Tranmere Rovers F.C.

File:Tranmere Rovers FC.png
Full name	Tranmere Rovers Football Club
Nickname(s)	Super Whites, Rovers
Founded	1884 (as Belmont F.C.)
Ground	Prenton Park Tranmere Birkenhead Wirral
Capacity	16,789
Chairman	Peter Johnson
Manager	Les Parry
League	League One
2009–10	League One, 19th
Home colours Away colours

Tranmere Rovers Football Club is an English football club located in the Prenton area of Birkenhead. The nicknames of the club are The Rovers or Super Whites.

For the 2010-11 season, Tranmere Rovers play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.

The team play their home fixtures at Prenton Park, Birkenhead. Their current sponsor is the local Authority, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, who have been their main sponsor since 1989.

Prenton Park

Prenton Park has four stands: The Kop, the Main Stand (including the Paddock), the Cowshed and the Johnny King Stand (formerly the Borough Road Stand but renamed after the clubs legendary manager of the early-80's to mid-90's). The Kop is the largest of the stands and currently houses the home fans whilst the Cowshed, once the beloved home end, holds the visiting fans. The all-seater stadium has a 16,787 capacity. Three sides of the ground were rebuilt over a nine month period in 1995 in coherence with a design conceived by former Chairman Frank Corfe. The future of the Main Stand is under discussion as the 40-year-old structure is becoming increasingly expensive to repair, and showing signs of visible neglect and decay.

The crest

File:OldTranmereRoversCrest.png

The former Tranmere Rovers emblem

The text on the ribbon of the old crest is written in Latin and reads "Ubi Fides ibi Lux et Robur". This translates as "Where there is faith there is light and strength". The club badge and motto are based on the crest of the former Birkenhead Borough, which became part of Wirral MBC in 1974.

The single lion is a symbol of strength, the tree represents nearby Birkenhead Park, the horseshoes represent the nearby fields, the sun represents light and the two lions show that Tranmere Rovers is an English club.

The former logo (pictured right) also included a ship on a ball representing Cammell Lairds shipyard in Birkenhead and was based heavily on the town's coat of arms.

In 2009 the club plan to change the crest for the 2009-2010 season to celebrate Tranmere Rovers 125-year anniversary. It was suggested that the club may change their logo to include a Viking symbol to represent the area's ties with the Norse explorers. In the end the only difference to the badge was the numbers 125, which were placed inside the football in the centre of the badge.

History

Since the mid-1990s, Tranmere Rovers have become famous for their magnificent cup successes. Johnny King led Rovers to the 1994 League Cup semi-final only losing to Premiership side Aston Villa on penalties in heart-breaking fashion. John Aldridge continued this tradition, guiding Tranmere to successive FA Cup quarter-finals in 2000 and 2001 and engineering an awe-inspiring run to the League Cup final in 2000. This then continued under manager Brian Little as Tranmere took Millwall to a quarter-final replay in the FA Cup in 2004, eventually losing 2-1.

Since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, Tranmere have beaten many Premiership sides in cup competitions. Notable scalps include a 3-0 victory against local rivals Everton at Goodison Park (FA Cup, 2001) and a victory against Southampton (FA Cup, 2001), which saw Tranmere come from 3-0 down at half-time to win 4-3.

The early days: 1884–1921

The current Tranmere Rovers Football Club was formed by two cricket clubs - Belmont CC and Lyndhurst Wanderers - coming together, initially as Belmont F.C. They played and won their first match 4-0 against Brunswick Rovers on November 15, 1884. The following year (16 September 1885) they re-named themselves Tranmere Rovers, taking the name of a club that had previously disbanded. The connection being both clubs had the same benefactor, James Hannay McGaul, who later became Chairman and president until he died in 1920.

Under the name Tranmere Rovers they played matches at Steeles Field on Borough Road, Birkenhead, in a kit of blue shorts and white shirts. In 1887 they gained a new ground from Tranmere Rugby Club, Ravenshaws Field, also on Borough Road. This was later renamed Prenton Park, although it was not until March 9, 1912 that the team moved into the current stadium of that name.

The team had by this time joined the West Lancashire League in which they competed for thirty years, winning it in 1908. Tranmere nearly folded in 1899 when most players elected to join a rival club Birkenhead F.C. The team had to rent out the ground to Birkenhead Warriors Rugby Club, who did at least bring a 250 seat stand with them. Tranmere were eventually promoted to the Central League in 1919 (though not by usual means, Leeds City Reserves were expelled for overpayment of wages, Tranmere took both their place and their points), and then to the Third Division North in which they played their first match against Crewe Alexandra at Prenton Park on August 27, 1921. At this time the team were managed by Bert Cooke, who did so for twenty three years in total, the club record for longest serving manager.

The Dixie, Bunny, Pongo and Nibbler Era: 1922–1939

In 1924, a Birkenhead youth named William Ralph Dean, but known to fans as "Dixie", made his début at the age of 16. Dean was discovered by Jack "Dump" Lee, Rovers' trainer and earlier team member. He played just 30 games for Rovers, scoring 27 goals, when he fulfilled his boyhood dream and was transferred to Everton in 1925 for £3,000. In the season 1927-28, Dixie netted 60 League goals, a record unlikely ever to be broken.

Three years after Dixie's departure, two more talented youngsters left for First Division clubs - winger Ellis Rimmer to Sheffield Wednesday for £3,000 and Tom 'Pongo' Waring to Aston Villa, where he is still their all-time record scorer in a single season, for £4,700.

As a boy, Pongo had sold chocolate and cigarettes to the Prenton Park crowd before signing for the club. Before he left, Pongo made his mark with a then club record six goals in the 11-1 thrashing of Durham City in January, 1928.

