Football Season Review

Tranmere entered the season looking to regain some momentum after spending the second half of the 2012/13 season playing in relegation form, but they kept struggling to get points in the early stages of their campaign and recorded only one win in their opening ten matches. The Rovers' main problem was their defence, as they were conceding cheap goals week in and week out, with their back four repeatedly canceling all the good work done by their forward line. Ronnie Moore gave up on his usual attacking approach with time, and opted to start playing with only one typical striker. The formation switch made Tranmere a solid away side, but they kept struggling to get home victories throughout the season, and ended the campaign with only six home wins to their name. Moore constantly tried to use the loan market to change his side's fortunes. The arrival of Jake Cassidy from Wolves caused elation among the Rovers' fans, but their joy soon turned into despair, as the striker was no where near the form he showed during his loan stay with the club in the first half of the previous season. Tranmere were dealt a blow in mid February, when Moore was suspended by the club after being charged by the FA for breaching betting rules. Assistant manager John McMahon took over as a caretaker, while Moore never returned from his suspension, as he had his contract canceled after admitting the FA charge. Tranmere's form did not really change after McMahon took over, as they remain rather inconsistent, decent going forward but poor at the back. However, they eventually paid the price for the abysmal run of form they had in their final five games, which saw them collecting only a point and scoring only once. They had a chance of staying up until the very last round, but their relegation was confirmed after they fell to a 2:1 home defeat to Bradford in their last game, although it would not have made any difference if they won, as results elsewhere would have sent them down anyway. All in all, the Rovers have been very poor in the last 18 months of football, and whoever is in charge next season will have a very tough task to lift the spirits of everyone associated with the club.

Player of the Season: Ryan Lowe