Tranmere Rovers vs. Swansea City match preview
By Matthew Jones
August 23 2010
Total Tranmere bring you all the stats, facts and team news ahead of Rovers' Carling Cup second round match against Swansea City on Tuesday night
Copyright Historical Football Kits and reproduced by kind permission.
Rovers booked their place in the second round of the trophy for the second successive season with a 1-0 win over Walsall in mid-August, and they will be hopeful of progressing to the third round for the first time in nine years when they take on Swansea this week.
The Welsh side though come to Prenton Park in good form and bring with them a wealth of talent, experience and potentional from the Championship, as well as several internationals.
Les Parry though will be hopeful that his side can pick up their second win of the season in this match and book themselves a money spinning third round tie against one of the big Premier League clubs.
Swansea City Factfile:
Ground: The Liberty Stadium
Formed: 1912
Nickname: The Swans/The Jacks
Manager: Brendon Rogers
League Finish 2009/10:7th (Coca-Cola Championship)
Kit
Colours: white shirts, shorts and socks (home), black shirt and shorts, black socks with white trim
(away)
Previous Meetings:
Swansea City and Tranmere Rovers haven't met since the 2007/08 season, when Swansea City won Coca Cola League One with an excellent total of 92 points.
Tranmere failed to beat the South Wales side that season on their way to a midtable finish in League One, with Swansea winning 1-0 at Prenton Park whilst Rovers held on for a superb 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium later in the season.
At Prenton Park in November, Tranmere were unlucky to lose as Swansea scored their customary late goal at Prenton Park when Steven Jennings put the ball into his own net from Andy Robinson's shot with nine minutes left.
Tranmere though had been the better side for the majority of the match, as Swansea had 'keeper Dorus de Vries to thank for his saves from Antony Kay, Gareth Taylor and Sherriff, whilst McLaren, Greenacre and Zola all failed to hit the target despite their good chances.
In March when the two sides met again, Tranmere played out an excellent 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium as they fought back from conceding a first half goal to steal a point in South Wales.
Swansea took the lead after 43 minutes when former Manchester United player Alan Tate smashed the ball home after Tranmere failed to clear Bodde's corner.
Tranmere were under pressure for most of the second half, but striker Chris Greenacre popped up to earn Tarnmere a point as he converted from Calvin Zola's cross to score an injury time equaliser.
Vital Stats:
Tranmere Rovers have won five of their fourteen home games against Swansea, losing four and drawing five times
Rovers
have scored eighteen times in these fourteen games, conceding on thirteen occasions
Tranmere haven't won any of their last six games against the South Wales side
In the last sixteen games between these two sides, a side has only managed three or more goals in the same match once
Tranmere
have won none of their three August meetings against Swansea, losing once and drawing twice
On This Day:
2004: Calvin Zola and Jason McAteer score for Brian Little's Tranmere in a 2-1 League Cup win over Shrewsbury
2002: Tranmere suffer a hugely disappointing 2-0 defeat to Oldham in Coca Cola League One
1999: Tranmere beat Blackpool 3-1 in the League Cup thanks to goals from Scott Taylor and David Kelly (x2). They went on to reach the final of the competition that season,
Tranmere have played ten previous games on this day, picking up five wins, one draw and four defeats. They have scored 21 goals and conceded 15 in these ten matches. Tranmere also have a 100% record in League Cup matches on this day, winning four times and scoring a staggering fourteen goals.
The Form Book:
Swansea City first four games: LWWL
Tranmere Rovers first four games: LDWL
Swansea City have had an indifferent start to the season, having won both their home games comfortably but lost their away games without much of a fight.
The Jacks started the season with a 2-0 defeat at the KC Stadium against Hull City, with over 21,000 fans present for the game, before they beat Barnet 3-0 in the League Cup first round.
A 4-0 win over Preston in the League followed, with Dobbie, Dyer, Pratley and Cotterill scoring the goals, but in their most recent game at the weekend the Jacks were once again defeated 2-0 on the road, this time losing to Norwich City, meaning they currently lie thirteenth in the Championship with three points after three games.
Manager Brendon Rogers joined the club in the summer following the departure of Paulo Sousa to Leicester City. Rogers oversaw a number of exits at the Liberty Stadium, with the likes of Leon Britton, Federico Bessonne, Guillem Bauza and Besian Idrizaj all leaving the club.
Three names replaced them, with Scott Sinclair joining from Chelsea for £500,000, along with Neil Taylor joining from Wrexham and Scott Donnelly joining from Aldershot.
Tranmere Rovers have not had the best start to the season, having lost both their home games and scored just twice in their opening four matches this season.
Les
Parry's started the season with a loss, losing 2-1 two-and-a-half weeks ago against
Oldham at Prenton Park despite a late goal
from Ian Thomas-Moore.
However, despite these two positive results, Tranmere had a huge setback in their most recent game as they lost 3-0 at Prenton Park against Bournemouth on Saturday.
League Cup History:
Tranmere Rovers' first round win over Walsall was their first away win in the competition for eight years, and only the second time they've won a League Cup match in seven attempts.
However, Rovers have been successful in the League Cup in the last sixteen years, having a couple of successful runs in the competition.
In the 1999/2000 season, John Aldridge's Tranmere beat the likes of Middlebrough (2-1), Coventry (5-1), Bolton (3-0 and 1-0) and Barnsley (4-0) in the competition as they made it all the way to the final, eventually losing 2-1 to Leicester City at Wembley.
