Crewe Alexandra 23/24 Monthly Review - March

The end of the season is fast approaching. It feels like that opening day game against Mansfield only happened a few weeks ago, but no, 40 games have come and gone and we're into the final 6. Obviously the Alex hope they have 3 more to play in May, but they'll only get those games if they finish strong in April. Still, this is looking back at March. So let's get into it.

Looking Back

It's been a tough month for the Alex. It was looking well for the first 65 minutes of their game against Morecambe as they were 2-0 up and they seemed comfortable. But they took their foot off the gas, made some sloppy mistakes and that combined with the management going into led preservation saw them throw it away to lose 3-2.

They then suffered only their 2nd back to back defeat of the season when they went down in a limp fashion at Doncaster, losing 2-0 and honestly looking like a shell of the side that went unbeaten in February.

Their home game with Sutton offered a chance to bounce back and they did, just. They managed to scrape a 1-0 win but made hard work of it, struggling to create chances and just looking generally nervous in everything they did. But still, a win was a win.

Any hope that they would build on that in a tough 6 pointer against MK Dons went out of the window as the Dons blew the Alex away with a opening 30 minute blitz in which they ran the away side off the park. They scored 3 goals, could have had more and the only consolation was a short lived Nevitt equaliser. The Alex improved in the 2nd half, but that was only after MK went into neutral and protected their advantage.

After playing the fake Dons, the Alex then hosted the real Dons, as Wimbledon came to town. In what was another scrappy, low quality affair, the Dons grabbed an early lead before a Rio Adebisi bullet made things level. Neither side had the quality to find that all important winner both teams had to settle for a point.

To finish off the month, they travelled to Gillingham, where they played out a dull and dour 0-0 draw which did little for both teams promotion ambitions. It left with them with a 1-2-3 record from 6 games in the month, not a great total.

U21s

There were slightly better fortunes for the U21s. Whilst they did lose a couple of league games 2-0 to Sheffield Wednesday and 4-2 to Burnley, they were able to get a long overdue win against Peterborough, coming out 4-3 winners.

There was also good news in the Cheshire Senior Cup, as they progressed to the final after a late come from behind win over Congleton, with Jack Parry and an OG helping them to victory. They will now face Hyde United in the final at Witton's ground for a chance to lift this trophy for the 2nd time in 6 years.

U18s

The U18s had a mixed month. 2 defeats against Hull and Sheffield Wednesday were disappointing after a horrible February, but they did bounce back somewhat with a 5-2 win down at Bournemouth

Injuries

It was thankfully not a terrible month for injuries. They already knew they had lost Powell, Lunt and Offord to long term injuries that would end their seasons, but they thankfully avoided more serious damage with Chris Long and Matus Holicek, who both returned to the squad. It was further good news when they found out they will likely get CBR and Tabiner back from their respective issues before the season ends, after losing both in March.

Player	Injury	Possible Return Date?
Jack Powell(CM)	ACL	July-August 2024
Owen Lunt(CM)	Back	Summer 2024
Luke Offord(CM/CB)	Ankle Ligaments	Summer 2024
Zak Kempster-Down(CB)	Groin	???
Courtney Baker-Richardson(ST)	Shoulder	Mid-Late April 2024
Joel Tabiner(CM)	Thigh	Mid-April 2024

Loans

Another quiet month for the loaness. Youngsters Jack Parry and Joel Vincent finished their short term spells, Max Woodcock was recalled from FC United of Manchester to make the squad for 1 game, whilst Zak Kempster-Down saw another loan cut short early, this time due to a groin injury.

Dave Richards, Billy Sass-Davies and Charlie Colkett saw their situations unchanged, as Colkett remains on the bench at struggling Notts County, Richards is the same at St Johnstone and Billy Sass-Davies is enduring a tough season at Boreham Wood, who currently sit in the relegation zone of the National League Premier Division.

