Pen to paper

By David Sindall
April 28 2025

I’ve no idea if Andy Crosby will stay on as Rovers manager, he has certainly made a pretty convincing purse when handed a pigs ear of a team. That’s not a particular criticism of individual players more a reflection of the haphazard way in which the current squad has been put together. Yet, at the end of the match against Crewe Crosby said “We are celebrating being third bottom of League Two, which is a great achievement, but if you want to be a successful club you have to aim your sights higher than that."

From my perspective it seems that we have increasingly become used to surviving crises, and as such have lost our ability to dream of a better future. We are not a poor club. We are about middle sized in terms of our resources. Recent seasons have shown that you don’t have to have deep pockets to get out of this division, but you do need a good manager who can build a squad on limited resources and then get them playing effectively. Clubs like Stevenage and Northampton have been promoted and cemented their position in League One. Teams like Barrow, Bromley and Fleetwood continue to finish above us despite fewer resources. Our current owners have shallow pockets but have also made some questionable decisions. Despite the veneer of being well managed we are not as effectively run as we could be. 

There are some that say it’s irrelevant, that the Wirral public simply can’t get behind the club enough and we are always going to be fighting against the odds. I disagree. Football has become more expensive but there is also more money available. TV contracts, even at our level, deliver a steady income that provides a good foundation to build upon. At the same time our season card sales remain healthy.  We have sold 3,364 cards so far. On these number we out muscle the average home attendance of Barrow, Fleetwood, Bromley, Harrogate, Salford and Accrington. Our average home attendance puts us 10th this season, most of which has been a struggle against relegation. We have support, even in the bad times.

When you’re selling a house you tend to flog it knowing where the problems are. It’s unlikely that you’ll put in major investments because the new owners can deal with that. The same appears to be true of Tranmere. This season it seems that once the takeover was proceeding there has been a reluctance to fix the roof, mend the guttering or deal with the leaking toilet (the current facilities  in the main stand have, incidentally, often felt like being on a ship taking in water). 

I will wait with interest to see what the end of season assessment, mentioned in the last programme notes reveals. I am not expecting much truth. Doubtless there will be no echoing of the line ‘there is a perception that changing a manager in mid-season usually results in an uplift in form. This is actually not correct’. Most of us saw through this as convenient twaddle.  Accountability and responsibility will be avoided. 

A brave new dawn beckons, with new owners on the horizon, albeit their ship has been waiting to enter the harbour for an eternity. Even if the new owners do not retain Andy Crosby let’s hope they heed his words. We can do much better than this, we now need a commitment to demonstrate a shared vision and shared ambition.

The wisdom of Andy Crosby

Discussion started by Total Tranmere (IP Logged), 28/04/2025 09:10

Total Tranmere
28/04/2025 09:10

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Bored rover
28/04/2025 10:09

Crosby, if I was him not sure I'd want it, ownership up in the air not looking like that will be sorted next season , apathy from an owner who even when fully engaged had questionable methods.

Takeover , heard last week it would be announced if we stayed up on Good Friday, heard yesterday theres no news in the "Tacopina" front , rather mentions of an unnamed investment group.

Who knows, a little clarity would be nice , feels to me like the owners aren't wanting to kill the ASAP Tacopina story as it keeps our name out there for potential suitors. But at the same time they appear to be in preparing for retirement mode: house is on the market and they've upsticks, but is that based on our New Government rather than business deals?

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Bored rover
28/04/2025 12:17

He was showing as Interim manager on the website, now kust Andy Crosby???

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Zint
02/05/2025 15:57

I wonder if tomorrow will be his final game?

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madscot
02/05/2025 16:05

Quote:

Zint
I wonder if tomorrow will be his final game?

I hope not, keeping him is more important than most of the players we have

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