Tranmere in the coming year

Over the past few years many Tranmere Rovers fans like myself have been through it all, with the jubilation with Ronnie Moore nearly getting us to the play-off stages to the John Barnes era nearly plummeting us into the NPower League 2 we've been through it all but I believe that the season coming up will be the year of the Rover for the squad and the return of Ronnie Moore.

Last season we finished 12th in the league which was a very respectable finish when you consider that earlier on in the season we were struggling to get out of the relegation and I seriously believe that we can either push for automatic promotion or a play-off place with several signings being made we are strengthening our team each time.

My prediction

1st - Sheffield Utd
2nd - Coventry City
3rd - Portsmouth
4th - Carlisle Utd
5th - Tranmere Rovers
6th - Brentford
7th - Colchester Utd
8th - Notts County
9th - Bournemouth
10th - Harlepool Utd
11th - Oldham Athletic
12th - MK Dons
13th - Stevenage
14th - Leyton Orient
15th - Scunthorpe Utd
16th - Preston North End
17th - Crewe Alexandra
18th - Doncaster Rovers
19th - Yeovil Town
20th - Walsall
21st - Swindon Town
22nd - Shrewsbury Town
23rd - Crawley Town
24th - Bury

Spain .vs. France

This game yet again caused controversy before kick-off with Spain choosing to play with no striker, taking out Fernando Torres and replacing him with Cesc Fabregas after a disappointing game for Torres against Croatia, and a French side looking to show their resilience after a disappointing 2-0 defeat to a Swedish side already knocked out of the tournament.

Spanish Line Up

01  Casillas

03  Pique

15  Ramos

17  Arbeloa

18  Alba

06  Iniesta

08  Xavi

10  Fabregas

14  Alonso

16  Busquets

21  Silva

French Line Up

01  Lloris

02  Debuchy

04  Rami

13  Reveillere

21  Koscielny

22  Clichy

06  Cabaye

15  Malouda

17  M'Vila

07  Ribery

10  Benzema

The game kicked off with both sides having good spells of early possession but no final product at both ends, the first big call of the game was a penalty shout for Spain when a ball was lofted in over Clichy's head and Fabregas was in behind and Clichy seemed to nudge Fabregas to the ground but the referee saw nothing in it and waved play on. Spain's passing became very sloppy after that but France couldn't break through the Spanish defence. After a surging run by Alba the French right back, Debuchy slipped and allowed Alba to get in a cross to Alonso who was unmarked and the far post and with the goalkeeper flat footed he drove his header into the far corner to put the reigning champions 1-0 up, after this France tried to get as many players behind the ball as possible to stop conceding more. France's best chance of the half was a free-kick from 35 yards out by Cabaye forcing Casillas into a comfortable save but showing that France can be a threat.

HT - Spain 1-0 France

Xabi Alonso heading Spain into the lead.

The first ten minutes of the second half started like the first ten minutes of the first half with both sides having their fait share of possession but not creating any chances but as time went on France began to keep the ball well and throw a good few passes together keeping it away from Spain which changed the balance of the game, then on 60 minutes Ribery managed to swing in a cross and find the head of Debuchy who's head just floated over the bar but the French attack were starting to ask questions of the Spanish defence. Spain then decided to make an important change by putting on a striker in the form of Fernando Torres in place of Cesc Fabregas. After the chage the game began to slow down apart from a cross by Ribery calmly hled by Casillas and a Torres shot seved by Lloris before realising he was offside. On 89 minutes Spain had a chance as Pedro got away from his defender and was taken down by Reveillere and a penalty was given and Xabi Alonso sent Hugo Lloris the wrong way to confirm a Spain vs Portugal semi final on wednesday.


FT - Spain 2-0 France


Man of The Match - Man of the match for me was Iker Casillas making some crucial saves to make sure Spain didn't throw away their lead and ensure they stay in the tournament while captaining his side well as he always does.

Czech Republic .vs. Portugal

The first quarter final was contested by two teams that after the group stages were in great form with The Czech Republic having the Champions League winning goalkeeper Petr Cech and Portugal having one of the worlds best players on the pitch in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo, both players at the top of their game so this would be a fantastic match.

