Ethan Hoijord

Laura Pennington, TRFC ladies, interview.

Tranmere ladies have been impressing this season, with their progressive playing style meaning many goals are scored against the opposition they come up against. 

This has ensured that it has been a great start to Marc Joyce’s reign as manager, Rovers sitting second in the table and looking to add onto their league momentum with a victory this weekend against Mossley Hill.

I caught up with the scorer of nine goals so far this campaign in Laura Pennington, as her attention returns to sporting action following a winter break. 

Laura, thank you for your time, how would you describe yourself as a player and could you tell us a little bit about your career so far?

I started playing football from the age of 8 when I joined Mostyn Dragons boys team and then moved on to a girls team. 

I played for my local ladies team Northop Hall until I made the move to TNS a few years ago.

TNS dropped the ladies team for a season but the team moved and continued to play as Wem Town, that team was great as it was a closely knit group of players.

I made the move to Tranmere at the start of this season.

How would you describe your time at Tranmere? There seems to be a real togetherness in the squad and Marc Joyce seems to be getting the best out of that, with convincing wins and a great scoring record.

I’ve really enjoyed my time at the club so far, it’s been great. The girls I play with are lovely and have made me feel really welcome, the coaching staff are fantastic too. 

I’ve always been a striker or a player with an attacking role, I like making attacks happen and I love the goal involvements that creates. 

In training we tend to focus on our attack a little bit, there’s a good commitment from everyone in sessions.

What is it like to be a ladies footballer for Tranmere? Your weekly routine etc in terms of match preparation and recovery, touching on ladies football in general.

I work full time as an exercise physiologist at LHCH, which takes up quite a lot of my time in the week. 

The team trains on a Tuesday and a Thursday, which is a decent two hour session at Vauxhall. I also help the team with their strength and conditioning which is really cool to be given that opportunity. 

In my personal time, I like to do individual exercise so I will go on runs and go to the gym which adds to my match fitness and preparation.

Touching on the winter break your now coming off from, do you believe this break is important in football as it’s something that’s often spoken about in the men’s game too? How would you say your break has gone?

I personally enjoy the break from football but I continue to do my job during this time. I did manage to get Christmas day off though! 

I can see the importance of a break from sport. However, from a fan point of view I enjoy watching the games that are on television. 

We were hoping to get some training sessions in between Christmas and New Year but unfortunately a COVID outbreak put a stop to those plans. It’s been frustrating, COVID putting a stop to footballing plans, but the league has been quite good with us this year with the rotational side of things.

Mossley Hill are the visitors this Sunday, have you spent much time considering what they play like and how would you say Rovers’ chances of getting another league win?

We definitely focus on the visitors quite a bit when we’re in training. We’ve also played Mossley Hill once this season so we’ll bare that in mind too. 

I feel this is an unexpected game as we were supposed to be having another week off before returning to action. However, it’s good to be back and we’ve got to make sure that we’re focused. 

The previous game against them went quite well, I got my first competitive hat trick and we won nine or ten nil so it was quite a high scoring game. 

I believe they had quite a few players away that day, through injuries etc but that doesn’t take anything away from our performance. 

It’s always important to go into games with a positive mindset and we were feeling prepared after training last night. It was great to see all the girls back together again and we’re looking forward to playing again.

Lastly, as we look at the remaining months of the season, what would you say your personal and team aims are for this campaign? 

We’d love to get promoted! I feel this season is going really well for us so that is a realistic goal. In terms of my game, it’s important to continue doing what I love the most in scoring and making assists. 

Scunthorpe United meeting the opposition.

The previous game between Tranmere and Scunthorpe was played at United’s ground in late August 2021, a performance from Rovers that screamed that there were plenty of problems to be sorted out.

Now in January 2022, the hosts this time round sit in a much more comfortable position in the table and the positive momentum has resulted in Micky Mellon being named as the league’s manager of the month for December. 

In the opposite dugout sits Keith Hill, a man who Rovers fans know plenty about as he returns to Prenton Park looking to frustrate his previous employers. 

I spoke to a Scunthorpe supporter, Toby Skelton, about the on and off pitch situations at Scunthorpe United before he gave his thoughts on how he can see the game panning out and much more. 

What were your expectations going into the season and what are they now as we enter the second half of the campaign?

My expectations were always fairly low. After a poor end to last season and even more budget cuts over the summer, I think every Scunthorpe fan expected to be in a relegation scrap this season. To survive again this season would be a great feat.

What are your thoughts on those in charge at The Iron. Keith Hill is the newly appointed manager whereas Peter Swann is the chairman.

Keith Hill has been a breath of fresh air since coming in. He’s massively increased the fitness levels of the squad which was one of the major issues under Cox, and he’s made us defensively competent, which is a complete turnaround from the previous regime. As for Swann, he’s always been a contentious figure. Perhaps over the last few months however, he has gradually begun trying to rectify some of his previous mistakes, and adding popular supporter Simon Elliott to the club board has certainly helped relations between the fans and the chairman.

