whats happened ?

[Redi_dare]

Havnt felt this low (as an alex fan) for a long time - "Whats Happening". Inconsistency, weak defending, questionable tactics, late subs, players in and out of the team and replaced readily by loan players no better than what we have (with the exception of Chuks obviously). It only seems 5 minutes since promotion and Wembley appearances with lots of optimism to dour inept performances. I started this season quite positive and believing we were strong enough for at least mid table and possibly a play off push and was not expecting to be in this position. Maybe the problem is my hopes and expectations were raised above reality or maybe we are just underperforming or maybe we are just not good enough?

[RedandWhiteSpartan]

Rd, I think you hit the nail on the head with your last comment :s

[PAULCAFC]

73 GOALS IN OUR NET SAYS IT ALL!

[MikeSB]

SD said earlier in the season that our players were not good enough and changes had to be made and why he brought in loan players. Its really sad that we went to all that trouble to get promoted that will count for nothing if we do go down and that should not happen when we had/have the comfort of millions from transfer fees that most others in L1 didn't have and many clubs with about the same gate as us were able to pay higher wages to attract better players. This has been the case for years though without most of them going into Admin.

I don't wish to bash our academy system but surely its all not just to exist in the old fourth division is it guys, as we may as well as not bother and that loan thing to Hassall stinks a mile when we were crying out for players a while back and shows that all the other directors including Dario and Bowler whether they were outvoted or not, could have resigned
in disgust and caused a stink. If there is an explanation about all that, it should be made

[itwasin]

Well put over Mike agree 100% With regards to the Stormin Norman saga am surprised at the deafening silence from Bowler And DG thats why I said birds of a feather flock together! Why dont they say something? And with regards to the Academy who is it run for? Apart from the Self Serving staff, as the players that come through are here for 5 min then sold a, s, a, p, No benifit to the team , more for Stormin Norman benifit,. Yes some will be happy to go into lge 2 but you only need ONE bad season like were having now, and playing to many Academy players will not work, as teams in lge 2 will just knock them to one side with ease. We will soon find out.

[ALEXKNOWALL]

This season has been a disaster up to now. Last night we carried Uche, Inman was just marked out of the game, Evans copied Osman's pedestrian sideways passing, Pogba flirted with a performance and Chuks was maybe at 80% despite trying hard.
It easy to play against Crewe - the midfield has no pace or drive, one full back is only learning his job and the centre backs are poor on the ball. Close down quickly on the midfielders who cannot run past you, shut down Tootle and Inman and defend solidly against the inevitable long ball stuff which results.
Oh - and look forward to a complete rest if Ajay and Byron join in the "action" such as it is. The real triers Crewe can bring on - Waters and Oliver - will only be used as a last resort!
The manager will stick with his formation regardless of how the game is going and no subs will appear until after at least an hour.
I don't know if we will go down but we all know the script and 2 or 3 back to back results are as unlikely as ever

[ALEXKNOWALL]

This season has been a disaster up to now. Last night we carried Uche, Inman was just marked out of the game, Evans copied Osman's pedestrian sideways passing, Pogba flirted with a performance and Chuks was maybe at 80% despite trying hard.
It easy to play against Crewe - the midfield has no pace or drive, one full back is only learning his job and the centre backs are poor on the ball. Close down quickly on the midfielders who cannot run past you, shut down Tootle and Inman and defend solidly against the inevitable long ball stuff which results.
Oh - and look forward to a complete rest if Ajay and Byron join in the "action" such as it is. The real triers Crewe can bring on - Waters and Oliver - will only be used as a last resort!
The manager will stick with his formation regardless of how the game is going and no subs will appear until after at least an hour.
I don't know if we will go down but we all know the script and 2 or 3 back to back results are as unlikely as ever

[DGFG]

Well put over Mike agree 100% With regards to the Stormin Norman saga am surprised at the deafening silence from Bowler And DG thats why I said birds of a feather flock together! Why dont they say something? And with regards to the Academy who is it run for? Apart from the Self Serving staff, as the players that come through are here for 5 min then sold a, s, a, p, No benifit to the team , more for Stormin Norman benifit,. Yes some will be happy to go into lge 2 but you only need ONE bad season like were having now, and playing to many Academy players will not work, as teams in lge 2 will just knock them to one side with ease. We will soon find out.

