Greenacre fit and raring to rejoin Rovers’ title bid

Oct 17 2007 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Daily Post

CHRIS GREENACRE is confident he will be fit and ready for action should manager Ronnie Moore call him back into the front-line of Tranmere’s promotion challenge at Swindon this weekend.

Striker Greenacre missed the last two games because of blisters that became infected and led to a swelling of the foot.

The natural finishing skills of Rovers’ leading marksman might have made a difference in the goalless draw with Walsall last Friday, when chances were few and far between.

But Greenacre was barely able to pull on a boot on the day of the game. He was sent home to rest while Tranmere struggled in vain to break down Walsall’s smothering tactics.

The all clear to resume training on Monday delighted Greenacre, who is eager to return to duty and at to a four-goal tally for the season so far.

“It was such a relief to get out on the training ground again,” Greenacre said. “No-one wants to be out of action when we are doing so well and riding high in the table.”

The experienced 29-year-old senses the lively, up-beat mood of the dressing-room this season is helping to build confidence in Tranmere’s potential to keep pace with the League One front-runners over the coming months.

However, tactical considerations mean Greenacre is by no means sure of winning a place in the side at Swindon. Only one striking position may be up for grabs if manager Ronnie Moore deploys the 4-5-1 formation that worked so well in Tranmere’s last away outing – a 2-1 win at Southend 11 days ago.

Greenacre admits the system makes life difficult for the home team’s strikers – as Rovers found against a Walsall side who strung five players across the midfield.

He said: “The 4-5-1 system is in vogue at the moment. We know from our experience of Prenton Park that a system like that can frustrate the home team so much. It is difficult to play against, difficult to break down.

“I hate playing against it. It is my game to get hold of the ball up front and bring other people into the play. But because the opposition have got that extra man in midfield they have someone who sits in front of the back four and blocks off the passes to our front players.

“So you end up going through longer periods when you are not involved in the game. You are forever trying to adapt to find space and find a way around the problem.

“The key is to score the first goal because that forces the away team to change their system. They can struggle then.”

Greenacre remembers playing the system during his days as a wide midfielder with Stoke and more recently in Tranmere’s victory at Yeovil last season.

He said: “I remember we used it Yeovil after a bad patch of results away from home. It worked well that day and Chris Shuker scored a couple of goals.

“After that it was all is likely the gaffer would use it again this season. By all accounts we did it in a very positive way at Southend.”

Moore insists the system can be adapted to more positive effect than Walsall attempted Prenton Park.

He said: “It can be attacking minded. Luton came here playing 4-5-1 but when they attacked it was more like 4-3-3. They really got at us.”

Moore won’t reveal how he plans to approach the Swindon game. He stuck with a 4-4-2 formation in Tranmere’s first four away fixtures, yielding two wins and two draws, before switching to the five-man midfield at Southend.