A fourth local youngster with an eye for goals, Bill "Nibbler" Ridding, was sold to Manchester City, in early 1930, for £3,500.

Without these talents, Rovers took some time to re-group but by 1930-31 they seemed to be running away with the championship on the back of an inside forward trio netted 93 goals between them. But, as would happen again in the future, with four games to go, Rovers' form slumped and the promotion dream vanished.

Off the pitch, many improvements were made to Prenton Park including a five span roof over the Prenton Road West end terrace, forever to be known as the "Cowshed", and the expansion of the Kop which was doubled in size with ash and clinker.

In 1932, Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw in the F A Cup at Prenton Park. Again in the FA Cup, a home tie in Round 4 against Liverpool, on 27 January 1934, was switched to Anfield where 61,036 saw Rovers defeated 1-3 - the largest ever gate for a "home game".

In both 1934-35 and 1935-36 seasons, Rovers led the Third Division (North) for most of the campaign but, in the last few vital weeks, blew their promotion chance on each occasion to fuel talk that the club lacked ambition and "did not want to go up" - though they did win the Welsh FA Cup in 1935.

The stability of the club was hardly helped by the departure, in acrimonious circumstances, of long serving secretary/manager Bert Cooke amid FA enquiries into illegal payments to players to induce them to sign for Rovers and the dismissal of several directors.

Cooke was replaced by former England international, Jacky Carr, who was in charge on 26 December 1935, when Robert "Bunny" Bell, who had netted an incredible 57 goals in all competitions during 1933-34 season, scored a record breaking nine goals in the 13-4 demolition of Oldham Athletic - and missed a penalty.

Bell's record was broken by Joe Payne who played for Luton Town, three months later, and he himself was subsequently sold to Everton, being replaced a year later by the returning Pongo Waring.

It was Pongo, along with former film extra and new team secretary/manager, Jim Knowles, who masterminded Rovers' triumphant championship season in 1937-38, when five points from their three final games clinched a first ever season in Division Two. In fact, it is still, nearly seventy years later, Rovers' sole championship in the Football League.

With Pongo well past his best and allowed to go to Accrington Stanley, and the rest of the team inadequate for the higher grade of football, Rovers struggled.

Despite early euphoria and then a series of panic buys which failed, they were relegated having won just six of 42 matches - the all time worst record of any team in Division Two.

The wilderness era: 1939–1986

For the large part of this time Tranmere simply survived, and sometimes barely that, making little impact upon the wider football world. Prenton Park survived World War 2 without any significant damage, except perhaps to Manager Bill Ridding, who served throughout the war years, and was then promptly replaced by Ernie Blackburn, who stayed in post nine years. Blackburn's team had some FA Cup success - beating First Division Huddersfield Town 2-1 on 1951, and holding Tottenham Hotspur to a 1-1 draw at Prenton Park in 1953, although the return leg was lost 9-1, Tranmere's record defeat.

Blackburn was replaced by Republic of Ireland international Noel Kelly, but his tenure was unsuccessful and brief, with Rovers having to apply for re-election to the League in 1957, following which Peter Farrell took charge of the club. Farrell took the team to a mid-table position, ensuring that in the 1958 restructuring of the football league's lower divisions, Tranmere were among the top 12 clubs from the third division north who moved into the newly created third division, rather than going down to the fourth. A crucial match against Wrexham, also fighting for a place in the higher league, on 30 April 1958 attracted a crowd of 19,615, which remains the highest ever attendance at a Prenton Park league match. Later that same year, floodlights were installed for the first time.

As Rovers struggled in 1961 a new manager, Walter Galbraith was brought in, but he could not help Rovers avoid the drop to Division 4 for the first time in their history despite the purchase of a number of players, including one John King.

1961 also saw one of Tranmere's greatest servants, Harold Bell, leaving the club. Between 1946 and 1955 Bell never missed a single Rovers game – 459 consecutive appearances, a record which holds to this day.

Galbraith was replaced by Dave Russell who all but revolutionised the club – bringing in the modern all white strip and developing a highly successful youth policy which saw many club stalwarts through its ranks – including England international Roy McFarland. Russell oversaw a steady progress for Rovers, coming close to promotion in both 1965 and 1966, before finally achieving it in 1967, despite winning fewer games than in either previous season. The following year was also successful, with FA Cup wins over First Division Huddersfield Town (again) and Coventry City, before a fifth round 2-0 defeat to Everton. With an attendance of 61,982 this was the largest ever crowd for a Rovers game. By the Everton game, Tranmere was the last third division club left in the cup, a fact which attracted a lot of media attention for the curious reason that a purported mystic had earlier that year predicted that a third division side would reach the final at Wembley.

Russell became the clubs General Manager in 1969 allowing coach Jackie Wright to take the reins. Wright's most significant purchase, former Liverpool defender Ron Yeats scored in the drawn FA Cup match v Stoke City which saw a record Prenton Park attendance of 24,424. Yeats replace Wright as manager after just four months.

Yeats immediately started strengthening Tranmere's Liverpool connections by bringing in Ian St John, Bobby Graham, Willie Stevenson and Tommy Lawrence, as well as the great Bill Shankly in a "consultancy" role. This team saw one of the most memorable Rovers results of all time when, on 2 October 1973, in a League Cup tie, Tranmere beat First Division superstars Arsenal 1-0 thanks to an Eddie Loyden goal, and later FA Chief Executive Mark Palios shackling Arsenal's Alan Ball. Tranmere Rovers are the only club to have a 100% record at Arsenal's former Highbury home.

