Tranmere Rovers

Tranmere Rovers FC is a football club which is based in Birkenhead on the opposite bank of the River Mersey to Liverpool. The club were formed as Belmont FC in 1884 before taking on their present name a year later.

The team began playing matches at Steele's Field in Birkenhead before buying Ravenshaws Field from Tranmere Rugby Club in 1887. Two years later they renamed the ground Prenton Park, although it was not the same venue as their current home of the same name. In 1889 Rovers entered the West Lancashire League before moving to the Lancashire Combination.

The club continued forward and moved to their current Prenton Park in 1912, which was a venue of substance for a club of their size. The team continued playing through the First World War, which brought criticism as their players avoided military service, despite being employed in the local shipyards.

Rovers entered the Central League in 1919 and were then invited to become founder members of Division Three North in 1921 following the League expansion. In 1924 a local youngster, William 'Dixie' Dean started getting attention with his goalscoring feats and was transferred to Everton for £3,000 where he became a club legend.  

Prenton Park at the time of Ron Yeats' managership

In 1935 Rovers forward Bunny Bell netted nine goals in one incredible 13-4 Boxing Day victory over Oldham Athletic. The aggregate of seventeen goals in one game is a League record. 1937-38 saw Rovers lift their first ever, and up to 2011 only, championship when they lifted the Division Three North crown, but relegation followed a year later. 

After restructuring Rovers were relegated to Division Four for the first time in 1960-61. A new boss Dave Russell took over the team and instigated some revolutionary changes. He brought in a youth system which produced future England international Roy McFarland and changed the club colours to all white.

In 1967 promotion was secured and this was celebrated a year later with the opening of a 4,000 seater Main Stand and the team reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup. Former Liverpool hero Ron Yeats came in as player manager in 1972 and used his Anfield connections bringing in ex team mates. 

The side won 1-0 at Highbury in the League Cup, but the good times soon subsided as they were relegated in 1975. After another brief spell in the third tier Rovers hit desperate times. The area was caught in the sever depression of that era with huge job losses and Rovers boar the brunt of it. 

Wirral Council loaned the club £200,000 to keep the club going, which forged a long lasting relationship between the authority and the club. Sadly it was not enough to stop the club entering administration in 1987.

Local businessman Peter Johnson bought the club in a deal which proved to be the turning point in their history. John King was appointed as manager and his first season the team secured their League status before winning promotion two years later. 

A consecutive promotion was only foiled the following year at Wembley against Notts County, before Rovers returned a week later to defeat Bristol Rovers in the Leyland Daf Trophy Final.  The 'Super Whites' were on a roll and they returned to Wembley to win promotion in the Play Off Final against Bolton Wanderers in 1991 to reach the second tier for the first time in sixty years. 

Former Liverpool star John Aldridge arrived in an audacious signing from Real Sociedad and in 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-955 Rovers reached the playoffs, only to miss out on promotion to the Premier League as Pat Nevin and other stars as Ian Nolan played their part.

Prenton Park was gradually rebuilt and completed in March 1995. A year later Aldridge took over as player manager, before hanging up his boots in 1999. The club reached the sixth round of the FA Cup in 1999-00 as well as getting to their first ever major final. 

Leicester City defeated ten man Rovers 2-1 after extra time in the last League Cup Final to be held at the old Wembley Stadium. The following season the team went on another superb FA Cup run including a 3-0 victory at Goodison Park against Everton, but the league form suffered. Aldridge resigned before the team were relegated. 

Brian Little took the club to a sixth round replay of the 2005 FA Cup where they went down to eventual finalists Millwall. After Little, Ronnie Moore and John Barnes had spells as manager. Barnes struggled badly before club stalwart and former physio Les Parry took up the reigns to bring in some stability.

However, with Rovers struggling during the 2011-12 season, the legendary Ronnie Moore returned to lead the side to safety. His reign ended when he admitted to illegal gambling and was dismissed as the team were relegated. Rob Edwards was appointed as the new boss.

In August 2014 the former FA Chief Executive and former Rovers player Mark Palios take control of the club. Edwards was sacked in October 2014 with Tranmere in bottom place in the Football League. Micky Adams was given the task of restoring the clubs status as the new manager.

Adams couldn't save the club from relegation to the Football Conference and was replaced by Gary Brabin in May 2015. The 2015-16 season saw Rovers finish just outside the play-offs; and despite a decent start to the following campaign form soon dropped.

Brabin was sacked in September 2016 with former Tranmere player Micky Mellon coming in as his replacement a few weeks later. The team reached the playoffs and defeated Aldershot Town in the semifinals before losing the final to Forest Green Rovers. The following season saw another run in the playoffs.

On this occasion the goals of Andy Cook and James Norwood helped see off Ebbsfleet United and then Boreham Wood 2-1 at Wembley despite playing with ten men after defender Liam Ridehalgh was sent off in the first minute as Rovers returned to the Football League.

Mellon’s side reached the League Tow playoffs in 2018-19 where they defeated Forest Green Rovers before a goal from Connor Jennings in extra time was enough to defeat Newport County and seal a second successive promotion. However, Tranmere dropped back down twelve months later.

