Tranmere Rovers vs. Crewe Alexandra match preview

Last updated : 15 January 2007 By Matthew Jones
It aint hard boys, just teach them how to defend a lead!
It's third time lucky on Tuesday, as Tranmere will attempt to take on Crewe Alexandra after two previous proposed fixtures got postponed due to rain and fog in December.

Rovers will be looking for a swift return to form after a shocking performance at Bristol saw them lose 3-2 on Saturday having lead 2-0 whilst Crewe will be hoping Luke Varney and Nicky Maynard can continue their fine form of late after a 2-0 win over Bournemouth at the weekend, a game in which each player scored.

A win for Rovers can lift them upto fifth in the table ahead of Yeovil, Swansea, Doncaster and Blackpool as no other League One teams play.


Crewe Alexandra team profile:

Formed: 1877

Ground: Gresty Road

Manager: Dario Gradi

Nickname: The Alex/The Railway men

Season Finish 2005/06: 22nd (Coca-Cola League Championship)

Previous Meetings:

The most recent meetings between the two sides have come in friendlies, as both sides have found themselves in different divisions.

One friendly which particually springs to mind was one at Prenton Park during the pre-season of 2003, when Ray Mathias was manager. Eugene Dadi made his bow at Prenton Park, partnering Simon Haworth upfront, but Rovers went on to lose the game 5-0 against a Crewe side who had won promotion to the Coca-Cola Championship just a couple of months earlier.

The most recent meetings in the league came in the 2002/03 season, when Rovers managed an increadible 80 points, a club record, yet still missed out on the Division 2 (now League 1) play-off's, let alone the automatic promotion spots.

During this season, Tranmere won one and lost one against The Alex, who eventually finish 2nd in the season with just 6 points more than Tranmere.

At Crewe in late September, Tranmere suffered a 2-0 defeat to Dario Gradi's side, with both goals coming in the second half, thanks to an own goal from on-loan Curtis and a goal for now Sheffield United striker Rob Hulse. Current Wesh Ham striker Dean Ashton also played in this game, coming off the substitutes bench after 72-minutes.

Later on in the season, on March 9th, Tranmere got their own back against Crewe, with a valuable 2-1 win during their 18-match unbeaten run which ran from early February until August of the next season.

Jason Price gave Tranmere the lead after 43 minutes, but Rob Hulse again popped up to get a 47th minute equaliser. However, Rovers were set for a thrilling finish, with Ian Sharps scoring an 88th minute winner for Ray Mathias' team.

Vital Stats:

Crewe have only won 11 times in 36 visits to Prenton Park

The two sides first met on 27th August 1921, there have been a further 120 competative meetings since

There hasn't been a draw in this fixture since 6th April 1990 (12 games since)

Tranmere have scored 131 goals in 61 matches against Crewe at Prenton Park

Tranmere's last win on a Tuesday came in the League came on March 7th 2006, when they defeated Swindon 2-1 (five games since)

The Form Book:

Tranmere last 6 home games: DWLLWW
Crewe last 6 away games: WDDLWW

Many League One fans expected Crewe to be one of the teams pushing to go up into the Championship at the end of this season, but so far a dodgey defence has kept Crewe away from the promotion places for a large period of the season.

For the Railway men, four of their last eight away games have been in either the Johnstone's Paint Trophy or the F.A. Cup, with Crewe winning two matches, losing one and drawing the other - which they eventually won on penalties aginst League Two side Rochdale after the game finishing 1-1 in 90 minutes.

Their defeat was a heavy one, as they lost 4-0 in the First Round of this seasons F.A. Cup, whilst they booked their place in the Northern Section semi-final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy with a 3-2 win at Port Vale.

In their other away cup games, Crewe won 3-0 against Grimsby in the First Round of the Carling Cup and eventually lost in the third round against Manchester United (2-1) at Gresty Road.

In the league, Crewe have picked up just nine points from 12 away games, which is the main reason as to why they find themselves in 16th place in the League Once table.

They have infact lost seven games in total, including a 5-1 thrashing away to Rotherham United and a 3-1 defeat at Belle Vue against Doncaster Rovers.

Other away defeats for Crewe have come at Oldham Athletic (1-0), Bristol City (2-1), Yeovil Town (2-0), Swansea City (2-0) and Bournemouth (1-0), along with a 2-2 draw at Glanford Park against high-flying Scunthorpe United.