Such glories couldn't last though, and Tranmere slipped back into the Fourth Division in 1975, despite bringing players through such as Steve Coppell. Yeats was sacked and replaced by his coach. The following decade was among the bleakest times in Tranmere's history, with the club usually in the lower reaches of the fourth division and beset by severe financial difficulties, almost going out of business on several occasions, despite a takeover by American Solicitor Bruce Osterman. A takeover by local businessman Peter Johnson proved to be a turning point in Tranmere's history, the club under his ownership enjoying by far the most successful period in its history, in which manager John King took the team from the bottom of the fourth division to the brink of English football's top league.

"Come With Us On a Journey to the Moon"—The Johnny King Era: 1987–1996

Following the intervention of Dave Patterson, a lifelong Tranmere supporter, John King was appointed manager of the club for a second time (having previously been in charge in the 1970s) towards the end of the 1986–87 season, with the club fighting not to finish bottom of the fourth division and be relegated from the football league. King orchestrated a brave fightback and safety was guaranteed on the last game of the season with a battling 1-0 home win over Exeter City, Tranmere's crucial winner being scored by midfielder Gary Williams. Thereafter, King began to show the talents which made him a legend on the Wirral and established his reputation as one of the greatest managerial geniuses ever to grace England's lower leagues, as well as one of the most eccentric. Carefully blending homegrown talent from the club's youth programme with astute bargain signings from league and non-league clubs, he built a team which propelled Tranmere steadily up the football league pyramid and acquired a fearsome reputation in cup competitions.

King's first full season of his second managerial spell in charge saw Tranmere make their first appearance at Wembley stadium when a good mid-season run of form saw them qualify as one of the fourth division's two representatives, along with eventual champions Wolves, in the football league's centenary tournament. Tranmere were the surprise stars of an otherwise derided tournament, beating first division Wimbledon and Newcastle United before losing on penalties to eventual winners Nottingham Forest.

In his second season back at the helm (1988–89), King guided Tranmere to promotion as Fourth Division runners-up, thus signifying a big stepping stone in Rovers future. In the same season, The Superwhites knocked up a string of cup successes against sides from the first division, Middlesbrough going down 1-0 on aggregate in the second round of the League Cup. Fellow members of the sports elite league, Millwall, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Coventry were among the other giants slain at Prenton Park by King's Tranmere.

Building on from the success, Rovers, under King's spectacular tutelage, performed remarkably well in their first season in the third division, 1989–90, earning a place in the playoffs after finishing in fourth place. Defeat to Notts County, 2-0, in the Playoff Final at Wembley Stadium was a bitter disappointment for King and his boys, but sweet consolation arrived a week later at the Twin Towers. Rovers, backed by a vociferously loud fan base, defeated Third Division Champions, Bristol Rovers, 2-1 in the final of the Leyland D.A.F Trophy, thus clinching the clubs first piece of significant silverware. Club record scorer Ian Muir gave Tranmere an early lead with a magnificent volleyed strike, and after Devon White gave Bristol Rovers an equaliser early in the second half, Muir's strike partner Jim Steele headed cathartic a late winner, bringing joy to the assembled masses from Wirral.

Tranmere Rovers went one better in the 1990–91 season, winning the Third Division playoffs with a dramatic 1-0 win over fierce local rivals Bolton Wanderers, after another great season in which Rovers finished in fifth place. Chris Malkin's extra time goal helped the club to promotion to the Second Division for the first time since the 1930s. The fact that it came at the expense of the biggest rivals is a fact not lost on a lot of Rovers fans. Once again, Rovers made an appearance in the Leyland D.A.F Trophy final, this time losing 3-2 to Birmingham City, relinquishing their crown in the process. This made the play-off victory over Bolton Tranmere's fourth appearance in a Wembley final in just over a year. Another notable event that season was in Tranmere's home match against Southend United on New Year's Day 1991, when right back Tony Thomas scored after just eight seconds, at the time the fastest televised goal in history.

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge, dubbed the "gunslinger" by the ever charismatic King, joined the club that summer, signing from Spain's Real Sociedad, and would remain on the club's payroll for the next 10 years. John King, weaving another miracle, guided Tranmere into the new Division One play-offs for the 1992–93 season but saw his side fall to Swindon Town, the eventual winners of the playoffs, in the semi-finals. Tranmere continued their assault on the newly-formed Premier League and made the Division One play-offs for the second successive year in the 1993–94 season but again went out at the semi-final stage, this time to Leicester City, who like Swindon went on to clinch promotion to the Premier League. This season also contained an enthralling run in the League Cup, in which Rovers progressed all the way to the semi-final stage, only to lose in heartbreaking fashion to Aston Villa on penalties. This still remains a source of pain for Rovers fans as Mark Bosnich, Villa's keeper, shouldn't have even been on the pitch for the shootout after a horrific foul during extra-time. Bosnich controversially remained in goal and thwarted Rovers in the shooutout.

Further pushing at the cusp of the Premier League, Tranmere once again made the Play-offs in the 1994–95 season, but as in the previous two seasons Rovers fell at the first hurdle, this time succumbing to Reading, who unlike Swindon and Leicester didn't make it to the Premier League. This would be the last time King's men qualified for play-offs.

The John Aldridge Era: 1996–2001

John Aldridge was appointed player-manager in 1996 and held that position for five years. During this time, Tranmere failed to reach the play-offs although they came very close in the 1996–97 season. The 1999–00 season was Tranmere's best ever in cup competition, with a miraculous run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, and the final of the League Cup, the club's first major cup final. The League Cup final, a carnival celebration of Rovers heroic achievement, resulted in a 1-2 defeat to Leicester City. Tranmere's goal was scored by David Kelly after eccentric defender Clint Hill had been sent off, although it should also be added that the player he fouled had been clearly offside at the time. Remarkably, Aldridge took Tranmere to the final of a major national cup competition with a team which did not include a single player he had paid a fee for. The club's severe financial constraints meant that at the time the squad included only a single player for whom a transfer fee had been paid, imposing target man striker Wayne Allison, who was cup-tied for the League Cup run.

