Barrow 1-0 Crewe Alex 24/25 Review - Continuation

Death, taxes and the Alex being atrocious in an opening day game. What else is new? Well, if we hoped a new season would see the Alex wash away the demons that dogged them at the end of last season, you'd be sadly mistaken, as they put in another slow, turgid and all round poor performance(Contrary to what the manager says) to lose at Barrow by a single goal to nil. Here is my review of the game:

Game 16, not Game 1

Yes, this was game 1 of the 24-25 season, so keeping the reactions muted would be advised. Yes, the Alex often lose on the opening day. They lost their opening 4 games in 11-12 and opener in 19-20 and got promoted both times. But this wasn't game 1.

This was game 16. It was the 16th game of a string of results dating back to the collapse at home to Morecambe last season that shows a very similar pattern. A lack of spark and ideas upfront. A midfield that can't dictate or control the tempo of the game. A defence which switches off to make silly mistakes.

Going back to the Morecambe game, the Alex are now 3-4-9 in their last 16, with just 8 scored and 24 conceded. That's a dismal record and one they need to turn around, fast.

Set Pieces

We're one game into the new season, but the Alex's weaknesses at set pieces at both ends continues to be a thing. They haven't posed the same threat at them since Connor O'Riordan departed and despite several promising situations today, they never looked like creating a chance from one. Given they were such a big part of the Alex's attack last season, that's going to need some work.

At the other end, they switched off to allow Vassell to tuck home the only goal of the game. Whilst they defended the rest of the corners/free kicks ok, they'll need to improve once they start to face the better teams.

Average

Make no mistake about it, Barrow were bang average. They created little aside from the goal and don't look like a side that will be troubling the top half this season. That might sound like sour grapes, but it's not. They won today and deserved to. They took their chance and defended well. But this was not Mansfield at home like last season. This was a massive missed opportunity from what looked to be and turned out to be a winnable game.

Attack

The biggest cause for concern was the powerpuff looking attack. The Alex managed zero shots on target. Don't get me wrong, they came close, with Tracey hitting the woodwork twice, Hemmings doing the same once and Sanders putting a free kick narrowly over. But the fact is, Paul Farman had a comfortable afternoon in goal.

A fit Bogle, a match fit Long and the return of Jack Powell no doubt improve the Alex going forward. But they look understrength. Tracey struggled, Hemmings was starved of service and support, Lankester flitted in and out of the game and Tabiner looked lost in the number 10 role. I really do think it's back to the drawing board upfront, as the front 4 in the 4-2-3-1 Bell is rolling with don't seem settled at all.

Ref Watch

No ratings this season, just assessments of their performances. Martin Coy was very poor. He bought Vassell's diving time and time again, with Barrow's gamesmanship tricking him all afternoon.

Management Assessment

Why play only 45 minutes of a 3-4-3 in pre-season, to make that your primary plan B 60 minutes into the regular season? Would more practice and the sounding out of roles not have made more sense. And dare I say it, the subs were confusing. Cooney for Tracey when you need a goal? Why not leave Billington on at RWB? Why wait until 5 minutes before the end to get a 2nd striker on? There were lots of little things I didn't like from Bell and co today tactically.

Player Assessments

Filip Marschall

Nothing much he could do with the goal, although there was a suggestion he could have come to claim it. I'd rather see whoever was supposed to be marking Vassell win the ball myself. Other than that, he looked fine.

Lewis Billington

The attacking side of the game remains a concern as he struggle to overlap Lankester and offering the extra attacking threat. He was solid defensively though. I do wonder why, given he's one of their taller players, he doesn't go forward at set pieces though.

James Connolly

Given the surprise nod ahead of Knight-Lebel, I thought he looked ok against a fairly limited Barrow attack. He'll have tougher afternoons, but all in all it was a solid debut for him.

Mickey Demetriou

His long throws caused some problems and like Connolly, he didn't have much to do defensively. I'm sure the Barrow goal will annoy him though. He was solid too.

Zac Williams

Had some good moments and some not so good ones. A fairly middle of the road performance, but as soon as Conway gets up to speed, I want to see him start at LB or LWB, even if thats at Williams' expense.

Max Sanders

Did well in midfield, even if he couldn't quite get anything going in the final 3rd. He looks to be a solid ball mover, but I don't think we can rely on him to create a chance or score a goal.

Conor Thomas

Which begs the question why him and Thomas start. Thomas did his usual, misplacing passes and ensuring he hardly offered for the ball. He made just 30 passes in the 60 minutes he was on. It's not enough. Lets try Tabiner deeper or give Lunt some minutes at Rotherham please.

Jack Lankester

Did he have a good game or not? I can't decide. There were some flashes, but that was it really, flashes. The Alex will need more out of him, as I can imagine they are expecting 10-15 goals and assists this season.

Joel Tabiner

Struggled a lot in the number 10 role as he never found the space to influence things. Improved a bit once he dropped deeper, but the search to find his ideal position goes on.

Shilow Tracey

Yes, he hit the post with a decent shot and clipped the crossbar with an overhit cross. But he wasted 2-3 promising attacks by running the ball out of play or misplacing a fairly simply cross. I said in the summer he should be nowhere near the starting XI this season and after 79 frustrating minutes today, I've seen little to change my mind.

Kane Hemmings

Fed on scraps and had no sights of goal. He got suckered into giving away silly fouls on Vassell which killed momentum on several occasions and picked up a late booking.

Subs

Matus Holicek

Looked lively when he came on and his best moment came when his deep cross almost snuck in under Farman's bar. Needs to start.

Max Conway

It was always going to be difficult for the youngster to settle in so quickly, given he only joined yesterday. He showed some nice moments going forward, but also lost possession a couple of times which saw momentum break down a bit.

Ryan Cooney

Not really sure why he was the 3rd sub. Can't say he made much of an impact.

Chris Long

He only played 12 minutes, but he got stuck in. It was just a shame his through ball late on was overhit.

Overall Verdict

Yes, it's 1 game. But you can't help but feel the issues that plagued them last season have carried over into this one. Still, plenty of time to put things right and improve. I'm curious to see what changes Bell makes for Rotherham. Is that going to be an audition for some ahead of Chesterfield I wonder?