Tranmere’s current travails are a world away from the scene 25 years ago. Now, they fight against dropping out of the Football League and seek a replacement for the departed Nigel Adkins. Then, they were preparing for an appearance in a major cup final.
On 27th February 2000, Tranmere played Leicester City in the final of the League Cup. Despite sitting 17th in the First Division (now Championship) table ahead of the final, John Aldridge’s side had become a giant-killing machine, who relished turfing bigger and wealthier teams out of cup competitions.
To reach the final, Tranmere had beaten Premier League sides Coventry and Middlesbrough, as well as Bolton, who would finish in the play-off places in the First Division that season.
The run to the final had been thrilling for fans of the club. Coventry were eviscerated, 5-1, Middlesbrough ripped open by the pace of Andy Parkinson, while Bolton were destroyed in front of a sold out Prenton Park as a place at Wembley was confirmed.
It was to be the final time that the old Wembley would stage a League Cup final. The famous stadium was to close towards the end of 2000, to make way for a rebuild stadium on the same site.
Tranmere emerged onto the billiard table-like pitch to be greeted by a wall of noise. Some 74,313 fans were packed into the stands, while millions more watched on television, making this the most watched Tranmere game ever.
The broadcaster and commentator, Matt Jones, who has written two books about Tranmere, believes that the game is the biggest in the club’s history, given the number of people watching it.
Jones said: “In terms of the stage that they were on, it being a cup final and being 90 minutes away from being in Europe, it’s the biggest the club has ever been on.”
As Jones also points out, other games have perhaps carried greater importance for the club’s future, such as the fixture against Exeter in 1987, when Tranmere faced automatic relegation out of the Football League, but the achievement in reaching a major cup final is unlikely to be matched.
The match itself, sadly, went against the underdogs for once. Leicester, a solidly mid-table Premier League team, scored twice from corners either side of a moment of pure, unbridled joy brought about by David Kelly’s thumping strike to bring Tranmere level.
Kelly’s goal came after Clint Hill had been sent off for, in the referee’s view, bringing down Emile Heskey who was through on goal. Following the goal, the Rovers fans unveiled a banner reading ‘we only need 10 men’.
The pride that came from appearing in a major cup final was certainly undimmed, even in defeat, while there was no hangover from the cup exploits coming to an end. Tranmere finished the season strongly and claimed 13th place in the league.
As the new season dawned, Tranmere saw season ticket sales more than double. Having sold 1,985 for the 1999-00 campaign, they had 4,215 on board 12 months later.
Unfortunately for the club, this season, complete with a host of new fans, would be a disappointment. Rovers were relegated after ten years in the second tier. While this was certainly a blow for the club, it was not a complete shock, according to Jones.
For Jones, the belt tightening that the club had undertaken during the second half of the 1990s, and the player sales that became necessary to keep the club afloat, point to a near inevitable relegation for a team swimming against the tide.
Jones said: “Kenny Irons was told ‘you have to go because if we don’t sell you the club’s going to go bust.
“We know the finances were in dire straits, so I don’t think they necessarily squandered the opportunity that came with appearing in the final. It looks to me like it was never sustainable, staying up.”
This financial uncertainty had forced Tranmere’s hand when it came to building their squad in recent seasons. The XI that started at Wembley contained nine players under the age of 25, with several coming through the club’s academy. Staggeringly, Rovers’ goalkeeper from the final, Joe Murphy, is back at the club in a player-coach role.
It is also rather ironic that Aldridge’s one big money purchase that season, Wayne Allison, was cup-tied for the League Cup.
For all of the issues and subsequent problems that impacted Tranmere at this time, the club’s appearance in a major cup final still stands as its greatest achievement. At this time, Premier League teams were still fielding full strength XIs in cup competitions, making their defeat even more noteworthy. Tranmere were also 90 minutes away from a place in the UEFA Cup (now rebranded as the Europa League).
Having endured the dark days of the 1980s, where closure seemed a likely eventuality, and season ticket sales dropped to a low of 147, a Wembley cup final was a wonderful reward for the club.
Featured image by Chris Watson
