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Charlton Athletic v Tranmere Rovers Match Preview


By Matthew Jones
January 28 2010

As Rovers prepare for the trip to London on Saturday afternoon to take on promotion chasing Charlton Athletic at The Valley, Matthew Jones takes his usual extensive look ahead to the game and brings us all the information we need to know ahead of the match....

Article Header - Match Preview

 Saturday 30th January 2010 - Coca-Cola League One

Charlton A v Tranmere R 

Kick-Off 3.00pm at The Valley

Article Header - By Matthew Jones

Fresh from picking up three vital points in a huge game against Yeovil Town on Tuesday evening, Tranmere Rovers play their third away game in their last four on Saturday as they travel to the Valley to take on high-flying Charlton in Coca Cola League One.

The Addicks have had a great season so far following their relegation from the Championship last season and are looking to bounce straight back up to the second tier of the English league at the first attempt whilst Les Parry will be hoping he can guide Tranmere to their first away league win with him as boss in what will be  very tough game for the Wirral side.
 
Previous Meetings:
 
John Barnes' Tranmere Rovers side had a dismal afternoon when they took on Charlton Athletic at Prenton Park on August 29th, suffering their fourth of five successive defeats, a run in which they failed to score any goals.
 
The game, which was played out in front of just 5,417 fans at Prenton Park, saw Tranmere hammered 4-0 by the London promotion hopefuls, who were able to leave the likes of striker Izale McLeod on the bench, showing just how strong their squad is.
 
Charlton scored their first goal on 24 minutes when winger Sam got in front of Cresswell to head home from inside the area after Charlton quickly counter attacked from a Tranmere free-kick, whilst just a minute later the Londoners doubled their lead when Jose Somedo slotted the ball past Daniels and into the net after recieving Burton's clever back heal.
 
Tranmere then managed to weather the storm for a while, though only until just after half time, when Sam scored his second header of the match, netting from a corner just moments after John Welsh had shot narrowly over for Tranmere at the other end.

Daniels Luke
 
The league leaders confirmed their place at the top of the table on 68 minutes when Nicky Bailey scored a freak fourth, as his free-kick avoided everybody on it's way into the area and shot past Luke Daniels into the back of the net.
 
Tranmere were completely outplayed throughout the game, having just 40% of the possession of Charlton's 60%, whilst the visitors had double the amount of shots that John Barnes' side managed.

 
Vital Stats:
 
Despite their lengthy histories in the Football League, these two sides have met just 25 times previously, with sixteen of these meetings coming between 1991 and 2000 when in Division One
 
In twelve previous trips to the Valley, Tranmere have picked up just two wins, losing on five occasions
 
Rovers haven't won any of their last six matches against the London side
 
Tranmere have conceded fourteen goals in their last six games against Charlton
 
Rovers are unbeaten in three matches against Charlton in January, picking up one win and two draws
 
On This Day:
 
1999:  John Aldridge's Tranmere pick up an important 3-1 home win over Crystal Palace that lifts them to 16th in the Division One table
 
1996:  Rovers draw 0-0 away to Sunderland in Division One
 
1988:  John King's Tranmere pick up a 1-0 win over Exeter which leaves them sitting firmly in the middle of the Division Four table
 
Tranmere have played ten previous matches on January 30th, picking up four wins, three draws and three defeats.  In these ten games, they have scored sixteen goals and conceded fifteen times.


 
The Form Book:
 
Charlton Last Six Home Games: LWDDWW
Tranmere Last Six Away Games:  LDLWDL
 
Charlton are flying high in League One this season and look destined for promotion out of the division at the first attempt come May, with the side lying just three points behind the top two before this game.
 
Phil Parkinson's side started their six match sequence with successive victories, firstly over Bristol Rovers (4-2) thanks to goals from Mooney, Burton, Bailey and Sodje, before a first half strike from Burton, his fourth goal in five games, was enough to secure Charlton a 1-0 win over Southend United in their next home game.
 
Charlton were once again on target four times in their next home game, though it wasn't enough to beat Millwall, as the local rivals drew 4-4, with each side leading the game by two goals at some point, whilst Swindon Town were then unlucky not to pick up three points at the Valley, as an injury time strike from Llera secured the Addicks a 2-2 draw.
 
