v 
BLUES
Go on you season card holders, show your sensitive side, take the missus for half price, though Brentford did throw in a rose three years ago: www.southendunited.co.uk/page/TicketNewsDetail/0,,10444~1537348,00.html
Blues boss Steve Tilson has a full squad to choose from, minus long term injury victims Alex Revell, who has had the plaster cast removed from his broken leg in midweek, and James Walker (hamstring).
Francis Laurent is fit but should join the Lord on the subs bench as Tilly starts with the same side that started in that welcome 1-0 win over Bristol Rovers that seems so long ago. They should be joined by Grant on what should be a relatively strong subs bench.
The annoying Greenacre continues to be out for Rovers but the new central defensive partnership of Clarke and Dervite showed in how they handled Bristol's Lambert they are more than capable of looking after anything Tranmere throws at them, including Savage!
Blues No.2 Paul Brush is up for it, telling BBC Essex: "Hopefully our freshness will suit us, but let's just hope we can get a good three or four weeks [uninterrupted] and in that time change our league position and push on upwards. Our target is to get some good results, get on a run and be a tough team to beat and that really was the difference in the Bristol Rovers game where we looked a tougher team to play against."
Midfield rotweiller Alan McCormack is certainly up for it, telling the Echo that we should continue to show our nasty side. Really Macca, on Valentines Day, no red roses for you, maybe something else red:
www.echonews.co.uk/theblues/4122552.Macca_wants_Shrimpers_to_stay_nasty/
In the last match against Tranmere Laurent was sent off for the Blues, while Steve Jennings saw red for Rovers and another fiery encounter is again expected in the re-match. Macca obviously has his take on the match: "There were a few things they got away with that day which we weren't happy with. But Tranmere are a very good side. They know what it takes to win games and can do a good job against any team. We have to be able to deal with that though and we want to build on the win over Bristol Rovers in our last game."
Finally, I don't know who let this bloke loose but he had to give his views on the side here: www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s383/st140036.htm
OPPOSITION
Trying for an Essex double in a week, Tranmere's win at the Farmers puts them very much into the play-off race.
Rovers' defenders will hope the Ian Goodison factor has been put to sleep. They do not like to be reminded that they have often struggled defensively when Goodison went missing from the side in the past - and the Jamaican international is only just beginning a layoff with an ankle injury that could last for another month.
Tranmere were beating Crewe away 1-0 with 20 minutes left two weeks ago when Goodison went off injured and they lost 2-1. However, a back line without him did not concede a goal in three hours of football against Leyton Orient and Colchester over the last week.
Manager Ronnie Moore reports that several players who took knocks at Colchester are doubtful starters - and he will not name them.
The long-term absence of Chris Greenacre, Craig Curran and Goodison is already limiting the manager's options from a small squad. Some of the young players who sat on the bench in recent games could be in line for starting roles if the knocks don't clear up.
| 6 | Millwall | 27 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 37 | 30 | 50 | +7 | ||||
| 7 | Leeds United | 29 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 30 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 48 | 35 | 48 | +13 | ||||
| 8 | Tranmere Rovers | 29 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 10 | 41 | 34 | 47 | +7 | ||||
| 9 | Stockport County | 29 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 44 | 33 | 44 | +11 | ||||
| 10 | Huddersfield Town | 30 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 23 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 24 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 40 | 43 | 44 | -3 | ||||
Moore is hoping his side's narrow 1-0 win at Colchester sends out a message to the other play-off hopefuls in League One. Ryan Shotton's headed goal early in the second half gave Rovers their first league win on their travels since mid-October.
The Tranmere boss said: "I'm pleased that we got the win and it's a win that had been coming. I hope that this result sends out a message to the rest of the teams around us because I still believe that we're a match for anyone at this level. Colchester are a good side and they have been on a good run. We were nice and bright - we hit the bar early and had two goals disallowed. We went in at half-time 0-0 but I said to them to keep the ball in the second half. We knew it would be a tough place to come but we scored a good goal and overall, I think that we deserved it."
Of Southend, after the 2-2 draw last November, he continued: "They must still be wondering how they got away with a draw that day. We played some great football and created lots of chances. The two goals out they scored were fortunate to say the least - they will not score two like them again."
Tranmere registered a rare away victory last night to boost their Coca-Cola League One play-off hopes. Ryan Shotton's headed goal early in the second half proved enough to secure Ronnie Moore's side maximum points at the Weston Homes Community Stadium, securing them their first league win on their travels since mid-October. The win also saw Rovers end Colchester's nine-match unbeaten league run.
Tranmere made one change from the side that played out a goal-less draw against Leyton Orient on Saturday. Midfielder Ed Sonko (shoulder) was ruled out and replaced by Bas Savage in the starting line-up. Craig Curran and Chris Greenacre also missed out through injury.
The small band of travelling Rovers fans were hoping for their team to give them a lift on a chilly night at the Weston Homes Community Stadium. And Ronnie Moore's side looked the more potent attacking force in the first half. Tranmere arguably enjoyed the better of the goalscoring opportunities, in a keenly-contested opening 45 minutes.
But they nearly fell behind after just 28 seconds when Mark Yeates' right-foot effort spun wide of the far post, after the Irishman had tried his luck from the edge of the area.
