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Peter
Bishop |
Bio
Hi, my name is Peter Bishop and I’ve been
watching Rovers since 1968 and can now proudly
say I am a shareholder - which is something I
was once promised by a now departed director of
the club as a reward for being heavily involved
in the ‘Save the Rovers’ campaign in 1982. They
say everything comes to those who wait…
For my sins I was Tranmere Programme Editor
between 1985 and 1999 when the pressure of doing
a second, almost full time, job ( not forgetting
the fags, booze and too much fatty food!)
brought about a skirmish with the Grim Reaper on
the back of publishing my second book, a
pictorial history of the club.
My first book, the ‘A-Z of Tranmere Rovers’ is
now in the ‘JR Hartley’ category while my
latest, the Complete Record, with Steve Wilson
and Gil Upton, was launched in September and is,
we believe, the definitive bible on all things
Rovers.
I also used to write a 300 word weekly column in
the Daily Post called “View from the stands”
which was supposed to reflect the views of
supporters but was much sanitised by the
Newspapers’ sports editor so not to upset a
certain female Chief Executive who had bent his
ear about my supposed subversive opinions…..
Having spent much of the past 30 years sat in
the Press box having to control myself in a
professional manner I now sit in the home
paddock and enjoy the banter and the opportunity
to abuse referees and opposing coaching staff as
everyone else does!
Related links
Buy the 'Complete Record' here |
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25/2/10
Bishop's blog
Ten years after
Wembley...where did it all go wrong?
On the
27th February is it exactly ten years since the Super Whites
walked out at Wembley stadium to a cacophony of pounding music,
balloons and pyrotechnics as 74,000 fans waved flags, banners
and scarves, to herald the Worthington Cup Final against
Leicester City. What a sight for the memory locker.
It was arguably the peak of Tranmere Rovers long history- our
first ever appearance in a major cup final and from somewhere
28,000 decided to support the club and grab a piece of the glory
alongside the diehards.
Everyone will have their own memories of the day. My big regret
is that I didn’t make a weekend of it so as I was able to arrive
early to soak in the build up and gathering atmosphere. In the
end, one of my mates hired a coach which we filled with fellow
supporters, friends and family. What he should have done was ask
if the driver had ever been to Wembley before.
This was the coach driver from hell. A complete plonker who
managed to get us to the stadium with just 15 minutes to go and
then got lost in North London on the way home!
At least we saw the match- just. Apart from Kelly’s great goal
it was the “what if’s ’that are the abiding memory. What if
Heskey had stayed on his feet when pursued by Clint Hill? What
if the chances that Scott Taylor muffed would have fallen to Ned
Kelly? What if Andy Parkinson had been anywhere near fit enough
to stretch the Leicester defence? Would John Achterberg have
saved either of the Elliot’s headers than whistled past Joe
Murphy?
A lot has changed since those heady days, not the least of which
the famous old stadium has been knocked down and rebuilt. We
arrived at the final as an established Division One side with a
reputation for being able to overturn top flight sides in Cup
competitions.
But we became preoccupied with cup ties and all the glamour that
accompanied them to the detriment of picking up League points in
bread and butter competition. When the cup ties were over we
were unable to pick up the same impetus. Ultimately our greatest
strength exposed our biggest weakness.
With Rovers tumbling towards the third tier of English Football
once again Aldo baled out citing the pressure of continually
being expected to deliver Harrods results on a Netto budget with
a mixture of largely free transfer journeymen and home grown
talent. What took place on the pitch however was just one aspect
of Aldridge’s blueprint for success at this level.
He was cute enough to realise that for Rovers to unsettle the
big boys and compete with them on a level playing field we had
to use every physiological trick in the book. Dave Challinor’s
long throws and ball boys with towels was just one aspect.
Lukewarm showers, sockets that didn’t work in the visitors
dressing room so they couldn’t play break dancing music pre
match were a few examples of his gamesmanship tactics - all
calculated to unsettle and annoy ( Fat Sam being one of them)
those who were used to red carpet treatment where ever they
went.
Kevin Sheedy and Ray Mathias did their best to keep us up
towards the end of 2000-01 season but it was a lost cause in
truth. We were relegated long before a near 10,000 crowd turned
up for the final home match against Nottingham Forest.
With the club adopting the slogan “the fight-back starts here”
as the 2001-02 campaign dawned the board had a key decision to
make about whom they would entrust with the task of achieving
that aim given it was necessary to cut running costs and
salaries.
Bizarrely, they chose a man who had no experience or track
record of management at that level but obviously talked a great
game at the interview. Supporters however were not convinced
Dave Watson was the right man for the job and few warmed to him
as he stood impassively bedside the dugout while things went
horribly wrong in front of him. He didn’t last long.
For a club that once prided itself on loyalty and continuity
there was little evidence of it over the next few years as first
Ray Mathias, then Brian Little, Ronnie Moore and the ubiquitous
John Barnes all came and went through the revolving managerial
door in relatively quick time.
Statistically, Brian Little was the most successful with a 3rd
place finish in 2004-05 and the 6th round of the FA Cup the
previous season.
But all will tell you they suffered from the reality of having
to constantly balance the books in the face of increasing apathy
as crowds plummeted to half the 2000-01 average. Tranmere fans
have never been the most vocal when things are not to their
liking; they just vote with their feet and stay away.
It’s always been a chicken and egg situation as long as I can
remember. We need support though the turnstiles to build a team
but fans won’t turn up until they smell ambition and success…..
In recent years I have seen lots of website posts from clearly
younger supporters suggesting we need to spend this and that to
get back to “our rightful position in what is now called the
‘Championship’.
The second tier of English football, ‘Our rightful position?’
Come on Guys, you are deluding yourselves. For 10 years we
over-performed and it was great while it lasted with promotion
runs and several appearances at Wembley culminating in the
miracle of the Worthington Cup Final in 2000. But how do you
follow that on our budget?
Hard to swallow for the glory seekers I know but for the vast
majority of Tranmere Rovers history we have trawled around the
Third and Forth divisions, enjoyed moments of triumph and
plumbed the depths in other years.
If it is League titles and Cup success you want you better
switch allegiance to Manchester United (forget the two across
the river). On the other hand, if supporting your local club is
as important to you as it is to me, along with sharing in their
ups and downs, then we just have to bite the bullet and accept
our lot in life until another ‘sugar daddy’ comes along with the
ambition and bank account to revitalise the club.
At least we have some great memories to look back upon. There
are plenty of clubs around- especially those who have thrown
shed loads of money at it and failed miserably- who will never
achieve half what we did in our ‘glory’ decade.
So don’t be too wistful this week as you look back to 27th
February 2000. Just appreciate how fortunate you were to see
your club reach the pinnacle of its then 115 year existence but
acknowledge, like an Olympic bob sleigh it would always be
downhill thereafter!
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