Farewell Andy Crosby. He seemed a decent man, a thoughtful man, but now he’s yesterday’s man. Tranmere go through managers more frequently than the Conservative Party go through leaders. That’s saying something in an age of retail politics. Constant change seems the order of things. Constant change, but the same mediocre to poor outcomes.
We now have an interim management team. Andy Parkinson, the ultimate survivor. He will be joined by Joe Murphy and Connor Jennings. I worry for Connor. He is a Tranmere legend, let’s hope that his status is not tarnished. Many people have highlighted that a constant feature of our recent demise has been the presence of Párkinson. We are not about to break with habit. Parky has not left the building.
Crosby’s sacking was inevitable after our performance at Rodney Parade. The 2nd half was dreadful, the first half only marginally better. We take a lead with a well struck goal by Finley, only to be reduced to 10 men after another strike by Finley. Then we spent the 2nd half hoofing the ball forward but not mounting a meaningful attack until Newport inevitably scored the winner. Suddenly our bench burst into action, we started attacking and then conceded a third deep into injury time. A sad end to Crosby’s career.
The current appointments are temporary. They are not the cheap, easy options. Only a huge cynic would come to this conclusion.The question remains, who would get the job on a permanent basis? I hope we don’t go for someone who we all have a nostalgic affection for, a former player. I would prefer a manager with no connection to the club, who could clear out the backroom and start again.
Nor do I want a former Premier League glory figure. Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard types are not what the club needs. We need someone who can build a squad on a shoestring and get the most from limited resources. A figure like John Coleman, maybe?
There are 33 points still to play for from the remaining 11 games. We probably need 15 points to be safe. That’s 5 wins. We have players coming back from injury. We also have clubs beneath us breathing down our necks.I suspect we will not make a permanent appointment until the ownership of the club is settled. But these days there is no permanent manager role, just another name until we hit the same point of decline a year later.
All comments are personal.
Another one bites the dust
Posted by: Total Tranmere (IP Logged)
Date: 04/03/2026 16:20
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We still have an 8 point buffer on the bottom two and 7 on Crawley and Newport , so a couple of wins should see us safe, we hope.
Barrow are as bad as us form wise, so their two games in hand, may prove irrelevant and Newport look terrible which, makes last nights result the harder to stomach.
I agree that 6 points more should be enough but based on our games it is hard to justify the statement that Newport and Barrow are worse than us.
I did not expect MP to sack Crosby because there are no obvious immediate alternatives. To squeeze anything extra out of this woebegone squad and failing backroom personal requires an experienced and larger than life character. Parkinson is a change of name but not a change of direction. It would be hard to think of a less fitting choice.
Last night I had little confidence that we could get the remaining six points. If anything, I am even less confident now
Those 8 pts we got from our first 4 games of the season will probably prove vital..good job those 4 sides we played were still on the beach in summer holiday mode when we played them..but looking back at those first four games, our defence looked good and i was confident we would be decent defensively this season, certainly not the case now coz we have conceded the most goals out of all the clubs in the division.
We ended last season in promotion form after Crosby took over from Adkins. Parky, of course, was there during the awful run and the good run. I agree that a larger than life character might be best right now, but last time we had one (Keith Hill) he was a bit too large for MP's liking. I have no evidence for this, but my feeling is that there's something rotten within the club (could simply be a small clique of players) which means that players' confidence keeps being drained and successive managers are unable to fix it. I know I've banged on about Finley, in the past but how on earth did he become Captain? He has a terrible record. He brought the club into disrepute. He let the team down by being unavailable. He's mostly been playing poorly. Game before last, he had to be taken off after a yellow card as he seemed to be aiming for a red. Last night, in a game we really needed to win, he got an unnecessary yellow and then a straight red - all in the first half. Leading by example? Why was he made Captain and did anyone oppose it? Why is the attitude of some players frequently questionable? Crosby referred to doing "due diligence" on players. Really? I'm not trying to suggest that Finley is the root of all evil here, but the fact is that, rather than being sacked, he has been made Captain - and that speaks volumes for the cynicism and wrong-headed thinking within the club. Maybe some of the players might perform better if they felt they were at a club which actually cared about the things it professes to care about?
Funnily enough I suggested John Coleman last week.He did a rescue mission at Gillingham recently and he’s doing well with Aldershot just now but perhaps a local job might temp him.
We need 10 points realistically , which is irrelevant because Newport are the worst football league side Ive ever seen and they trounced us so we aren't picking 2 wins up , likely we will have only 4 on the bench Saturday with Finley now banned. Solomon isnt a player. For me the issue at the club is the lack of commitment shown by the club to players, managers and staff , short term deals for players with no security false promises , managers unable to make decent signings as a result, injury prone nightmares and players who should ling since have hung their boots up supplemented by others rejects and hapless youngsters, managers unable to influence the team they put around them, even in offices across the country managers get to put a team in around them let alone when coaching is required. How can a manager imprint his style , such as 5,3,2 on a squad when the coach has never worked with them and has little knowledge of what the manager wants from his staff.
I fully agree about Finley. A petulant child with a closed mindset. Spat his dummy out and refused to play for Adkins - influenced no doubt by his best mate Joey Barton (check that vile individual’s YouTube rant about Adkins) - and follows this up with a repetition of a homophobic slur, for which he has had previous.
He is not a character I wanted associated with the club after the downing of tools last season, his ban and unprofessional attitude this season and finally those YouTube videos criticising his teammates post match. He got plaudits for being honest but he’s hardly been player of the season. He’s loved by some as he is clearly a decent player but I get the sense he is one of a few bag eggs in the dressing room.
That said he’s not the sole cause of our current predicament. There’s many flaws at the club. Let’s hope we get a bounce, somehow and against the odds on Saturday. I’ll be glancing at the Oldham bench thinking Micky’s team became boring, but it was solid and better than this bunch and he could change games with subs, which we’ve missed for a few years now.
I'm sure the new manager will be under pressure from day one, probably start shouting save me after meeting our supporters, and leave him feeling like I want to break free but if he has an, I want it all attitude then hopefully we are the champions
GrassyKnoll I fully agree about Finley. A petulant child with a closed mindset. Spat his dummy out and refused to play for Adkins - influenced no doubt by his best mate Joey Barton (check that vile individual’s YouTube rant about Adkins) - and follows this up with a repetition of a homophobic slur, for which he has had previous.
He is not a character I wanted associated with the club after the downing of tools last season, his ban and unprofessional attitude this season and finally those YouTube videos criticising his teammates post match. He got plaudits for being honest but he’s hardly been player of the season. He’s loved by some as he is clearly a decent player but I get the sense he is one of a few bag eggs in the dressing room
That said he’s not the sole cause of our current predicament. There’s many flaws at the club. Let’s hope we get a bounce, somehow and against the odds on Saturday. I’ll be glancing at the Oldham bench thinking Micky’s team became boring, but it was solid and better than this bunch and he could change games with subs, which we’ve missed for a few years now.
I agree with you that Findlay is not the main cause of our predicament but his appointment as Captain may be evidence of the deeper malaise at the club to which you point. I was one that thought he should have been dismissed for bringing the club into disrepute and there would have been adequate grounds. The decision would have been that of the employer. To make him captain was bizarre in the extreme
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