The following season Aldridge's Rovers again reached the FA Cup Quarter Final with a run that included two games unlikely ever to be forgotten. The fourth round saw Tranmere drawn away to rivals Everton, who loomed on the other side of the River Mersey, forever shadowing over Rovers along with Liverpool. On that day, Everton felt the backlash of their once-inferior neighbours, as they were dealt a severe hammering. In front of 7,000 travelling delirious fans, Rovers embarrassed and humiliated their richer, bigger, monolithic rivals. Jason Koumas opened the scoring with a stupendous long-range effort, before Steve Yeates doubled the lead with a trademark bullet header. In the second half, as Rovers systematically destroyed Everton, Yeates added another header, in front of a Gwladys Street stunned into silence. The fantastic date has been immortalised in the annals Tranmere's history, fans having designated 27 January "Saint Yates' Day."

More drama was to come in the shape of a 4-3 fifth round victory over Premier League Southampton. Trailing 3-0 to Glenn Hoddle's side at half time, and having been comprehensively outplayed by the Premier League side, Tranmere, ensconced in a relegation battle at the foot of the Second Division, trotted out for the second half transformed, invigorated by a rousing half-time talk from Aldridge. With Prenton Park a cauldron of noise, Tranmere began to launch an astonishing display of unfettered attacking football, ripping the Southampton defense to tatters as they blazed forward at will. A gutsy hat trick by Paul Rideout somehow brought the scores level, with Stuart Barlow then hitting the winner which gave Tranmere a 4-3 victory in a game generally regarded as the greatest FA Cup comeback of all time.

In the quarter final they were drawn against their other neighbours, Liverpool, who would go on to win the cup that year. Liverpool had to use their attacking depth to defeat a spirited Tranmere side 4-2 in a pulsating clash.

In the league things were very different, with the side floundering at the very bottom of the table. John Aldridge finally handed in his resignation in March 2001 when Tranmere lost 2-3 at home to Barnsley after having led 2-0. The caretaker team of Ray Mathias and Kevin Sheedy was unable to save them and Tranmere were relegated from Division One after a decade at that level.

The Dave Watson era: 2001–2002

Tranmere had hopes of a quick return to Division One, but it was not to be. Dave Watson was appointed manager.

Watson joins a short list of managers who have been sacked due to a side's performance in a pre-season friendly.

The Ray Mathias era: 2002–2003

Results and performances seemed to improve immediately when Tranmere stalwart Ray Mathias was promoted from assistant manager to the managerial post in time for the 2002–03 season. Tranmere's season opener was an away match at Port Vale which was won convincingly 4-1. By the end of August Tranmere were a point outside the play-off places. Under the guidance of Mathias and the extremely popular assistant-manager David Kelly who was appointed in October, Tranmere remained within three points of the play-off places most of the season. Kelly's influence on the season was said to be considerable and his ideas and personality in training were hailed by the players.

A feature of the 2002–03 season was the extraordinary number of loan players who served the club for different lengths of time, including three goal-keepers: Ian Feuer, Keith Welch and Phil Whitehead, plus short-lived outfield players Pat McGibbon, Tom Curtis, Christian Edwards, Adam Proudlock and Marvin Robinson. Loan players of note were Tyrone Loran and Mike Jackson (who were both later signed permanently) and winger Iain Anderson who chipped in with two goals in his seven-game stay.

A remarkable second half of the season saw the team lose only once in 23 league matches, a run that set a new club record for a winning streak, to finish just outside the play-off zone in seventh place, despite equalling another club record, that of eighty points in a single season. In their push for promotion Tranmere also established a new club record of doing "the double" over eight league opponents. Cardiff City beat Rovers to the last play-off spot by a single point, a feat made mathematically possible by an unforgettable Tranmere v Cardiff Friday night fixture in March 2003. Cardiff opened the scoring through Robert Earnshaw but Simon Haworth equalised for Tranmere. Earnshaw scored again only for Iain Hume to equalise again for Tranmere. The home side finally went ahead through Gary Jones with one minute of normal time remaining and the game seemed won, only for Robert Earnshaw to equalise for Cardiff City and complete his hat-trick in the 94th minute. This event has fuelled rivalry between the South Wales club and Tranmere.

Optimism for the following 2003–04 season was shaken when in July 2003 assistant manager David Kelly left the club for Sheffield United. Tranmere's opening match was followed by ten games without a victory and pressure on Ray Mathias was mounting. This lead the board to issue Mathias with an ultimatum that he must win the home match against Wrexham on Saturday 27 September 2003 in order to retain his job. In a cruel twist of fate Tranmere not only took an early lead but outplayed Wrexham in almost every respect. Had it not been for an outstanding performance by Wrexham goalkeeper Andy Dibble, the visitors faced a heavy defeat. Unfortunarly for Mathias's career, Wrexham equalised on 62 minutes, and a minute later Shaun Holmes scored his first-ever league goal to leave Tranmere defeated and without a manager.

Following Mathias's departure from the club at the end of September, Tranmere actually won their first game since the beginning of August however there followed another two league defeats, and Tranmere were left low on morale, without a manager and occupying a relegation spot.