The opening moments were fairly contested by both teams with lots of end to end play but no real end product most of the pressure was made by Portugal but the Czechs were able to isolate Ronaldo and nothing came of any attack, a chance fell to Ronaldo on 25 minutes after being played through onside one on one with Petr Cech and Cech made an unbelievable save from a strong Ronaldo shot struck with his powerful right boot to keep The Czech Republic in the game, Ronaldo also tried an overhead kick from 8 yards out and hit it well wide but shown what he was capable of yet again, Ronaldo yet again showed his skill with fantastic control to pluck the ball out of the air flick it over his shoulder and without looking strike an amazing ball only to hit the near post and that's how the first half ended with Portugal in the driving seat.

HT - Czech Republic 0-0 Portugal

Cech in control of the first half.

The second half was very much like the first with a Portuguese attacking show and The Czech Republic trying to hold on and Petr Cech was the Czechs saviour saving several well struck shots from most of the Portuguese attacking players with a Ronaldo free kick from 35 yards hitting the post and the ball being in the net but being ruled offside,after that Portugal began to hold back as the ball was continuously being cut out from getting to Ronaldo, and the deadlock was broken on 78 minutes after a magnificent cross from Moutinho who picks out Ronaldo running from the far post to header the ball powerfully down which bounced out of the way of Petr Cech and into the back of the net to send Portugal into hysterics and that's how the match ended with Portugal going through to play either Germany or Greece in the Semi Finals.

FT - Czech Republic 0-1 Portugal

Ronaldo having scored his goal salutes his teammates.

Man of the Match - Man of the match for me and I suspect every neutral fan as well had to be Cristiano Ronaldo who ran the entire pitch tonight creating chances and scoring one himself and being the captain he should be tonight and sending Portugal through by himself.





Portugal .vs. Holland

This game was a must win for both teams, if Holland win by two clear goals and Germany beat Denmark they would go through and if Portugal get a point and Germany beat or draw with Denmark they would go through, so we all knew this group would end with a bang.

Holland posted a very attacking side with Sneijder, Van Der Vaart, Huntelaar, Robben and Van Persie to try and crack the Portuguese defence and on eleven minutes it paid off with Robben cutting inside from the right and laying off the ball to Van Der Vaart who curled a beautiful effort with his left foot past Rui Patricio in the Portuguese goal to give Holland a chance of qualifying for the last eight. Portugal kept the pressure on to ensure a last eight appearance and seventeen minutes later Ronaldo broke his Euro 2012 curse by equalising from a fantastic through ball into the right hand side of the box and in true Ronaldo style he made a very difficult situation look easy by slotting the ball past Stekelenburg at his near post to make it 1-1.

HT – Portugal 1-1 Holland

Van Der Vaart captaining his side in the absense of Van Bommel.

The second half brought a change in formation for Holland which saw Robben switch from the right side to the left in an attempt to get more balls into the box. The opening exchanges in the second half were mainly attacking from Holland which with more confidence from Van Persie could have resulted in a crucial goal. On fifty-nine minutes a cross field ball was played into the Holland penalty area, headed down to Ronaldo who hit it firmly with his left foot which fell to Postiga who poked the ball home before realising he was a yard offside. A Portugal break on sixty-five minutes which produced a fantastic save from Stekelenburg showed Holland that Portugal meant business. Portugal continued to press as a ball from Ronaldo across the six yard box came to Nani who was stopped by a brilliant save again by Stekelenburg who should have been picking it out of the net, a minute after that Nani started a run down the right hand side who picked out Ronaldo on the left who cut inside and stroked the ball home to give Portugal the lead for the first time in this match. Van Der Vaart chanced his arm again cutting inside from the left and curling the ball against the inside of the right post with his right foot on eighty-two minutes, and that’s how the game finished with Portugal on a high going into a last eight match against The Czech Republic and Holland going back home without a win.

FT – Portugal 2-1 Holland

Ronaldo fighting off Van Persie and Sneijder.

Man of The Match – Man of the match for me had to be Cristiano Ronaldo scoring both goals to confirm Portugal going through from the group stages and making surging runs all night to help create chances and his blinding skill just could not be matched in this game.   

Sweden .vs. England

Going into this match English hopes were high after a very respectable 1-1 draw with France and Sweden trying to get over a demoralising loss to co-hosts Ukraine with both teams playing very attacking sides so we all knew this would be a fantastic game.

