Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Team of the Decade – 2000’s – Central-Midfielders
By Deadly Submarine
March 7 2011
We continue our search for the Tranmere Team of the Decade (2000-2010) with this week seeing the launch of the vote to find the best central-midfielder of that era......
Last week, Iain Hume became the seventh person voted in to our Tranmere Rovers Team of the Decade, as he joined Jason Koumas in the now half completed midfield four with Koumas on the left and Hume on the right.
This week, as we continue our search, we ask you to vote for Tranmere's best central-midfielder of the past ten years, a position in which Tranmere have had a number of decent players in the past decade and possibly set to be the tightest vote so far.
You have seven days to vote for your favourite central-midfielder, with the winner taking a spot in the team alongside the other seven Rovers legends currently on the side whilst the six candidates from this week who don't win will form the six options for next weeks poll after which the winner will complete the four-man midfield.
The candidates are as follows...
Sean Flynn
Flynn’s two year Rovers career took in the famous Cup run of the 2000/2001 season as Rovers defeated Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park and beat Southampton in that dramatic 4-3 comeback game before eventually losing 4-2 at home to Liverpool in the sixth round of the FA Cup.
After signing in July 2000, Flynn stayed at Prenton Park until August 2002 when he joined Kidderminster Harriers on a free transfer. Many fans will remember Flynn for his press-up routine whenever he made a mistake or played a poor pass.
Nick Henry
Another player from this series of polls who was part of the Rovers squad in the two seasons of Cup runs between 1999 and 2001 and in the 2000/01 season scored two memorable and very similar goals in the tournaments including a volley against West Ham in Tranmere’s home win and an even more important goal in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final against Bolton at Prenton Park.
Henry left Tranmere in the summer of 2002 having played one season in League One with Rovers after their relegation.
Steve Jennings
After coming through the youth ranks at Tranmere, Jennings had six years as a Rovers player although it’s fair to say that it was only after his four month loan spell at Hereford United in early 2007 that he really found his feet as a valuable first team player at Prenton Park.
After two further seasons after returning from his loan spell, Jennings joined Motherwell in the summer of 2009 shortly after Ronnie Moore was sacked and John Barnes came in as his replacement.
Gary Jones
Jones had two spells with Rovers spanning a total of ten years. His first spell was by far the longest, running from 1993 to 2000 with his final season of that spell seeing him appear in the League Cup final for Rovers against Leicester before moving on to Nottingham Forest.
The former Tranmere trainee was back at the club in the mid 2000’s initially on loan from Forest before re-signing permanently in September 2002 and playing until summer 2005 before moving to Grimsby Town.
Mickey Mellon
Another player who has had two spells at the Club, with the first being and 18 month spell entirely in the 1990’s and the second being a three year spell in the 2000’s which enables him to qualify in this series of polls in the central midfield position.
Mellon in total made almost 175 starts for Rovers over two spells and often left the fans split over their judgements of his ability and performances.
Mark Rankine
When Rankine joined Rovers in 2004, it was eventually to turn out that Tranmere would be his fifth and last Club as a player. Signing in the June of 2004, Rankine was a key part of Tranmere’s near-miss with promotion in 2004/05 when they lost out to Hartlepool United on penalties in the play-off semi-final.
Rankine played a further season as Rovers lost key players and flirted with relegation, only staying up on the penultimate weekend of the season thanks to a 2-1 win away at MK Dons. At the end of that season Rankine announced his retirement from the game.
Theo Whitmore
A Rovers player for two years between 2004 and 2006, Whitmore was signed by then Manager Brian Little and teamed up with Jamaican International teammate Ian Goodison at the Club in the process.
Famously remembered for his goalkeeping ‘efforts’ in the 6-1 away defeat at his former Club Hull City in 2004, Theo also famously scored a brace of goals as Rovers won 3-1 away at Huddersfield Town and was a popular player with most Rovers fans.
Who, then, will be Tranmere's first central-midfielder in our team of the decade? You can decide by voting between now and Sunday 13th March when the votes will be counted and the winner announced and a feature story published on www.total-tranmere.co.uk.
The poll can be found on all pages of this website either at the bottom of the left hand side menu or sometimes on the right side of the page depending on which page you are currently viewing. Your vote could be important to the result so make sure you cast yours!
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07/03/2011 18:37
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:03:15:15:49:23 by Deadly Submarine.
07/03/2011 18:44
?????????
I can't pick, personally, between four - Flynn, Henry, Jones and Jennings!
Although I nearly went for Micky Mellon, but I do think my gut just gives it to Jonesy.
An outstanding player and one I really miss at PP.
COME ON YOU MIGHTY WHITES