Mike Jackson was appointed as the new manager in July 2020 lasting just a few months before being replaced by Keith Hill, who in turn departed at the seasons end after taking his side to the playoffs where they lost in the semifinals to Morecambe. Mellon returned for another spell soon after.

He lasted until May 2023 when Ian Dawes was given a chance to impress. Former keeper Nigel Adkins arrived in September 2023 looking to change fortunes for the club.

Tranmere Rovers will compete in EFL League Two in the 2024-25 season

My visits

Tranmere Rovers 0 Hull City 3 (Saturday 8th December 1984) FA Cup Round Two (att: 4,269)

Several of my good mates were going on the train to this game. I was in a terrible job at the time and was due to leave a day or so later, so I bunked off and joined my pals.

We got off at Lime Street with the knowledge there were no big games on in the city that day so we should be relatively safe from the heavy hooligan element in the city at the time and their reputation of carrying Stanley knives. We took the Merseyrail to Rock Ferry and then a bus to arrive at Prenton Park before two o'clock.

It seemed to be a bit lively outside so we went straight inside the ground. Prenton Park seemed a largish stadium for a club of Rovers size. The large Main Stand towered over us with its seating deck. We were on the paddock terracing in front of its large wall up to the players tunnel. To our right was the large open Kop terrace. 

Opposite was a long low covered terraced Borough Road Stand. The Cowshed behind the other goal had a strange roof like the home end at Brunton Park, Carlisle. The crowds started arriving with City's casuals and lads going in the seats above us. As Everton were at QPR and Liverpool having no game it seemed that some of their fans had turned up to give their Merseyside friends some support. 

Plenty also went into the seats. Before long there was a running battle with police doing their best to get help and seperate the fans as fists and seats flew at each other. We were in the safest place! City were far too strong for Tranmere on the pitch and were two up by half time through goals from Mike Ring and Peter Skipper. 

Steve McClaren added a third after the break. For some reason, Rovers kicked off at 3.15 in those days, as well as playing many matches on a Friday night to try and attract floating fans from other clubs. We were now starting to get a bit concerned about how we'd get back to Lime Street without any hassles. The vast majority of City fans had travelled by road so we were likely to stand out. 

A bloke overheard our predicament. He was a locally based Tiger and he offered to cram us all five of us into his small car and take us back through the Mersey Tunnel. We were not going to refuse! City completed an easy win before we went across the car park and crammed into our new friends car.

Before long we were in Lime Street station listening to the third round draw which drew groans of disappointment as City were rewarded with a visit to Brighton. We got back to Scarborough and some of us went to an engagement party across town at the Scalby Manor. It had been a long day out but a really good one!

Tranmere Rovers 1 Scarborough 1 (Saturday 21st January 1989) Division Four (att: 4,538)

As was the norm for matches in the north the lads from the Post Office and Gas Club had got a mini bus together for this league encounter. Interest was high with both sides up towards the top of the table.

We arrived in time to find a local pub. This was no thing of beauty, but it was cheap and friendly enough. We were still inside Prenton Park in good time. Gates had improved since my last visit when the Kop was unused. We were given half of it for this game. It was far too big for three hundred or so Seadogs, but it offered a great view.

The match as expected was very tight and we were delighted to grab a point from it with Alan Kamara scoring a rare goal.

I celebrated on the way back with a couple of beers before we stopped at the Windmill Hotel in York. The Post Office pool team were playing there in the regional knock out competition against York and I'd been selected. My captain and good friend Steve Walker was not massively impressed with my condition towards the end of the evening as I 'danced' around the table! All's well that ends well, as I say. We won!

Tuesday 19th October 2010

It was the final day of my adventure on Merseyside as I called in on football grounds and did some socialising and sightseeing. The weather was windy with showers as I alighted off the bus from Cammell Laird's Kirklands Stadium.

I thought I was relatively near to Prenton Park, which I was. Unfortunately the map did not show hills and my memory from 1994 didn't remember any. It was a very steep walk up Well Lane and Prenton Road East.

I got to the ground and had a good look around, but sadly it was all locked up. I did my best with getting some pictures through gaps in the fences.

The ground had changed massively since my previous visits. The Main Stand had a seating deck over the old paddock with aligned with the original tier. The Kop was a large covered single tier of seats. The Cowshed was a new covered seating stand which followed the slant in the street behind and the John King Stand, which was also a single tier of covered seats had replaced the previously smaller Borough Road Stand. It looked a very impressive venue.

I waited outside the Prenton Park Hotel and caught the bus into Birkenhead town centre to take a train north of the river to call at my final grounds of the visit.

Wednesday 3rd December 2014

I may have failed to get access once, but I wasn't going to be beaten. I was on my way to stay in Liverpool and attend the Everton v Hull City game following an overnight stay in Chester and the Wrexham game against Bristol Rovers.

I walked up the hill from Rock Ferry station and went round the back of the Kop where a works access gate was open with a couple of club staff doing maintenance work. They said it was no problem for me to go inside to snap away.

Prenton Park really was something from inside; particularly The Kop. It was nice to be able to move around to get some decent angles.

I said my thank yous and caught the bus down to Birkenhead bus station from outside the Prenton Park pub before taking another bus through the Mersey Tunnel into the heart of Liverpool.