I know counting is not your strong point - you struggled to figure out the difference between 5 and 17 on the other thread - but try and work these out:

How many seasons in the last 25 have we played in League Two (or equivalent)?

And how many seasons did we play in the old Division 4

[MikeSB]

DG, please, no need to insult anyone as everyone is entitled to their opinion. Spelling? What does that matter unless this is the english exam board? ;)

Now, nobody is arguing our club hasn't done well over the years under Bowler and Dario but not sure the lessons have been learned about having very good players in the side alongside the academy lads eg Brammer and Jack and its debatable whether our midfield has ever recovered since that period and perhaps Dario, understandably really, thought eventually that the academy was all was needed and so few good players were signed since the championship even though we had the funds to do so...eg After Ashton went and we spiralled down to L2 in the process. It was a miracle we got promotion which arguably again was mostly due to one player ie Nick Powell.

DG went native in becoming a Director and thus saw the First Team as a necessary inconvenience to his beloved academy and again that was to be expected given most of his time to it..

It w

[itwasin]

Immm they always turn nasty when they hear different opinions, they dont like hearing the Truth they bury there heads in there own drivel. Its my I pad that can not spell hehe

[DGFG]

First, we're not relegated yet.

Second, the academy set up only appears to come in for criticism when the first team is struggling, to a certain extent the game is cyclical (though I hate using that argument because it's lazy) - it is inevitable that there will be seasons where we struggle.

I did n't expect this to be one of them so I'm as disappointed as the next fan - apart from the well documented pre season incident, I think we've struggled primarily because we have not recruited a creative midfield player to replace Luke Murphy (not easy to do and there was no ready made academy replacement though there might be a couple of candidates coming up through the ranks). Also, we've clearly conceded too many goals and the manager's reluctance to strengthen the centre of defence is a bone of contention, particularly when set against his willingness to recruit a seemingly endless supply of peripheral wingers on loan.

We have invested heavily (for us!) in the first team

Summer before la

[Mojofilter]

The problem is quite simply that the midfield isn't good enough.
Doesn't create anything, doesn't protect the defence and not comfortable on the ball.

Grant has been good since he came back into the team but he can't do it on his own. Evans isn't up to the task and Osman is way too limited in his ability - he's OK playing next to a Luke Murphy but that's about it.

Don't understand why this hasn't been the focus for SD and I don't understand why he's constantly loaning wingers.

[Proggs]

Grant was sorely missed and it showed just how poor a player Osman is, and Evans for that matter. Neither are up to the job we require. So yes, loan a mid OR play Inman there and use MOORE. Why loan a winger when you have Byron on the pay role? Madness to me.

Fullback? Guthrie was very poor on Tuesday, why not play Mellor? What's he done so wrong? He is better than Guthrie.

Centre back? Ellis is a real warrior but doesn't seem in favour, no Harry so maybe loan an old head...to head?

I'd send Evans, Ikpeazu and Park back.

PS itwasin you are a bellend

[AlexLeicester]

Grant was sorely missed and it showed just how poor a player Osman is, and Evans for that matter. Neither are up to the job we require. So yes, loan a mid OR play Inman there and use MOORE. Why loan a winger when you have Byron on the pay role? Madness to me.

Fullback? Guthrie was very poor on Tuesday, why not play Mellor? What's he done so wrong? He is better than Guthrie.

Centre back? Ellis is a real warrior but doesn't seem in favour, no Harry so maybe loan an old head...to head?

I'd send Evans, Ikpeazu and Park back.

PS itwasin you are a bellend

Not much to disagree with there. Certainly the last two comments are, I think, spot on. :-D

However, reading between SD's lines we still have a motivational problem. Byron is mercurial, looks fast, exciting and skilful one minute and then a passenger the next; Mellor has had a, for him, duff, wasteful season; Guthrie has impressed, apart from v. Notts; Ellis wears his heart on his sl

[bonehead]

ok whats gone wrong

formation - basic 2 in midfield with 2 wide helping out isnt working - go back to 3 proper midfielders

so - grant - evans - turton
and chucks playing in front

loan players bar Chucks are poor - park - isnt anything like Mesca who he was replacing -

first change should happen on the hour - would of brought Ollier on first - and Waters - not left it till game is basically lost at 2 down

corners are too floaty - we dont have free kick specialist after Chucks goes - so teams can give away fouls near there box knowing we cant score

wheres the coaching to bring on the new KENNY LUNTS - SEAN SMITHS

think how low the gates will be next season if we go down - for the sake of spending a few bob by the board we will loose out big time

why put new men on the board if we dont hear from them / dont meet them / dont know what they want for the club or what they can bring

you may as well put me on there with my 30 shares

dont get me started on pitch and the like

[MikeSB]

