December Update:
English League Cup Quarter-Final:
Liverpool 3-1 Tranmere
View attachment 223651
The fans were really looking forward to this local derby in the Cup we lifted only 2 years ago. However, they have every right to be disgusted with the teams performance. A terrible way to play in a cup tie against our arch-rivals. Things weren’t all doom and gloom in the first half , although we conceded first , we were back on level terms just after half an hour but that was short lived. Within the next 10 minutes we found ourselves under extreme pressure and Liverpool scored 2. The onslaught continued into the second half and Liverpool were quite unlucky to have beaten us by a larger margin.
Barclays Premier League:
Tranmere 2-2 Liverpool
View attachment 223652
The fans were hoping for a much better performance against Liverpool in the league fixture the following weekend and they will be somewhat happy with a draw. A much better performance from the homeside but it was clear to see that both teams were suffering from tiredness throughout the match. Liverpool took the lead just on the Quarter mark but within 5minutes we managed to turn that around and found ourselves in the lead. We kept that lead quite comfortably and could of even built on it but we fumbled any opportunity we had at good. We were all set for 3 points coming up to the last few minutes of the match, but then Luis Suarez took a gamble from 20 yards and it struck of the inside of the post and found it’s way into the back of the net , to level things up for Liverpool.
Manchester City 2-0 Tranmere
View attachment 223653
This was set to be a extremely difficult task for us from the start. We simply couldn’t cope with the strength of the Manchester Outfit and crumbled early on. Hubert brought down Edin Dzeko inside the 6 yard area and awarded City a penalty which Edin Dzeko stepped up to take and made sure of it. City then continued to barrage out defence causing alot of problems and we were fortunate to keep the scoreline down. This onslaught continued into the second half and it didn’t take City long to build on their lead and add another goal through a corner which was finished off by Dejan Lovren. We did however, managed to create a cluster of chances in the last half hour but we couldn’t really capitalize on them.
Blackburn 0-0 Tranmere
View attachment 223656
I went into this match looking to dominate Blackburn and win quite comfortable but what i got was easily , the worst performance i’ve ever seen from this Tranmere side. Completely and utterly woeful. If it wasn’t for some brave defending and quality Goalkeeping we would of been destroyed by Blackburn who will really feel hard done by with only a point. I’m really hurt at this performance and i let the boys know how frustrated i really was , hopefully it’ll make them buck and show some class in the next few games to make up for it , because i’m seriously starting to get fed up with the lack of consistency.
Tranmere 2-0 West Brom
View attachment 223657
A fantastic response to the woeful performance at Ewood park the previous week. My little speech seemed to change their view on these fixtures and have kicked into gear for the time being. It was an end to end first half with both teams cancelling each other out , neither could break the deadlock. It was a very heated game aswell , yellow cards were plenty. Fraser McCarthy broke the deadlock 15minutes into the second half with a screamer from 2- yards ,curling into the back post unstoppable effort! West Brom continued to press then but still couldn’t find a way past our strong defence. Brazilian Midfielder Xaxa scored our Second and final goal on the stroke of full time with a nicely placed finish after an exciting build up.
Tranmere 4-2 Wigan
View attachment 223658
A tremendous victory! We showed no signs of complacency infront of goal and made sure of any decent chance we had at goal. We conceded early on in the 12
th minute, but Pedro Gonzalez equalized for us and then McCarthy put us in the lead with a well timed effort just before half time , to send the players into the dressing room on a high note. The second half was a much closer encounter. Wigan turned on the heat and Franco Di Santo equalised for them on the 74
th minute to break another Wigan Athletic goalscoring record. Thanasis Karagounis put us back in the lead 6minutes later with an excellent effort inside the Wigan final 3
rd and the match was finished off with another goal for Xaxa in the last few seconds if the game.
Wolves 3-1 Tranmere
View attachment 223660
I had a feeling our good form couldn’t last forever and Wolves taught us a lesson. Complacency is to blame in this fixture. The lads expected a walk in the park in this match and thought they had the game won before they even kick a ball. We couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. Jamie Murphy scored in the 7
th minute to put Wolves in the lead. That immediately set the pace for the match. Fraser McCarthy levelled things up for us just before the half hour mark and both sides went in at half time level, Wolves would of been wondering why they weren’t ahead with the amount of chances they had, and we were thanking the gods for our good fortune. That good fortune didn’t seem to be present in the second half though, constant Wolves attacks causing plenty of problems for our defence and we just could not tame them. Steven Fletcher finally gave Wolves the lead on the 77th minute and Wolves finished the match off with another goal just before the final whistle through Joe Mason. A frustrating way to finish the month.
View attachment 223662
Not a bad month , we got a good draw at Home against Liverpool and 2 solid wins against Wigan and West Brom. I’m slightly annoyed at our performance in the League cup but we have to get over that defeat and concentrate on our matters. I’m not too disheartened at the defeat against Man City, it was always going to be difficult to get any sort of result of their quality side. This was probably the most difficult month of the season with so many fixtures and them being against good sides.
Player of the Month:
Guillaume Hubert
View attachment 223663
Guillaume Hubert picks up this accolade yet again for some very good performances this month. He kept the scoreline down at Anfield in the League Cup and at the Etihad Stadium against a quality Man City side. He also deserves plenty of praise for his performance against Blackburn which kept us in the game, if not for him we would of been humiliated by them.
In other news: