Green marks Tranmere debut with brilliant goal

, 28 March, 29comments  |  Jump to most recent
George Green scored a spectacular equaliser on his first appearance for Tranmere Rovers since joining them on loan.

The Everton teenager struck in injury time to cancel out Adebayo Akinfenwa's first-half goal which seemed destined to give Wimbledon an away victory against struggling Rovers.

Green was named in the starting line-up and had three shots from outside the box saved, one in the third minute and two more in the second half, before he smacked a fourth into the top corner to hand Tranmere a priceless point in their bid to avoid relegation to the Conference.

Rovers remain in the relegation zone, a point below Hartlepool United.  



Reader Comments (29)

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Dave Abrahams
1 Posted 28/03/2015 at 18:27:20
Well done George, keep it up, four shots from outside the box!!!!!!!! Martinez won’t like that, you can’t shoot from more than six yards according to him.
Tom Evans
2 Posted 28/03/2015 at 18:31:07
Looking increasingly bleak for Rovers but I would not want them to be relegated. Like a good few others hailing from the Wirral, I'm watching out for their results... so an Evertonian helping them is okay by me.
Dan McKie
3 Posted 28/03/2015 at 18:42:46
Pleasing that the 3 shots he didn’t score had to be saved. I’ve seen Barkley hit a few this season and wondered how it is even possible to kick the ball that high.
Phill Thompson
4 Posted 28/03/2015 at 19:23:07
I read a match review and he was constantly mentioned, not just for his shots but he apparently controlled the midfield. Like Ross he’s been held back by injuries so hopefully a run of games will allow him to develop his potential.

We’ve got a bunch of highly promising youngsters between 17 - 20 , not all can/will make it and determination and application will be as vital as talent. Good luck,George, a great start.

Kieran Riding
5 Posted 28/03/2015 at 20:39:49
Jay Wood
6 Posted 28/03/2015 at 20:46:39
Thanks for the link, Kieran.

That’s a cracking goal, created solely by Georgie himself.

I love the fan’s celebration too!

Sam Hoare
7 Posted 28/03/2015 at 22:03:17
The next Jose Baxter?
Trevor Peers
8 Posted 28/03/2015 at 22:18:10
Great to see youth doing well. I hope he proves himself a success. But it's dangerous to build up expectations that youth team players are the solution to our present predicament. In recent history, only Red Nose has built a team on an exceptional youth team. Since then, the PL has moved on and the chances of Roberto doing the same is like believing in Father Christmas.
Dave Abrahams
9 Posted 28/03/2015 at 22:30:53
Sam (#7), are you being sarcastic? It doesn't sound like you, if you are. You are usually very supportive of young players and Jose never got a chance under Moyes. Jose is not doing too bad at Sheffield Utd.
Gavin Johnson
10 Posted 29/03/2015 at 03:06:52
Fingers crossed he has a good run of games over in the Wirral and stakes a claim for a squad place next season. We're crying out for a creative goal scoring midfielder, and If he scores a couple or more like that this season, who's not to say that he could emulate what Garbutt's done this season and get a few games and be a regular on the bench.
James Flynn
11 Posted 29/03/2015 at 03:31:02
Thanks Kieran. Neat goal.

Has anyone seen him up close? My memory of him first coming in was that he had skill but was tiny. 19 now and I couldn't tell his size by the clip. Has he filled out some?

Harold Matthews
12 Posted 29/03/2015 at 04:40:05
Yes, thanks for the wonderful video clip. Come on the Super Whites.

Green has always been better than average and I hope he can enjoy a spell of competitive games without injury. He'll never play for Martinez but it will be interesting to see how he develops.

Derek Thomas
13 Posted 29/03/2015 at 06:34:22
Why won't he, Harold?

Did he play the whole game? How was he over all? I hope he is worth it and gets an extended run of games in a man's league... you learn by doing.

Wayne Smyth
14 Posted 29/03/2015 at 08:36:44
Apparently he played the whole game. From what I can tell from the very limited coverage I've seen, he did really well. He was taking at least some of their set-pieces too, which says a lot for a 19-year-old in his first game.

It's difficult to tell with younger players whether they'll make the grade, but the only way it ever happens is if they play competitive football, so this is a good move for him.

Either way, we've still got top quality younger players who we know are good enough for first team football in Garbutt and Browning. Apparently Galloway is very very close too. Quite useful since our back-line needs fresh blood.

I know there is a lot of money at stake for each Premier League position, but I'd like to see some of those lads given some proper game time in the weeks ahead. Browning especially hasn't put a foot wrong when I've seen him play for the first team, yet hasn't had a look-in for about 6 months.

Alcaraz is not what we need and is thankfully out of contract, so we need to build for the future.