We've had the same conversation for years that its the midfield quality that dictates the defence and attack and SD should have scoured the country incl the Scottish leagues to get some real quality in there that we can afford to pay the wages and maybe the policy seems fine to have a cap on all wages, its obvious that some players are worth more than others. Look at the times when we have done really well and its when we have had some quality in there. If the midfield is not doing its job, the pressure is on the attack and just as important is their defensive role and other teams seem to be able to bypass us in that area and our back four are then not good enough to keep the goals down.

Its too late now and we do deserve to go down but we may just escape as others around us are just as bad and so just hope SD and the board release enough funds next time to get some quality instead of lending millions to Directors that they may never see again.

We cannot expect young lads from the a

[MikeSB]

Nobody can work out B.Moore as he has the quality to unlock a lot of defences and yet as said he drifts out of the game for long periods and nobody seems to know why? Is he scared of getting injured like Steve Jones was in his last year?

Anyone know if we can still get a fee for him if he goes in the Summer?

[bigroof]

We all know Byron's erratic, but why wasn't he even on the bench on Tuesday? Whether he's with us next season or not is irrelevant; he's here and available now. The same applies to Mellor. He didn't do a great deal wrong to lose his place. Guthrie has earned a new contract, yes, and has improvement in him, but Mellor attacks well on the right, and Tootle, (however much people might like to see him on the right,) actually plays left back well, in combination with either Inman or Moore.

When Grant picked up that second yellow on Saturday, I sort of knew we'd struggle on the Tuesday. He's capable of dynamic bursts into space, and links with the wide men more effectively than either Evans or Osman.
When Murphy left, Steve and Neil both felt that Grant could offer something at least of what he'd offered, and of late he's done so. Other than that, if you lose a player worth a million pounds, then you're not going to get a like-for-like replacement, without paying the wages that a million po

[AstonAlex]

No fee for Byron in the summer - he is too old!

As to what's happened, as many have said there is a lack of a passer of the ball in the middle of the park. Osman was fine alongside Murphy; he tackled, got the ball and gave it to Luke and didn't try to do anything beyond his capabilities. This season he has not had anyone alongside him with Luke's talent and, as a result, has tried to do more himself . . . with laughable results unfortunately.

Grant had his well advertised attitude problems before Christmas, since when he has looked a decent player and we missed him a lot on Tuesday. He and Evans work OK together, but without him there is no mobility in the middle of the park and no midfielder making forward runs as Grant does.

I think that SD can be criticised for his loan signings. Chuks has been outstanding, of course, and Evans was an improvement on what we had when he first joined. Mesca and Park were pretty laughable (esp Park) and I don't think he would have taken Uche ha

[bonehead]

surely who ever stays - were just asking for the basics from players

pass the ball - determination - pace

a centre forward who can score with his head

a corner taker / free kick swerver

weve had great players here that didnt cost much and did us proud - nelson - reilly - scott - futcher - naylor - billing - macauley - smith - varney - little - jones - they must still be out there

[ALEXKNOWALL]

[quote="AstonAlex"]No fee for Byron in the summer - he is too old!

As to what's happened, as many have said there is a lack of a passer of the ball in the middle of the park. Osman was fine alongside Murphy; he tackled, got the ball and gave it to Luke and didn't try to do anything beyond his capabilities. This season he has not had anyone alongside him with Luke's talent and, as a result, has tried to do more himself . . . with laughable results unfortunately.

Grant had his well advertised attitude problems before Christmas, since when he has looked a decent player and we missed him a lot on Tuesday. He and Evans work OK together, but without him there is no mobility in the middle of the park and no midfielder making forward runs as Grant does.

I think that SD can be criticised for his loan signings. Chuks has been outstanding, of course, and Evans was an improvement on what we had when he first joined. Mesca and Park were pretty laughable (esp Park

[itwasin]

A/L and Proggs should be in the HALL OF SHAME Both get Suspended if not careful with language been warned before.

[PAULCAFC]

Proggs is a legend on this board y`know!XD

[grestycatt]

73 goals in our net... had loans in every position except for defence??

[alexmick]

[quote="AstonAlex"]No fee for Byron in the summer - he is too old!

As to what's happened, as many have said there is a lack of a passer of the ball in the middle of the park. Osman was fine alongside Murphy; he tackled, got the ball and gave it to Luke and didn't try to do anything beyond his capabilities. This season he has not had anyone alongside him with Luke's talent and, as a result, has tried to do more himself . . . with laughable results unfortunately.

Grant had his well advertised attitude problems before Christmas, since when he has looked a decent player and we missed him a lot on Tuesday. He and Evans work OK together, but without him there is no mobility in the middle of the park and no midfielder making forward runs as Grant does.

I think that SD can be criticised for his loan signings. Chuks has been outstanding, of course, and Evans was an improvement on what we had when he first joined. Mesca and Park were pretty laughable (esp Park

[alexmick]

73 goals in our net... had loans in every position except for defence??

No more loans coming either, as the deadline has passed.

[MikeSB]

AlexMick. "My opinion is that without the academy, there would be no Crewe Alex. It has to continue"..

Of course its about opinions Mick but I happen to disagree with that statement that has been said so many times its unbelievable. What evidence do we have that we would not have survived L2 only maybe one bit and that was when Dario took us up the mountain of the Championship and down the leagues almost to non league and that was WITH the academy?

How many teams are now in L1 and L2 that are of similar size and gates and many a lot worse and don't have any Academy and 30 million quid in incoming transfer fees?

Its darn stupid that the Board have just taken in how many millions from Powell and Murphy and all the gate receipts of TV and wembley and we have to resort to the LOAN market like as though we were skint like a Rochdale or many others still surviving in these leagues.

Nobody is saying we should not have an Academy but I have always maintained for a long time that UNLESS

[AlexLeicester]

My belief is that Crewe Alexandra is possibly the best run club in all the football leagues. We have a Board composed of football fans, all Directors live in the UK, and none are billionaires. (The Hassall business I find unfathomable and uncomfortable.)

Our Academy is our bedrock, our foundation for longevity, and 'jewel in the football crown'. Without it we would not now exist, or we would have followed the likes of Barrow and Stockport.

I can see through PR spin (something that I have proved time and again from both sides of the fence for many years), and I have in my career developed commercial 'mantras', so they do not fool me.

Our football club is composed of human beings and as such they cannot be perfect - but I believe they are a lot better than most. I do not want Directors to shovel cash into the club and then 'own' it; I want the club to remain independent, stable and viable. I want the club to be an integral part of the community; create stars of the future; give us the

[fatfakir]

Given that the Academy has more than paid for itself and continues to do so. Not to mention it's contribution to the main stand and ground improvements, the improved facilities at Reaseheath, and covering the club's losses over the last 20+ years (whilst lending millions to a director...), I find it hard to understand why anyone would be against it.

The club has developed a model which makes them financially stable and ensures that the club will still be here long after the directors have passed on. Anybody who suggests we ought to scrap it is a fool.

[MikeSB]

All I am asking for is for the club to allow 'some' of our millions to go towards the first team to enable us to survive in L1 as a minimum.

If we are happy that most other clubs in L1 with comparable gates who haven't had our millions and can sign better players than us or indeed happy with L2 then so be it..

Facilities are great to have but 90 mins with less better facilities and I have seen the worst at Gresty Road doesn't really bother me personally.

The academy has proved itself to avoid the need for Directors to be under any pressure to add funds and for one to take funds out with the consent of the other directors is something that can never be understood by any fan.

I know that I was screaming for Dario to sign a couple of players when we went 20 games in the Championship without winnning and survived by goal difference by beating Coventry on the last day of the season and Gillingham losing. That was with a guaranteed 3 million just received from the Ashton transfer. We t

[AlexLeicester]

In a nutshell Mike, I think you are suggesting that this is potentially the most frustrating season, or certainly one of, we have been through?

I can't disagree with that. :blue:

[bigroof]

Mike, I don't think the club have ever said that they wouldn't be a league club without an Academy. It's more a perception of a good many fans, that they would struggle to be one, without it.