Player of the Month

Tom Booth

It's hard to pick a winner to be honest, as I think most players have had pretty average months form wise. But for me the standout was Booth. He didn't start the Morecambe game, but stepped back in the following week. He went on to put in some very solid performances, grabbing 2 clean sheets and not really being to blame for 5 of the 6 goals he conceded in the month, with the exception of the 1st against MK Dons.

Previous choice:

August: Mickey Demetriou

September: Chris Long

October: Mickey Demetriou

November: Connor O’Riordan

December: Elliott Nevitt

January: Luke Offord

February: Ed Turns

Step It Up

Charlie Kirk

I could have given this to any number of different players. The easy choice though is Kirk. He's trying way too hard to be the match winner and he doesn't need to. He looks like he's carrying a massive weight of expectation on his shoulders and it's dragging him down. He needs to relax and try and fit into the team more.

Previous choice:

August: Harvey Davies

September: Jack Powell

October: Chris Long

November: Shilow Tracey

December: Courtney Baker-Richardson

January: Chris Long

February: Aaron Rowe

Underrated Player

Conor Thomas

My picks this season for this feel cursed. Tabiner, Williams, CBR and Offord, all suffered long term injuries. Billington dropped, Davies dropped. I'm almost scared to jinx someone else. But, my choice is going to be Thomas, who whilst others have been putting in hot and cold displays, has been giving the Alex mostly consistent performances in midfield.

Previous choice:

August: Joel Tabiner

September: Rio Adebisi

October: Zac Williams

November: Courtney Baker-Richardson

December: Luke Offord

January: Lewis Billington

February: Harvey Davies

Analysis

Where to start? The defence is looking shaky at times, although they did manage 2 clean sheets. The midfield is disjointed, with only Thomas in any sort of good form. The attack is missing players and also out of form, Nevitt aside. There just isn't a lot about the Alex which is functioning correctly right now.

By far the biggest issue is the management decisions though. Every week there are questionable decisions being made that keep backfiring on them, or just not working. The subs against Morecambe, the dropping of Billington, the insistence on playing the 4-2-3-1 despite not having a proper number 10, the bizarre 3 at the back at MK Dons, the lack of subs against Wimbledon. I think the management are feeling the pressure more than the players right now and it's leading to some shaky decision making processes.

Looking Ahead

After a tricky March, they have a very favourable April. And I mean favourable. They play 3 of the current bottom four and 2 sides who are in the mid-table zone. Only Wrexham are a genuine promotion contender. If they can't find the points needed against those sorts of opponents, then they don't deserve to in the top 7.

Optimistic Prediction: 3-2-1(Beat FGR, Accrington and Grimsby, draw with Morecambe and Colchester, lose to Wrexham)

Pessimistic Prediction: 2-1-3(Beat FGR and Grimsby, draw with Accrington/Morecambe, lose to Wrexham, Colchester and Accrington/Morecambe)

My prediction: 2-2-2(Beat FGR and Grimsby, draw with Accrington and Morecambe, lost to Wrexham and Colchester)

This couldn't have worked out any better for them if they tried. Yes, the teams at the bottom are scrapping for every point in a desperate bid to stay up. But Grimsby could be home and hosed by the final day and Colchester as well potentially. Accrington are mid-table and Morecambe might be there if they fail to close the gap on 7th. Wrexham aren't great away from home. There isn't a game in this final 6 they shouldn't be targeting points from.

Final Word

The Alex have performed so well to reach this point. They've fought through illness, injuries, weather, set backs, bad refs, bad pitches, everything. They are where they are now on merit. But it doesn't matter what they did in the first 40 games, it only matters what they do in the final 6. Because if they choke this opportunity, they might not get another one again for a long time.

I don't care about what they do in the play-offs. They just need to make sure they reach them first. Everything after that is gravy. Get the points you need, get some players fit and give yourself the best chance of reaching League One. No excuses, get it done.