Tranmere Rovers F.C.
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fr:Tranmere Rovers FC simple:Tranmere Rovers F.C.
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Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English football club, based in Birkenhead, Merseyside. They currently play in Football League One.
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Overview
The club was founded as Belmont F.C. in 1885. The club's traditional home kit is a white shirt, shorts and socks, with blue trim. The 2004/05 away kit is amber with black trim. The club is currently managed by Brian Little and play at Prenton Park, which has a 16,587 capacity.
The club played its first match in the Liverpool & District Challenge Cup in 1886. In 1921/22 the club joined the newly formed Third Division North of the Football League.
Cups
Since the mid-1990s, Tranmere Rovers have become famous for their unlikely cup successes. John King led them to the 1994 League Cup semi-final only losing to Premiership side Aston Villa on penalties. John Aldridge continued this tradition, guiding Tranmere to FA Cup quarter-finals in 2000 and 2001 and a League Cup final in 2000. This has continued under manager Brian Little as Tranmere took Millwall to a quarter-final replay in the FA Cup in 2004, eventually losing 2-1.
Since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, Tranmere have beaten many Premiership sides in cup competitions. Notable scalps include a 3-0 victory against local rivals Everton at Goodison Park (FA Cup, 2001) and a victory against Southampton (FA Cup, 2001), which saw the greatest comeback in FA Cup history when Tranmere came from 3-0 down at half-time to win 4-3.
The John King era
John King is widely regarded as the most successful manager ever to take charge of Tranmere Rovers. He was appointed manager of the club towards the end of the 1986-1987 season, with the club fighting not to finish bottom of the fourth division and be relegated from the football league. Safety was only guaranteed in the last game of the season with a 1-0 home win over Exeter City, Tranmere's crucial winner being scored by midfielder Gary Williams.
King's first full season in charge saw Tranmere make their first appearance at Wembley stadium when a good mid-season run of form saw them qualify as one of the fourth division's two representatives in the football league's centenary tournament. Tranmere were the surprise stars of an otherwise derided tournament, beating first division Wimbledon and Newcastle before losing on penalties to eventual winners Nottingham Forest.
King's second season as manager (1988-89) saw him guide Tranmere to promotion as Fourth Division runners-up. It also marked the first of a string of cup successes against sides from the first division, Middlesborough going down 1-0 on aggregate in the second round of the League Cup. Fellow top flight sides Millwall, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Coventry were among the other giants slain at Prenton Park by King's Tranmere.
A successful return to division three saw Tranmere finish fourth in the table, only to lose to Notts County in the 1990 third division playoff final. They were granted a place in the Second Division after Swindon Town (Second Division playoff winners) were demoted to the Third Division for financial irregularities. But Tranmere remained in the Third Division after Swindon's punishment was reduced to remaining the Second Division. Consolation came in the form of victory in the Associate Members' cup final, a 2-1 Wembley win over third division champions Bristol Rovers. Club record scorer Ian Muir gave Tranmere an early lead, and after Devon White equalised for Bristol early in the second half, Muir's strike partner Jim Steele hit a late winner.
Tranmere Rovers went one better in the 1990-91 season, finishing fifth in the league but winning the Third Division playoffs with a dramatic 1-0 win over local rivals Bolton Wanderers. Chris Malkin's extra time goal saw the club promoted to the Second Division for the first time since the 1930's. They also made a second successive appearance in the Associate Members' cup final, this time losing 3-2 to Birmingham City. This made the play-off victory over Bolton Tranmere's fourth appearance in a Wembley final in just over a year. Another notable event that season was in Tranmere's home match against Southend United on new year's day 1991, when right back Tony Thomas scored after just eight seconds, at the time the fastest televised goal in history.
Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge joined the club that summer, signing from Spain's Real Sociedad, and would remain on the club's payroll for the next 10 years. John King guided Tranmere into the new Division One playoffs three years in succession from 1993, but each time they lost in the semi-finals and King resigned in March 1996 with the club in mid table.