Denis Richardson
15 Posted 29/03/2015 at 10:11:22
Great to hear, looks like he may have a chance after all the hype. He should be left in peace to learn his trade on loan, hopefully next year or the one after he'll be ready to make the step up.
John Crawley
16 Posted 29/03/2015 at 10:31:23
I've seen this lad play several times and that goal isn't a surprise. I've no doubt he's got the ability to play at the highest level. The rest is down to him and staying fit. He's much better than Baxter in my opinion.
Sam Hoare
17 Posted 29/03/2015 at 10:44:39
Dave 10, I'm always hopeful for young players and Baxter has done better than most. This goal just reminded me of a 'wondergoal' that Jose scored at a similar age, I think in a pre-season friendly. Hopefully George Green can go a few better and make it to the first team but a long way yet....
Tim Greeley
18 Posted 29/03/2015 at 10:45:16
Cool video link. I enjoy seeing the passion for even the low rung clubs. What a way to introduce yourself to your new teammates!!
John Crawley
19 Posted 29/03/2015 at 10:53:02
Sam - don't worry, he scores these type of goals all the time. I saw him come on in an U18 game, smack one in from outside the area, then hit a free kick into the top corner.

On Green, Adams joked: "I think the boy lacks confidence doesn't he? It was a terrific performance and he has fantastic ability and I think he'll be a big player for us in the next seven games. It's as if he's been here all of his career. For a loan player to come here and have that type of impact is remarkable, but Joe Royle and Roberto Martinez spoke very highly of him."

Steve Carse
20 Posted 29/03/2015 at 11:02:45
I find this modern way of doing things whereby a club takes an established young player from a lower league club then lets them languish in the U21s or lower for a couple of seasons before returning them to the level from which they came to gain match playing experience somewhat perplexing. We've done it with Green and may well end up doing it with Galloway.
Brian Harrison
21 Posted 29/03/2015 at 11:36:03
I wonder if Joe Royle has had a word with RM as it seems a lot of our younger players which Joe is there to oversee are going out on loan. Surely they are better playing competitive football each week rather than playing in the Under 21 league.

Many years ago when Keegan scrapped Newcastle's reserve and youth teams, I thought that was wrong. But maybe still have a youth set up but loan out more players to get playing time, it will also give the manager a better idea of the player playing in a competitive open-age league.

Paul Thompson
22 Posted 29/03/2015 at 11:33:47
Whenever I've seen clips of him, he's looked a bit physically lightweight, but very confident and skilful. I think he can make it.

A couple of comments from Total Tranmere site:

"I thought Green was quite fantastic today for a 19-year-old, still a bit to learn as when to release the ball rather than trying to beat everyone all the time, but this is really picky as he will learn and today was a breath of fresh air to the side. Well done Everton in loaning us this young gem, what a pity another team that plays in red over the water doesn't see fit to help a neighbour in trouble.

"Green frankly looked on a different planet to everyone else. Yes, he made a few mistakes and looked to do too much at times, but his effort, determination and drive was light years ahead of the rest of the team. He was 2 yards ahead of everyone else most of the game. Humey was excellent when he came on as well. Play like we did in the second half for the rest of the season and we could yet pull clear of danger."

Colin Glassar
23 Posted 29/03/2015 at 12:11:02
I’ve never understood why we don’t use Tranmere as a club where we can develop our younger players. Surely it would be beneficial to both clubs?
Brian Harrison
24 Posted 29/03/2015 at 12:02:09
I have just read an article in the Mail on Sunday and they have looked at how many 15-18 year old English players have gone on to become regular first team players. Over the past 10 years, the 20 Premier League clubs have only produced 57 players that have gone on to play on a regular basis. They also say that £600 million has been spent on academies during that time.

The most successful club at producing home grown players during this timescale is Southampton who have produced 7 players. They are Walcott, Bale, Lallana, Oxlaide-Chamberlain, Chambers, Shaw and Ward-Prowse. But for Southampton only Ward-Prowse is still there, but they have made a fortune in the sale of these players. Which begs the question: apart from the top 3/4 clubs, are the rest of the Prem just having to produce to sell to survive? Should that be the case, then how will anyone outside the monied clubs break into the Champions League places?

Nicholas Ryan
26 Posted 29/03/2015 at 12:38:18
Just seen the video clip .... Am I imagining things, or is the goal scored by the ghost of Deulofeu?!
Andy Meighan
27 Posted 29/03/2015 at 18:55:04
Get him back. NOW
Dave Abrahams
28 Posted 29/03/2015 at 20:58:16
Steve (20), understand what you are saying, but in this case Everton signed Green from Bradford City while he was still at school, he had trials at Liverpool who told him he was too small.

He then played against Spurs, I think he scored FIVE in that game, then Everton took him on trial for a few games, brought him and his family to Goodison for a derby game, and arranged a fee with Bradford. Spurs then stepped in with a better offer but Bradford stuck to their agreement with Everton.

Then Liverpool came back in for him but Green and his family told them to do one so we finally got him for around £165k which can go up to over £1½M.

Jeff Armstrong
29 Posted 30/03/2015 at 21:34:36
I agree, Colin (#23), Tranmere should be used more to blood our youngsters; easy access to keep an eye on them etc. Beats sending them to the likes of Yeovil and Plymouth, I am sure our coaching staff don't bother monitoring them down there on wet Wednesday nights in February.

Dave Abrahams
30 Posted 03/04/2015 at 17:22:25
Apparently he has laid on Tranmere''s two goals today in their 2-2 draw with Stevenage, which is a good result for Tranmere.

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