Preview: Wycombe Wanderers v Tranmere Rovers
Wycombe Wanderers entertain Tranmere Rovers at Adams Park on Tuesday in their tenth League One fixture of the season.
Tranmere Rovers are currently 23rd in the table with 4 points from their opening 9 league games.
Saturday’s draw with Colchester United halted Rovers’ run of six consecutive league defeats, but new manager John Barnes is still a man under pressure as his team visit Adams Park for an early season six-pointer.
Tranmere’s only league victory came in their second game of the season against Gillingham, but they’ve been beaten seven times and have conceded 21 goals in their nine league games so far.
After 4 away games, Rovers have yet to win a point and have scored only 1 goal while conceding 10.
Like Wycombe, Rovers have already faced Leeds, Charlton and Franchise this season, losing all three matches and conceding 8 goals in the process without scoring themselves.
Their interest in the Carling Cup is over, having lost to Bolton in the 2nd round after beating Grimsby Town in round one.
Last season Rovers finished 7th in League One with 74 points, just two points short of a play-off place. The season before they were 11th with 65 points and the year before that they finished 9th with 67 points.
Rovers on target
Nine different players have scored for Tranmere in all competitions so far this season and their top marksman is Ian Thomas-Moore with three goals to his name. John Welsh has scored twice and seven other players have each scored a single goal.
Shooting (Top-3)
Ian Thomas-Moore…….9 on-target…10 off-target…2 against woodwork
Alan Mahon……………..8 on-target…..8 off-target…0 against woodwork
Craig Curran……………6 on-target…..3 off-target…0 against woodwork
Tranmere’s League Results so far
LG1: Yeovil (A)……………Lost 2-0
LG1: Gillingham (H)……..Won 4-2
LG1: Franchise (H)……….Lost 1-0
LG1: Leeds (A)……………Lost 3-0
LG1: Charlton (H)………..Lost 4-0
LG1: Carlisle (A)………….Lost 3-0
LG1: Walsall (H)………….Lost 3-2
LG1: Exeter (A)…………..Lost 2-1
LG1: Colchester (H)……Drew 1-1
Tranmere’s summer signings
Luke Daniels (West Bromwich Albion) Goalkeeper On-Loan
Gavin Gunning (Blackburn Rovers) Defender On-Loan
Shaleum Logan (Manchester City) Defender On-Loan
Michael Ricketts (Walsall) Striker
Alan Mahon (Burnley) Midfielder
Paul McLaren (Bradford City) Midfielder
John Welsh (Hull City) Midfielder
The Chairboys are currently 22nd in the table with 6 points from their opening 9 league games.
An improved performance on Saturday, particularly in the second half, saw Wycombe pick up their second point away from home this season.
Kevin Betsy’s overall performance and Matt Phillips’ substitute appearance were the highlights of the show and both will hope to have booked their place in Tuesday evening’s starting line-up.
On-loan striker Ashley Chambers came off the bench to score his first ever league goal and snatch a deserved point for the Chairboys, and is therefore likely to keep his place in the squad against Rovers.
With continuity in mind, manager Peter Taylor is unlikely to make too many changes to Saturday’s team, with – who plays on the left of midfield? and who plays up-front? the two biggest quandaries for the Chairboys’ boss.
Tommy Doherty is still out injured although Peter Taylor recently indicated that he may return very soon. Matt Bloomfield will be missing for some time.
Chairboys on target
Six different players have scored for Wycombe in all competitions this season and their top marksman is Jon-Paul Pittman with 4 goals. Chris Zebroski and Matt Harrold have 2 goals apiece.
Shooting (Top-3)
Stuart Green……….6 on-target…..9 off-target….0 against woodwork
Jon-Paul Pittman…..9 on-target…..5 off-target….0 against woodwork
Chris Zebroski……..9 on-target…..4 off-target….0 against woodwork
Wycombe’s League results so far
LG1: Charlton (A)…………Lost 3-2
LG1: Leeds (H)…………….Lost 1-0
LG1: Southend (H)………Drew 1-1
LG1: Norwich (A)………….Lost 5-2
LG1: Bristol Rovers (H)….Won 2-1
LG1: Brighton (A)…………Lost 1-0
LG1: Hartlepool (A)……..Drew 1-1
LG1: Franchise (H) ………Lost 1-0
LG1: Swindon (A)……….Drew 1-1
League form comparison
Wycombe:….Pld-9…W-1…D-3…L-5….Pts-6….GF-9…GA-15…CS-0
Tranmere:….Pld-9…W-1…D-1…L-7….Pts-4….GF-8…GA-21…CS-0
Wycombe (Home)…….Pld-4…W-1…D-1…L-2…Pts-4…GF-3…GA-4
Tranmere (Away)…….Pld-4…W-0…D-0…L-4…Pts-0…GF-1…GA-10
Quotes
Peter Taylor:
‘At the moment we are talking quite a good game but not delivering when it comes to matchday, we’ve got to start doing it on the pitch. If you look at the league table, we’ve played four or six of the teams in the top ten. That shows the start we’ve had but if you lose matches you lose a bit of confidence. I don’t think we are playing to our potential.
John Barnes:
‘You’ve got to hold and give but do it at the right time – You can be slow or fast but you must get to the line – They’ll always hit you and hurt you – defend and attack – There’s only one way to beat them – Get round the back.’
Previous Meetings
2001/02: LG1 Tranmere 1 Wycombe 1
2001/02: LG1 Wycombe 2 Tranmere 1
2002/03: LG1 Wycombe 1 Tranmere 3
2002/03: LG1 Tranmere 1 Wycombe 0
2003/04: LG1 Tranmere 2 Wycombe 1
2003/04: LG1 Wycombe 1 Tranmere 2
4 wins for Tranmere, 1 win for Wycombe and 1 draw.
The Man In The Middle
Tuesday’s referee is Fred Graham from Essex who was first promoted to the National List of referees in 2004. His most recent Wycombe game was the 1-1 draw with Barnet at Adams Park in December 2006.
They say the league table starts to take shape after ten games and both sides will be afraid of losing this match and finding themselves cut adrift from the pack and firmly entrenched in the relegation zone.
Prediction
Wycombe 1 Tranmere 0