Tranmere sign ex-England striker Ricketts
Thursday 13th August, 2009
By Richard Ault

Tranmere have added some much needed physical presence to their strike force after landing former England, Bolton and Middlesbrough striker Michael Ricketts on a free transfer.

Ricketts left Walsall in the summer after being released from his second spell at the club, despite a fairly decent goal scoring record. 

Tranmere manager Barnes spoke briefly about Ricketts' arrival, which comes on the back of failed trials at both Stockport and Brighton this summer.

Barnes said: “Michael is an experienced goalscorer who I’m delighted to be able to bring to the Club.

“He is big and strong and will add something different to our attacking options.”

Ricketts started his career at Walsall in the late 1990's, initially as a midfielder, before moving to a striking role and catching the eye with some superb displays and forming a good goal coring record. 

The bustling and pacey centre forward soon attracted attention from bigger clubs, and in July 2000 he moved to Bolton Wanderers for £400,000 and helped fire the club into the Premiership.  His goal scoring exploits continued in the top-flight and Sven Goran Eriksson handed Ricketts a call-up to his England squad in 2002.

He made his debut away to Holland and that was his one and only cap for his country.  It seemed to signal a downturn in fortunes for the Birmingham-born forward, and he started to struggle for form and fitness.

Despite this, Middlesbrough rated Ricketts highly and splashed out £3.5million to take him to the Riverside in January 2003.  He failed to ever recapture his earlier form though, and after only 17 starts, 21 sub appearances and four goals, he left for Leeds United in June 2004.

His poor form continued at Elland Road, and in subsequent spells with Stoke, Cardiff, Burnley, Preston and Oldham, he returned 'home' to Walsall in November 2007.

He managed to find the back of the net more regularly again with the Saddlers, hitting a total of 17 goals during his second spell with the club.  It's interesting to note that he netted 12 times in total last season, a total Rovers would be more than happy with him repeating.

He is set to be the first of two new strikers to come to Prenton Park in the coming weeks after Grenada striker Kithson Bain was granted permission to stay in the country and is now awaiting his work permit to sign for Rovers.

Upon signing for Rovers, Ricketts said:

“I’m pleased to have joined Tranmere. The lure of playing for John Barnes, who was an idol of mine, and the style of football he wants to play were big factors in me coming here.”

Ricketts will go straight into the squad to face Gillingham tomorrow.

Click here to see Michael Ricketts' career stats on Soccerbase.