Carlisle United 1-1 Crewe Alexandra 24/25 Review - Underperformance

Not my words, the words of the manager. And he's spot on. Yes, there were reasons why the Alex struggled today that were out of their control and we'll discuss them. But there were also some concerns, concerns that go beyond those excuses and point to longer trends which have been bubbling away under the surface for a while now.

However, as a quick disclaimer, none of what I'm about to say takes away from my delight in them being 9 unbeaten. At being in 3rd and just 4 points off 1st. At the job Lee Bell is doing overall. At the overall form of most of the squad, and their health(touch wood). But, I do think some things need to be addressed, so let's start with the mitigating circumstances:

Excuses

There were excuses for today's display. They were lacking options in attack, with Bogle not being fit(liar liar pants on fire Mr Dicker) and him joining Long and Hemmings on the sideline. It left them with 2 converted wingers in Lankester and Tracey leading the line and whilst I like the idea of them as a partnership, it didn't work today. On the bench, they had just Thibaut as an out and out attacking option, which isn't a lot.

They were also playing an improved Carlisle side that had 53 hours extra rest and preparation time, which I thought would be a factor and was. For that reason, maybe we can forgive what transpired. However...

Drifting

There are concerns about some in the squad. Joel Tabiner was pretty poor today. He drifted, made more backwards passes than forwards ones I think and I've seen comparisons made to Callum Ainley. Which unfortunately don't look way off the mark at this point. He needs to show a lot, lot more. James Connolly and Lewis Billington struggled, got booked and were subbed off in the 2nd half. Their places in the starting XI for next week look in serious jeopardy.

Shilow Tracey, for as much as he's improved since moving to striker, remains frustratingly inconsistent and doesn't have the same goal threat on the road. His last assist away from home was Barrow back in January, almost 11 months ago. His last away goal came in October last year, almost 14 months ago. He needs support, but we could also do with him popping in one away from Gresty Road once in a while.

2 Problems

The 2 biggest issues the Alex had today, and they both could have been linked to the excuses listed above, were a lack of movement and their unwillingness to put in tackles. They've scored just 16 non-penalty goals and only 10 have been classed as being from open play. Their attack still feels very hit and miss, which yes can be down to a lack of strikers available, but it also feels like they don't move enough to create space, be that in midfield or upfront. They rank 20th in shots on target per match and have scored just 9 goals away from home. That needs to improve.

The other issue is their lack of tackles. Pressing is all well and good, but if you aren't trying to actively win possession back, then teams will play around you. Today they pressed well at times, but too often Carlisle were able to pick their way around it and generate attacks. Hopefully with more rest, they'll be able to improve on that aspect going into the Bradford game.

A leg up

We saw it early in the season. And we're seeing it again lately. The Alex giving the opposition quick starts has to stop. Inside a minute against Chesterfield. 2 minutes against Bromley. 3 minutes against the Vale and now 2 minutes against Carlisle. This goal stemmed from poor defending and a failure to clear the lines and yes, the goal does take a deflection on it's way in, they've got to stop giving teams leads to defend.

Battling Back

The above being said, I admire their never say die attitude and ability to once again rescue a point. The penalty was a touch fortunate as I think there is virtually no contact from Kelly on Lankester, but if you dive in like that and don't win the ball, what do you expect to happen? Credit too to Lankester for stepping up and rolling it into the corner. It was a shame they didn't have the legs or attacking options to go on and win it, but a point is better than nothing.

Referee Assessment

I can't criticise any of the big decisions, but he seemed to let a lot of Carlisle's time wasting go and gave a few soft fouls which never were. But overall, he was fine.

Management Assessment

I think starting Billington was a mistake. And so it proved. The subs I kinda understood, given the players that came off were blowing. I did not agree that the worst of the midfield 3 Tabiner stayed on though. And I don't understand why Powell isn't coming on. How can he build up his fitness to the point where he can start if he's made 1 sub appearance in the last 4 league games?

Player Assessments

Filip Marschall

No clean sheet, but once again nothing he could really do. A quiet afternoon for him where he had very little to do.

James Connolly

We're done for now I think. For all the good the scouting department have done, I don't see what they saw in him. Yes, he might come good in time like others have done, but he looks so uncomfortable on the ball, watching him is a struggle. Booked and hooked, Knight-Lebel easily replaces him next Saturday.

Mickey Demetriou

Rinse and repeat. A solid game, even if he's finding success in the attacking third hard to come by.

Zac Williams

Another quiet one, he's not playing badly, but I'd like to see a bit more from him in terms of driving runs to support Conway down the left.

Lewis Billington

Thrown in from the cold into an unfamiliar position, it went how you'd expect, with him really struggling to get up and generate attacks. His poor from into Breeze's arms when under no pressure summed his game up. He also got booked and subbed off. Cooney walks back into the team.

Matus Holicek MOTM

A real battling display from him, he's starting to show himself more and more, which is positive.

Max Sanders

Similar stuff from Max. Solid and bright in possession, but his set pieces are atrocious. Is it too much to ask to see him beat the first man?

Joel Tabiner

Really poor. Maybe there are reasons why, but if he ever wants to earn a move away from the Alex, he needs to be better on a more regular basis.

Max Conway

He's getting through games more easily, which is good, but I still find his lack of end product(yes, I know he assisted Lankester against the Vale) a touch frustrating.

Shilow Tracey

11 months since an away assist. 14 months since an away goal. He worked hard and held the ball up well at times today, but couldn't get any clear sights of goal.

Jack Lankester

Always a threat and looked the most likely to create something. Which he did, winning and scoring the penalty.

Subs:

Jamie Knight-Lebel

Nice to see him back on the pitch, he struggled a little bit but he definitely starts against Bradford.

Charlie Finney

I'm glad to see him getting an opportunity, even if it's off the bench at RWB. He put in a great cross which Tracey couldn't quite reach. For me, if Conway runs out of steam, I want to see Charlie as their first choice off the bench to replace him.

Adrien Thibaut

You can't not love the young lad and he always tries his best whenever he plays. But if we're being brutally honest, he's struggling to make much of an impact at the moment. They need their senior strikers back.

Owen Lunt

Came on and got stuck in, but didn't really affect much.

Kian Breckin

Another cameo, but with the other midfield options they have, is it worth considering ending his loan in January and using that slot on a more pressing position, like RWB or striker

Overall Verdict

Is this a good point? No. Is it a bad point? No, not really either. It's just a point. Yes, win your home games and draw your away games etc, but you can't expect to win all your home ones, so eventually you'll need to win some away ones. And over their last 6 away games, they've won once when it could and probably should have been more.

They are 4 points off top spot and I think it's time to raise the standards. Let's start asking for wins from games like this. And let's hope for a home win next week to make this point more impressive.