7:29am Saturday 28th July 2007
By Marc Iles
RONNIE Moore will welcome Sammy Lee to Prenton Park with open arms, then set about denting his pre-season plans.
The pair, good friends off the field, go head to head at Prenton Park later today.
Wanderers are set to name a full-strength side, bringing back the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Jussi Jaaskelainen and Kevin Davies as they seek to rediscover the winning feeling which would seem to have temporarily deserted them.
But Moore is relishing the challenge, and believes his League One side, who finished ninth last season, can cause an upset.
"Bolton are going to use it as a first team game, which is great for us," Moore said.
"I know Sammy really well, so we'll give them a nice welcome and hopefully we can turn them over.
"They've got a quality squad, so it will be a big test."
Acquaintance will be renewed all over the field this afternoon, with Tranmere defender Ian Goodison happy to welcome his former Jamaica team-mate Riicardo Gardner to his home ground, even if the Wanderers full-back is still on the sidelines through injury.
"It's a shame Ricardo won't be on the pitch, but it will still be nice to play against Bolton," Goodison said. "I've seen them play a lot and they're a very good side.
"Ricardo and I played together at the World Cup in 1998 and we were team mates for Jamaica for many years."
Tranmere have not been the luckiest opponents for the Reebok men down the years.
The play-off final at Wembley in 1991 sparked a series of high-profile disappointments against the Birkenhead men - including Lee Jones' late strike to prevent Colin Todd's side from reaching 100 points a decade ago, and defeat in the semi-final of the Worthington Cup in 1999 and FA Cup Third Round replay in 2004.
The game kicks-off at 3pm.
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