Bailey's shot leaves Rovers punch-drunk
Saturday 29th August, 2009
By Richard Ault

If John Barnes needed any indication of just how hard he's going to have to work to get some Rovers fans onside with his ideas this season, he got it on Saturday.  The message was loud and clear as another pathetic Rovers performance left many fans booing the team off at full-time.  And that was the tip of the iceberg.

The words gutless, spineless, passionless and clueless were all thrown around by Rovers fans in the pub after the game, the feeling of optimism that floated around just weeks ago has been replaced by a heavy feeling of doom and dismay.  This is going to be a long season.

Before the Charlton game, Rovers fans were fearing the worst perhaps after the horror show at Elland Road last week.  Surely a team cannot play that bad twice in a week? 

Team news

In terms of the team, Gunning partnered Goodison in the backline whilst Terry Gornell was favoured over Craig Curran upfront in an otherwise familiar looking starting eleven.  Michael Ricketts was again on the bench, Barnes saying the former England man is not yet fit enough to start. 

The match

Rovers actually got the first meaningful attack of the game after robbing possession off the Addicks and countering well.  A foul by Youga on Shuker bought the home side a free-kick in a good position on the right wing, but it came to nothing.

Then it was all Charlton.  A fine mix of exciting, pacey, attacking players, offset by steely and reliable defensive guards.  The young talent such as Shelvey and Sam, balanced perfectly by the likes of Deon Burton and the superb Christian Dailly. 

When Charlton signed Dailly this summer, despite the Scotsman's advancing years, you couldn't help but feel it was a master stroke.  He not only marshalled the visitors defence impeccably, he led the team, talking his way through the 90 minutes whilst never looking likely to be caught out.  He is the kind of presence, the kind of influence, Rovers are crying out for to guide them through a rocky time.

A familiar story soon started to write itself again.  On-loan Luke Daniels - far and away our best player this season - was called into action for the first of his hatful of top class saves he would be required to make again. 

First, the young WBA stopped dived full-stretch to his left to palm away Jonjo Shelvey's firm strike from the edge of the box, and minutes later he acrobatically tipped Deon Burton's dipping drive over the bar.  The onslaught had begun.

A quick counter-attack on 24 minutes brought the opening goal.  The superb Shelvey leaving Logan for dead before delivering a deadly left wing cross.  It was flighted perfectly, and Lloyd Sam rose totally unmarked to head across the helpless Daniels into the bottom corner.  0-1.

Rovers needed a reaction.  The fans rallied and applauded, shouted encouragement.  Tranmere buckled instantly.  Little over a minute after the restart it was pretty much game over.  The midfield, struggling to make any kind of impact this season, squandered possession once more.  A clever Deon Burton back heel sent Samedo through on goal, his finish was cool as he slotted the ball past an absolutely livid Daniels.  0-2.

The two-goal cushion allowed the visitors to take their foot off the gas a little.  Rovers managed to give the Addicks' keeper two saves to make, one from a lame McLaren free-kick, the other from a speculative Ian Thomas-Moore effort.  It didn't inspire confidence.

A few shouts of 'we want Barnes out' from the top of the Kop were rightly drowned out by Rovers fans, surely nobody can shout for a managers head this early?  The sides left the field at half-time to a few boos and a bit of applause.

The fans greeted their side out for the second period, no doubt hoping to help inspire a comeback.  John Barnes ditched 4-4-2 and went for 4-3-3, a formation that was surely going to be too narrow to cope with Chartlon's wingers who had stretched us throughout the first half.  It seemed naive.  It meant a double substitution, Ricketts and Edds replacing Shuker and Mahon - both players had been anonymous again.

Despite the changes, it was quite simply more of the same though, and just minutes in, the visitors got their third of the afternoon.  Youga galloped down the left wing - with more space than ever thanks to the change in Rovers' formation - and played a deep cross in towards Sam who leapt highest at the back post to head home his second of the afternoon.  0-3.

Now the atmosphere was turning a lot more negative inside Prenton Park.  As Charlton toyed with Tranmere, flicking the ball around like a training session, fans became increasingly angered by the lack of guile and signs of passion from the home side.  The midfield was nowhere.  McLaren and Welsh should be the ones competing, winning the ball back, getting up and down the pitch and generally making Rovers tick.

McLaren has looked a shadow of the player who left Prenton Park 12 months ago, Welsh still not quite looking fit enough, although he is one of few players I'd give credit to in this game, he is improving.  Barnes needs to find a place for Charlie Barnett in the side, he would at least add some much-needed pace, intelligence and a bit of fire.  Bring Mahon into the centre, he just isn't involved nearly enough out wide, and doesn't have the pace for it.

Twenty minutes into the second half and Barnes made another change, Gornell hauled off to allow young winger Ryan Fraughan to come on.  The 4-3-3 had been ditched nearly as quickly as it was with Ronnie last season.

It was perhaps a little harsh to throw the young lad on in this game.  He had been on less than a minute before Charlton extended their lead still further.  Yet another cross came in, this time from a deeper position.  Bailey swung it towards Deon Burton who flicked out his leg but failed to make contact.  The ball bounced and looped over Daniels, the kind of goal you see most weeks on TV now. 0-4.

That was the final act of the afternoon for many fans.  Supporters streamed out of the exits despite half an hour still being left to play.  Many of those left vented their anger towards Barnes, and the chant of 'we want Barnes out' sparked up again, this time though there were people in all three home stands singing it - it wasn't quiet, nor did there seem to be as many fans trying to shush it. 

It's not going to help matters, nor will the numerous chants for old boss Ronnie Moore who was unceremoniously dumped in June.  You can't blame the fans though, they have a right to vent their frustration, and whether you agree with their methods or not, you surely cannot disagree with the fact that we have been shambolic recently.

Barnes cut a lonely figure with the weight of the world on his shoulders, leaning against the inside of the dugout no doubt only too aware of the stick being shouted at him from around the ground.  His assistant Jason McAteer seemed to be curled up sitting down at the opposite end of the bench.  Where was the inspiration from either?

Barnes does have a thick skin though, he has needed it after what happened at Celtic a decade ago.  He will bat away the criticism and attempt to fight back.  Or certainly I hope he will.  If anything, he should use this slow start to build a bit of a siege mentality within the squad and bring the boys together.  There is a lot of talent in that dressing room, but there is a lot missing too.

The remainder of the game played out with Charlton fans mocking us and starting their own anti-Barnes chants.  Their team was in exhibition mode, knocking the ball around without a care in the world.  Rovers did fashion a couple of chances, the best of which Goodison volleyed over from six yards after getting onto a Ricketts flick-on.

The only sign of passion all afternoon came at 4-0, Gunning enthusiastically booting his way through the ball twice not caring if he would have taken a Charlton player with him.  That's what we want to see, and whether it was born out of frustration or not, every single player out there needs to fight like that, preferably before we are 4-0 down though.

A tough trip up to Carlisle awaits next week, a game for which Barnes expects to have Grenada international Kithson Bain finally available for one of the most long-awaited debuts in Tranmere's history.  Let's hope this signing is actually fit.  He's going to have to hit the ground running.

The good

• Luke Daniels - fantastic again

• It can only get better

The bad

• No passion or belief

• Absence of any real leader on the pitch

• Little motivation from the dug-out

• Woeful defending

• Clueless and largely anonymous midfield

• Another abject performance from the wingers - we need to see more of them

Man of the match

Luke Daniels - Once again Luke made some outstanding saves.  The lad is certainly getting some "experience" during his spell with Rovers.  Best keeper in the league in my, albeit biased, opinion.