The victories have been against Brentford and Brighton, where the two southern based clubs were both hit for four, losing 4-0 and 4-1.

Since the game against Tranmere got postponed, twice, Crewe have drawn 1-1 at Brisbane Road against Leyton Orient, got the same result against Cheltenham and beat Chesterfield 4-2 in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Northern Section Semi-Final, where Luke Varney scored a hatrick.

Luck hasn't been with Crewe however as far as postponements got this season, as their game against Millwall was rained off on Saturday 6th January, their third postponement of the season.

In a total of 12 away league games, Crewe have in fact conceeded 20 goals and scored 16, so clearly it is the defence which is the problem.

Under Ronnie Moore, Tranmere have lost two home games out of 13, winning an impressive seven and drawing twice.

Port Vale are the only side to defeat Rovers at Prenton Park in the league this season, with The Valient's winning 2-1, also a Friday night match, despite Rovers rallying to come back to 2-1 from 2-0 behind.

Huddersfield and Nottingham Forest have both left with a point each, as Huddersfield came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 and Forest got a 0-0 draw, but seven other teams have left Prenton Park empty handed.

Those teams to leave empty handed have been Oldham Athletic (1-0), Yeovil Town (2-1), Leyton Orient (3-0), Bristol City (1-0), Bournemouth (1-0), Blackpool (2-0) and Millwall (3-1).

In the cup, Tranmere have not been so good, losing two out of three games at Prenton Park, one in the F.A. Cup and one in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

Darlington beat Tranmere 1-0 in the Second Round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, whilst Peterborough United defeated Tranmere 2-1 in their most recent home game in the F.A. Cup 2nd Round after Rovers had defeated Conference side Woking 4-2 in the first round.

Since the game got postponed against Crewe in December, Rovers have played three home games, picking up four points. They lost 3-2 to Gillingham after leading 2-0, beat Rotherham 2-1 and drew 1-1 with Northampton Town.

Double Hit:

A great number of players have represented both Crewe and Tranmere in the past, with one such player being current Tranmere striker Gareth Taylor.

The Welsh international joined Crewe on-loan from Nottingham Forest last season and was less than a success at Gresty Road, as he netted a grand total of four goals in 15 games for The Alex.

In the summer, Taylor joined Rovers from Forest on a free-transfer and has so far netted five goals in 20 games for Ronnie Moore's side.

An interesting stat is one that in every game Gareth Taylor has scored, Rovers have won by two goals, beating Chesterfield (2-0), Northampton (3-1), Millwall (3-1), Woking (4-2) and Blackpool (2-0).

Before signing for Rovers and Crewe, Taylor had represented seven other clubs in the football league, plus Southampton for whom he never played.

After making his debut for Bristol Rovers in 1991, Taylor went on to play for Crystal Palace, Manchester City, Port Vale, Sheffield United, Queens Park Rangers and Burnley.

He has been transfered for over £2,000,000, including a top fee of £1,250,000 from Bristol Rovers to Crystal Palace in 1995.

In his career, Taylor has played over 450 games at club level, scoring nearly 114 goals and has scored no goals after 12 caps for his country Wales.

One To Watch:

The Crewe player who you should definately watch out for is striker Luke Varney, who is Crewe's leading scorer so far this season with 19 goals (13 in the league) in 29 games.

A quick striker, Crewe's number 12 didn't make the break through into professional football until March 2003, when he was already 22.

After signing in 2003 for a nominal fee from non-league Quorn Town, Varney broke through into the first team at Crewe, and has not looked back since.

In 79 league and cup appearances for the Railwaymen, Varney has scored an impressive 23 goals, of which 13 have come this season.

The highlight of his career so far must surely be his goal against Manchester United at Gresty Road in the Third Round of this season's Carling Cup.

Now 25, Varney has established himself as a first team regular at Gresty Road, and has formed a very successful partnership upfront with youngster Nicky Maynard.

Team News:

Should they be required, Robbie Stockdale and John Mullin will return from suspension for Rovers for the game against Crewe. Jason McAteer is also fit again whilst Olly James has returned to training, as have John Achterberg and Gavin Ward. The only injury doubt for Rovers is Chris Greenacre, who missed Saturdays game against Bristol City with flu.

Jones' Prediction: Tranmere 1-4 Crewe