The visitors came to the Lane and comfortably took a point as United mustered only two attempts on goal all game. The away side did not even have one shot on goal but still could argue they were the more composed side for long spells in what was a truly diabolical game of football that would not have looked out of place on the park on a Sunday. United had too many men off their game and never got control of the game and whilst Tranmere were hardly outstanding they would be happy with their point and the measure of control they had for an away side.
United brought back Tony McMahon and Marcus Williams for Daryl Westlake and Kevin McDonald with the latter out injured. Ryan Flynn came inside and started in central midfield in preference to David McAllister who was on the bench. Dave Kitson was fit enough to take his place on the bench.
Tranmere had a number of players out through injury themselves but began with former Blade Michael O’Halloran playing wide right with on loan Jake Cassidy up top supported by veteran Andy Robinson. The game began with Rovers having the first chance with O’Halloran stretching his legs against Hill and then a free kick saw Robinson hit the wall. United had struggled to get a foothold in the game and were giving the ball away or going long too much. They tried to get Blackman into the contest but Rovers were clearly wary of his threat and closed him down at every opportunity. The winger did get away once but his shot was high and wide. Rovers were controlling midfield and showing more fluidity as they broke at speed and were pressing United making them go long.
The contest was scrappy and the officials were not helping with some bewildering decisions. United did finally awake from their slumber and after a decent move, McMahon’s shot was turned behind by Williams. However, despite this chance Tranmere would have been the happier side and with Cassidy a handful and Bagayoko showing good pace down the left. McGurk had a free kick which went narrowly wide as United continued to give away daft free kicks. The half petered to en end with both sides sloppy throughout although Tranmere would have felt they shaded it on territory and possession if not efforts.
The second half began in much the same vein with Tranmere keeping the ball better but never really looking like scoring. Cassidy had a long ranger deflected wide and indeed many of their efforts were from distance. Robinson then had a free kick clipped wide as United simply struggled to make much headway. Finally they got the ball into Blackman and he had one run that led to a spell of territory in the visitors half but no chances came about. Kitson came on to cheers from the crowd for the ineffective Porter but he struggled to get into a scrappy game. McAllister also came on for Williams with Flynn moving to his more accustomed wide positions. The game was drifting by with very little happening although Power hit a shot that befitted his name that flew just over. United had not had an effort on goal in the second half but one came when Doyle played in Miller whose shot on the turn hit a defender and fortunately for Williams flew right into his midrift.
Tranmere did start to defend more and were taking their time over substitutions as Robinson took an eternity to leave the field when he was taken off. The keeper also was using a lot of time to take goal kicks. They needn’t have delayed so long as United in truth never looked like scoring and Tranmere ought to have gone for the jugular. Blackman finally got past his man and cut in but with men in the box selfishly and wildly blasted over in front of an exasperated Kop.
There was three minutes of stoppage time played but in truth Tranmere had settled for a well-deserved point and United had in truth looked completely clueless in finding a chance of note, let alone a goal.
United – I felt we were really poor today and struggle to see how Wilson can justify such a limp performance. Tranmere easily deserved their point and we barely tested them all game. I felt we could still be playing now and still not score. In short without McDonald we looked totally clueless and played mostly long diagonal balls that were just headed away. The front two did not play well but had little to no service. Blackman was marked well and outside of this we had some total passengers with Doyle and Flynn losing the battle in midfield and then tossing the ball away routinely. Williams was awful on the left and we never kept the ball for more than 2 or 3 passes all game. It was really dire from an attacking point of view. The only positive is that we defended well and they were restricted to long range shots for most of the game. They never really got beyond us and our best 4 players were probably our 4 defenders. It is such a shame that with such a solid base we had absolutely nothing in front of them and no one got the game by the scruff of the neck. Too many simply bottled it and did not show the drive and determination to win a vitally important game. Too many seemed to let the game just bypass them which told a story about how many are capable of playing at a higher level.
I know we have lost many of the better players from last season but for most of this season we seem to have totally abandoned any attempt to play football and seem to just lump it. I don’t always blame the defence as no one comes to collect or when they play it into the midfield they toss it away. Doyle showed how poor he was without someone to pass it to and some of his passing and control was wretched. At least he did not hide from the battle which Flynn sadly as he got brushed aside like a paper bag often by players no bigger than him.
The general play was awful with no link play, no one getting ahead of the strikers and no one trying anything different. It was so predictable and with the centre backs imposing themselves on the strikers we never really had a sniff most of the game.
