far

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The top teams are vulnerable in the top 10 mins, our high-tempo attacking setup has broken through regularly very early in the game.

Standout games:
Newcastle 0 Tranmere 4

Galloway scored twice from set pieces in this game and was PotM. We were 3-0 up after 28 minutes.
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Man City 2 Tranmere 4
A very unexpected result, again we were very strong right from the start which neutralised Man City's efforts. Gabriel scored 2 within the first 5 mins, and again we were 3-0 up before 30 minutes were over. Man City pulled 2 back and I thought we might get overpowered in the end, but Towell scored from a set piece on 77 mins to finish them off. City dominated all the stats apart from goals... Gabriel PotM with a 9.3 rating
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Tranmere 3 Chelsea 2
A superb win over our "fierce rivals". Chelsea fielded a stronger lineup than they had for last years FA Cup games, but yet again Tranmere broke through from a set piece within 10 minutes to panic them. Chelsea responded well to pull it back to 1:1 quickly, but a couple of goals from through Teixeira and Macleod meant Tranmere were 3:1 up. Chelsea made it a game with another goal on the 81 minute, but Tranmere held strong. Stats were pretty evenly balanced throughout. Da Silva was PotM, he was very solid in the back to cut through many Chelsea attacks.
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Player stats (season so far, league):
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Defensive performance:
Da Silva is the most consistent player so far with an average rating of 8. Unfortunately discipline is a bit of an issue, he did a horrendous tackle in an early game to earn a 3 game ban and already has two yellows and a red from separate matches. He's getting through 8.4 tackles per game which is the highest in the team, and has also made almost 8 intercepts per game (39 out of 5 games). Billing subbed in for him when he was banned, and did not play as well so Da Silva is established as first choice DM now.

Haroyan and Sweeney have been excellent in centre defence. Both are strong in the air, with Haroyan particularly good winning 4/5 of his aerial challenges. Their tackle completion is fine at around 90%. Intercepting is good for both, at around 11 per game - so strong in air and on ground. Ake has played in both centre defence and fullback. He has played ok but is significantly weaker in the air than Haroyan and Sweeney (winning aerial challenges only 55% of the time).

Fullbacks have been Fabio, Barbosa, Schatzschneider, Ake and Skokic (primarily as reserve). Fabio and Barbosa have very similar stats, although Fabio likes to get up in attack a little more. Barbosa picked up a 5 week injury so hasnt featured in the last few tough games. Schatzschneider is much better in the air than either, but a more defensive fullback who rarely advances. Skokic has been excellent for his games, he is a solid reserve and will continue to improve.

The keeper position has been a battle, with both fon Williams and di Gennaro playing very well. Di Gennaro is conceding slightly fewer goals per game and he's played some tough ones. He's made 29 saves in 7 games compared to fon Williams 17 in 4 - similar, with fon Williams slightly more. I'm leaning toward di Gennaro as first choice at the moment but it is nice to have two solid options. This all means young Glover is sitting in the reserves.

Midfield we have Galloway, Macleod and Towell as the main rotation. Galloway has played every game and is solid all round. Macleod has been spectacularly good, averaging almost 8 and scoring 3 from 5. His passing has been particularly strong. Towell is also playing very well, his stats overall are well matched to Macleod with much better tackling. Macleod twisted his ankle playing for Scotland so Towell is first choice for a few weeks. In terms of reserves we've brought Mezzetti in to the team a few times, he's done well. Overall our centre midfield is solid

Out wide Torrano has been an excellent creator, assisting 6 times and scoring once. Kent has scored a lot more (3) but not created as much (1 assist). His shooting is more accurate - Torrano is only getting 60% on target. Teixeira has played ok as well, but his shooting is fairly poor - just 38% on target. Torrano has established himself as first choice over Teixeira at this stage, and the midfield is playing too well to train him up there so Teixeira has slid to a reserve slot. Cotterill has come on a few times and been ok but not spectacular.

Up front Gabriel has been a revelation, 8 goals and 5 assists from his 11 games, with 2 PotM awards. He is getting 50% on target which is not bad for a centre forward, and as a complete forward he's opened up the attacking options for the team - he is all over the front third, creating as many as he scores. He is so fast - he's burst through the defensive line several times already this season, and is latching onto hopeful long balls nicely. Poor Stockton has made just one appearance late in a game as a reserve. I can't see him getting much game time while Gabriel is healthy, he's just not in the same class.

Awards for October:
Player of the month - Balotelli, Gabriel 3rd
Young player of the month - Gabriel, Galloway 2nd.
I was manager of the month after winning all four games.

Table - we're second and only one point behind Chelsea:
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Amazing and unexpected stuff. While I'm a little concerned at the big teams carving up our defence, I think this is because we're attack minded and looking for goals, leaving holes in the back. We're successful enough up front that even though the holes might get exposed it is a sacrifice worth making.
 
Is he a regen??

yeah, you can see from his player page - those soulless automatically generated eyes staring out at you! 18 in late 2017 means he would have been 15 in late 2014 - must have been a first season regen?
 
what tactic do you use now mate?
is it still beatiful play? and which version(s)?
 