The Academy Crewe has, would struggle to survive if the club slipped out of the league, that's for sure; but then its doubters could justifiably argue that it didn't do us any good anyway (apart from a certain matter of over 25 years' optimism, and some undreamt-of good times)!

Of course clubs can survive without an Academy of the quality ours possesses. Sometimes they go into administration, and come out again, but there is usually still a professional club for the faithful to support, even if it has to climb through the non-league pyramid to become so again. Sometimes they just trudge along in the bottom division, with the occasional 'boom' year, like Crewe in the 1960s.

The evidence suggests though, that a club with a well-run Academy, with resources committed to it, won't go out of business

[alexmick]

[quote="MikeSB"..

Of course its about opinions Mick but I happen to disagree with that statement that has been said so many times its unbelievable. What evidence do we have that we would not have survived L2 only maybe one bit and that was when Dario took us up the mountain of the Championship and down the leagues almost to non league and that was WITH the academy?

How many teams are now in L1 and L2 that are of similar size and gates and many a lot worse and don't have any Academy and 30 million quid in incoming transfer fees?

Its darn stupid that the Board have just taken in how many millions from Powell and Murphy and all the gate receipts of TV and wembley and we have to resort to the LOAN market like as though we were skint like a Rochdale or many others still surviving in these leagues.

Nobody is saying we should not have an Academy but I have al

[bonehead]

come on guys - were not asking for millions for a couple of players

i run a small business and budget for what i think i will get in

so sell a player to cover losses at the heath (Tick)

use club sales / 1st round cup money / ground boards etc /sponsor money - season tickets /etc

to sort wages -

so that is normal season

wembley / tv money / xtra shirt sales

thats BONUS - so use say 25% of that to sign players up

were not asking to break the pay scale - but theres a lot smaller clubs in championship that have done it WITHOUT our youth set up

if the directors dont want to put any money in - what are they there for -

bowler - dario not included

others - free lunch...

[MikeSB]

Great responses there and I did ask Dario about the changes to the status of the Academy and the additional costs involved and he said the FA contribute more if they can maintain the one we have. I know he is frustrated that the new system demands far more 'computer' logging time about each player and is tying up valuable coaching time as a result.

I accept the point about wages and of course we could never compete in the Championship and why it was an amazing time for fans. And most of the clubs in the lower leagues tend not to make it public what wages they are paying? Maybe there is nod and wink deals as well?

I think Mick has it spot on..

Frustrating season all round!...Especially beating Preston,Sheff Utd and Gillingham and then look like a different team next match?

I wonder if its more difficult to motivate players nowadays who are either think they are better than they are or we need a Roy of the Rovers like a Nick Powell to instill great performances and a belief like go

[MikeSB]

Mick, you remember having a wee at the back of the popular side? I still can smell the urine coming up at HT! ;)

Were you among the 20,000 fans at Gresty Road when we played Spurs who were top of the league in 1960/61? And beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge the year after? It is a fact you know that since those halcyon days ;) We have never beat a First Division Club in the FA cup since..

[bigroof]

were not asking to break the pay scale - but theres a lot smaller clubs in championship that have done it WITHOUT our youth set up



Well there's only Yeovil at the moment. S****horpe - similar to us - had a few seasons yo-yoing between Championship and the third tier. Are Doncaster smaller than Crewe?

When Crewe themselves were there, Gillingham, Rotherham and Port Vale had some time there as well.

After ITV Digital's collapse, the days were numbered when such 'small' clubs could sustain any decent time at that level.

My point is that the club HAVE invested in non-Academy players this season. The fact that some of them haven't performed as well as they might, is a different matter.

[DGFG]

^ correct, ten first team squad players brought in over last two summers and at this point only one (Pogba) could be haled as an unqualified success.

Two of them have already left the club.

Two are out on loan at clubs lower down the pyramid which is indicative of their success levels for us.

Two look very likely to leave this summer (Osman and Ellis) and, of course, there is still time for Oliver, Grant and Inman.

That's not counting the loan players who have been brought in - some successful, others not so much.

If Mr. Bowler was a classless egomaniac like many Football Club chairmen he might be tempted to go public and express his disappointment with player recruitment for the first team squad.

When people say they want investment in the first team squad, what they really mean is they want players guaranteed to improve the team at League One level - that won't happen unless we invest in eye watering wages.

So we'll continue to recruit with an element of risk.

The summer will