As I left I heard a few shout at McCabe to spend some money or we would be stuck in this division for years to come. Sadly whether McCabe has any to spend (or financial rules permit it – personally I think they are a nonsense anyway and fail to see how the punishment affects you really?) or not, they are right. If we have the same squad and side we will probably just about make the top 6 and then come up short again in the playoffs. The side this season has not shown enough to suggest they are good enough for top two. Sadly it is such a poor division and when the likes of Tranmere come and look as a good, if not better, it shows how poor we are. I feel likes of MK Dons, Brentford, Bournemouth, and Notts County will all be higher than either side by the end of the season. It is up to McCabe. It is clear that with maybe 2 or 3 attacking players (midfield mainly who can create) bought we would go up. Stick with the current set up and our defence will be good enough to keep us around top 6 and with flashes from Blackman, Miller and Kitson we will certainly win more games than we lose but probably not do enough.
Tranmere – I must admit I felt that before the season Tranmere would struggle to stay up. I am honest enough to admit that. With limited resources and a fairly limited (and out of touch) manager in Moore; I thought with the lack of resources they would have a poor season. How wrong have I been? Moore seems to have changed his style and for the most part Tranmere have played attractive football this season with a relatively young team aided and abetted by some quality loan players from clubs higher up the pyramid. Away from home they have been excellent and gone for it in games. Fair play to them. They have had a real go and have energy and some really exciting youngsters to boot albeit helped by the loan system. They of course will stay up comfortably and although despite the result today I do feel automatic will be a bit beyond them but would not rule out the playoffs. Of course when some of the young players such as Cassidy etc go back in January then they may fall away but I have been saying that all season and it has not happened yet? They are organised and work extremely hard and press all over the field (in the same way that Crewe did).
Today they were not scintillating and barely had any real attacks on goal but they defended well and I felt controlled the midfield area. As I say they seemed to show more desire and realised more than us what a big game it was and were determined not to get beaten. They struggled to penetrate a solid United backline but at least they moved the ball about and tried to retain possession. Often they went nowhere but at least they did try and keep it compared to our route one approach. At the back they have been leaking goals but today other than a couple of efforts they were never penetrated. They did their homework and pressed Doyle knowing he struggles with ball retention when given little time and then doubled up on Blackman and forced him down the wing onto his weaker foot. They pressed us out of the back and forced Maguire and Collins to go long most of the game. I felt Moore outcoached Wilson today and got his game plan spot on. The only negative is they never really looked like scoring themselves but of course with a budget and resources nowhere near ours would be delighted with a point. It was up to us to go at them and take the game to them and it never happened.
As for players the two centre backs may not be technically as good as ours with the ball but they defended well after a few hesitant early moments and completely nullified Porter and Miller who of course were starved of service. Worryingly a 40 year old (isn’t he) Goodison was barely tested all game. They won midfield I felt and their formation allowed the 3 min the centre to win more loose balls and they did keep it better.
The lad from Wednesday Palmer was sadly better than any of our midfield and although Robinson is clearly a little overweight, he did drift in and out between midfield and attack and get on the ball. Indeed they showed flexibility in a few areas rather than having set areas. We in contract never got any midfielders ahead of the front two and were so static on set plays/throws.
Long 6/10 – He did not have a shot to save all game and made a couple of routine catches and one decent punch. However his distribution was poor with some throw outs that put us under pressure and some awful sliced clearances/kicks.
McMahon 7.5/10 – Thought that was maybe his best game of the season and for the club. He defended sensible and with intelligence, watching the ball and not the man. He made a few great tackles and interceptions and stopped the ball coming in from wide. His crosses often were flighted and not driven going the other way. He did have our best effort on goal with a shot that was saved.
Hill 6.5/10 – Defensively he did ok but even then there were a few hesitant moments not helped by the woeful Williams in front of him. A few many times he just clubbed the ball forward or it came off his shin. However for the most part like the rest of the defence he did ok and did his job. It was the others in front that were so poor.
Maguire 8/10 – Our best player in my opinion. He looked comfortably head and shoulders above many of the rest of the players on the pitch with his touch, poise and ability to play with calm and good sense. He perhaps went long a bit too much but with the balls being given away so much in front you could not really have too much of a complaint at him and Collins as they had so few options with no one going short. I do feel we may get some bids for him in January as he is comfortably better than most at this level and could easily play at a higher level.
Collins 7/10 – Like Maguire he was pretty solid from a defensive point of view and did try and come out of the back but he too played too much long stuff. Once he came out and advanced some of his passes were quite poor and floated into no man’s zone.