Scunthorpe’s danger men?

Good question! I’m not even sure I could tell you. We’ve been toothless up front all season. Top scorer Ryan Loft was sold during the week, so we’ll have to see what new loan signing Sam Burns has to offer if he gets a start.

The last time these two clubs met was in August, the hosts (yourselves) winning 1-0. How would you describe the way that game was played?

It was a fairly boring affair. Tranmere passed it around well and their players showed some good touches, but looked very poor in attack. We got a slightly fortuitous penalty which was converted by Miles Hippolyte, but overall, we did have a few chances but Joe Murphy in goal was in top form, making some key saves.

How do you see the upcoming fixture panning out? (Score prediction) and why, if you do, do you think this meeting will pose different questions than the previous encounter did?

I think it will be 1-1. Under Hill we’re very hard to beat and I imagine he will be very up for this match against his former employers. I expect chances will be fairly limited for both sides. Keith Hill has been somewhat of a 1-1 specialist for us, and I would not be at all surprised if he got another draw under his belt.

What starting eleven do you think Hill will select and how would you describe his playing style in the time he’s spent at the club so far? Rovers fans will know a little bit about this considering he was manager of Tranmere last season.

It’s very difficult to predict the starting line up as we have a few covid cases so predicting a starting line up would be a complete stab in the dark. I would expect Hippolyle to be the focal point for us, trying to feed balls through to the strikers. Our fitness levels are very good now too so I think we will certainly try and run at the

Rovers defence with players like Devarn Green. We tend to be a second half team nowadays, so if you are 1-0 up at half time, do not take the win as a given, even despite our lowly position in the league.

How would you describe the matchday at Prenton Park too, if you have experienced it in the past?

I’ve actually never been! It will be my first time going there on Saturday and I’m very much looking forward to it.

As we have now entered the January transfer window, who would you like United to sign this month? Would you say there are positions that you’d like to be strengthened?

We certainly need a new striker, that’s for sure. I would like to see an experienced central midfielder in the building, plus a new centre back as George Taft has been fairly unreliable so far this term, and captain Harry Davis has a questionable injury record.

Matt Jones.

Why Tranmere, the ATTTMPod and my personal work looks strong heading into 2022. 

Matt Jones is the co-presenter of a great Tranmere podcast in the shape of the ‘A Trip To The Moon’, a podcast that has very recently brought the very interesting cases of those such as Connor Jennings and Ray Matthias to light. 

Ahead of the upcoming calendar year I spoke to Matt about the form that Tranmere find themselves in going into the second half of the season, the interviewees that we are yet to hear the stories of and how great it now is to be busy having found more freelance media work following on from the Covid pandemic difficulties. 

Those who enjoy his work have a lot to look forward to in 2022. 

How would you describe the success of the podcast throughout the calendar year of 2021? Do you believe that, if there were any, the aims to be met at the start of the calendar year were?

I would definitely say it’s been a success over the course of the year as we doubled the amount of subscribers that we initially had. We’ve also had some great interviews on there, some really good exclusives and people have been really keen to come on. 

I’m not sure what aims we necessarily had to meet but in terms of success? Yeah, I’m absolutely delighted with how it has gone and hopefully we can keep finding people who want to come on and be interviewed.

Would you say that there were particular moments throughout the year were people were subscribing or would you describe the success in terms of viewers as steady?

There are certain interviews that we know will make people sign up if they happen. For example, we had Micky Mellon on just before the Christmas period of 2020. I knew Micky from my days at the Liverpool Echo and Radio City, he was happy to come on. 

What’s surprised me slightly is that it’s often the more recent faces that build traction, an example being when James Vaughan spoke of his best eleven. However, every single podcast has been well received.

To tell you a little bit about how we work, we try to have a different era spoken about each week. For example, we wouldn’t put out a podcast with a promotion winner from the most recent play-off successes as it would just be the same stories, relatively, spoken about. It’s nice to have a bit of variety and meet different people’s needs. 

We spoke a little bit about Micky Mellon before, touching on the podcast that he did with yourself. How would you describe his re-introduction at the club and do you believe we’re heading into the new year with a bit of positivity after a mixed 2021?

I believe we’re at a much better position now than at this point last year. Although you’d look at our league position then and think we were in a great place to mount a promotion push, you always feared that it’d fall by the wayside a little bit because of many factors including having to play the games behind closed doors. We’ve seen this season how great the fan impact can have at Tranmere and this is something that Micky speaks about quite a bit in his meetings with the press.

Ultimately, the goal in 2021 was to go up thus the season was a failure. However, another great disadvantage to our promotion push was the long-term injury of James Vaughan and any team losing his calibre of quality would struggle to meet their goals. 

Touching on Mellon’s return, it’s been slightly mixed at times results wise. It’s hard to say whether his players have been putting more effort in than Keith Hill’s were, as many have left. However, you always know what you’re going to get from a Mellon side and I’d say that this team is pretty much a mirror of the 2018/19 team without having a goalscorer as prolific as James Norwood. It’s the same style of football, grinding out results, wearing your heart on your sleeve etc so the re-introduction has been, as things stand, a success. 

Another thing that is giving a lot of people faith going forwards is that we’re now in the January transfer window and as we’ve seen in 2018, 2019 and 2020 we always tend to improve from that point on. It’ll be interesting to see how we do this time round but I don’t think the league is as good as it has been in the recent past. 

Touching back on the podcast, who would you say provided the best listens throughout the course of last year? Personally, I really enjoyed the Connor Jennings one.

Loads were great for various reasons. 

The Otis Khan one was great. However, that gained a lot of negativity from Walsall supporters who misconstrued what was said. Graham Branch was really open and honest, you don’t often find interviewees answering questions with the level of truth he gave. There was a great St Yates Day special, 20 years on from beating Everton at Goodison Park, Andy Parkinson came on to that and so did an Everton fan! Steve Davies, Alan Navaro and Ash Taylor – another great three.

I was surprised with Taylor’s podcast, I thought I had an image of what he would be like but he was a real down to earth guy. The story that was painted about his exit was a complete fabrication of what had actually happened. 

There was so much that we did, but none of this could happen without the individual willing to come on to the podcast and being open and honest about their stories. 

Would you say that the podcast has helped you slightly as a journalist?

As I’ve done hundreds and thousands of interviews in the past I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily helped me improve on my skills in too many ways. However, to use a footballing cliche it’s certainly kept me match fit as I’d stopped interviewing after I left Radio City – I’d be interviewing six or seven people a day when I was presenting my show!

For 2022, would you say there are any working ambitions for yourself or for the podcast?

I don’t know if we’ve set any goals for the podcast. However, it’d be nice to get over the 300 subscriptions mark. The interviews tend to get viewed by those who aren’t subscribers though. For example, we had 16,000 listening to the podcast we did with Otis Khan. 

In terms of future podcasts, ones that have been done but not yet released, Eugene Dadi and Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro. Also, there is a very large list of people who we are working slowly through to come onto the podcast throughout the course of the year. 

My work away from the podcast though, a lot has changed since I last spoke to you. I have started working with IMG who have rights for the EFL thus I’ve commentated on a few match highlight videos. I’ve worked with Talksport, I commentate on some games for BBC Local Radio and I commentate for the Burnley Women’s team. It’s a lot nicer to be busy than not. I hope I can work on that, keep that going because I enjoy that and I hope others do too.

Can we touch on the work you do for TalkSport? What are your responsibilities for them and how did you get your foot in the door there?

I freelance for numerous companies. Talksport comes to me a few times a month and asks me to cover a few games for them. I provide reports into the show on what is going on in the game, goals and cards etc wise.

Freelance is good but definitely provided me with some difficulties throughout the pandemic.

Placing our focus back on Tranmere, with the January transfer window now open. Who would you like to be brought in and would you say there are positions that you’d like to be strengthened?

After the injury to Nicky Maynard and presuming Ste Walker is going back to Middlesbrough, I feel we need to strengthen our strikeforce. James Norwood will definitely not be coming back, considering his upturn in form at Ipswich but we could maybe do with one or two strikers.

Could one of those attacking players be youngster Josh McPacke? I’ve seen little bits of him, he’s been recalled from his loan spell at Morecambe which only strengthens the rumours but who knows when, or if, that will be confirmed. He’s clearly a talented player, you must have something about you to come through at Rangers so I’d never say no to someone who could offer that attacking quality to the team. 

Defence wise? Maybe we could add a bit of depth but we’ve seen that Chris Maguire and Kyle Hayde can do a job there so I would probably say that’s not too much of a worry.

Barrow meeting the opposition.

With many Boxing Day games being called off, Tranmere and Barrow supporters are lucky that they have something to look forward to this Christmas. Micky Mellon’s Tranmere are set to host Mark Cooper’s Barrow in a League Two fixture that brings Ollie Banks and Mark Ellis back to Prenton Park.

With that in mind, I spoke to Bluebirds fan Taylor Nelson who gave his thoughts on Barrow’s season so far, how he believes the game will pan out and other subjects that relate to either club before giving his score (scoreless) prediction.

How long have you supported Barrow? Why and how did your love for the club come about?

I first started attending games when I was six. We were playing in the Conference North at that time and me and my dad used to go to the odd game with Barrow being our local team having grown up not far from the ground at all. Eventually, as I got older, it continued to become a more regular thing until I started attending every week and 

became a regular season ticket holder.

Since you’ve been supporting the club, what have been your best and worst footballing experiences?

One of the best experiences would have to be promotion to the Football League. The only downside is that we didn’t get to celebrate it in the way we would have liked or perhaps achieve it in the way we would have preferred either. I guess that pretty much answers both parts to the question!

Random fact about Barrow? (The club/The area)

We have won the FA Trophy twice – once at the old Wembley in 1990 and once at the new Wembley in 2010.

How would you describe The Bluebirds’ campaign so far and what are your hopes/expectations for the months ahead?