Still beautiful play, v10 - I like this one, didnt want to change to 11. I use a Complete Forward rather than the default (which I think was a F9), and I have swapped the wide players a few times so not sure which is default - anyway my left wing is an inside forward at the moment, right is a wing, both on support duty. Left fullback attack, right support duty.

I'm currently using the default corner and free kick instructions, but am thinking of experimenting with switching a player from zonal marking to man marking, as I concede a few from deflected range shots at corners.
 
Forgot to add - I use the Press version probably 95% of the time. If I am worried about a comeback I will drop to a lower tempo, or switch to the control tactic.
 
Dave jogs up to me at training. "Check out this tweet on the European Golden Boy award"

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"You can't be serious. Who said that? Gabriel has only played like a dozen games at top flight in Europe along with the U20 champs. That cannot be enough to put him in contention for this award!!" I am staggered.

"The problem is bigger than that. It means he's on the radar of every big club in Europe. We can't offer him European football. It was a great catch to get him, and I know he's the key to your long term plan, but how are we going to get him to stay??"

"Well Dave, there's only one thing we can do. We have to win, and keep winning. If we collapse and miss out on Europe, well I never expected it. The boy is contracted to 2022 - they will need to offer huge money to nab him from us as far as I'm concerned, and I'm sure that the chairman will listen to me if I tell him we can make more money off the success he will bring than offloading him for the cash now. But if we lose him, there's always another superstar coming up through the ranks, we'll just need to find him just like we did this lad."

Dave looks nervous. "I hope you know what you're doing. Personally I'd put him down to reserves to let the heat calm down a bit - surely someone will come knocking and I don't have faith that you will be able to stop the chairman from letting him go!"

It is unexpected, that's for sure. He's continued his golden form from October through to mid November now, including pulling out a last gasp goal to beat arch-rivals Everton. The fans will love him for that alone forever.
 
I am catching up with Dave for his December team summary. He's been running around this month making sure everyone is happy and motivated. We had to deal with one issue - we couldnt get a work permit for American Dan Dickinson, so I asked for mutual termination. That did not go down well, and Dave didnt have a lot of luck getting anything out of him, so we're going to have to cough up for a release. He would never have made it here anyway.

Anyway, here's a summary of what Dave had to say.

Games:
Our run of great results continued into November. The first match was the fourth round of the Capital Cup. We were drawn at home against West Ham. We played very well, with Cotterill, Stockton and Galloway getting on the score sheet for a 4:0 win. Cotterill player of the match, he was excellent on the wing.

We followed this up away to Aston Villa. We started brightly yet again, with Gabriel scoring in the 18th minute. Ake doubled the lead from a corner at 50 minutes, and we coasted from there. Until Villa scored in the 72nd minute, and went on full out attack mode. Eventually our defence crumbled and in the 92nd minute Villa equalised to make it 2:2. Cotterill followed up his excellent outing against the Hammers with another PotM here.

Everton was a great game, worthy of a longer writeup!

Going into the match Everton's manager Ronny Delia was under immense pressure from the media. "He's got to go" screamed the headlines, with the local press particularly upset about the contrast between high flying neighbour Tranmere and their relegation zone team. A massive underperformance considering the quality of their lineup - top quality includes Lukaku and "Chicharito" Hernandez up front, rising Welsh star George Williams lining up with Ross Barkley in the midfield, and Baines and Jagielka providing certainty at the back, supported by Bosnian international keeper Hadzikic, with Tim Howard still in running the training ground plays.

It was a cool and breezy night. Tranmere was, as usual, on attack from the whistle. Da Silva took a short corner, playing a one-two with Kent to improve his angle
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Gabriel was, unbelievably, unmarked on the near post - no contest, 1:0 Tranmere.
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It stayed 1:0 til the 69th minute. Everton had a throw in deep in Tranmere territory. Coleman played a 1-2 to Romeu, and then put a low pass into the box crowded with white shirts
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He found Zahovic on the near post, marked by Barbosa. He had a shot but it hit Barbosa in the shin, and sprayed back to Barkley
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Barkley saw Williams was loosely marked immediately in front of him, and passed to him. Williams took a first time shot
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Di Gennaro got a hand to it, but it was too powerful to stop and slewed off to the upper corner of the goal - 1:1!

Tranmere went on attack, not satisfied with a draw. Pressure culminated in a corner to Tranmere on 89 minutes. We are lethal from corners...

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Da Silva lined up, passed short to Cotterill.

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Only one Everton defender on the near post, and Cotterill took him on. The Everton man was drawn out to stop his run
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This left Gabriel unmarked 3m out from goal. Cotterill played a pass to him...

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Only one result from that position:
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Tranmere 2 Everton 1 - a great result from the local derby. Marco Da Silva was PoTM for setting up the first goal and general defensive excellence.

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The last game in November was away to Arsenal. A difficult match under any circumstances, but Tranmere at this stage is running rampant so anything could happen!

