At the end of October, Rovers had lost just twice and sat top of League One with a better away record than at home but what did November, the Christmas period and New Year have in store for Ronnie Moore's men?

November

November brought a tough run of games and an FA Cup tie.  First up, was an away tie to Nottingham Forest, in which Rovers lost 2-0, continuing their always poor record at the City Ground.  This defeat was followed by a 1-0 home defeat by local rivals Oldham Athletic, a game in which there was no effort from Tranmere at all.

As the League form dipped, there was a welcome distraction for Tranmere though in the shape of a first round FA Cup game away to Chesterfield.  For this game, Tranmere put on free coaches, meaning a following of 1,200 fans cheering Rovers on to a 2-1 victory, after going behind.

Goals from Antony Kay and a penalty from Chris Greenacre sealed the win.  Danny Coyne also saved a penalty, while young striker Craig Curran was sent off.

Coyne - Penalty Save at Chesterfield!

Two more tough games came up for Rovers. Firstly, away to Doncaster, where Tranmere ground out a 0-0 draw and then a home defeat to Swansea where Rovers lost 1-0. 

Not a great month all in all for Rovers, but it did mean a second round FA Cup tie away to Bradford would kick off December.

MONTHLY RECORD (LEAGUE) - P4 W0 D1 L3 F0 A4

LEAGUE POSITION - 9^th POINTS - 24

Through to FA Cup Second Round

December

So December started with Rovers Second Round away FA cup tie at Bradford and once again there free coaches, this time 34 of them, making the trip along the M62.  Rovers easily overcame Bradford, winning the tie 3-0 thanks to goals from Steve Jennings, and a brace from Chris Greenacre.

Days later Rovers faced a trip to the east coast, playing Hartlepool on a cold, wet and windy Tuesday night.  It was never going to be easy for Tranmere, and an awful performance meant a 3-1 defeat, despite Shane Sherriff's superb free kick.

It was back to Prenton Park the following weekend, as Rovers took on Bournemouth.  There were fears the game would be called off, due to the heavy rain throughout the week but it went ahead, although it looked as if it was being played on a marsh.  Rovers ran out 3-1 winners, with goals from Calvin Zola, Steven Jennings and a Chris Greenacre penalty.

Two away games were next up for Rovers as the busy Christmas period approached.  Firstly the Super White Army made the trip to Port Vale, where Tranmere secured another point in a 0-0 draw, while next up was Luton, where Rovers slipped to a 1-0 defeat, due to keeper Danny Coyne dropping the ball at the feet of Luton striker Dave Edwards in the dying minutes.

To end the month, Rovers first hosted Carlisle on Boxing Day and won what had appeared on paper to be a difficult game, by two goals to nil thanks to an own goal from David Raven and a stunner from Antony Kay that was eventually voted the Goal of the Season for Tranmere.

They followed that game just three days later with a 1-0 win over Cheltenham at Prenton Park thanks to a second half goal from Calvin Zola that never really looked like happening for Rovers for most of the game.

MONTHLY RECORD (LEAGUE) - P6 W3 D1 L2 F7 A5

LEAGUE POSITION - 9^th POINTS - 34

Through to FA Cup Third Round

January

The first day of 2008 saw an entertaining but ultimately fruitless game for Rovers as they scored three goals at Crewe's Gresty Road Ground but still ended up on the wrong end of a 4-3 defeat as well as losing Captain Ian Goodison to a red card.

Andy Taylor, Chris Greenacre and Paul McLaren netted for Rovers but Crewe snatched the win in the 89^th minute of the game.

Next up for Rovers was the third round of the FA Cup and after overcoming two League Two sides away from home in the earlier rounds, they again faced League Two opposition, this time at home in the shape of Hereford United.

Rovers were behind twice in the game but Steven Jennings and Gareth Taylor saved their blushes and earned a replay at Edgar Street later in the month.

Prior to that replay, Rovers faced a midweek trip to London to face Leyton Orient after the game had originally been scheduled for FA Cup third round day and aided by the stupid sending off of Shane Sherriff, Rovers fell to a 3-0 defeat. 

Sherriff - Silly Sending Off at Orient!

Just three days later there was a chance for Rovers to avenge the midweek defeat but the players put in one of their worst performances of the season as Bristol Rovers won the game at Prenton Park 2-0.

So to Edgar Street for the replay and despite Rovers dominating the game, again aided by a good support thanks to more free coaches, Hereford stole an undeserved 1-0 win to progress to the fourth round where they were beaten by eventual finalists Cardiff City.

After a run of five games without a win since 2008 had begun, the return of Ian Goodison from his four match suspension coincided with Rovers getting back to winning ways as they snatched a late 1-0 at Millwall thanks to Antony Kay.

That sparked a run of good results as Rovers ended the month with two home wins against Yeovil (2-1) and Gillingham (2-0).  Calvin Zola and a Jennison Myrie-Williams penalty earned the win over Yeovil before Paul McLaren and Calvin Zola goals saw Rovers complete a double over Gillingham.

January's transfer window saw Andy Taylor who had been on loan from Blackburn, sign permanently for the Club and Ian Moore was brought in from Hartlepool as Gareth Taylor left the Club to sign for Doncaster.

MONTHLY RECORD (LEAGUE) - P6 W3 D0 L3 F8 A10

LEAGUE POSITION - 8^th POINTS - 43

Out of FA Cup in Third Round (Replay)

So from sitting pretty at the top of the League at the end of October to eighth place at the end of January after a dismal start to the New Year.  How would Rovers fare in the final three months of the season?

Stay tuned to Total Tranmere tomorrow for our third and final part of our Season Review 2007/08.

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