Inconsistent. A work in progress. There’s been signs that we are a decent side but we lack a goalscorer and I feel that has impacted on our overall performance with the rest of the team having to carry the burden. In recent weeks, we seem to have turned a corner and I hope that this is more of an indication of what is to come after a frustrating run prior to that. January will be massively important for us.

Taking a look at Boxing Day’s game, who would you say are the key players for either side?

Robbie Gotts will no doubt play a key role in how we perform on the day. From my perspective, Tranmere present themselves as a relatively solid team defensively and I think tackling Peter Clarke and Tom Davies – a player we know a little about after his loan spell last season – will be a tough challenge to overcome.

How do you believe the fixture will be approached by Mark Cooper, in terms of tactics and team selection?

Tough to say! Of course every game is approached differently but I would like to see us approach the game with the same positivity we did against Ipswich. 

What are the fanbase’s thoughts on the club’s ownership? Are there any current off-pitch plans that are creating a sense of excitement?

Nothing too glamorous but we’re ticking over nicely and making every bit of use of the money we have available to us. We’re a smaller club compared to many in the division so unfortunately we’re not as blessed with our facilities. We’re always looking to improve on what we have and I expect the board will continue to do as they have over the past twelve to eighteen months.

Thoughts on Tranmere? The club in general.

I can’t say I have much of an opinion on Tranmere. They’re a club with aspirations quite different to us this season and the facilities and fan-base to assist them. Good luck to them. 

The January transfer window is fast approaching, who would you like to see brought to Holker Street?

A striker who knows where the net is. Quite simply.

Finishing off, your score prediction for the festive fixture at Prenton Park?

Neither team is blessed with goals, I’ll go for a 0-0 draw.

In conversation with Richie Tierney.

The voice of a Tranmere matchday is Richie Tierney, Tranmere’s stadium announcer doing his role since the 1980’s. Thus, many will know about him. However, not many will know of his complete story.

In a discussion with Richie, I spoke to him about the responsibilities that his role brings, how long he has been following the club and a crazy story which involves former Tranmere owner Frank Corfe amongst many other talking points.

How long have you been going to Tranmere games for and what are your best/worst footballing experiences through this time?

I have been a Rovers fan for 59 years. My first game was Rovers v Mansfield on Easter Monday 1962 with my dearest father and we won 5 – 1. This is my 36^th season, doing my role, I’ve loved it. 

My best footballing experience actually didn’t happen at Prenton Park but over the water at Goodison Park. Everton 0 Tranmere 3. It was an absolutely fabulous performance and a great day out. The worst was the 2001 FA Cup versus Liverpool we lost 2 – 4 but that’s not the whole story as dreadful refereeing cost us dearly.

You are the stadium announcer at Prenton Park. When and how did you get this role?

Going back to the 80’s I was a member of Birkenhead Park Cricket Club and on the committee was Clive James who was also on the TRFC supporters club. The PA announcer at the time had had enough and the supporters club started looking for his replacement. As I was also the resident DJ at BPCC Clive knew I was a Rovers fanatic and asked me if I fancied it and you bet I did with open arms.

How would you describe your role and the responsibilities you have that some may not know about? Would you say it’s a rewarding and interesting job?

My role at Prenton Park is to keep the fans informed of what’s happening on match days: teams, scorers (usually correct), subs (if the 4th official turns his board towards the box) and the time being added on. Also safety announcements when required. It’s a totally rewarding task for me. I wouldn’t call it a job as I love it so much and as for rewarding? Yes, as I get in for free!

What are some of the best and worst working experiences you’ve had in your time as Tranmere stadium announcer? 

I’ll explain the worst by far first. Prenton Park, FA Cup, vs QPR. Chris Wright was the chairman in waiting at QPR. Pre match I met a few QPR fans in the pub and during our conversation they remarked that if they didn’t get rid of Ray Wilkins they would get relegated. We got beat 2-0 so I wasn’t that happy. As the away fans were leaving, that was when they were on the Kop, I spotted the lads I met in the pub so I wished them all a safe journey home and we would see them in the Endsleigh League next season. About 10 minutes later the phone rang in the box and it was Chairman Frank Corfe who promptly sacked me. I found out later that Chris Wright had complained about me implying they would be relegated and was furious. I was escorted from Prenton Park. So Sunday afternoon I drove up to Scotland to catch the ferry to Belfast. I then returned to Scotland on Tuesday and received a phone call from a Radio asking if I would do an interview later that morning with them regarding my sacking. I was on the road to Glasgow when I received a call from Frank Corfe. He had also been asked for an interview with Radio Merseyside. Frank then phoned me and said if I refuse to do the interview I could have my job back so obviously I didn’t do the interview. QPR got relegated so I was correct in my comment.

I’ll have to be honest and say that all games are the best for me as I love my job so much.

Outside of your work for the club, do you have other jobs and what would you say your hobbies are? Are you a massive fan of football in general?

