The Imps last played tomorrow’s opponents Tranmere Rovers on Saturday 14th December at Sincil Bank, in front of a crowd of 8,369. The referee for that match was Carl Boyeson. Tomorrow afternoon in the man in the middle is Josh Smith.
The Imps won the home match 1-0, with the visitors being reduced to 10 men in the 40th minute when Corey Blackett-Taylor received his second yellow card of the match within 5 minutes of receiving his first, having not retreated as Neal Eardley attempted to take a free-kick for the first booking. It was a frustrating afternoon, but John Akinde scored in the 77th minute to secure all three points for City.
Time for the Q&A. Thank you to Tranmere Rovers supporter Matt for answering our questions!
How long have you supported Tranmere Rovers?
I’ve supported Tranmere for just over 30 years, Division 3 play-off final vs Notts County was my first game.
Where did you finish last season?
We finished 6th last season in League 2 winning the play-off final versus Newport County.
What do you think of your Manager?
I really like Micky, back to back promotions aside, a few weeks ago during our bad run there were a few Mellon out shouts from some fans, but he’s an ex-player who gets us and gets what is required to represent the club and the community.
Who Are The League One Managers? No.22: Micky Mellon (Tranmere Rovers)
What were your hopes and expectations for the 2019/20 season?
It was always going to be a struggle this season, I would have taken finishing 20th before a ball was kicked and that hasn’t changed, a week or so ago we looked dead and buried 8 points adrift but that’s down to 3 now so 20th is still possible and I think we will stay up.
One(s) to watch?
Kieron Morris and Morgan Ferrier are our danger men plus James Vaughan has started finding the net regularly, at the back Clarke and Ellis are forming a good partnership, our form has picked up since Mark Ellis returned from a 10 month layoff and we now for the first time all season have a fully fit squad.
Which teams you think will finish in the top six?
I answered this before our first game and was way off, but now I think Coventry City, Rotherham United, Fleetwood Town, Portsmouth, Oxford United and Sunderland.
Which teams do you think will finish in the bottom three?
Bottom 3 is a lot clearer than the top 6, Bolton and Southend are as good as down then it’s 1 from us, Wimbledon, Rochdale, MK and possibly Accrington, but Wimbledon for me will take the last relegation spot.
What are your thoughts on Lincoln City?
I have a lot of respect for Lincoln, we’ve had some good battles recently and we pushed you all the way in your National League championship season, similar-sized club to ourselves and both made massive steps recently.
What do you think the score will be?
We are on a good run of form I think it will be tight, our last 3 we’ve only won by the odd goal and I think Saturday will be the same. 2-1 Tranmere.
Will The Imps Win, Lose Or Draw Against Tranmere Rovers?
Win
Lose
Draw
Random fact about your Club?
The area of Tranmere was settled by Norse Vikings who named the area which in Norse translates to Heron Sandbank and as far as I am aware are the only team in England with a Norse origins name.
If you could steal one Lincoln City player for your own team, who would it be and why?
Last time I said Bruno Andrade but he’s since moved to Salford which I’ll admit took me by surprise but honestly without Google I couldn’t name any of your players sorry.
What are your proudest and most embarrassing moments as a Tranmere Rovers Supporter?
The proudest moment was reaching the League Cup Final in 2000 which we lost 2-1 to Premier League Leicester City.
The most embarrassing moments, there have been a couple but probably ending up for sale on eBay or our back to back relegations to the National League.
Who would you say is your most underrated player?
Liam Ridehalgh he comes in for a fair bit of criticism but had a good left foot on him and has a fair few assists, he’s been here now 6/7 years under various managers and is still our regular left-back.
Do you have a Supporters Trust and what role do they play at the Club?
Yes, we have a supporters trust who play a massive part in the club, they have a place on the board of directors and are the middle man so to speak between the fans and the club, they also run the beer tent in the main car park which welcomes away fans.
Which was your favourite match involving Tranmere Rovers?
I think most fans will agree with me 27th January 2001 Everton 0 Tranmere 3, known as St. Yates day after defender Steve Yates who scored 2 of the 3 goals.
Which was your least favourite match involving Tranmere Rovers?
Least favourite not so easy as there have been many but the forest green playoff final defeat was tough to take, maybe a bit arrogantly most of thought all we had to do was turn up and we’d win, so that was really disappointing and took a while to get over.
Do you have a Former Players Association at Tranmere Rovers?
I’m not sure we have one.
What’s the best thing about Birkenhead?
Not a lot ha, but has to be the Super Whites.
Looking at the table all 3 teams that came up are struggling. Do you think you came up too early?
This has been discussed and the consensus is that we came up a year too soon, but we did and are desperate to stay in this league and possibly push on in the next 2 seasons.
A POSH friend commented you play some good football so are you surprised to find yourselves in bottom 3?
Yes and no. We’ve not really had a settled side all season, I’ve never known a season like it for so many injuries but we’ve made a lot of silly mistakes in games that’s cost us, yes we like to play it on the ground and Peterborough at home was probably one of our best performances of the season but with the pitch the way it is it’s not so easy to knock it around on the floor.
"I would have taken finishing 20th before a ball was kicked and that hasn't changed."https://t.co/C1vKgXXc5O#TRFC #ImpsAsOne #ProudToBeImps
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) March 13, 2020
https://www.facebook.com/VitalLincolnCity/posts/2779946922041535
