John Warrington: The Submarine Captain

Cracking debut season for Tranmere. Congratulations on gaining Europa League football next season; as well as winning the Carabao Cup, any silverware is brilliant at the end of the day.

Got to agree with you on the stadium name, how boring and uninspiring Who knows, maybe they'll change it in your name in the near future if you continue to defy the odds like you have done on a consistent basis thus far.

Champions League next season it is!

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

Transfers

Transfers Out

Released Players



Only two this year and both didn't really play a part last season. Tommy Spurr retired following his release and Chris Dawson moved to Grimsby. I wish Chris all the best as he's been a great servant for us during his time at Prenton Park.

Transfers Out



I decided that I was going to completely overhaul the squad this summer, which meant a lot of departures from the club. Goalkeeper Luke McGee joined Fleetwood for 100k.

In defence, Curtis Good, Paul Dummett, Connor Wood, Ryan Bennett, Donald Love, Matthew Pennington and Tom Alred all said goodbye to the club. The defence was one of the disappointing things about last season and I'm hoping an overhaul will see us concede less.

Eunan O'Kane was the only midfielder to leave us. With him getting on a bit at the age of 31, I thought it was time to cash in and bring someone younger in.

Up front, Kieffer Moore moved to Boston Utd. Moore hasn't featured much over the last year so it's a good move for him and I wish him well. Sam Winnall, who was disappointing last season, has joined Bradford on loan.

Transfers In



Our successes last season saw us receive a healthy budget once again with which to improve the squad.

To replace Luke McGee I brought in Danish goalkeeper Per Bech. He's someone that can push Rossi for a starting place and at 22, should be around the club for a long time to come.

The defence saw the biggest upheaval with no less than five players coming in. Lee Dong-Yong (Suwon), Brian O'Connor (LA Galaxy), Jake Cooper (Sunderland) and Emanuel Mammana (Zenit) play in the center, whilst Mauricio Fragata (Rosario) is a left wingback.

In midfield we broke out transfer record to bring in Adrien Bongiovanni from Monaco, the 22-year-old can also play up front if necessary. Douglas Luiz came in on a free following his release from Man City and we also spent 12.25m on Emerson Hyndman, who joins from Bournemouth.

Joining us up front is former Man United striker James Wilson, who was with Sunderland last season.

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

*Clicking pictures will show player screenshots

Goalkeepers



Agustin Rossi - Per Bech - Joe Perkins

Defenders

Fullbacks



Carl Jenkinson - Mauricio Fragata - Ola Aina - James Babalola

Centre Backs



Brian O'Connor - Jake Cooper - Emanuel Mammana - Lee Dong-Yong - Douglas Luiz

Midfielders

Centre Midfielders



Emerson Hyndman - Sean Goss - Ben Godfrey - Adrien Bongiovanni - Tim Telford

Strikers



Xurxo Castineiras - Danny Rose - Alexander Eggert - Oliver Sarkic - James Wilson

Out On Loan



Sam Winnall - Michael Ramshaw

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

August 2022 - December 2022

Things are going really well so far this season. We currently sit in the top four of the Premier League, 4 points behind Liverpool in 3rd. Man City are running away with the league unfortunately so that first title will have to wait for another year.

We'd be higher up if it wasn't for a couple of disappointing losses. 1-0 at home to Leicester, 3-2 away at Wolves and 2-1 away at West Ham were very disappointing results and we need to work on not having these little lapses if we want to win a first Premier League title.

In the cups, we are looking good. We absolutely romped the Europa League group stages and will face Besiktas in the 1st knockout round in February. I wasn't expecting to win the group by such a long way and scoring 31 goals and conceding just one is remarkable. James Wilson is also the competition's top scorer at the moment with 12 goals. We are set to face Chelsea in another Carabao Cup semi-final and we travel to Cardiff in the FA Cup 3rd round.

The signing of the season so far has been James Wilson, he has been in superb form, especially in the Europa League as mentioned earlier. I would like to see him score a few more in the league though as he only has 8 in 16 games. Xurxo Catineiras has 9 in 10 in the league so I'm looking forward to getting him back from injury.







Matches Played - 19
Goals Scored - 45
Goals Conceded - 24
Yellow Cards - 26
Red Cards - 1
Average Attendance - 14,745

Top Goalscorer - James Wilson - 23
Highest Average Rating - James Wilson - 8.16
Most Assists - James Wilson - 19
Best Pass Completion - Agustin Rossi - 87%
Most POM's - James Wilson - 8
Most Yellow Cards - Mauricio Fragata - 8
Most Red Cards - Mauricio Fragata - 1









We've not had many injuries but the few we've had have been very annoying. Losing James Wilson twice has been frustrating as he's been by far our best player this season. Losing him in November coincided with a little dip in form. The most annoying injury though was the one to Xurxo Catineiras when we lost him for two months! We're only just getting him back now. We've also lost Per Bech and Adrien Bongiovanni for 6 weeks. Per Bech isn't too bad but losing Adrien is a big blow as he has been starting a lot.



Xurxo Castineiras Young Player of the Month x3
Alexander Eggert Young Player of the Month x1

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

January 2023 - May 2023

A fantastic end to the season has seen us finish 4th and book us a place in the Champions League for next season. I'm absolutely delighted and I can't wait to see how we get on in Europe's Premier competition, especially given our performances in the Europa League.

To start the second half of the season saw us forced into some transfer business. Man United activated Mauricio Fragata's release clause of 69 million and the Argentine was on his way. To replace him, I brought in Guilherme Arana on loan from Athletico Madrid. He impressed so much in the second season that we've already agreed on a fee to buy him this summer.

Both our domestic cup runs were ended in the semi-final which was a little frustrating. Chelsea beat us 3-2 on aggregate in the Carabao Cup, though we really should have beaten them. Man City were just too good for us in the FA Cup semi-final.

Our Europa League run has been a joy to watch and we have a final to play against Napoli. Along the way we have not only beaten teams, we've destroyed them. We beat Besiktas 8-1 away from home, Leverkusen 5-1, Inter 6-0 and Sevilla 7-0 at Prenton Park. That shows that we are able to compete with some of the best teams in Europe and hopefully we can win it when we play Napoli.

James Wilson has been the stand out player this season, scoring 44 and assisting 31 with an average rating of 7.88, He's actually scored more Europa League goals than Premier League goals though!

One player to mention aswell is Earldon Roberts. He came up in our youth intake for this season and my report said this....

[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbfqXO3W4AACVM2.jpg:large[/img]

I almost wet my pants with excitement! I decided to give him a game against Stoke and he went and scored. By doing so, he became the youngest goalscorer in Tranmere and Premier League history.







Matches Played - 38
Goals Scored - 93
Goals Conceded - 53
Yellow Cards - 73
Red Cards - 4
Average Attendance - 14,745

Top Goalscorer - James Wilson - 44
Highest Average Rating - James Wilson - 7.88
Most Assists - James Wilson - 31
Best Pass Completion - Agustin Rossi - 87%
Most POM's - James Wilson - 13
Most Yellow Cards - Ola Aina - 17
Most Red Cards - Mauricio Fragata, Ben Godfrey, Brian O'Connor, Emerson Hyndman - 1









Not too bad injury wise but I feel for Ben Godfrey. He was playing well up until his injury and his injury is probably the worst one I've seen during my reign as boss. A broken leg sees him out for 5 months. Jake Cooper was the only other major injury during the second half of the season, missing a month with a twisted ankle.



John Warrington Manager of the Month x1
Guilherme Arana Player of the Month x1
Xurxo Castineiras Young Player of the Month x4
Alexander Eggert Young Player of the Month x1

It was heartbreak for Tranmere in the Europa League final, Marek Hamsik's penalty giving Napoli a 2-1 win.




Napoli: Plizzari, Rudiger, Koulibaly, Musampa (Munoz 71), Marin (Vitiello 85), Casemiro, Augustinsson, Jorginho, Hamsik, Insigne, Petagna.
Subs Not Used: Perin, Vignato, Alcacer, Podence, Orsolini.

Tranmere: Rossi, Aina, Mammana, Cooper, O'Connor (Dong-Yong 84), Arana, Luiz, Hyndman, Bongiovanni (Sarkic 61), Wilson, Castineiras (Eggert 61).
Subs Not Used: Bech, Jenkinson, Goss, Roberts.

Booked: Mammana, Arana, Cooper.



Referee: D Aytekin.
Stadium: De Kuip.
Attendance: 51,137.
Possession: Napoli 54% - 46% Tranmere
Shots: Napoli 9 - 15 Tranmere
On Target: Napoli 4 - 7 Tranmere
Fouls: Napoli 8 - 22 Tranmere

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

Premier League Awards

Manager of the Year



Jose again and I can't argue. He's really been the Special One at United.

Player of the Year



Fair play to Gelson Martins, he's had a great season.

Golden Boot



A golden boot for Xurxo Castineiras! Happy days!

Team of the Year



Delighted to see three Tranmere players in there. A testament to how well we've played this season.

Club Awards



Fans' Player of the Season

Definitely agree with the decision to give this award to James Wilson, though Xurxo Catineiras would have been a worthy winner too.

Goal of the Season

A first time shot from 25 yards into the bottom corner.

Signing of the Season

How!? Got to be Wilson surely?

Young Player of the Season

Can't argue with this, only wish we could keep him but Man United want him back next season.

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

The Stats



*Must have played 10 or more to register on the leaderboard

Most Appearances
1. Emanuel Mammana - 65
2. Brian O'Connor - 64
3. Jake Cooper - 62

Most Goals
1. James Wilson - 44
2. Xurxo Castineiras - 42
3. Alexander Eggert - 26

Most Assists
1. James Wilson - 31
2. Xurxo Castineiras - 18
3. Adrien Bongiovanni - 17

Highest Average Rating
1. James Wilson - 7.88
2. Xurxo Castineiras - 7.78
3. Guilherme Arana - 7.54

Most Tackles Won
1. Ola Aina - 235
2. Emanuel Mammana - 210
3. Jake Cooper - 187

Best Tackle Completion Ratio
1. Oliver Sarkic - 92%
2. Lee Dong-Yong - 86%
3. Ben Godfrey - 84%

Most Interceptions
1. Brian O'Connor - 349
2. Jake Cooper - 251
3. Emanuel Mammana - 209

Distance Covered per 90 mins
1. Carl Jenkinson - 16.3km
2. Ola Aina - 15.7km
=. Guilherme Arana - 15.7km

Best Pass Completion Ratio
1. Agustin Rossi - 87%
2. Per Bech - 83%
3. Emanuel Mammana - 79%

Most Chances created per 90 minutes
1. James Wilson - 1.55
2. Alexander Eggert - 1.22
3. Adrien Bongiovanni - 1.18

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

Around the Leagues

Premier League

Champions - Man United
Rest of top 4 - Man City, Liverpool, Tranmere
Relegated - Stoke, Southampton, Wolves

Championship

Champions - Bournemouth
Promoted - West Brom, Crystal Palace
Relegated - Middlesbrough, Bradford, Oxford

League One

Champions - Sheff Utd
Promoted - Rotherham, MK Dons
Relegated - Plymouth, Yeovil, Scunthorpe, AFC Wimbledon

League Two

Champions - Charlton
Promoted - Barnet, Cheltenham, Oldham
Relegated - Port Vale, Blackpool

National League

Champions - Crawley
Promoted - Halifax
Relegated - Hartlepool, Newport, Boreham Wood, Bishop's Stortford

National League North

Champions - Stockport
Promoted - St. Albans
Relegated - Chorley, Leamington, Ashton

National League South

Champions - Dover
Promoted - Dag & Red
Relegated - Hayes & Yeading Eastbourne, Wingate and Finchley

FA Cup

Winners - Man United
Runners-Up - Man City

Carabao Cup

Winners - West Ham
Runners-Up - Chelsea

Community Shield

Winners - Man United
Runners-Up - Everton

Checkatrade Trophy

Winners - Millwall
Runners-Up - Chesterfield

FA Trophy

Winners - Macclesfield
Runners-Up - Boston

Champions League

Winners - Tottenham
Runners-Up - Monaco

Europa League

Winners - Napoli
Runners-Up - Tranmere

Super Cup

Winners - Atletico Madrid
Runners-Up - Tottenham

Congratulations on a top four finish but a massive shame to lose out in the Europa League final.

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

Transfers

Transfers Out

Released Players



The only player to be released was midfielder Tim Telford. Tim had the potential early in his career but he didn't develop as I'd hoped. He was less than impressive in his two years on loan at Salford.

We weren't able to renew the loan of Xurxo Castineiras due to Man United wanting to play him in their first team.

Transfers Out



The only other man to leave us was Lee Dong-Yong. I wanted to keep him as he has some potential but he really wanted to go. It was getting to the point where he was upsetting the squad so I let him go to Atalanta for 550k.

Transfers In



My first bit of business was to make the loan of Guilherme Arana a permanent move. 21m is a steal for a player who looked so good for us last season. To replace Xurxo Castineiras, we spent 16m to bring in Maximiliano Romero from Atletico Madrid. I'm interested to see how he gets on as he has similar stats to Castineiras. Our final signing was Benjamin Hansen from FC Kobenhavn to replace the departing Lee Dong-Yong.

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

*Clicking pictures will show player screenshots

Goalkeepers



Agustin Rossi - Per Bech - Joe Perkins

Defenders

Fullbacks



Carl Jenkinson - Guilherme Arana - Ola Aina - James Babalola

Centre Backs



Brian O'Connor - Jake Cooper - Emanuel Mammana - Benjamin Hansen

Midfielders

Centre Midfielders



Emerson Hyndman - Sean Goss - Ben Godfrey - Adrien Bongiovanni - Douglas Luiz

Strikers



Maximiliano Romero - Danny Rose - Alexander Eggert - Earldon Roberts - James Wilson

Reserves



Sam Winnall - Michael Ramshaw - Oliver Sarkic

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

August 2023 - December 2023

Top of the league going into the new year! Can't ask for much better than that. We're four points clear of Man United though they have a game in hand. Can we deny United a 7th straight Premier League title? I certainly hope so. We currently have the two highest goalscorers in the league with James Wilson and Alexander Eggert. Guilherme Arana also has the most assists.

We had a disappointing period at the start of November, dropping points against Leeds and Watford but we responded by going on a five-game winning streak. Our other loss came away at Brighton in a very disappointing performance, but the next game saw us beat Man United. Crazy.

Things are also going well in the Champions League. We topped our group featuring Inter, Shakhtar and Benfica and are set to face Bordeaux in the 1st knockout round. Bordeaux actually qualified ahead of Spanish giants Barcelona who came 3rd in their group! Liverpool also failed to make it through, losing out to Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow.

It was Liverpool who knocked us out of the Carabao Cup, though I'm not all that fussed to be honest as we've already won that trophy during my time here. In the FA Cup, we start with a 3rd round tie aganst Everton. Hopefully, we can repeat the 3-0 scoreline of St. Yates' day.







Matches Played - 19
Goals Scored - 54
Goals Conceded - 20
Yellow Cards - 30
Red Cards - 2
Average Attendance - 14,745

Top Goalscorer - James Wilson - 24
Highest Average Rating - James Wilson - 7.75
Most Assists - Giulherme Arana - 10
Best Pass Completion - Agustin Rossi - 84%
Most POM's - James Wilson - 5
Most Yellow Cards - Ola Aina - 5
Most Red Cards - Ola Aina and Benjamin Hansen - 1









We've had more injuries than I'd like so far this season. Fortunately, a lot of them have been for our 'squad' players and not first-team regulars. Ben Godfrey has lost his place in the team due to his injuries which is really unfortunate for him. Losing Guilherme Arana was a big blow but fortunately Carl Jenkinson was able to come in and cover.



John Warrington Manager of the Month x3
Alexander Eggert Player of the Month x1
James Wilson Player of the Month x1
Alexander Eggert Young Player of the Month x1

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)



I may have been tempted by this if I'd have won everything with Rovers.

"Tranmere will never be able to compete with Liverpool and Everton. They're like big liners like the Queen Mary, but I see Tranmere as a Deadly Submarine" - Johnny King (Tranmere legend)

January 2024 - May 2024

Gutted. Absolutely gutted. I still can't quite believe it. It was in our hands and one result cost us big time. We went into the game at Man United knowing that a draw would put us in pole position for the title. Guilherme Arana then goes and gets himself sent off and United pick us apart before securing the title on the last day. A win at City wouldn't have been enough for us in the end, but it could have all been much different if it wasn't for the United game. This will be tough to get over but we go again, hopefully going one better next season.

January saw us get a little busy in terms of transfers. Coming in, Miguel Altares joined us on a loan deal from Atletico Madrid. Our third signing of the season from Atletico Madrid. He's a Spaniard that plays at right wing back. On the flip side, three players left the club. Carl Jenkinson joined Derby for 2.5m, Sean Goss joined Hull for 750k and Oliver Sarkic made a 1.5m switch to Bristol City.

Our youth intake came and went without incident. Unfortunately, there was no repeat of the Earldon Roberts moment this season, the youth intake being a bit of a disappointment to be truthful. There's always next year I guess.

After our disappointing campaign in the Carabao Cup, I felt it was important that we did well in the FA Cup in the Champions League. To my surprise, we reached the final of both competitions, where we will play Man United. Our FA Cup run was relatively easy, though the Brighton result was very pleasing. The Champions League, on the other hand, was tough. We found ourselves up against both Tottenham and City. City turned out to be pretty routine but we only went through in the semi against Tottenham thanks to a 115th minute away goal from Earlsdon Roberts. Talk about leaving it late.







Matches Played - 38
Goals Scored - 105
Goals Conceded - 51
Yellow Cards - 58
Red Cards - 4
Average Attendance - 14,745

Top Goalscorer - Alexander Eggert - 44
Highest Average Rating - Maximiliano Romero - 7.65
Most Assists - Maximiliano Romero - 23
Best Pass Completion - Agustin Rossi - 85%
Most POM's - Maximiliano Romero - 12
Most Yellow Cards - Ola Aina, Emerson Hyndman and Guilherme Arana - 10
Most Red Cards - Guilherme Arana - 2











John Warrington Manager of the Month x3
James Wilson Player of the Month x1
Alexander Eggert Player of the Month x1
Maximiliano Romero Player of the Month x1
Alexander Eggert Young Player of the Month x4
Ben Godfrey Goal of the Month x1