I am an area Sales Manager for a Chemical construction supplier. However, I haven’t worked for nearly 2 years now because of lung cancer and a brain tumour. I do enjoy all football but don’t like it when Liverpool and Everton win, although not much to worry about with Everton at the moment.

Touching on Tranmere teams, since you’ve been stadium announcer at the club who would get into your best eleven and who would manage them?

It’s always difficult picking an all time best 11 as you tend to change your mind regularly. So if any Rovers players I have left out there I’m sorry. However, I’d go for: Eric Nixon, Tony Thomas, Ian Goodison, Mark Hughes, Gareth Roberts, Jason Koumas, Jimmy Harvey, Paul Hall, John Aldridge, Ian Muir and Pat Nevin. They’d be managed by Johnny King.

Tranmere Rovers v Harrogate Town

Tuesday 21st December 2021, 7pm 

Papa Johns Trophy

Prenton Park

Match report.

Harrogate Town progressed into the third round of the Papa Johns Trophy with a victory over Tranmere on Tuesday night.

The tie was played at Prenton Park, last season’s finalists looking to go on a cup run having already exited the FA and Carabao cups.

Micky Mellon fielded a strong attack with Nicky Maynard as the focal point. Simon Weaver placed Jack Diamond in his starting eleven, Jack Muldoon sat on the bench.

The opening stages were dominated by an inspiring and attacking Rovers, a succession of crosses would soon result in Maynard adding on to his tally for the club. The former Mansfield bagsman has shown his abilities in cup competitions this campaign, Micky Mellon preferring a partnership of Elliott Nevitt and Charlie Jolley for league games.

Both sides continued to grow into the game from this, the defensive shapes remaining relatively solid throughout. Joe Maguire came close to doubling the hosts lead when a looping header was tipped over by 31-year-old keeper Mark Oxley. Callum McManaman’s bending effort from range whistled past the post soon afterwards. 

A resolute defence frustrated the visitors who could only muster a few blocked attempts on goal amongst a couple of comfortably dealt with crosses. 

Mellon’s team went into the half in front. However, it was Simon Weaver’s team that impressed in the opening stages of the second as a couple of dangerous crosses were put in by Diamond and right-back Ryan Fallowfield. Tom Davies cleared the latter’s dangerous low driven effort.

This period of intent resulted in an equaliser as substitute Muldoon brought the visitors level. The goal only added to The Sulphurites forward thinking appetite.

To break up play and aim to combat further attacks from Weaver’s men, midfielder Sam Foley replaced EFL veteran attacker Mark Duffy for Tranmere. Diamond soon went into the book for a foul on Callum McManaman.

The aim to combat didn’t come to fruition, Middlesbrough academy graduate Alex Pattison scoring the goal that edged The Sulphurites into the lead.

Three changes would soon follow for the hosts. Jolley, Nevitt and Lee O’Connor replaced Liam Feeney, Chris Merrie and goalscorer Maynard with twenty minutes left on the clock. 

However, apart from Peter Clarke being subbed on to be a striker and the visitors winning consecutive corners there was little else to report on in the closing stages of the midweek encounter.

Harrogate Town will face Carlisle United at The EnviroVent Stadium in the Papa Johns Trophy third round.

Teams.

Tranmere: Joe Murphy, Liam Feeney, Kyle Hayde, Tom Davies, Joe Maguire, Calum MacDonald, Ryan Watson, Chris Merrie, Mark Duffy, Nicky Maynard, Callum McManaman.

Subs on: Peter Clarke, Lee O’Connor, Sam Foley, Charlie Jolley, Elliott Nevitt.

Harrogate: Mark Oxley, Ryan Fallowfield, Lewis Page, Nathan Sheron, Warren Burrell, Josh Falkingham, Alex Pattison, Lloyd Kerry, Luke Armstrong, George Thomson, Jack Diamond.

Subs on: Jack Muldoon.

Stats.

Possession – 44/56

Shots on target – 6/2

Fouls – 9/10

Offsides – 2/2

Corners – 7/7

What they said.

Tranmere coach Andy Parkinson – ‘It was a game of two halves, although that is a clique. In the first half, we created chances and probably should’ve went into the half three nil up. However, in the second we didn’t do enough to keep that lead. They changed their formation at half time to match ours and we didn’t do enough against them to match their shape correctly.We probably should’ve equalised right at the depth as we grew into the half’.

Harrogate manager Simon Weaver – ‘Our second half was great. The players played with great intensity and passed the ball well into progressive scenarios. We were a different proposition after the break. We looked sloppy and soft in the first half, the attack looked isolated too so we were looking for a reaction’. 

Harrogate Town meeting the opposition.

Tranmere’s final game before Christmas Day 2021 sees them come up against Harrogate Town at Prenton Park this Tuesday night. It’s a fixture in a competition that has divided opinion. However, with Rovers out of the other two available cup competitions they’ll be hoping a run in a competition can come from somewhere!

I spoke to Town supporter Dave Worton ahead of the midweek game and we discussed where the game may be won or lost, our thoughts on the Papa John’s Trophy, The Sulphurites on and off pitch positions amongst a range of other subjects.