A Brief Renaissance—The Brian Little Era: 2003–2006

In October 2003, Tranmere turned to Brian Little as their new manager. Little had previously achieved promotion success with Darlington (twice) and Leicester, as well as leading Aston Villa to League Cup success in 1996.

Tranmere had slipped into the relegation zone just prior to Little taking over, but his arrival seemed to bring an immediate stabilising influence over the team. His primary objective was to tighten up the defence and despite losing his first game in charge in the LDV Vans Trophy, there followed a run of eleven league and cup games in which Tranmere won seven, drew three and lost only one which pulled away from the drop zone, and took the team through to an FA Cup tie with old rivals Bolton Wanderers. The match played at Prenton Park ended in a draw which meant a replay at Bolton's Reebok Stadium in which the home team looked favourites to ease past their lower-league opposition, despite fielding a weakened team. However, it was Tranmere who scored first through Eugene Dadi, whose goal-celebration revealed a t-shirt with the number "9" and "Haworth" in honour of the team-mate who had recently broken his leg. Tranmere's hopes of a win in normal time were ended when Bolton equalised with one minute of injury time remaining to take the game to extra time. Only 20 seconds into extra time, Tranmere's young phenom Iain Hume picked up the ball from the kick off and ran at a stagnant Bolton backline. Hume then struck a curling, swerving, dipping 25-yard shot which nestled into the corner of the net and proved to be the winner and continued the upturn in the club's fortunes.

By mid-February, Tranmere had climbed to 12th place and were only seven points from a playoff position. Following an FA Cup win over Swansea City, March saw an FA Cup Quarter Final away to Milwall in which again, the lower-league Tranmere were not favourites; however, the game was a draw thanks to a penalty save by John Achterberg. Meanwhile, in the league, a loss to Blackpool had been followed by four draws in five. The FA Cup success once again seemed to weigh heavily on the team's league performance as it had done in the relegation season of 2000-2001 and four consecutive losses saw Tranmere drop back down to 16th. After being knocked out of the FA Cup by Millwall in the replay at Prenton Park, Tranmere's league form returned and Tranmere won eight out of their last ten fixtures, ending the season in eighth place.

Little's first full season in charge saw a genuine promotion challenge as the club finished third behind Luton Town and Hull City. The side had started the season well but the end of January and throughout February saw a run of four draws in five games, culminating in a 3-1 humbling at home by promotion rivals Hull City. Having only lost five games all season up until that point, Tranmere managed only five wins in the last 12 fixtures and it was on the back of this poor form that Tranmere went into the play-offs. Not surprisingly, the team which had only won two of the last nine away games put in a poor performance away at Hartlepool United, being well beaten 0-2. Just as might be expected, the return match at Prenton Park was a superb football game and proved that once again Tranmere could perform when the occasion demanded it. Rovers outperformed Hartlepool, despite captain Jason McAteer going off with concussion, and Tranmere scored two bedlam-in-the-stands-inducing goals which took the pulsating tie into extra time. In the end they lost on penalties to Hartlepool United to send them crashing out of the play-off semi-finals with Ian Sharps having his spot-kick saved.

During the 2005 close season Tranmere lost their top four goal scorers of the previous campaign. Ryan Taylor and Iain Hume were sold to Wigan Athletic and Leicester City, respectively. The club released Eugene Dadi who later joined Nottingham Forest while Paul Hall was only offered a one year deal and swapped Birkenhead for Chesterfield. Sam Aiston and Steve Wilson were brought in from the lower leagues, whilst Little signed the striker Chris Greenacre from Stoke City. The 2005–06 season was poor, in which the club achieved safety from relegation only with a dramatic away victory over MK Dons in the penultimate game, and saw rising discontent against Little among Tranmere fans. As well as below-standard performances, many supporters blamed him for excessively conservative tactics leading to dull football, weakening the strength of the squad by failing either to identify quality signings or introduce new talent from the club's youth ranks, and generally failing to recognise the spirit of the club. Many players had come on loan to Tranmere during the course of the season due to the loss of Ryan Taylor and Iain Hume, but were generally considered not to have been of high enough quality. Alex Bruce was brought in at right back and did little to impress, whilst veteran Nicky Summerbee came on a week-to-week deal and also failed to impress. The exception was Simon Francis from Sheffield United who proved himself to be a more than capable right back, and with the potential to play at a much higher level. Sam Aiston signed from Shrewsbury, and, despite being a favourite with the home fans due to his willingness to run with the ball, he failed to make much impression on the scoresheet, scoring only 3 times all season. Steve Wilson in goal was capable of great saves but also capable of equally silly mistakes. Some credit should go to Brian Little for recognising the untapped potential of Chris Greenacre, who he converted to a striker from the midfield role he played at Stoke City. Greenacre went on to become leading scorer for the 2005–06 season with Delroy Facey next on 8 goals for the season, including the last minute winner against MK Dons which helped send the Dons down and keep Tranmere up. The lack of goals from midfield was the biggest failing of the side. Tranmere's midfield, containing local players Steve Jennings and Danny Harrison were organised and hard working, but showed little creativity and flair to provide ammunition for the strikers. Polls conducted on the club's unofficial website during this season recorded an increasing swell of opinion that Brian Little should be removed. It therefore came as no great surprise when Little left by mutual consent on May 5, with club captain Jason McAteer and John McMahon taking over for the last game of the season, a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Doncaster Rovers. Despite speculation linking the former Brentford manager Martin Allen with the vacant post, on June 9 Tranmere announced the appointment of popular former player, coach and assistant manager Ronnie Moore, formerly manager at Rotherham United and Oldham Athletic, as Little's replacement.