Flynn 3.5/10 – Thought he showed that he is not good enough today. Sure he was out of position but more than that; he simply showed he was not up for the fight and so many 50/50 or even 60/40 balls in his favour he ‘neshed’ and lost. He is not a bad little footballer but lacks the drive, pace, aggression and heart to play at a higher level and is very ordinary. Ended the game wide but did not improve even after this. We are crying out for a winger to put give him some competition for his place but he is another than knows no matter how ordinary he is; will get picked week in, week out due to lack of depth/quality in the squad.
Doyle 4/10 – A poor game that showed his limitations without a footballer alongside him. Having Flynn alongside him did not help as we looked so brittle in this area but every time the ball came to him, Tranmere pressured him and he usually tossed it away. Even when he had time he still gave the ball away with some aimless passes to no one.
Williams 3/10 – He has done ok at times this season although still showing his limitations but today he was abysmal. Every time the ball went to him he either miscontrolled it (save one amazing piece of control in the second half – he then gave it away instantly after it!) or gave it straight to them. I cannot see he even gave us defensive protection as he often gave away cheap free kicks or let his man go. Should have come off a long time before he did. Surely McFadzean or someone else from the Academy cannot do any worse. Also we are at home so how negative is it playing essentially a left back on the wing?
Blackman 6.5/10 – He still looked our main threat but had one of his quietest games for some time. They doubled up on him and forced him down the wing to stop him getting it onto his left foot. He had few very moments in the first half and then when he had chances in the second half he often had to pass it back or was forced away from goal. He did have one run where he beat his man all ends up but the selfishly blasted over with men across better placed. Without McDonald, Tranmere knew he was the only threat we had.
Miller 4.5/10 – His poorest game since he has come into the team. He got little service and Porter never really linked with him but he still was never in the game and did not show the sharpness of other games. I felt he was behind his man and let the centre back win the battle. I thought he may have come of before the end as he was tiring and against physical threats we kept lumping it; giving him little chances to do anything. Still he had one chance in the second half but his deflected shot was straight down the keeper’s throat.
Porter 4/10 – Like Miller, Porter was totally ineffective today and he did not hold the ball up or win the headers he has done in other games. The ball kept bouncing off him or when he did control it he often gave it away and the ball was not sticking. He came off second half but in truth it could have been him or Miller. The poorest our front two have been and I expect Kitson to come back in for one of them next week at Crawley.
Subs
Kitson – He came on but never really got into the game. Held the ball up a few times but in such a scrappy contest with nothing coming from midfield he was relying on flicks ons or challenges to simply get into the game. We never played it into his feet and let him win free kicks or bring others into play.
McAllister – Came on and did very little of note. He often waited too long to go for the ball and his fresh legs changed nothing as like Flynn he shied away from physical contact. He even got injured when he waited for the ball and got clouted due to delay. He is another that sadly is not good enough even for the third tier. I really would prefer a youngster (any of Whitehouse, Harriott, Chappell, Diego or McFadzean to the Joe Average we have in him, Flynn and Williams). Surely they cannot do any worse?
Officials – As bad as the two teams were; the officials were maybe even worse. The referee was fussy over pathetic things like were a set play took place or throws in but missed obvious pushes and let go blatant timewasting. The passage where they took their skipper Robinson off and he ran around high fiving his entire team and then passed his armband around three or four players before he went off summed it up. As did the keeper who took an eternity over all of his set plays. He rightly did not give a handball where the ball hit one of theirs instantly after we made contact but then gave them two hand balls for things exactly the same in the second half. He allowed them to take corners from 2 yards out of the box but then at other times wanted throws from exactly the right spot. He gave them a corner that was blatantly a goal kick and then gave us a goal kick that was blatantly a corner. He was dire. However as bad as he was, the linesman on the South Stand was perhaps the most incompetent official I maybe have ever seen. He got throws ins wrong all first half, gave it out when it was not out, waited for the crowd to react or players to appeal before he ‘guessed’ on decisions. He was embarrassingly bad. The officials were incompetent both ways. At least they did not give anything that directly affected the outcome of the game but that was down to the ineptitude of the two teams!
Crowd – Decent attendance just before Christmas with almost 20,000 inside the Lane. Tranmere brought maybe 1,000 fans and were in good voice as you would expect being top of the league. United fans were quiet in the first half and only seemed to come to life over poor decisions. The Kop tried to rally them in the second half but United were so poor that it was hard to keep singing and driving them on. A few groans came in towards the end as numerous poor decisions and misplaced passes saw the game kind of fritter away. Disappointing that in another big game United kind of did not turn up at least from an attacking point of view. Quite a few players had a chance to make a name for themselves but were found wanting and proved sadly that League One is about their level.