Nevertheless, it was a bright start by Rovers, who looked everything but a team that had not won away in the league since October. And they almost went ahead in the third minute. Shotton's header from eight yards rebounded back off the crossbar after Chris Shuker had been allowed to cross at the second attempt from the left. It was a trend that was to follow for the rest of the half, with Shuker finding plenty of room to exploit on the right flank.
Colchester responded immediately, with a defensive clearance rebounding off David Perkins and flashing inches wide and Scott Vernon's powerful shot deflecting into the arms of goalkeeper Danny Coyne, after good build-up play involving Marc Tierney and Clive Platt.
Charlie Barnett's first-time shot from the edge of the area then flashed straight into the arms of U's goalkeeper Jimmy Walker, following Ian Moore's cross from the right and Tranmere found plenty of space just in front of the Colchester penalty area.
But the game ebbed and flowed and Colchester captain Dean Hammond should have done better than send his free header straight at Coyne after being picked out by Yeates' corner.
A good defensive interception allowed Ben Chorley to head Yeates' cross away from under the nose of the lurking Vernon, before Shuker squandered Tranmere's most clearcut chance of the first half. He wastefully slotted wide of the far post, after Bas Savage had done well to mesmerise Pat Baldwin and cut the ball back from the byline.
Colchester, who had not been in action for 10 days, looked a little rusty in the first half and were often forced to defend by Rovers. But they ended the first half strongly, with Yeates' low deflected shot grazing the far post before spinning wide for a corner, following Perkins' penetrating midfield run.
Nevertheless, Rovers needed less than five minutes in the second half to break the deadlock. Barnett curled in a free-kick from the right and the unchallenged Shotton headed in from six yards, after slack marking in the U's defence.
Shuker thought that he had doubled Tranmere's lead midway through the second half, claiming his low shot at the far post had crossed the line after Walker had scrambled to his left to scoop the ball away.
Tranmere survived a fierce penalty shout with 14 minutes to go when Taylor appeared to handle substitute Jamie Guy's cross in the area but they held on to secure a fine win.
Tranmere: Coyne, Shotton, Kay, Chorley, Taylor, Shuker, Jennings, Edds, Barnett, Savage, Moore. Subs Not Used: Achterberg, Holmes, Waterfall, Cresswell, Henry. Booked: Taylor, Barnett. Goals: Shotton 50.
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REF
The man in the middle is Dean Whitestone from Northamptonshire who was in charge for our opening 1-0 win over Peterborough.
FIXTURES
Tuesday, 17 February 2009; (all 19.45 kick-off): Bristol Rovers v Yeovil, Hartlepool v Leicester, Hereford v Leeds, Millwall v Swindon, Southend v Crewe, Stockport v Cheltenham, Tranmere v Peterborough.
BET
Southend (8/5) Draw (12/5) Tranmere (9/5)
For all the footy odds go here: www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-one.
HISTORY
Tranmere play their home games at Prenton Park. The club has faced years of strong competition for both players and supporters from the two much bigger local clubs - Liverpool and Everton, which is why they play many of their home fixtures on a Friday night.
Between 1991 and 2001 they were in the second tier of the English league, reaching the playoffs three times and the League Cup final once before being relegated. John Aldridge, the former Liverpool striker who scored nearly 500 goals in his professional career, was appointed player-manager of Tranmere in March 1996 and remained at the helm for five years, although he hung up his boots in 1998. His predecessor was John King, who took Rovers from the brink of losing their league status to the brink of reaching the Premiership.
Dave Watson and Ray Mathias came and went after Aldridge when, in October 2003, Tranmere turned to, yes, Brian Little, the man who took Wrexham out of the league this week, as their new manager. Little had previously achieved promotion success with Darlington (twice) and Leicester, as well as leading Aston Villa to League Cup success in 1996. Following Brian Little's resignation, Ronnie Moore was appointed manager in June 2006, from Oldham Athletic.
In the close season before 2006/07, Moore signed the ex-Rovers Welsh international goalkeeper Danny Coyne as well as defensive duo Anthony Kay and Ben Chorley. Midfielder Adnan Ahmed was also signed from Huddersfield Town. On 6 October 2007, after their 2-1 win at the home of football, they reached the top of the League One table, on goal difference, with 19 points from 10 games.
However, their stay at the top only lasted for one week, and began a dreadful run of only four victories in the next sixteen league games which saw the team slide steadily into mid-table. A big factor in this loss of form was long-term injuries to both of the team's first choice wingers, Steve Davies and Chris Shuker, severely limiting the team's attacking options. The situation was remedied by tactical reorganisation on Moore's part, boosted by the loan acquisition of two promising youngsters from higher division clubs, Blackburn's Andy Taylor and Bristol City's Jennison Myrie-Williams, along with the return of manager's son Ian Moore, who had started his career at Tranmere.
Rovers' form began to pick up following a 1-0 victory at Millwall on January 19th, the start of an unbeaten run that as of 23rd February 2008 had lasted 8 matches and seen the team climb back into the play-off zone. However, another poor run saw them drop out of the top six and they ended up finishing 11th with 65 points, and were 11 points short of a playoff place
Ronnie Moore signed a new 2 year deal keeping him at the club until 2010 and many Rovers fans believe it has to be this season for the top six or he would not be allowed to see it out.
(Thanks to the all the usual suspects for their help with this article.)