The Ronnie Moore Era: 2006–2009

After Rovers legend Moore took over the job in June he quickly made a flurry of signings, including several from his former club Rotherham United such as Paul McLaren and John Mullin. Australian full back Shane Sherriff signed, as did Chris McCready from Crewe, after impressing in pre-season friendlies. Perhaps the biggest signing of the summer for Rovers was the addition of pacey wide man Chris Shuker from Barnsley, fighting off competition from several successful Championship clubs as well as Blackpool. Veteran forward Gareth Taylor signed from Nottingham Forest, after an uneasy stay at the City Ground. The season began with a 1-0 win against Moore's former club Oldham Athletic.

Six games into the season, the 3-0 victory against Leyton Orient caught the headlines. Not only because it placed Tranmere second in the league table, but mainly due to an extraordinary 90-yard goal scored by the Rovers goalkeeper Gavin Ward from an indirect free kick just outside his area. As it bounced over the débutante Leyton Orient goalkeeper's head he stuck up a hand and got a touch to it giving the referee no choice but to give the goal. A good run of form, including a creditable draw at home against Nottingham Forest, left Tranmere placed second in the table but there then followed three opportunities in quick succession whereby Tranmere could have used a game in hand to go to the top of the table. None of these chances were taken and a spate of injuries in October exposed the lack of depth in the squad after Ronnie Moore had chosen quality over quantity of players with his limited budget. Injuries contributed to a result at home to Huddersfield Town which ended 2-2 after being 2-0 up after half time and a 2-0 reverse in the second half at Bradford City. Attempts to bring in loan signings to cover the lack of strikers proved fruitless, however coming through this bad patch saw a morale-boosting away win at Brighton which took Tranmere back to within one point of an automatic promotion place. However, form slipped away and Tranmere finished a respectable 9th position for Ronnie Moore's first season at the helm.

In the close season, Moore signed the ex-Rovers and Welsh international goalkeeper Danny Coyne as well as defensive duo Antony Kay and Ben Chorley. Midfielder Adnan Ahmed was also signed from Huddersfield Town. Tranmere opened the 2007–08 season at home with defeat to Leeds United and then went on to exit the Carling Cup in the first round. But Tranmere went on to win their next two matches 2-0 against Gillingham away and Brighton at home.

On 6 October 2007, after their 2-1 win at Southend United, they reached the top of the League One table, on goal difference, with 19 points from 10 games. However, their stay at the top only lasted for one week, and began a dreadful run of only four victories in the next sixteen league games which saw the team slide steadily into mid-table. A big factor in this loss of form was long-term injuries to both of the team's first choice wingers, Steve Davies and Chris Shuker, severely limiting the team's attacking options. The situation was remedied by tactical reorganisation on Moore's part, boosted by the loan acquisition of two promising youngsters from higher division clubs, Blackburn's Andy Taylor and Bristol City's Jennison Myrie-Williams, along with the return of manager's son Ian Moore from Hartlepool United, who had started his career at Tranmere. By the end of February, Tranmere had reached the play-off zones, but were unable to keep up their good form during the final weeks of the season and ended up finishing 11th with 65 points, 11 points short of a playoff place.

Moore signed a new 2 year deal keeping him at the club until 2010. The summer of 2008 saw a few new signings, with Gareth Edds, Edrissa Sonko, Luke Waterfall, Bas Savage, Charlie Barnett and the loan signing of Godwin Antwi. However the season started poorly with a disappointing 3-1 loss away to Swindon Town. The first league win came in the form of a 1-0 victory over Hartlepool United , Tranmere's first home game of the season. By the end of the year Tranmere sat in 8th position in the league, 4 points of the play-offs. Their play-offs aspirations continued in the later part of the season, a vital 2-0 win against league leaders Leicester City boosted these hopes. As of the 11th of March Tranmere sat 9th in League One, just 2 points off the play-off places. But three days later on the 14th of March Tranmere sat in a play-off position. Tranmere found themselves 6th after a 3-1 win over Huddersfield Town at Prenton Park. Following a disappointing defeat at Cheltenham who were currently bottom of Coca-Cola League One, Tranmere really gave their play-off aspirations a huge lift after an excellent 2-0 away victory against play-off rivals Oldham Athletic, severely dinting their opponents playoff aspirations in the process. This delighted Ronnie Moore [2] due to the fact he was once the manager of Oldham Athletic and had on many occasions suffered abuse from the Boundary Park faithful. It was particularly pleasing also for Ian Moore, who received abuse from Oldham fans for being Ronnie's son and for turning down Oldham to return to Tranmere in the 2007–8 January transfer window.

As of the May 1 Tranmere were in 7th place, 2 points behind Scunthorpe United in 6th place with both teams only having one league game remaining. This game was between the two sides at Glanford Park. A win would secure Tranmere a play-off place and anything less would mean Scunthorpe would qualify for the play-off's. Tranmere scored in the first half through Craig Curran, but unfortunately for them Scunthorpe equalised from a header with only minutes remaining. The match finished 1-1 ending Tranmere's dream of getting the play-off's for the 2008–09 season.

Ronnie Moore was sacked by Tranmere on 5 June 2009. In an official statement, the club said: "Attendances have dropped by more than 19 per cent during the last three years and the club felt that now is the right time to move forward in a new direction."

Moore's final act was to sign ex-Oldham midfielder Mark Allott.

The John Barnes Era: 2009

John Barnes was officially named as manager of Tranmere Rovers on 15 June 2009, with Jason McAteer assisting him, after Barnes himself had confirmed the appointment a day earlier.

At the start of the season, a run of six successive losses was halted by a draw with Colchester United and then a win over Wycombe Wanderers. Any hopes of a revival were immediately dashed by a comprehensive 5-0 loss to Millwall, Tranmere's worst defeat in six years, giving the team the worst goal difference of any side in the English leagues and fuelling talk of relegation even at this early stage in the season.