How long have you supported Harrogate Town? Why and how did your love for the club come about?

Since February 2016, when I went to see them play FC United in the National League North. It was £1 in for kids, so I asked my daughter if she wanted to come. She initially turned me down but, just as I was on the way out of the door, she changed her mind as she had nothing better to do. One 5-0 victory later, she was exiting the ground with a £10 scarf (so much for a cheap day out) asking when the next match was. We haven’t looked back since.

Since you’ve been supporting the club, what have been your best and worst footballing experiences?

Best? There have been many, as you might imagine. An extra time 3-2 win at AFC Fylde in the FA Trophy Quarter Final just before the first lockdown, the first time we’d beaten them in something like twelve games, stands out. It was in the middle of Storm Jorge and wild celebrations from that day are captured on the cover of my book. Also turning over York City twice in our first ever competitive matches against them, beating Brackley Town 3-0 to gain promotion to the National League for the first ever time in the club’s history and gaining promotion to the Football League, of course. Defeating Bradford City twice last season would also have been well up there, if only we could have attended. It’s just not the same on Ifollow.

Worst? Not being able to attend Wembley to see either the FA Trophy Final or the National League Play-Off Final in the space of a few months due to Covid.

You’ve written a book that has been praised by fellow fans, could you explain what that book is about and when did it come out?

Yes, it’s called ‘For The Love Not The Glory’. It’s telling the story of my daughter and I unbelievably following Harrogate Town into the Football League. I serialised it all via a weekly column in the local paper and realised I had enough for a book during lockdown. It came out a year ago. There’s plenty of self-deprecating humour in there, as I recount our adventures and the ups and downs of a football fan.

Random fact about Harrogate Town? (The club/The area)

We’re the only Football League club to win the FA Trophy, thanks to the pandemic and having to play the 2020 Final in 2021.

How would you describe The Sulphurite’s campaign so far and what are your hopes/expectations for the season ahead?

We started off like a bullet from a gun and hopes were high for a promotion push. but things have tailed off in the last few weeks, as our small squad has suffered injuries and a little bit of fatigue. A recent game saw us with only two senior outfield players available on the bench. Nevertheless, tenth in the league is something I would have taken before the season began and, if we use the loan transfer window as well as the last season, there’s no reason we can’t get into the play-offs this year. On their day, the players we have are as good as any team in this league, Forest Green maybe excepted!

Taking a look at Tuesday night’s game, who would you say are the key players for either side?

Falkingham, Kerry and Pattison in midfield are key for us, as we switched to 4-3-3 in recent weeks, with two offensive wide players and the full backs sitting slightly further back. Having one less striker up front though means we’ve found goals harder to come by. Luke Armstrong is our goalscorer to watch out for, but he’s been a little more isolated recently.

How do you believe the fixture will be approached by visiting manager Simon Weaver, in terms of tactics and team selection?

I think he may rest one of the central midfielders and revert to 4-4-2 with two wingers and two forwards. He’ll rotate the players he has on the bench, but they’re all basically first team players anyway, so the team will be strong.

What are your thoughts on the manager and owner’s relationship, they are father and son which isn’t quite normal in football.

No it’s not. Simon was the manager for two seasons before his dad came in. It works well, and I like the stability it’s brought to the club with our manager being the longest-running manager in the Football League. Winning helps of course!

Thoughts on Tranmere, as a club in general?

You’re forever associated with Half Man Half Biscuit in my mind, them being one of my favourite bands. I’ve been to Prenton Park before, with Wolves in the old Third Division. I always see you as a team that should be at least near the top of League One. You looked a good outfit at our place earlier in the season.

The Papa John’s Trophy is a competition that has divided opinion since the introduction of Premier League reserve sides, your thoughts on the competition?

Mixed. I originally saw this match as an unwanted extra before our short trip to Bradford City on Boxing Day, especially with the small squad we have. Now Bradford’s been called off, I’m going to enjoy it more. Saying that, I remember when it was the Sherpa Van Trophy in the late eighties and Wolves played in it for the first time. At first interest and crowds were low, until we went all the way to Wembley and 80,000 turned up at a sold-out Wembley to watch us and Burnley. It was a brilliant day out. I’d like to do that again with Town, to make up for the disappointment of not being able to go to Wembley previously and, let’s face it, we don’t have much chance of that in the FA Cup.

The January transfer window is fast approaching, who would you like to see brought into the club?

Another central defender, two central midfielders to supplement the three we have and Mohammed Salah up front would be nice!

Finishing off, your score prediction for the midweek game at Prenton Park?

2-1 Town. Sorry. Our current away form is better than our home form.

• The discussed book ‘For the love not the glory’ is available to purchase via this link for the cost of £10.

https://ledastraypress.bigcartel.com/

Leyton Orient – Meeting the opposition. 

Tranmere entertain Leyton Orient at Prenton Park this Saturday afternoon as they aim to extend their winning run in their search for a play off place.

