Inconsistency leaves Ronnie Moore scratching head

Mar 26 2008 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Daily Post

IT IS little wonder Ronnie Moore’s hair has turned a slightly whiter shade of grey since he arrived at Prenton Park.

The Tranmere manager can never be sure about what kind of performance his team are going to deliver for one game to the next.

This season appears to be providing more encouragement than Moore’s first.

The squad is a little stronger and better balanced than the one that finished ninth in the 2006-07 League One campaign with 67 points – eight more than Rovers have this morning.

But they still have the capacity to deliver a let-down at an unexpected moment, such as Easter Monday’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of lowly Bournemouth.

Moore had every reason to expect a fired-up and focused performance from his team as they sought to strengthen their hold on a play-off spot in the Bank Holiday fixture.

They held a number of advantages over opponents almost certainly destined for relegation after incurring a 10-point penalty from the Football League for lapsing into administration last month.

Tranmere enjoyed two extra days of rest and preparation for the game after playing the first of their Easter matches last Thursday, securing a 2-0 win over bottom team Port Vale. Bournemouth played on the Saturday, losing 2-1 at Gillingham.

Moore’s selection hand was strong in comparison to the limited options available to his counterpart Kevin Bond, who was forced, through injuries to senior players, to field a young line-up that included two 18-year-olds making their first senior starts and a 35-year-old striker, Lee Bradbury, at full-back.

Bond deployed his limited resources in a 4-5-1 formation which, Moore reckoned, smacked of a damage limitation exercise. It turned out to be more than that because the tactics posed problems for Tranmere’s players, who struggled to counter them throughout the afternoon.

Rovers’ slack first-half performance left them two goals adrift at the interval. A marginally improved showing in the second period wasn’t enough to dig them out of trouble. The damage was done, the points lost and with them a place in the play-off zone.

Bond reckoned his team had produced something exceptional. He said: “In all my years in football I don’t think I have had many wins that were more rewarding or in some ways more surprising. It was nothing short of an heroic performance by our boys.”

Moore, a straight talker who tries to keep his public comments in check when seriously disappointed, did not hold back in the post-match interview.

He spoke of “one or two players thinking it would be easy”, castigated his wide players for not and adapting to the tactical challenge thrown at them by Bournemouth’s formation and admitted the team had suffered the fate they deserved.

“I was frustrated and annoyed,” Moore said.

But there was also a cry of frustration. “I can’t put my finger on why we put these performances in every now and again,” Moore admitted.

He can at least take comfort in being far from alone. The managers of the majority of teams in the congested promotion race make similar complaints from week to week. Their teams, like Moore’s are unpredictable. The common consensus is that players at League One level are simply not able to perform with the consistency of those who operate in the Premier League and, to a lesser extent the Championship.

It is what helps to make League One such a competitive and exciting division. Even so, Tranmere probably can’t afford another afternoon like the one at Dean Court over the six remaining games of the campaign if they are to claim a place in the play-offs.

The defeat, while not a catastrophe, cut into a margin for error that is already slimmer than most teams around them, who have the advantage of at least one game in hand.

Next month will be crucial. Rovers play three games against teams also chasing a play-off spot: Walsall, Nottingham Forest and Southend.

In the shorter term they will now be under greater pressure to produce a third home victory in succession against Swindon Town on Friday night.

Moore cancelled his players’ day off yesterday and had them in for training. A team change or two could be on the cards, with experienced winger Chris Shuker a likely candidate to return to the side after being given a rest at Bournemouth.

Meanwhile Tranmere reserves are in Pontin’s League action against Chester City at the Deva Stadium tonight, kick-off 7pm.