The first half consisted of mainly English position and a few Swedish chances but the game sparked into life when a ball from just inside the Swedish half was launched into the box by Steven Gerrard finding Andy Carroll who powered a header low into the bottom left hand corner to send English fans into dreamland. England Joe Hart made a few critical calls during the first half to make sure that England went into the break 1-0 up at least which they did showing the English Bulldog Spirit.

Andy Carroll celebrating his goal against Sweden.

HT – Sweden 0-1 England

The first 20 minutes of the second half was a whirlwind for both teams with so much sloppy defending yet again by England allowed Olof Mellberg bundle the ball home after Glen Johnson tried to keep the ball out of the net but just failed to hitting the post and deflecting in. That goal sank English hearts so much that only 10 minutes later England were played at their own game with a long free-kick floated in and no-one picking up Olof Mellberg yet again and heading home past Joe Hart into his far left hand corner, at this point England needed inspiration and that inspiration came in the form of Theo Walcott firing home from 20 yards as the ball dipped and swirled past the Swedish goalkeeper to give England hope, the wind by now was firmly in England’s sails and then on 78 minutes Walcott fires down the right wing and sends a delightful cross towards Danny Welbeck who placed the ball past the Swedish goalkeeper with his heel to prove that England should never be written off in any match.

FT – Sweden 2-3 England

Man of The match – Man of the match for me had to be Andy Carroll who not only gave England a first half lead but he tracked back and helped the defence to great effect but Theo Walcott had changed the game dramatically and defiantly deserves a lot of praise and so does the entire team to get the score back to 3-2.

Theo Walcott preparing for the Sweden game.

Spain .vs. Ireland

Going into this game Spain had a point to prove after a below par performance against Italy and Ireland had to get a result to have a chance of qualifying for the next round and keep the green army’s hopes alive.

The start of the match was an utter disaster for Ireland, a good tackle from Richard Dunne fell to Fernando Torres who took it round the edge of the box and then smashed it into the roof of Shay Givens net. After that Ireland don’t get much of an attack going and focus on keeping the score line as low as possible as we all know with Spain you concede one you’re probably going to concede more, and Ireland successfully held Spain for the rest of the first half.

HT – Spain 1-0 Ireland

The second half started very much like the second a poor defensive mistake leading to a goal this time a cross coming in from the left and Shay Given hesitates and punches it straight to David Silva who had just enough time to shift the ball on to his favoured left foot to calmly place the ball into the bottom left hand corner. That goal effectively told Ireland they were going home so they thought they would just hold out for the score as it is but Spain weren’t quite finished some more sloppy defending saw Torres through on goal again and one on one with Shay Given you will always favour Torres and yet again he scores to confirm Irelands departure from the championship. Apart from a Robbie Keane shot that was well saved by Casillas, Ireland didn’t have many attempts on goal. On 83 minutes the Irish defence went to sleep yet again and a short corner to Cesc Fabregas who sold a defender a dummy and then powered the ball past Given hitting the far post from what seemed an impossible angle and deflecting in. Truly sinking Irish hearts.

FT – Spain 4-0 Ireland

Man of the Match – The man of the match for me had to be Fernando Torres, seeing him score those types of goals again like he did back at Liverpool would have brought a smile to every football fans face. His pace and clinical finishing in this match shows us what to expect from Torres for the rest of this tournament and next season.

Fernando Torres during Spain .vs. Ireland

After this performance it’s hard to say that Spain don’t have a chance to win this tournament as long as Torres stays in form and the defence stays solid I can see this Spanish team lifting the cup for a third time equalling Germanys record in this tournament.   

A Managers Impact

After the fiasco with Harry Redknapp leaving Spurs and Roberto Di Matteo signing a new 2 year deal with Chelsea after winning the FA Cup final and The Uefa Champions League final it was hard to deny him the managers role at the club, but I'm here to focus on the impact of managers in the modern game.

Di Matteo lifting the Champions League trophy as caretaker
manager of Chelsea.

Personally I feel that managers have been over-rated for a long time and many of them using very strange tactics but when the team does well in certain matches or competitions the manager get the praise yet when a team fails to perform more often than not the team is to blame, I would like to see more managers like in the 80's with a manager who will not only give his all for the team and take responsibility for their bad performances but take hold of the head coach role and not leave it to his assistant and personally I think Di Matteo is a new bread of an old type of manager.