The Valley then saw Charlton pick up a 2-1 win over struggling Harltpool thanks to goals from Mooney and Wagstaff, but six days later Charlton's unbeaten season home record came to an end as Tranmere's fellow relegation rivals beat the Londoners 1-0.
 
Other notable home results for the Addicks this season include wins over MK Dons (5-1), Huddersfield Town (2-0) and Brenford (2-0).
 
The London side have so far played fourteen home games this season and come into the match having picked up thirty of an available 42 points, having won nine and drawn three matches, losing just once.
 
Impressive results on the road for Charlton this season include wins over Tranmere Rovers (4-0), Leyton Orient (2-1) and Brighton (2-0).
 
Phil Parkinson brings his side into this fixture in third place in the League One table, just three points off the top two, having picked up 54 of an available 81 points thanks to fifteen wins, nine draws and three defeats.
 
Tranmere Rovers come into this game looking for their first away in the league for over four months, having not picked up an away victory since September and having failed to score in any of their last three away matches, as Les Parry looks to pick up a point, or three, in what will be a very tough match for the Wirral side.
 
The first game in Tranmere's six match sequence was a disappointing result for Rovers, as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Leyton Orient just days after knocking the London side out of the F.A. Cup, but their next away match was a thriller, as they came from behind three times to draw 3-3 with high-flying Huddersfield Town, with Ian Moore, Craig Curran and Ashton Taylor scoring for Les Parry's side.

Tranmere then beat Aldershot Town 2-1 a week later in an F.A. Cup second round replay, before losing 3-0 at the hands of high flying Southampton at St. Marys in what would be their last away game for over a month due to the bad weather.
 
When Britain heated up and Tranmere finally got back on the road, they had two away games in the space of four days, and firstly managed a 0-0 draw with fellow relegation candidates Oldham Athletic before losing 1-0 thanks to an early strike from Jason Puncheon against MK Dons last Saturday.
 
Tranmere's only other notable result on the road this season was a 1-0 win at Wycombe courtesy of a Ian Moore goal when John Barnes was still in charge of the club.
 
Rovers come into this game having picked up just five of an available 39 points on the road this season, having won one, drawn two and lost ten of their eleven games away from home.
 
Notable results at Prenton Park for Tranmere this season include wins over Gillingham (4-2), Bristol Rovers (2-0) and Southend United (2-0). 
 
Les Parry's side come into this match in 22nd place in the League One table, having played 26 games and picked up 25 of an available 78 points, thanks to six wins, three draws and fourteen defeats.

Ronnie Moore

Double Hit:
 
Due to the clubs spending very few seasons playing the same standard of football, very few players have represented both clubs during their careers.
 
One such player includes current Rotherham manager Ronnie Moore, who had spells with Tranmere as both a manager and a player, whilst the defender turned attacker also had a disappointing spell at Charlton Athletic as a player.
 
One other player to represent both clubs includes winger Hugh McAuley who played for Charlton between 1976 and 1978 before joining Tranmere, with McAuley actually spending some time on loan at Tranmere from Liverpool before moving to Charlton.
 
One To Watch:  Jonjo Shelvey
 
A young midfield player with huge potential, Jonjo Shelvey, who holds the record for the youngest ever player to both score and play for Charlton, came through the youth ranks at Charlton Athletic and has become a hugely important player for the side this season.
 
Aged just seventeen, Shelvey, born in London, made his debut for Charlton during the 2007/08 season aged just sixteen years and 59 days old against Barnsley, going on to make one further appearance that season.
 
He then featured mainly as a bit part player towards the end of last season as the Addicks were relegated from the Championship, though this season he has come of age, playing in nearly every game and scoring some crucial goals.
 
On his day, Shelvey is well capable of running the midfield on his own, despite his young age, with the ability to open up defences with his excellent vision, as well as being able to break up opposition attacks.

Despite not yet reaching 18, Shelvey, who wears the number seven shirt for Charlton, has already made 44 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals.

