Smells like team spirit
Monday 21st December, 2009
By Richard Ault

Les Parry continues to transform Rovers' fortunes as he celebrated a fine 2-0 victory over Bristol Rovers on Saturday, his first game since being officially named as Rovers manager until the end of the season.

It was always going to be a tough game for Tranmere, Bristol Rovers arrived sitting sixth in League One.  They came up against a resurgent Tranmere team who continue to gain in confidence with every passing game at Prenton Park.  The battling spirit Parry has instilled into his team once again stood out a mile.

Tranmere came through with flying colours.  Prenton Park was a real fortress last season, and the signs are there that it is heading back that way, and how we need it to be.  They may not be laden with quality, but the matches we watch at the moment make you feel happier when you leave, because they are fighting tooth and nail. 

Parry was forced in to one change from the side that went down fighting at Southampton last week, the suspended Marlon Broomes seeing his place in the backline taken by Ash Taylor, Paul McLaren coming into the midfield to fill the void left by the teenager.

Indeed, it is the form of young Ash that personifies the feeling when you watch the team at the moment.  Despite his age and lack of first team experience, he has been superb whenever called upon since John Barnes left the club.  His work rate is phenomenal, while he never shies away from taking hold of the ball and trying to play.  So-much-so, he is probably one of the first names on the team sheet at the moment. 

Normally commanding in central midfield, his switch to centre back again looked seamless.  Along with Ian Goodison, the defence looked a lot more solid.  Another huge positive in recent weeks is the form of the other two midfielders, Edds and Welsh.

It's fair to say that John Welsh was one of the more exciting summer signings, but in the early weeks was also one of the biggest let-downs because of those expectations.  in the first months of the season, he just didn't look like the player we'd expected to see. 

Over the past month though his form and fitness has improved massively and he is now one of the driving forces in this team.  He looks sharper, more competitive and gives Rovers a bit of that nastiness in midfield most good teams have.  He is starting to look a lot more like the player who has the pedigree he has and is capable of playing some terrific passes around the pitch.

As for Gareth Edds, well he had to make do with a supporting role during his first season at Prenton Park, and not many of us would have argued his case to be involved more.  This time around though, he has looked leaner and fitter, and those good positions he has a knack of getting into are now bearing fruit in the form of goals.  He is also one of the most committed players to pull on the white shirt for some time. 

The new formation Parry uses compliments both Welsh and Edds as they can concentrate more on the nitty-gritty through the middle and getting box-to-box.  Taylor does the holding whilst Thomas-Moore and Curran can drop in to the wide areas to severely crowd the midfield.  Opposition teams are not enjoying playing against us now.

In my opinion though, the two players to benefit the most since the hapless Barnes and McAteer left us are perhaps Terry Gornell and Craig Curran.  The two young forwards have been given a great run of first team football under Les, and it is showing in their performances.

Curran looked as though he had lost his way a little in the last couple of seasons, probably due to injury and a lack of first team opportunities.  Now playing on the right of the three-pronged forward line, he looks fit, confident, and a real threat to teams.  He is starting to get goals too, his stunning left foot effort against the Pirates on Saturday a sign of just how far he has come in terms of confidence.

Terry Gornell is a player that has real signs of class in my opinion.  He scored a few goals during a successful stint at Accrington Stanley last season, and he has managed three so far this season.  He is a different player to many you'd see his age.  Aided by the wealth of experience offered by coach Wayne Allison, Terry is turning in to an excellent target man, and has some similarities to Chris Greenacre in terms of his style of play.

His decision making and timing of the runs may be a little off at times, but he is most definitely a promising prospect, and alongside Thomas-Moore and Curran, he is giving centre backs a hard time.  We must remember with both he and Craig, they are both young players who are still learning all the time and need support from the fans to continue that development.

Despite the positivity around at the moment, there is absolutely no hiding the fact we are still in the bottom four and it will still take a massive effort to ensure the club stays up.  At least now there are signs that we may get out of it, and perhaps most importantly, that the players are as desperate to get out of it as we are.

The Boxing Day game at Oldham is crucial.  Victory could lift us out of the bottom four and put us within a touching distance of a group of teams that occupy places up to mid-table. 

If you're one of our visitors that makes use of office or school time to check out the site, then we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  For those that can keep logging on throughout the festive period, we've got lot's to keep you entertained over the coming days, including our on-going Christmas Advent Calendar and the latest instalment of Chrissy Greenacre's blog.