Tranmere (A)

[Main Stand SeasonTct]

Listening to Coopers interview he blames the clubs Covid officer (Ryan Sutherland)for doing PCR tests on Xmas eve knowing he wouldn’t get results back until this morning for disrupting preparations. Lost three of our back four this morning. Josh Kay was positive on a LFT but negative on a PCR. Cooper called it shambolic.

[Barrowblue12]

Conor brown cannot play left wing.

I cant believe wev signed zanzala hes so bad.

Jason Taylor is way past it.

Scary how poor we are upfront.

[boyliegladbach]

Who is our covid officer? Mark Cooper didn't sound happy about him in his post match interview on radio cumbria

[Main Stand SeasonTct]

Who is our covid officer? Mark Cooper didn't sound happy about him in his post match interview on radio cumbria

It’s Ryan Sutherland according to this document

https://www.barrowafc.com/siteassets/co ... ssment.pdf

[Bombadel]

Seems like a last minute thing, was no mention of any issues in the pre Christmas cooper interview

Coopers hardly likely to show his hand to hisvopponents a few days before the game and declare if anyones out with Covid

Wrong, interview was done earlier in the week, before the COVID officer took the PCR test on Christmas Eve, as per the radio Cumbria interview. As MC said in the pre Christmas interview “touch wood, we’ve had no issues with COVID yet”

[Jeeby]

My mates a Carlisle fan says they are desperate for a centre forward, talking to a Tranmere fan in the boozer before the game, guess what, he said they are desperate for a centre forward, guess what wee need, they are a rare commodity.

[Hadrian]

Listening to Coopers interview he blames the clubs Covid officer (Ryan Sutherland)for doing PCR tests on Xmas eve knowing he wouldn’t get results back until this morning for disrupting preparations. Lost three of our back four this morning. Josh Kay was positive on a LFT but negative on a PCR. Cooper called it shambolic.

Cooper is big on blaming others.

When does he think the tests should have been taken according to the protocols? 23rd? People return negative results two days before the match and turn up merrily for the match on the 26th to fail their LFT and infect the rest of the squad?

[Leo]

The rule in any league is not 'if you have 3 players with Covid then call it off'.

No.
EFL Rule is - if you have 14 players available, including a goalkeeper, then you play.

Yea, I just can't believe some people are even suggesting we should look to have games postponed because we have 3 out with it. Madness

[Kieran]

Cooper is big on blaming others.

When does he think the tests should have been taken according to the protocols? 23rd? People return negative results two days before the match and turn up merrily for the match on the 26th to fail their LFT and infect the rest of the squad?

Absolutely, his comments are bordering on the ridiculous. He's basically suggesting that we should have not tested and then gone ahead and played with three covid positive players.

I like Cooper generally but he needs to grow up a bit on this one.

[Jonty]

Feels a bit harsh on the Covid Officer. Doing a job with the best intentions I’m sure and the test results can change by the hour. Club needs to prepare for all outcomes with this disease and that includes players dropping out on the morning of a game and others being ready to step in. One thing for certain- it’s likely the players missing today will be missing v Oldham as well. Just got to get on with it as best they can.

[saltcellar]

Surely the blame for the fiasco situation that happened today in the EFL, lies with the EFL itself.
Only 9 of the scheduled 32 matches were played with 23 games being postponed.
The EFL issued on the 16th December:-

The EFL is switching to 'red protocols', as Covid chaos continues to rip through football.

From Saturday 18th December, a host of fresh measures will be reintroduced as part of a desperate attempt to avoid a circuit breaker, with matches continuing to fall victim to the Omicron surge.

Daily testing will be brought in along with enhanced protocols at training grounds with social distancing measures required outside physical sessions.

In an attempt to provide clarity, the competition has outlined requirements for fulfilling matches. They say clubs will be expected to play where it has 14 players including a goalkeeper available from registered squad list, along with 'Under 21 players not on the squad list but who have played one League match, or any other contracted player not on the squad list but otherwise would have been eligible to play'.

So players require testing daily, which I presume includes Christmas Eve.

Under the present wave of covid, surely all EFL games should have been stopped for at least 2 weeks to be fair to all clubs.

Barrow prepared for today's match with a full squad then today, the day of the match had to put out a team that had not probably played together in that formation.

I also find it hard to comprehend, that 23 other clubs could not field 14 players including a goalkeeper from the size of squads some clubs have.

[spirit of 1990]

As soon as we saw the team sheet we knew this game was going to be a step too far.
A poor early goal to give away (although it could’ve been offside) so I guess the game plan went out of the window straight away.
Our back line today must be amongst the slowest we’ve ever fielded in our history.
Our front line today (and most of the season) must be the weakest we’ve ever fielded in our history.
We have a defender who can’t get anywhere near a game, & we put an ageing out of position midfielder in instead of that defender. We have a front line that is terrible yet our “main” striker is on the bench. It’s all a bit of a mess.
Cooper (if he was blaming RS) is a bit out of order, it always seems to be someone else’s fault with him and it’s wearing a bit thin.
Apart from the result…it was a great day out.

[Reginald]

January might not turn out as good as some people are expecting.

[Ziggerzagger]

The best place for our “main striker” is on the bench,proven to be ineffective all season and nowhere near the work rate of the forwards and midfielders that played,agree about Taylor though who just wanted to put the ball back to Farman from anywhere.Ellis too slow and should have started Kay over Conner Brown.
God knows what Arthur has to do to get a game but Taylor’s legs had gone after twenty minutes but he played all game.

[bluessupporter]

Cooper is always blaming someone else and never himself. He’s made a big mistake by calling out the Covid officer – it’s cowardly of the manager. He should keep his mouth shut and his opinions about such matters to himself. It’s a bit like anybody is to blame except him. He trains the players. If some of them are out he should be able to encourage the rest to play how he wants them to. Seems he’s not really capable.