In this article, we take a look at who are the current top six favourites to become the next Tranmere manager according to bookmakers Sky Bet.
The League Two strugglers have chosen to sack their first team manager Michael ‘Mike’ Jackson, following a poor run of results this season.
Jackson was summoned to Chairman Mark Palios after Rovers lost 1-0 at home to Morecambe at Prenton Park on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday’s defeat by Morecambe has left them with nine points from 10 matches in League Two this season, leaving them 18th in the table.
He came in as a replacement for Micky Mellon, who ended up leaving the club for Dundee United of the Scottish Premiership last season after relegation was confirmed.
20/21 RESULTS
Sat 5 Sep – Harrogate Town – Carabao Cup 1N – (0) 1 – 1 (0) (7-8 pens)
Tue 8 Sep – Port Vale – EFL Trophy G4 – (0) 0 – 0 (0) (3-4 pens)
Sat 12 Sep – Mansfield Town – League Two – (0) 0 – 0 (0) DREW
Sat 19 Sep – Cheltenham Town – League Two – (0) 0 – 3 (3) LOST
Sat 26 Sep – Cambridge United – League Two – (0) 0 – 0 (0) DREW
Sat 3 Oct – Scunthorpe United – League Two – (1) 2 – 0 (0) WON
Sat 10 Oct – Salford City – League Two – (0) 2 – 2 (2) – DREW
Sat 17 Oct – Newport County – League Two – (0) 0 – 1 (1) – LOST
Tue 20 Oct – Leyton Orient – League Two – (0) 0 – 1 (0) – LOST
Sat 24 Oct – Southend United – League Two – (1) 2 – 0 (0) WON
Tue 27 Oct – Crawley Town – League Two – (0) 0 – 4 (3) LOST
Sat 31 Oct – Morecambe – League Two – (0) 0 – 1 (0) LOST
So who are the top six favourites to become next Tranmere Rovers manager? Take a look below…
6) Simon Grayson
Grayson was last in charge of Blackpool, however a worrying start saw them pick up just one win in 12 games in all competitions.
A 3-2 defeat at home to Gillingham left them 15th in the League One table, despite being 4th in mid-December 2019.
Prior to that, he was with Bradford City (in League One at the time), though got the boot in May 2018, managing just 14 matches for them – winning 3, drawing 5, and losing 6.
He’s also managed Sunderland, Preston, Huddersfield, Leeds, and Blackpool.
His managerial honours have seen him win the 2015 League One final with Preston, win the 2012 League One playoff final with Huddersfield, promotion from the third tier of English football with Leeds in 2010, and another League One playoff final win with Blackpool in 2007.
Current odds: 12/1
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5) Anthony Barry
Barry, 34, is was the Assistant Manager to Paul Cook at Wigan Athletic. The Liverpudlian had a decent if low-key playing career, mainly playing in non-league and League Two with the likes of Accrington Stanley, Yeovil Town, Chester, Fleetwood, and Forest Green.
He retired following a spell at Wrexham in 2017 and played twice against Rovers during that 16/17 campaign.
Barry then moved into coaching and became a key part of Paul Cook’s management team at Wigan, helping the club achieve promotion to the Championship.
However, his sudden emergence as a candidate for the Tranmere job first came in July 2020 and was then named as favourite.
He didn’t get the job, with it going to Michael Jackson, however Barry is back in the frame, he certainly isn’t the Super White Army’s preferred choice.
Current odds: 10/1
4) John McGreal
It was in the summer of 2020 that Colchester United announced that they parted company with McGreal after four years in charge.
The U’s ended up finishing in sixth position in the League Two table, however, they lost out to Exeter City in the playoff semi-finals.
In the same season, he also managed to take them to the League Cup quarter-finals for only the second time in the club’s history, before getting eliminated by Manchester United.
The 48 year old – who worked at Colchester since 2009 in their academy set-up and has had success with the under 18s team – is still a popular figure at Tranmere, who are currently managerless – where he came through their youth system and earned over 200 appearances as a player between 1990 and 1999 before playing for the likes of Ipswich Town and Burnley.
He was also born just a few miles away from the stadium of Prenton Park and played with club legends John King and John Aldridge.
His record as manager of Colchester stood at 202 games, 76 wins, 55 draws, and 71 defeats, giving him a win percentage of 37.6.
Current odds: 8/1
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We continue to look at the current top six favourites to become next Tranmere manager…
3) Sol Campbell
The former England international has been out of work since he departed Southend United in June 2020, leaving via mutual consent.
The 45-year-old former footballer took charge of the Shrimpers back in October 2019, but won only four of his 23 games in charge.
They were relegated after the League One season was ended in June, three months after matches were halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Preivous to that, he was manager of Macclesfield Town, but left in 2019 with the club suffering off-field financial problems with players revealing they considered boycotting the final game of the 2018/19 season in protest about unpaid wages after they were paid late for three consecutive months.
He mutually agreed to part ways with the club 8th in the League Two table and miraculously saved them from relegation.
Current odds: 6/1
Club Statement: Sol Campbell and his backroom staff leave the club by mutual consent.
— Southend United (@SUFCRootsHall) June 30, 2020
2) Graham Alexander
Alexander was most recently manager of Salford City but harshly got sacked despite an unbeaten run with them at the time of his exit.
He had got them promoted from the National League and then guided them to an 11th place finish in their debut season in the fourth tier of English football (based on PPG).
MANAGERIAL STATS:
Preston North End (caretaker) – 14 Dec 2011 until 16 Jan 2012 – 5 G, 2 W, 2 D, 1 L – 40.0 win %
Fleetwood Town – 6 Dec 2012 until 30 Sep 2015 – 145 G, 56 W, 35 D, 54 L – 38.6 win %
Scunthorpe United – 22 Mar 2016 until 24 Mar 2018 – 113 G, 53 W, 30 D, 30 L – 46.9 win %
Salford City – 14 May 2018 until 12 Oct 2020 – 112 G, 54 W, 27 D, 31 L – 48.2 win %
Total – 372 G, 160 W, 97 D, 115 L – 43.0 win %
Current odds: 6/1
1) Nigel Adkins
Nigel Adkins has been out of a job since June 2019 after he decided against renewing his contract at Hull City, stating that his and the club’s futures were “not aligned.”
In his first full season in charge, Adkins led the club from 19th to a comfortable 13th place finish in the Championship table, winning 17 of their 46 games.
He has also managed Sheffield United, Reading, Southampton, Scunthorpe United, and Bangor City and had time with the latter club, Wigan Athletic and Tranmere Rovers as a player.
HIS MANAGERIAL HONOURS:
Scunthorpe United
League One winners: 2006–07
League One play-offs: 2009
Southampton
League One runner-up: 2010–11
Championship runner-up: 2011–12
Current odds: 11/10
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OTHER NAMES MENTIONED:
Danny Cowley – 14/1
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – 25/1
Now that you have seen who are the top six favourites to become the next Tranmere manager, who do you want to see in charge?
Let us know in the comments below!
See Also: Tranmere Rovers sack their manager
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