League One Fixtures:
 
There is a full round of fixtures in Coca Cola League One this Saturday, with many important matches taking place as the season heads towards it's climax:
 
Brighton vs. Millwall
Bristol Rovers vs. Wycombe
Carlisle vs. Leyton Orient
Charlton vs. Tranmere
Gillingham vs. Walsall
Leeds vs. Colchester
MK Dons vs. Exeter
Norwich vs. Hartlepool
Oldham vs. Brentford
Southampton vs. Stockport
Southend vs. Swindon
Yeovil vs. Huddersfield

 
Team News:
 
Les Parry missed out on the signing of Liverpool striker Nathan Ecclestone this week as he signed for Liverpool, though a new striker could be brought in by the Tranmere boss in time for Saturday's match.  

Bas Savage completed his first 90 minutes since twice tearing his achilies last season in a behind closed doors friendly on Wednesday against Shrewsbury, though this game comes too early for the striker, whilst Kithson Bain could feature on the bench following an injury.  

Les Parry however is highly likely to name exactly the same team that started the win over Yeovil, with Chris Shuker retaining his place in midfield ahead of Gareth Edds.

Shuker Chris

Jones' Prediction:  Charlton Athletic 2-1 Tranmere Rovers

This will be an extremely tough game for Tranmere and I struggle to see them being able to pick anything up from this game, especially as they come into the match having failed to score in any of their last three away games and having scored in just one of their last five matches.

Charlton have a very strong defence, backed up by a free scoring attack and impressive midfield which is difficult to break down and capable of providing many chances on goal.  With Rovers' recent scoring record, it's hard to see them breaking this down, though their defence of late has been very strong and it is possible that they could limit the amount of chances Charlton get.

Any chances that do come Tranmere's way, they must work the keeper, as if they don't at least get their shots on target, there's no chance of them scoring, whilst the likes of Moore and Curran will have to be as hard working as ever, and hopefully both will be more fruitful in front of goal.

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Charlton Athletic v Tranmere Rovers Match Preview
Discussion started by Total Tranmere (IP Logged), 28/01/2010 23:48
Total Tranmere
Total Tranmere
28/01/2010 23:48
What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.

tranmerepete
tranmerepete
29/01/2010 09:38
I think that we will be opened up like a can of beans. The midfeilders are not strong enough and we will get out played in the middle of the park. Les will be looking for a goal less draw but I think or lack of fire power and weak midfeilders will show against a strong football side. I hope I'm wrong but I think Charlton 3 Tranmere 1

Every ball is a white ball............TRFC

mini_andy
mini_andy
29/01/2010 12:07
i don't predict this one going well for us sad smiley home win for me (by some margin)

Dave Thomson
Dave Thomson
30/01/2010 06:08
Charton fan here - I didn't get up for the match at Prenton Park - not many of us did thanks to the rail networks. Interested to read the comment about your midfield. That's where our strength lies and if we win the midfield battle decisively we invariably win the game. We've not been playing very well lately, so a 2-1 win is more likely than 4-0. Your hopes lie at home this season. Best wishes.

whinfrey
whinfrey
30/01/2010 11:57
wot the hell, if Orient can do it why can't we.2-1 to the Tranmeeeer.

MESSAGES->author
bigmart
30/01/2010 13:26
orient won because they had a go at charlton they attacked them ere as we will go there for a nil nil but will get beat

Reesycer
SWS
30/01/2010 20:29
great result, dunno how second half went but we didn't test the keeper in the first lol. they needed that win as much as us, with a few very late equalisers its a good job we got the draw. Shows how far our defence has come and makes me proud of them. I hope Zoom is still available for Oldham before ban kicks in.
the defeat at home was my worst of the season a real low point. would have been nice to hold onto the lead for revenge but more than happy with the point.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n209/Reesycer/0_10365_7704088_00.jpg

MESSAGES->author
bigmart
30/01/2010 22:50
a really good result and confidence booster, zoom will be banned for the oldham game as bans for red cards start with the next game

Reesycer
SWS
31/01/2010 03:04
gutted. thats a big blow gettin forward tho they have actually scored less than us i think so maybe Edds may not do to badly or someone sitting in..

Keep our eye on pawel abbot an i think we'll get the win

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n209/Reesycer/0_10365_7704088_00.jpg

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