Barrow v Crewe Alex 24-25 Preview - Off we Go

Off we go again. The Alex are back for another campaign as they aim to go one step further than they managed last season, where they came up short at Wembley. So, their hopeful run to the promotion spots starts with a trip north to play Barrow, a side that themselves came up painfully short last season. What awaits the Alex on their opening day trip? Here is my preview:

Wild out, Clemence in

The Alex will have to deal with the fact that Pete Wild is out as Barrow manager and Stephen Clemence is in. At this stage it feels like a big downgrade on what they had, given Wild's turnaround of the side and Clemence's underwhelming stint with Gillingham. Gone too are some of the players that terrorised the Alex last season. Ben Whitfield, George Ray and James Chester have found new homes and it'll be interesting to see what sort of style and impact Clemence has on his new team. Can he have the same impact Wild did?

On the Road

The Alex are in an unusual position in that they are opening the season on the road. In the last 20 seasons, they've only been on the road in game one 4 times. The last 2 times they opened on the road, they managed wins over Stevenage and Rochdale. The Alex's record on the opening day, as I so often cite, is poor. So fingers crossed that trend of winning in game 1 away from home continues into a 3rd game.

Hangover

The biggest thing I'm hoping to see in this one is there being no signs of a hangover from last seasons collapse and no-show at Wembley. There shouldn't be, with 9 of the 18 from the Wembley squad now gone and a host of new faces brought in. Hopefully that fresh feel to the squad means any lingering memories of that disappointing day won't be stuck in their heads.

And to be fair, Barrow themselves are dealing with late season heartbreak, as they missed out on a play-off spot on the final day and they saw Crawley not only pip them to the final spot, but get promoted as well. They too will be looking to shake off a poor end of season run which saw them manage just 6 wins from their final 23 games, including no wins in their last 7.

Neither side will be taking any form or momentum from last season into this one.

Good Start

The more you look at the Alex's opening 8 games of the season, the more you come to think they are pretty favourable for them. Aside from Chesterfield, none of their opponents in the opening 2 months of the season are expected to challenge for a promotion spot.

Now, I'm sure 1 or 2 of those teams will surprise and push for the top 7 as always happens, but their first 8 games look to be full of potential wins, starting with this one. Getting off to a good start is vital not just to build confidence, but to erase last seasons end of season struggles. If they can rack up some early

Ref Watch

Martin Coy

For the new season, the Alex have been given a familiar face in Coy. He's been a regular at Alex games, but usually ends up being assigned to fixtures at Gresty Road, so this will be a rare away Alex game for him. He's been good to them, as he took charge of Doncaster and Crawley at home last season, both of them wins.

2024/25 Record: N/A

Last Game: Grimsby Town 2-0 Swindon Town, EFL League Two, 20th April 2024, 1 yellow

Crewe Alex Record: 7-1-2, 12 yellows

Injuries/Absences

Barrow

It's hard to know who exactly will be missing for the home side, but defenders Mazeed Ogungbo and Niall Canavan both missed their friendly with Wigan last Saturday, so they'll have a couple of question marks fitness wise. The fact that they signed Chris Stokes on a 5 month deal says a lot about the current state of their defence I'd say, but they won't be down many key players it seems.

Crewe Alex

The Alex will be far from full strength for this one. We know about the absences of Powell and Robinson, but it's the status of Booth, Finney, Thomas, Long and Bogle that remain of concern. The suggestion that some if not all of them might be available, but Bell could opt on the side of caution and not include them in his squad.

Having even a couple of those players available will be a massive boost, although given their lack(or total absence) of pre-season friendly minutes, I doubt they'll play more than 10-20 even if they make the bench.

Team

Picking the team for the opening day is always tricky as you're never sure what stock to put in pre-season performances or tactics/formations etc. However, injuries are going to make this an easier exercise than normal. Assuming Tom Booth misses out in goal, I'm going with Filip Marschall in goal.

In defence, with the absence of Charlie Finney, Zac Williams starts uncontested at LB. I don't think Ryan Cooney(form) or James Connolly(time at the club) will push out Lewis Billington or Jamie Knight-Lebel at RB and CB respectively and of course Mickey starts at LCB.

In midfield, with Jack Powell a way off a return and Conor Thomas probably not being match fit means Joel Tabiner likely starts alongside Max Sanders, with Matus Holicek likely playing in the number 10 role. With Chris Long and Fin Roberts not likely to start, Jack Lankester and Shilow Tracey will begin on the wings. And finally upfront, even if Bogle makes the squad he won't start either, so Kane Hemmings will lead the line.

A bench of Cooney, Connolly, Agius, Roberts and Holicek, with hopefully the likes of Long and Bogle to hopefully make it in time, isn't a bad bench either.

Score Prediction

You always want to get off to a good start in your opening game. However, on paper they are facing a tough trip to a side that finished just outside the play-offs and have a good home record. Add in the Alex's poor opening day record and the likely absences of several difference makers and I'm very much in "take a point" territory at this point.

Barrow 1-1 Crewe Alex