We were looking good, but Arsenal had worked out our primary scoring tactic (ie pass it to Gabriel) and was marking him tight. So tight that he spent most of the first half flat on his back, wondering where his legs went. Wilshere was booked for it on 10 mins, Koscielny on 45, but there were plenty of non-booked dodgy tackles out there! That cut off our attacking momentum, so Tranmere was forced to play from the back more than we would normally like. It paid dividends for the Gunners. On 20 mins, Wilshere scored, followed by Welbeck on 40 - 2:0 to the home side at half time, big trouble for Tranmere. We came out strong and played ok, with Galloway scoring on 60. The last half hour were hectic but if I'm honest Arsenal had the better chances, and deserved to run out winners. 2:1 to Arsenal and our first loss of the season.

Welbeck PotM, and our stats generally not crash hot.
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At the end of November then we are still in great shape, even after our first loss. 4th in the Premier Division at the one-third mark in the season, I'll take that any day.

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Falcao has pulled ahead on the top goals metric, he's firing a goal a game and keeping his manager happy. Gabriel in second at 9 from 12. No major changes to form etc, although Cotterill has been solid as a backup winger and will get more game time in that position.

In injuries, Macleod recovered from his first injury only to immediately injure himself again in training. I might need to put him in some cotton wool!

Awards:
Falcao was player of the month - 6 goals from 3 games, not bad
Gabriel was again young player of the month, and Cotterill came third.
Villas-Boas (Man U manager) was manager of the month. I didnt rank after the Arsenal loss.
 
Leicester wants me to take over there as well... that would be awful, they just set a record for most games in a row without scoring. I dont think so!
 
Swansea now - that is the trifecta of teams in the relegation zone that want me to manage them out of it.
 
Why would you leave a club you have built up so much for a relegation fight at a new club? They clearly think they are bigger then you.
Good luck with keeping hold of gabriel, fingers crossed you can keep hold of him atleast till the summer.
 
December report:

2/12/17 Tranmere 3 - Charlton 1

Richie Towell scored a blinder in the first minute of this match, and Gabriel followed up with another after 24. Coulibaly, one of the French players I tried to sign last season, pulled one back for Charlton after the break, but Gabriel put it beyond Charlton's reach with another goal after 91 mins. A comprehensive win for Tranmere. Gabriel PotM, Barbosa injured after 67 mins.
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5/12/17 Leicester 0 - Tranmere 5

Leicester are on a woeful run in the league, dead last by a long way and no wins for a long time. Tranmere added to their nightmare here with a totally dominant display. 2 goals to Torrano, and a goal each to Ake, Daniels and Towell. Torrano PotM

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9/12/17 Tranmere 4 Swansea 2
Gabriel scored twice in the first half, and Macleod and Kent added to the score before Cisse and Mikel scored consolation goals deep in the second half. A slightly worrying drop in performance at the end but another good overall game for us.

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17/12/17 West Ham 2 Tranmere 1

Tranmere got a bit overconfident in this game. I played a very second string team, we had Man U in the Capital Cup two days later so I didnt want my stars tired. We were 1-0 up through a Daniels goal on 12 mins, and it stayed that way until the second half. Daniels went from hero to villain on 49 mins, earning himself a red card with a terrible tackle. The Hammers took over from there, scoring twice against the weak Tranmere team to earn themselves the victory.

Stockton terrible in his first start.

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We still dominated chances, but were off target compared to our usual conversion rate - shows the Gabriel vs Stockton difference
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19/12/17 Tranmere 1 Man U 1 (Man U win on penalties) Capital One Cup QF
Tranmere had two goals disallowed for off side within the first 2 mins, and I thought we were going to smash them. It took until 59 minutes for the first goal to come though, and that was through a van Persie header. Gabriel scored in the 91st minute to take it to extra time, but our players didnt have the legs to push for victory. We were awful in penalties, missed three out of the four we took, they only missed one. A close game but disappointing end.

Man U only had one shot on goal - pretty good conversion rate!
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Da Silva PotM
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23/12/17 Nottingham Forest 0 Tranmere 2
Pretty easy win for Tranmere, goals from Sweeney and Daniels (both from corners). Da Silva PotM again.
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26/12/17 Tranmere 0 Man U 1
We hosted United again for the second time in a week. van Persie again, on 79 mins. And another from his head - he's become our nemesis! We have a problem at fullback, with Fabio, Barbosa, and Skokic injured so we're down to our third choice left back, and Schatzschneider is having to play full games - his fitness levels are not quite up to it.

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30/12/17 Fulham 1 Tranmere 1
We threw this away. We went 1-0 up through Towell on the 10th minute, but Konate got one back for them on the 75th and we couldnt match it. Another draw. Fulham had the better of the stats too, a disappointing game really.

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We are still 3rd on the table, Man U is now 8 points clear with a game in hand and looking good.

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Torrano had a good month, as did Gabriel.

I will do awards later, I'm being called to dinner!
 
What a first half to the season!!
I think europa league should be a minimum this season now, maybe gabriel could get the golden boot
 
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