Ahead of the game, I spoke to Orient fanzine ‘@Pandamonium1884’ about the visitors, the hosts, the fanzine and the upcoming fixture on Merseyside.

How long have you supported Leyton Orient and when did the Panda Fanzine first start? 

How would you describe the nature of the content it produces?

I started going with my Dad in 1978, aged 6 so this will be my 43rd season watching and supporting the O’s. 

The fanzine started in 1991, we celebrated our 30th birthday this year.

We tend to try and mix between serious and jovial so for example we have a resident stats man that produces a monthly column looking at data, whilst we have a stand up comedian who takes a light hearted and topical look at the world of football.

Since you’ve been supporting the club, what have been the best and worst footballing moments?

The best was probably winning promotion in 1988/89. We came with a massive second half of the season run and squeezed through 4 amazingly tense play-off games.

The worst (although not necessarily footballing) was the severe destruction of the club during 2014-2017 by Francesco Becchetti, which was after one of the worst footballing moments, losing on penalties to Rotherham in the play-offs at Wembley in 2014.

Random fact about Leyton Orient? (The club/The area they play in)

The gable on top of the East Stand roof is off centre as it was originally in the middle but we bought a further “bit of a stand” from Mitchum and now the Leyton Orient gable and plaque stands off centre in relation to the whole stand.

How would you describe the O’s season so far and what are your hopes/expectations for the months ahead?

Typically frustrating. We have actually been very hard to beat, but have drawn too many games away from home. One week (usually at home) we can look like the best team in the division, but then a few days later we can look like cannon fodder. The hope is that we become more consistent in terms of victories and if we do that then a top seven place is easily achievable.

Taking a look at Saturday’s game, who would you say are the key players for either side?

Unfortunately, the best and prob key player we have had all season (right back Tom James) suffered a hamstring injury last Saturday V Crawley. Up front we have two in form strikers and Drinan and Smith & Craig Clay can be a real engine in the O’s midfield. 

For Tranmere, the recent cup game saw what I believed to be a really poor Tranmere side that hardly put up a fight, but statistically, it’s obvious they have a very tight defence and therefore any or all of their back four/five plus the GK are probably key.

How do you believe this fixture will be approached by Orient manager Kenny Jackett, in terms of tactics and team selection? Also, what are the general thoughts of him by the fanbase?

Away from home we have looked less of a threat going forward and tend to play it, IMO, tighter so that we do not get beat. Most fans including me would rather see us use attack as the best form of defence and take the game to the opponent. He is going to have to shuffle the pack this weekend because we are becoming a bit decimated with injuries etc and that’s a concern as we are possibly going to have to start youngsters and won’t have a great deal on the bench. Most fans, if not all, are still behind him. Almost everybody was happy with the appointment and again the majority believe he will get it right in his two year contract here.

How would you describe the current relationship between supporters and the hierarchy of the club? Who are Orient’s owners and are there any current exciting off pitch plans to look forward to?

It’s pretty good. We obviously went through a period of extreme crisis before the current owners took over, so without being sarcastic you could have had Zippy and Bungle take over and it would have been an improvement. The new board are engaging and forward thinking, although at times can appear a little desperate for the pound in our pocket (but we all know that clubs at this level are loss making and every penny counts). Off the pitch, the owners are looking to become a sustainable club and whilst some of the ideas are a little far out, it is encouraging to see them looking further forwards in terms of building the club’s profile and attendances.

Thoughts on Tranmere, as a club in general?

Haven’t been to Tranmere for a few years now, but did quite a bit in the 80’s and 90’s and to be perfectly honest was always one of my favourite trips. Locals were pretty welcoming and we had some fantastic matches between us during that period. Like us, Tranmere live in the shadow of two massive clubs so I think there is a bit of mutual respect from both sides about the difficulties we face as clubs on and off the pitch.

The January transfer window is fast approaching, who would you like to see brought into the club and how would you describe the transfer recruitment completed in the summer of 2021?

Summer was quite astounding as we completely rebuilt the team, and to be fair we have knitted together pretty well for so many changes. It is my belief that we simply need “freshening up” in January. The midfield area is quite possibly one that needs a bit more competition (quite possibly for a more flair type player) and then defensively we might need to ship one in or out.

Finishing off, your score prediction for the weekend?

Actually, it’s ridiculously hard to predict. Following the recent cup game it would be easy to see why anyone could say we could knock Tranmere off the park again, but then that seemed a blip in terms of their results and definitely their defensive displays. I see the league game being much tighter. My heart says 1-0 to the O’s, but my head says it’s likely yet another draw for us and it could even be a 0-0 shut out.

Exeter City meeting the opposition.

Ahead of this weekend’s game I spoke to Exeter City supporter Jamie Dyer. He’s answered questions for this feature previously stating that he started following the club just over a decade ago and he has since taken great joy in their three play-off semi final victories.

He now speaks of City’s 2021/22 campaign so far and how he believes Saturday’s game will be played out, stating two Tranmere players that Exeter supporters should be looking out for.

Random fact about Exeter City? 

In 16/17 we set an EFL record of the most away victories in a campaign with 13.