The John Aldridge era
John Aldridge was appointed player-manager and remained in that role for five years. During that time Tranmere failed to reach the playoffs although they came very close in the 1996-97 season. The 1999-2000 season was Tranmere's best ever in cup competition with a run to the quarter finals of the FA cup, and the final of the League Cup, the club's first major cup final. The league cup final resulted in a 1-2 defeat to Leicester City, Tranmere's goal scored by David Kelly after Tranmere defender Clint Hill had been sent off. Remarkably, Aldridge took Tranmere to the final of a major national cup competition with a team which did not include a single player he had paid for. The club's severe financial constraints meant that at the time the squad included only a single player for whom a transfer fee had been paid, big striker Wayne Allison, who was cup-tied for the league cup run.
The following season they again reached the F.A. Cup quarter final with a run that included two games unlikely ever to be forgotten on the Wirral. The fourth round saw Tranmere drawn away to Merseyside rivals Everton, in whose shadow, along with that of Liverpool, the club has always lived. A memorably one-sided game saw Tranmere give the Toffees a comprehensive three-nil hammering at Goodison Park, with one goal from Jason Koumas and two storming headers from defender Steve Yates. The date has been immortalised in Tranmere history, fans having designated the 27th of January Saint Yates' Day. More drama was to come in the shape of a 4-3 fifth round victory over Southampton. Trailing 3-0 at half time, and having been comprehensively outplayed by the premier league side, Tranmere came out for the second half transformed. With Prenton Park a cauldron of noise, Tranmere began to launch an astonishing display of unfettered attacking football, ripping the Southampton defence to tatters as they blazed forward at will. A hat trick by Paul Rideout brought the scores level, Stuart Barlow then hitting the winner which gave Tranmere a 4-3 victory in a game generally regarded as the greatest F.A. Cup comeback of all time.
In the league, things were very different, with the side floundering at the very bottom of the table. Aldridge finally handed in his resignation in March 2001 when Tranmere lost 2-3 at home to Barnsley after having led 2-0. The caretaker team of Ray Mathias and Kevin Sheedy was unable to save them and Tranmere were relegated from Division One after a decade at that level.
Tranmere Rovers in the 21st century
Tranmere had hopes of a quick return to division one, but it was not to be. Under the management of former Everton captain David Watson, the club ended 2001-02 in an unremarkable mid table position. Things improved following Watson's replacement by Tranmere stalwart Ray Mathias in 2002-03. A remarkable second half of the season saw the team lose once in 23 league matches to finish just outside the play-off zone in seventh place, despite amassing eighty points.
In October 2003, Tranmere turned to Brian Little as their new manager. Little had previously achieved promotion success with Darlington (twice) and Leicester City, as well as leading Aston Villa to League Cup success in 1996. Tranmere were battling relegation when Little took over, but he transformed their fortunes on the pitch and they finished eighth at the end of the 2003-04 season as well as reaching the F.A. Cup Quarter Final. Little's first full season in charge saw a genuine promotion challenge as the club finished third, only to lose on penalties to Hartlepool United in the play-off semi-finals.
Famous players
- Signed in 1924 aged 16.
- 1925 - transferred to Everton for £3,000.
- 1927/28 - he scored a record breaking 60 goals in a season.
- Signed for Tranmere in January 1974.
- Sold to Manchester United in February 1975 for £60,000.
- Made his England debut in 1977 against Italy. England won 2 - 0.
- Signed by manager John King on 11 July 1991 from Spanish side Real Sociedad for £250,000.
- Scored two goals on his Tranmere debut, away to Brighton & Hove Albion.
- Scored two goals in his final game for Rovers, at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
- First choice right-back for England in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, playing in two World Cup semi-finals, Stevens was signed for Tranmere by John King in 1994 from Rangers for £350,000.
- Full-back Steve Yates was signed on a free transfer by manager John Aldridge from QPR on 5 August 1999. He is fondly remembered for scoring two goals in Tranmere's famous 3 - 0 FA Cup victory against fierce local rivals Everton F.C. on 27 January 2001.
- Mark Palios - erstwhile head of the FA and Insolvency practitioner
Internal Records
Best league win
- 13-4 against Oldham Athletic 1933/34
Highest attendance
- Home - 24,400 against Stoke City FA Cup 4th Round 1972
- Away - 62,000 against Everton FA Cup 5th Round 1968
Most goals in a season
- 40 - John Aldridge - 1991/92
- 40 - "Bunny" Harold Bell - 1934/35
Honours
- Runners-up
- 2000
Third Division North
- Champions
- 1938
Division Three (New Format)
- Play-off winners
- 1991
- Winners
- 1990
External Link
Official website (http://www.tranmererovers.co.uk)
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