Just six years earlier, Tranmere, managed by John King, also reached the semi-final of the competition, losing controversially to Aston Villa in the last four of the competition.
Recent years though have seen Rovers struggle in the competition. Last year they did reach the second round following a 4-0 win over League Two Grimsby, but this was the first time they'd won a match in the tournament since the 2004/05 season, when they were knocked out at the second round stage by Premier League Portsmouth.
Swansea City booked their place in the second round of this seasons Carling Cup with a comfortable 3-0 win over League Two side Barnet.
Last year, Swansea also reached the second round of the competition, before losing to Scunthorpe, whilst they reached the fourth round in 2008/09. However, before this run, the Welsh side had been knocked out in round one of the competition for eight consecutive seasons.
The Jacks have however had plenty of success in the Welsh League Cup, winning the trophy twice in 1931 and 1933
Double Hit:
Wirral born Andy Robinson, who started his career at local non-League club Cammell Laird, played for both Swansea City and Tranmere Rovers before joining Leeds United in 2008
The winger joined Rovers from Cammell Laird, but sadly only managed one appearance for Rovers, then managed by Ray Mathias, this coming in a Football League Trophy match against Bury.
A move away from the Wirral was exactly what Robinson needed, as suddenly he became a star lower league player. He became a cult figure at the club and forged a hugely successful partnership with another Merseyside born player, Lee Trundle.
Over the next five years Robinson made nearly 250 appearances for the club and scored 54 goals as he helped the club from League Two to the Coca-Cola Championship before joining Leeds at the end of his contract in July 2008.
Since joining Leeds though, Robinson has never cemented his place in the team and made just nine appearances for the club last season.
With his place at Leeds so uncertain, Robinson joined Tranmere on loan at the back end of last season and became a hugely important player as he helped the club win the battle against relegation, playing five games and scoring once, a 25-yard screamer in a 2-0 win over Millwall.
In 24 months at Leeds, Robinson has made only 50 appearances for the club, though nearly half of these have come from the substitutes bench and has been told that he can leave the club, with Tranmere again rumoured to be interested in bringing the player back to the club.
One To Watch:
Welsh international David Cotterill signed for Swansea City for a fee of £600,000 from Sheffield United last season.
The youngster came through the youth ranks at Bristol City, making 66 appearances in just two years for the Ashton Gate club, scoring nine goals in the process.
His strong form in League One was quickly noticed, and in 2006, aged nineteen, Cotterill was snapped up by Premier League club Wigan Athletic for £2,000,000.
Two years with Wigan however failed to see the player ever make a huge impact in the Premier League, as over two years he made just 21 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice.
His career was rekindled when he joined Sheffield United, initially on loan, during the 2007/08 season.
A three month loan spell with the Championship club saw Cotterill play sixteen times and put in some sparkling displays, earning him a permanent move to the club at the end of season for an undisclosed fee.
Though his form never quite lived up to that of his loan spell after making his move to Bramall Lane permanent, Cotterill was still a key player in midfield for the Blades, and having made 46 appearances and scored six goals for the club, he moved to Swansea City, initially on loan, in November 2009, before making the move permanent in January 2010.
Cotterill quickly established himself in the Swansea side, and has so far made 25 appearances for the club, scoring five times.
The 22 year old is also an established international, having made 17 appearances for Wales, scoring once, this in a 5-1 friendly win over Luxembourg this season.
Playing in midfield, Cotterill has an eye for goal and a knack of
playing the crucial pass. With pace and skill, Cotterill has already
scored once for his club this season.
Cotterill wears the number seven shirt for Swansea and will no doubt be a key player for them in this Carling Cup match.
League Cup second round:
13 Premier League sides enter the competition at this stage, so there are a number of interesting ties in the League Cup at this second round stage. Here is the pick of the games:
Accrington Stanley vs. Newcastle United
Everton vs. Huddersfield
Fulham vs. Port Vale
West Ham vs. Oxford
Sunderland vs. Colchester
Southampton vs. Bolton
Morecambe vs. Burnley
Hartlepool vs. Wigan
Leyton Orient vs. West Brom
Team News:
Tranmere boss Les Parry is expected to make a couple of changes to the side following Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth.
Though Joe Collister is expected to keep his place in goal, the places of a number of players are under threat as Parry considers a change to a 4-4-2 formation, with Kayelden Brown, Adam McGurk, Ryan Fraughan and Max Blanchard all pushing for a place in the starting line up.
Timothy
Cathalina could be on the bench for Rovers, however, Tranmere will continue to be
without injured trio Marlon Broomes, Alan Mahon and Ashton Taylor.
Jones' Prediction: Tranmere Rovers 1-0
Following Tranmere's weekend 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth in their most recent game, it is difficult to see Tranmere winning this game, but with no draw possible, I think I'll go for a narrow win for Les Parry's side.
A change of formation could make a difference for Rovers, as boss Les Parry considers a change to 4-4-2 following Rovers' poor start to the season.
A 4-4-2 formation would give Tarnmere more attacking outlets and would certainly put key striker Ian Thomas-Moore in a more central-attacking role, and hopefully provide last seasons leading scorer with more chances to score.
It's key that Tranmere keep their shape though against a strong Championship side who will be pushing for promotion to the Premier League this season.
If players get pulled too easily out of position, then Swansea could well over run Rovers and score a hatful of goals, but I'm confident that Tranmere will raise their game, as they so often do, against higher opposition and hopefully catch the south Welsh team off their guard.
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Fingers crossed!
Us 0-2 Swansea!
As long as they could remember to use English with the other lads