How would you describe Exeter’s campaign so far and what are your hopes/expectations for the months ahead?

I’ll admit we’re beginning to see some chinks in the armour especially defensively, we had a very good run but we just haven’t got going since then. There’s plenty of positives to take from the start of the season though, we’ve been almost creating chances at will and finding the net regularly not forgetting our fine home form as well which should (emphasis on the word should) get us at least a playoff place. However, this month will be very telling as we face all of the current top 7 but despite the injuries we’ve got really good strength in depth so I can see us picking up some positive results in the coming weeks.

Taking a look at Saturday’s game, who would you say are the key players for either side and how do you believe the fixture will be approached by manager Matt Taylor?

Paul Glatzel and Jay Spearing are the names that stick out for me. Spearing is commanding in the middle of the park, very physical, decent on the ball and very experienced. Glatzel, the Liverpool loanee, has impressed  me as he scores goals, seems to  link up play  and looks really threatening.

City have injuries like I’ve said before but Matt Jay and Jevani Brown seem to be the only consistent players at the moment.  “Jev” has been a great player for us so far, always getting into good areas and has a good assist tally already this campaign as partnership with the City skipper continues to flourish. Our diminutive skipper needs no introduction; he’s skillful, knows where the net is and is vital to the way we play .

What are your current thoughts, amongst those of other supporters’ on Taylor?

Matt  has been in charge for 4 years now and the supporters are very fond of him for what he did with us as a player and you could say we’re progressing under him to a certain extent. However, what impresses me the most is that he’s built the team and club into his image while also keeping us competitive and also building on the foundations that Tisdale left. We’ve now finally got a squad strong enough to challenge and a squad that’s capable of playing Taylor’s style of football so if we don’t go up questions have to be asked. 

How would you describe the current relationship between fans and the hierarchy of the club? Would you say that being owned by the Supporters Trust and not having a particular owner as such has its advantages? What are the current exciting off pitch plans?

I’d say it’s been better than ever to be honest, particularly being fan owned. We’ve got more and more involved, for example we got to choose next season’s kit and as well as a new electronic scoreboard coming in but also a new training facility. Being a fan owned club is very special, you’re appreciated and you can get involved in any way possible. I could go on.

Thoughts on Tranmere, as a club in general?

Tranmere are a very big fish in the lower echelons of the EFL. They have a fantastic fan base, a manager who knows the club very well and it helps that Prenton Park has been somewhat of a fortress in recent years. 

Jake Caprice, the full-back who made the assist as Tranmere won promotion to League One in 2019, now plays his football for City. What’s he been like since his arrival?

Caprice has come on leaps and bounds from last season playing on his weaker side and has really worked on his game.  

The January transfer window is fast approaching, who would you like to see being brought in and how would you describe the recruitment completed in the summer of 2021? 

Our recruitment was very underwhelming given the promises that were made but we were made to eat our words with how we’re currently capable of playing. January will be interesting with Josh Key and skipper Matt Jay attracting interest but if we can keep hold of them it’ll be a success.

Finishing our conversation off, your score prediction?

It seems you’re struggling for goals at the moment. However, I believe it’s the perfect time to play us as we’re winless in four so I’ll go 2-1 Tranmere.

Oldham Athletic v Tranmere Rovers 

Tuesday 7th December 2021

English Football League Two

@Bounday Park

It seems to be a regular occurrence this campaign but once again Tranmere will face Oldham, this being the first league encounter between the clubs with the other two being cup ties. There is quite a bit on the line and plenty to look out for in this midweek game, the visitors looking to get back on form as the hosts aim to add to their win against Sunderland in a bid to get away from the relegation zone.

It’s set to be another closely fought fixture, comebacks happening in the two previous games as whenever the sides face each other there doesn’t seem to be that much of a difference in quality. However, this certainly wasn’t the case on Boxing Day 1935 when Rovers came out on top with a 13-4 victory in a game well known for the many goals scored by Tranmere legend Bunny Bell.

There probably won’t be that many goals scored this time round, both side’s league goals combined being the same amount as an outfit who are placed outside of the playoff spaces. Yet, there will be players capable of creating something out of nothing meaning it probably won’t be a goalless draw derived from any entertaining action.

Oldham’s men to watch? Dylan Bahamboula and Davis Keillor-Dunn. The 26-year-old Frenchman who has been capped once by the Congo National Team has five goal involvements in 20 appearances so far this season. Keillor-Dunn has seven goal involvements in 24 appearances from midfield.  

Head to head stats:

36 Oldham Athletic wins

22 draws

34 Tranmere Rovers wins

The lineup that I’d like to be selected by the Tranmere manager?

Joe Murphy, Josh Dacres-Cogley, Tom Davies, Peter Clarke, Joe Maguire, Kieron Morris, Lee O’Connor, Sam Foley, Josh Hawkes, Nicky Maynard and Paul Glatzel.

I believe it’s time for some players to be given a rest and playing two up top around forward minded players is vital if the visitors are to score goals.