Citing the clubs appauling start to the season and the banality of the style of football desplayed, both Barnes and McAteer were sacked at last on 9 October 2009, finally bringing to a halt the worst regimen and saddest era in the clubs history. Chairman Peter Johnson told the club website: "Unfortunately results have not gone our way this season and we are at the wrong end of the table. We must now focus on finding the best possible candidate."

The Les Parry era: 2009—

Physiotherapist and fan favourite Les Parry was placed in temporary charge, assisted by reserve boss Shaun Garnett. Following a 2-1 defeat at Leyton Orient, Tranmere hit the bottom of League One on 21 November 2009. However, a turn around in form in late November and the beginning of December saw Tranmere go on an unbeaten run stretching to 5 games, including a 2-1 away victory against Aldershot in the second round FA Cup replay, giving Tranmere a third-round spot for just the second time since the 2003–04 season, and a game against Premier League opposition, Wolverhampton Wanderers, resulting in the ever popular chant "Who needs Mourinho, when we've got our Physio".

On 16 December, Les Parry, with the support of chairman Johnson, was appointed as manager until the end of the 2009–10 season. Johnson said: "Les, along with Shaun Garnett and Wayne Allison, has the respect of the players and the staff at Tranmere and I firmly believe he is capable of guiding us away from the bottom of the division.". His first official game resulted in a 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers. At the start of the final game of the season on 8 May, the team were in 21st place in the division and facing relegation. However, a spirited 3-0 win away at already-relegated Stockport County meant that they avoided the drop, completing the greatest of great escapes and finishing in 19th place. On the 25 June 2010, Tranmere Rovers Football Club announced that Les Parry had signed a one-year deal as manager. Owner and Chairman Peter Johnson commented upon Parry's commitment and dedication to the role and how he was able to transfer his skills as a physiotherapist into management so well. On 9 July 2010 Les Parry appointed Kevin Summerfield as his assistant for the 2010–11 campaign.

Managerial history

List of Tranmere managers who have taken charge of the club on a permanent basis.

Manager	Nationality	Period	G	W	D	L	Win %	Point Av.
John King	England	April 1987 - April 1996	488	211	129	148	43.24	1.56
John Aldridge	Ireland	April 1996 - March 2001	268	93	78	93	34.70	1.33
Dave Watson	England	May 2001 - August 2002	55	22	15	18	40.00	1.47
Ray Mathias	England	October 2002 - September 2003	66	29	18	19	43.94	1.59
Brian Little	England	October 2003 - June 2006	147	61	43	43	44.21	1.54
Ronnie Moore	England	June 2006 - June 2009	158	65	38	55	41.14	1.47
John Barnes	England	June 2009 - October 2009	14	3	1	10	21.42	0.76
Les Parry	England	October 2009–Present	40	14	10	16	35.00	1.37

Players

As of 6 August 2009.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	FRO	Gunnar Nielsen (on loan from Manchester City)
2	DF	CUW	Timothy Cathalina
3	DF	ENG	Aaron Cresswell
4	DF	ENG	Marlon Broomes
5	DF	JAM	Ian Goodison
6	MF	ENG	Paul McLaren
7	FW	NGA	Enoch Showunmi
8	MF	ENG	John Welsh (captain)
9	FW	ENG	Ian Thomas-Moore
11	MF	EIR	Alan Mahon
12	MF	WAL	Ash Taylor
13	GK	ENG	Joe Collister
14	DF	ENG	Nick Wood
15	MF	ENG	Ryan Fraughan
16	MF	ENG	Jack Mackreth

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	DF	ENG	Liam Darville (on loan from Leeds United)
18	DF	FRA	Maxime Blanchard
20	MF	ENG	Liam Benson
21	MF	ENG	Dale Jennings
22	GK	ENG	Andrew Coughlin
24	DF	CIV	Zoumana Bakayogo
25	MF	ENG	Joss Labadie
26	FW	NIR	Adam McGurk
27	FW	ENG	Lucas Akins
28	FW	NIR	Sam Morrow
29	MF	ENG	Jermaine Grandison (on loan from Coventry City)
30	MF	FRA	Arnaud Mendy (on loan from Derby County)
31	GK	HUN	Péter Gulácsi (on loan from Liverpool)
32	DF	ENG	Scott Wootton (on loan from Manchester United)
33	GK	AUS	Simon Miotto

Main rivals

Despite being geographically near to Everton and Liverpool, who are from just across the Mersey, Tranmere's time in the lower leagues has meant that they have formed bitter rivalries with other clubs. However, in the 1990s a slight rivalry, not fully reciprocated, did develop with Everton following the controversial departure of Peter Johnson to Goodison Park, the subsequent Steve Simonsen transfer saga, and Rovers' thrashing of The Blues in the FA Cup in 2001. This rivalry has cooled in recent years given the present gulf in status between the two clubs.

Bolton Wanderers: The rivalry between Bolton Wanderers and Tranmere goes back to the early 1990s when both clubs were fighting for promotion from Division 3 into Division 2. They met in the Division 3 play-off final at Wembley in 1991. In the final Chris Malkin scored the winning goal in extra time to send Rovers up into Division 2 for only the second time in their history. Bolton and Tranmere fans were reacquainted once more after Bolton won promotion from Division 3 in the 1991-92 season. The rivalry continued as both clubs challenged for promotion into the Premiership culminating in the 1994-95 season when Bolton gained promotion through the play-offs. As Bolton found it hard to remain in the Premiership, being promoted and relegated twice, there were still a number of meetings between the sides. When the two teams were managed by John Aldridge and Sam Allardyce, meetings became quite confrontational. Tranmere met Bolton in the semi final of the League Cup on their way to the last final to be played at the old Wembley in 2000. It was a two legged affair which Tranmere won 4-0 on aggregate. The fact that Tranmere were a division lower than Bolton at this time further fuelled the Bolton fans anger. The rivalry was revived with the two clubs meeting competitively in the League Cup 2nd round in 2009 where Bolton won 1-0 despite fielding a weakened side.

