Tranmere started the season in the non-league as their dramatic descent in recent years reached its peak. Having been contesting promotion from League One only just a few years ago, the Merseysiders were now finding themselves in the same league as part-timers and teams that never dreamed of facing them before. Naturally, Rovers were the big scalp in the league before the start and needed some time to get used to that tag. They actually assembled a very strong squad for this level and in Gary Brabin had a seemingly very experienced manager that knew what was needed to get out of the Football League. The team had muscle and presence in midfield and good players in attack too. Yet variety and flexibility were lacking and overall the squad looked quite good on paper but not functioning too well on the pitch in the early weeks. Even most of the performances early in the season were not too good, Rovers were among the leaders after winning three out of the first four games. But then came the cold shower as minnows in Altrincham and Boreham Wood delivered them shock defeats and reminded this side that they need to be on the money every game and will not get anything for free in this league. Brabin was focused on making the team a tough proposition to play against and the focus was on defensive shape and midfield battling rather than flair in attack. It meant that Rovers were finding it hard to break down most of the teams that were defending deep against them but were very hard to beat themselves. Indeed, Rovers went nine games without a loss and became one of the few sides to take points off the outstanding side in the league in Cheltenham with a last-minute win. There was no doubting the quality of the side when they were on their day and indeed they completely outplayed Forest Green for a 2:0 away win in October to showcase the point. But they were having a frustrating day more often than not as the poor results kept stacking up and the gap to the top places only increased. The likes of Eastleigh, Barrow and Dover all won in Merseyside during a run in October and the home form did not get much better after that. There was lack of real belief and drive in the squad more often than not and fans started to turn against Brabin, especially after another really poor loss at Woking in November. Yet the manager remained steadfast in keeping with the same system and results eventually started to get better. Macclesfield were defeat in late December but Rovers really weren’t on a run in early 2016 after somehow coming back from 3:1 down at 90 minutes to score three goals in added time and win away at Barrow. It was a quite unbelievable effort from the team and they took a massive amount of confidence from that turnaround. The team suffered only a single loss, to Cheltenham, during a run of 12 games and closed in on a play-off spot. They played some excellent football at times during that run and in James Norwood had one of the best strikers in the league. Jake Kirby emerged as a regular in the side after being just a youngster on the fringes early in the season and Adam Mekki developed into an excellent performer on the wing as well. At the back, Steve McNulty was proving an assured presence as the defending improved over the course of the season. Indeed, Rovers were seemingly in a good position to finish in the top five with a month left of the season and few would have bet against them going all the way in the play-offs, such was their momentum now. Bit they suffered a shock loss to the worst side in the league in Welling at the start of April and that seemed to shake them to the core. They also lost at the hands of Wrexham in another home game and that eventually proved terminal for their chances as surprise packages Dover and Braintree upstaged them for a place in the top five. Thus, failing to even finish in the play-offs must be regarded as a hugely disappointing season for a club of Tranmere’s stature in a league where everyone else is dwarfed by their resources and fanbase. They will certainly be obliged to do much better next season and Brabin is a man who needs to deliver on that count.
