Tranmere Rovers
The story so far…a new dawn or more of the same?
Rovers Crest
By David Sindall
October 11 2026
Lots of people say you can’t judge a team until after 10 games. I’m unconvinced by that but here’s what I would say we have learnt so far. Everybody agrees that our football is better. Going to Prenton Park is no longer done out of a sense of loyalty, it’s actually starting to be something I look forward to again. Been a few seasons since I felt that way.
- Scoring goals is problematic. Joe Ironside works hard but his goal return rate is really poor. Other players put the ball in the onion bag, but we are not converting chances into goals. This needs sorting quickly.
- Our defence is far from convincing: Smudge has been solid but centrally we are not dominating the opposition. Neither Faulkner or Turnbull have shown the necessary understanding with Smith.Nevett though looks solid.
- Our wide backs are good but only a little bit better than what we had last season: This may seem a harsh judgement but Senior and Slater work well, the forward transitions don’t always flow. That may not be their fault, it might be players not making themselves available for the pass.
- Will Vaulks is excellent: No complaints. A superb signing. Hard working and calm.
- Tom Ince is good: I don’t join in the hero worship though. I don’t like how he berates junior team mates at times. After Rochdale, it could be said he needs to
- The loan signings have made positive contributions: Dylan Jones, Zane Okoro and Faulkner have all been good to reasonable. Nevett, as mentioned, looks solid, Kamara looks a little short of match fitness.
- Charlie Whittaker needs to be used better: It seems that Chaz is recognised as offering us something but he hasn’t yet shone.
- We need to get better at using substitutions: This might reflect the depth of the squad but often we have made changes that have weakened our overall performance.
- Our away form is concerning: We need more points on the road, why we fail to win on our travels is a mystery.
- We are much more pleasing on the eye but results matter: Darrell Clarke has turned us into a more attractive team. There have been a number of really enjoyable performances but games where we have dropped points that we should have won. This may be linked to point 8, we need to steer clear of a relegation dog-fight.
The performance against Chesterfield was poor. And we obviously carried a bit of a hangover for the first 15 minutes against Rochdale. So far we’ve played 4 teams in the top 10. We haven’t taken one point from 12 in those games. It’s pointing towards a mid-table finish, but a few poor results could see us struggling, a few good ones would make the world of a difference.
You don’t support Tranmere for the glory, not over the past few seasons. Darrell Clarke has brought an improvement in play. That now needs to be built upon.
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StumbleuponThe story so far…a new dawn or more of the same?
Discussion started by Total Tranmere (IP Logged), 11/10/2026 10:35
11/10/2026 10:35
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Our next 6 League fixtures, with current League positions in brackets are
Barnet (2) (H)
Northampton (23) A
Crawley (24) A
FLeetwood (16) A
Colchester (19) H
Bristol R (9) A
I reckon we should be able to pick up at least 10 pts from those games.
Barnet (2) (H)
Northampton (23) A
Crawley (24) A
FLeetwood (16) A
Colchester (19) H
Bristol R (9) A
I reckon we should be able to pick up at least 10 pts from those games.
Tranmere need to do something like that, as the last few games have started to resemble the same old fading away, seen in the last 3 seasons. A few games to begin with that indicate promise, before the form fizzles out.
A bit like buying a box with a firework in it and expecting a rocket that will shoot up into the air and make a massive explosion, only to discover you've got a little traffic light one, that looks passable for about 8 seconds, then dies on you.
Then I ate his Liver.......... with some baked beans and a can of coke.
A bit like buying a box with a firework in it and expecting a rocket that will shoot up into the air and make a massive explosion, only to discover you've got a little traffic light one, that looks passable for about 8 seconds, then dies on you.
Then I ate his Liver.......... with some baked beans and a can of coke.
All we are saying is give team a chance… still not far off the playoffs
Cue for the ‘glass half empty brigade’ to state ‘not far off relegation’ 😂
Cue for the ‘glass half empty brigade’ to state ‘not far off relegation’ 😂
Quote:cant you see promise and improvement with a lot of new decent players , i expect them to gel soon🤞🤞Matt34
Tranmere need to do something like that, as the last few games have started to resemble the same old fading away, seen in the last 3 seasons. A few games to begin with that indicate promise, before the form fizzles out.
A bit like buying a box with a firework in it and expecting a rocket that will shoot up into the air and make a massive explosion, only to discover you've got a little traffic light one, that looks passable for about 8 seconds, then dies on you.
I still feel that there is more grounds for optimism this year but we are nowhere near being a promotion team yet
Does the team start well and collapse season on season because of crowd reactions to situations within games and the quick to react to misplaced passes kicks in: And Things like Whitaker needs dropping he doesn't work, Patrick doesn't track back which then leads to hollering from the side line to "track back" with no clue what the managers instructions are to that player
Quote:Loyden1
cant you see promise and improvement with a lot of new decent players , i expect them to gel soon🤞🤞
I can, however the results are the biggest hindrance to progress. Tranmere may have some signs of improvement on last season for sure, including quality additions like Vaulks, Ince and Dylan Jones for example, but 3 points from the last 5 games does not lie.
Walsall got away with one. Rochdale had considerably less shots than Tranmere and 1 shot on target, but got a draw and the 4 dropped points are the reason Tranmere are 13th not 5th.
Ten points from the next 6 games would certainly do the trick and if they carry on the way they are doing, then an Ince special sometimes or a Dylan Jones belter won't be enough, if Tranmere are 4-5 places lower down by then, not 4-5 places higher up, which is a possibility.
Technically it looks like there's 8 places on offer for a win next time which won't realistically happen, but it's not unrealistic to think if they beat Barnet they could be 10th.
Barnet are second, but Tranmere have home advantage and have enough quality to make it count.
Then I ate his Liver.......... with some baked beans and a can of coke.
Quote:I cannot understand any blame the crowd theory. At any game where there is just a one goal lead there will be tension both on and off the field. Our support is as positive as most and professional players should be able to cope with any negatives from a crowd. I am certain that most players would rather play at a ground with a 6k+ attendance than places that can muster less than half that. Our away support is always incredibly positive yet we still concede late goals. There are many more reasons that can be considered beside that of supportBored rover
Does the team start well and collapse season on season because of crowd reactions to situations within games and the quick to react to misplaced passes kicks in: And Things like Whitaker needs dropping he doesn't work, Patrick doesn't track back which then leads to hollering from the side line to "track back" with no clue what the managers instructions are to that player
The sale is imminent, and if there was a correct word that Mr Palios could use instead.
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