Wrexham: Wrexham have always been one of Tranmere's main rivals, not only because the two clubs are relatively close to each other or because they have been in the same division for long periods of time, but also the cross border English-Welsh rivalry. Tempers were heated and hooliganism was rife at games between the two teams. In September 2003, 32 hooligans, who attached themselves to Tranmere and Wrexham, were jailed for riots and fighting near Rock Ferry Station, after a game at Prenton Park.

Chester City: Chester City are based to the south of Tranmere near the Welsh border, with their stadium just over the Welsh boundary. Chester have not met Tranmere in a league match since 1991, but previously had often played in the same division as Tranmere. In recent years, some of the rivalry between Chester and Tranmere results from the Chester City chairman, Stephen Vaughan, proposing in 2003 to buy Tranmere, sell Prenton Park and have Tranmere play their home games at the Deva Stadium whilst a new "community stadium" was built on the Wirral. This was unacceptable to most supporters of both clubs, who were concerned that it could lead to Chester City and Tranmere Rovers being merged. Chester City is now defunct and has since been replaced by a successor club.

Oldham Athletic: A rivalry has grown between the two clubs due partly to former manager Ronnie Moore's unpopular spell in charge of the Latics before returning to Tranmere, and partly due to both clubs being relatively local and playing in the same division for a number of seasons. A similar rivalry was created with Wigan Athletic during their Division 2 era because of Simon Haworth's controversial transfer from Wigan to Tranmere, and just like with Oldham both teams were regular opponents and were relatively local.

Local teams such as Cammell Laird, Heswall and Vauxhall Motors play Tranmere nearly every pre-season and as all the teams are within 5 miles of Tranmere, there is a friendly rivalry between the clubs and fans.

The following teams have played the most league games against Tranmere:

• 1= Crewe Alexandra- 118
• 2= Stockport County- 108
• 3= Halifax Town- 104*
• 4= Rochdale- 104
• 5= Hartlepool United- 104
• 6= Wrexham- 102
• 7= Chesterfield- 92
• 8= Darlington- 86
• 9= York City- 82
• 10= Southport- 80
• 11= Barrow- 70
• 12= Chester City*- 68

• Club is now defunct.

Women's football

Tranmere Rovers' affiliated female counterpart, Tranmere Rovers L.F.C., is currently competing in the Northern Championship. They are currently feuding with Liverpool L.F.C., Lincoln City L.F.C. and Crewe Alexandra L.F.C. for promotion to the Women's Premiership, where they have been before, from 1996 to 2001.

Internal records

Best league victory

Tranmere Rovers and Oldham Athletic both hold the English football record for most goals in a game. The match was played on the 26 December 1935 at Prenton Park, Tranmere won the game 13-4.

Highest attendances

• 24,424 against Stoke City in the FA Cup 4th Round 1972 (at Prenton Park)

Lowest attendance

• 286 v U.S. Lecce - Anglo-Italian Cup 1994

Most goals in a season

• 40 - John Aldridge - 1991-1992
• 40 - Robert "Bunny" Bell - 1934-1935

All-time record goalscorers

• Ian Muir - 180
• John Aldridge - 176
• Bunny Bell - 113
• Fred Umson - 107
• Barry Dyson - 106

Honours

• Highest League Position
  • 4th, The Championship, 1992–93
• Football League Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2000
  • Semi-Finalists: 1993-94
• Qualified for Championship Play-Offs
  • 1992-93, 1993–94, 1994–95
• FA Cup Quarter-Finalists
  • 1999-2000, 2000–01, 2003–04
• Football League Third Division North
  • Winner (1): 1938
• Football League Division Three
  • Play-off winners (1): 1991
  • Play-off runners up: 1990
• Promoted from Division Four
  • 1966-67, 1975–76, 1988–89
• Football League Trophy
  • Winner (1): 1990
  • Runner-up (1): 1991
• Welsh Cup
  • Winner (1): 1935
  • Runner-up (1): 1934

Sponsorship

The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral's logo "Wirral" has adorned Tranmere shirts since 1989, making it the longest shirt sponsor in English football and the third longest in European football.

In popular culture

• In the movie Goal!, one of the young reserve players says he joined Newcastle United from Tranmere Rovers.
• In the prison-escape movie Lucky Break, starring Timothy Spall, Lennie James and James Nesbitt, a young cell mate, who is good at making gizmos and gadgets, has a Tranmere Rovers team poster on the wall of his cell.
• In the Liverpool-based soap opera Brookside, Geoff Rogers, an aspiring young footballer, had a spell as a youth player at Tranmere.
• Something for the Weekend chef Simon Rimmer went on Mastermind and his topic was on Tranmere.
• Awaydays is a motion picture set in late 1970s Birkenhead and features a fictional Tranmere firm ('The Pack'). It is based on a novel of the same name by Kevin Sampson.
• Manager Les Parry recorded and released a Christmas single in December 2006. The song was written by breakfast DJ Jeff Nolan from Wirral's Buzz 97.1 and was released to aid the annual Wirral's Buzz help a Wirral child appeal.

External links

• Official website
• Tranmere Rovers F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures