Tranmere Rovers - Prenton Park

Tranmere Rovers FC
Prenton Park
Prenton Road West
Birkenhead
Wirral
CH42 9PY

0871 221 2001
Official Website

Matchday Number: 62
Saturday 3rd November 2001
Tranmere Rovers 1-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Nationwide League Division 2

My first visit to Prenton Park was in November 2001. Lawrie Sanchez was still a popular man, having taken the club to the FA Cup Semi Final the previous season, however on later visits, the same could not be said - the visit in September 2003 was his last managing the club, having been sacked 3 games earlier, but being allowed to stay on so that he could try and earn himself a good send off. The board could have looked very foolish if he had won all 3 games, but then common sense has never been found in abundance amongst the powers that be at Adams Park.

So back to the initial visit. It was a gloomy November day when I caught the supporters coach to Tranmere. I can't really remember much about the trip up, these dull coach journeys all merge into one generally, with us always stopping at the services if you go by the officials. I prefer to drive up and make my own day to be honest. The game was a 1-1 draw. Tranmere took the lead in the 13th minute through Sean Flynn, but Wycombe equalised 3 minutes later through Darren Currie. It was a fairly decent game. Wycombe's cause was not helped when we had Steve Brown sent off 20 minutes from the end for kicking out at a Tranmere player, so in the end it was a decent result.

Later visits to Tranmere were more notable. As I mentioned above, Lawrie Sanchez got the sack after a loss up there. The 2-1 defeat was remarkable for a spectacular own goal from Danny Senda which eventually sealed the managers fate. And eventually the team as we went down to League 2 that year. I missed the 3-0 victory there in 2010, the only game I didn't go to at Prenton Park with Wycombe. The latest game at time of writing, was in September 2011 where a dismal performance saw us lose 2-0. Tranmere were very poor and we were even worse. I wish my mate Paul had not persuaded me to go, we sat in a 2 hour traffic jam on the M6 and only arrived just before kick off. Though on the upside, I did visit 4 grounds on the way home, the pick of which was Vauxhall Motors' Rivacre Park.

PRENTON PARK is one of the bigger and better grounds in League 1 at present. Visiting fans are located in a large stand behind the goal, the view from which is excellent. To the left is a smaller stand, with a capacity of around 2000. The stand at the other end is probably the biggest, and houses the main home support, singing wise. Finally to the right is the oldest stand in the stadium, the main stand, which is also fairly large. There are plenty of pubs and food places around the ground, so it should make for a good day out for most supporters. The fans up there are really friendly in the times I have been up, which makes for a relaxed atmosphere.