Colchester crunch-time for Barnes
Friday 25th September, 2009
By Richard Ault

John Barnes is fighting for his job when Tranmere meet Colchester at Prenton Park on Saturday.  Currently on a dire run of seven straight defeats, you have to feel as though time is running out for the former England legend to turn things around.

Can Barnes do it?

The overwhelming evidence says, no, not a chance.  With fans talking about another protest, a petition against John Barnes and Jason McAteer launched this week and rumblings of a possible boycott, the fans appear to have lost all remaining patience with Barnes.  The visit of Colchester to Prenton Park is a far from ideal fixture for Rovers to find some form again.

He has been defensive in his interviews, outlining the need for the players to believe, as well as sharpening up at the back.  With one of his transfer targets, Ryan Shotton, joining Barnsley on loan this week, he has to go again with what he has.  He simply must find a functional back four that is capable of defending otherwise he may be on the look-out for a new job again in the near future.

What of Colchester?

Not many people could have foreseen the pretty weird opening to the season Colchester endured.  A stunning 7-1 win away to Norwich City on the opening day of the season was tempered somewhat a week later when manager Paul Lambert left to take the vacant managers job at Carrow Road that their landslide win had created.

In came Aidy Boothroyd, not long ago tipped as one of the best young managers in English football.  He previously led Watford to the Premiership on a small budget and was at one stage even mooted as a future England manager.  He's had a decent start to life at his new club and the Us sit handily placed in 5th.

Boothroyd has some decent players and a decent budget at his disposable.  Their line-up of forward players is pretty impressive, with Kevin Lisbie and Kayode Odejayi currently on loan with the club, joining fellow frontmen Clive Platt, Steven Gillespie and Scott Vernon.

Other names of note in the Colchester squad include former Leeds defender Alan Maybury, midfielder Kem Izzett and former Carlisle winger Simon Hackney.  Ex-Morecambe midfielder David Perkins is also a threat but recently tabled a transfer request, wishing to return to the north.

Form

Colchester: L D D D W
Tranmere: L L L L L 

Team news

Tranmere will hope to have Luke Daniels fit again after he missed the defeat at Exeter last week.  It's an otherwise full squad for John Barnes to pick from, although quite how fit the likes of Marlon Broomes, Michael Ricketts and Kithson Bain are yet is anyones guess.