Moore Jnr back with Rovers as Taylor goes

Feb 1 2008 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Daily Post

TRANMERE manager Ronnie Moore beat the January transfer window deadline by a few hours to bring his son Ian backed to Prenton Park last night.

In a reshuffle of Rovers’ striking resources, target man Gareth Taylor was released to Doncaster Rovers to balance the budget. Earlier in the day Tranmere heard the unexpected good news that winger Chris Shuker could be playing again within six weeks.

Ian Moore, 31, who began his career and Tranmere after emerging from the youth set up in the mid-1990s, went on to play for Nottingham Forest, Stockport, Burnley, Leeds and Hartlepool, who released in from his contract after scoring nine goals this season.

Ronnie Moore said: “I am delighted to bring Ian backed to the club and look forward to seeing him in a Tranmere shirt.

“He will add speed to our attack and get behind defences. He has a good scoring record and hopefully he will soon be among the goals against the Tranmere.”

Birkenhead-born Moore made a big impact after breaking into the Tranmere side in the 1995/96 season and earned the club a £1 million transfer fee when moving to Nottingham Forest in 1997. His early form earned him England under-21 international recognition.

Moore junior is likely to find himself partnered with Calvin Zola when Tranmere travel to Leeds United in a crunch League One fixture tomorrow.

Ian Moore said: “It is strange the way things come about. Leeds is my old team and if selected it will be a great game to start with. I’m looking forward to it. I enjoyed my time at Tranmere as a youngster and hopefully there will be more good times to come.”

Hartlepool manager Danny Wilson had made Moore available for transfer over the issue of his daily commuting from Warrington to the northeast.

Tranmere were able to afford to recruit Moore only after agreeing a deal to release Taylor to Doncaster.

The experienced 31-year-old former Wales international scored 13 goals in 69 appearances after becoming one of Ronnie Moore’s first Tranmere signings in the summer of 2006.

The manager said: “Gareth Taylor has done well for me at Tranmere but the progress of Calvin Zola meant his first-team opportunities may have been limited. Doncaster expressed an interest in him and it was only fair to allow him the chance to move on.

“I would like to thank Gareth for everything he has done for Tranmere and wish him well in the rest of his career.”

Tranmere’s promotion ambitions were given an unexpected lift when they learned winger Chris Shuker could be back in action for the final months of the League One campaign.

Rovers had been resigned to losing Shuker until next season after scans on an injury sustained in the Boxing Day game against Carlisle suggested he had sustained cruciate ligament damage.

However, surgeons who operated on the 25-year-old’s knee this week discovered the cruciate was not completely torn, although there is damage to the cartilage.

Tranmere now hope Shuker could be back in action in four to six weeks rather than the seven to nine months of recovery time for a cruciate ligament injury.

Moore said: “This is great news for Shuker and for the club. We expected him to be out until around next September, so when he returns it will be like having a new player.

“Chris could play a vital role in the last quarter of the season for us.”

Steve Davies, the left-winger who sustained a full-blown cruciate ligament injury in September, is making excellent progress and could see some action before May.

Moore said: “The prospect of having them both back before the end of the season is mouthwatering.”

Meanwhile Moore released midfielder Paul Henry on loan to Welsh Premier league side for the remainder of the season.