Ronnie Moore has Tranmere Rovers top of the League One table

[sharonorn]

IT is May 2009. The setting is Glanford Park, Scunthorpe. Tranmere Rovers, managed by Ronnie Moore in his third full campaign in charge, are minutes away from a playoff place as they lead the Iron, their direct rivals for sixth spot. But then Rovers midfielder Gareth Edds is harshly sent off and Scunthorpe score from the resulting set piece, resulting in an agonising near mi s for Wirrals Football League representative.Yet the reaction of the sold out away section was one of pride. The standing ovation the players and Moore received that day were the reward for making the fans proud, having come so close to achieving a top six berth with an outfit of limited quality in one of the most competitive League One seasons in recent years. The unity between Moore, outgoing Chairman Lorraine Rogers and the Rovers fanbase was the strongest the club had experienced since relegation in 2001.But this was about to end. Rogers left, Peter Johnson the majority shareholder re-took the reins as chairman, dismi sed Moore blaming falling attendances and appointed John Barnes with Jason McAteer as a sistant. Suddenly the hope was that Liverpool fans would stream through the Prenton Park gates to watch Rovers, and the suspicion that the club would become a feeder club to the Reds was rife. The pride that Moore had developed had now been consigned to the grave. After the Spice Boy double act failed spectacularly, the physiotherapist Les Parry was asked to oversee survival. He ultimately managed it, with Yogi Berra Jersey the help of youth coach Shaun Garnett and former Tranmere forward Wayne Allison by overtaking Gillingham on the final day of the 2009/10 season. Parry then was given the job permanently and proceeded to use the media to declare himself a football manager, to declare he didnt want players who wanted to play for Tranmere- looking to sign players who could earn the club big fees- aiming low. The clubs downsizing from proud, playoff challengers under Moore who tried to win games even if not always victorious into a smalltime, pride-sapped entity satisfied not to be a League Two club was complete while top of the table managers like Karl Robinson and Lee Clark ma saged Parrys ego by claiming he should have been manager of the season for keeping our tinpot club in the third division (which it had not been lower than since 1988 by the way!)Despite being the physiotherapist for 18 years and claiming to be a fan, Parry did not understand what being a Rovers fan is all about. But because of his past service, he survived a poor run last season until defeat at Chesterfield, which meant Rovers had won just once in 20 attempts, resulted in his friend Peter Johnson putting their relationship to once side and removing him, much to the relief of the fans who had suffered ever since Ronnie Moores harsh dismi sal. And on the night of Sunday March 4, Moore was back. Given a contract till the end of the season.Suddenly everything changed. Not just results, the support. The fans felt the connection to the man who said he wanted to take us back to the Championship where we belong. Now Tranmere probably is not a Championship-sized club now, but just hearing him utter words like that compared to his predece sors pre s conferences which were akin to how a non-league manager speaks, was the epitomy of refreshment. We felt a connection to him like football fans should. Liverpool fans love Kenny Dalglish and Rafa Benitez for similar reasons. Chelsea fans have the same connection with Roberto Di Matteo, and like Moore, the results at Stamford Bridge have been beyond what anyone expected when the Italian took over from Andre Villas-Boas (ironically sacked the same day as Parry was)A top half finish secured, a new contract awarded, and now in October 2012, we sit top of the League One seven points clear, but more importantly, we have our PRIDE back. Ronnie Moore speaks about Tranmere as a big club. It is always better to aim too high than aim too low. We attempt to win every match we Troy Tulowitzki Jersey compete in, even if it does not end in succe s. More importantly this is a great story of a man, and the fans, proving a chairman wrong for his incomprehensible dalliance after a narrow playoff mi s one May afternoon in North East Lincolnshire.Another piece of glaring evidence that Tranmere is in warm health again is Karl Robinsons recent comments about Moore. The same Karl Robinson who hailed Parry, claiming he warranted the manager of the season award for keeping Tranmere in League One in 2010-11 when most who watched us every week would argue we had players capable of more, accused Moore of trying to stoke up the fire ahead of next months televised fixture with his MK Dons outfit and referred to him as deluded for saying he thought he was close to loaning the unsettled Dons striker Ryan Lowe. The attitude from rival managers towards this club has changed from warmne s and sympathy to genuine irritation and envy.And this is because we are standing tall and proud again with a man who epitomises tall and proud, on and off the football pitch.Long live the King.