Crewe Alex 0-1 Bromley 25-26 Review - Wrong!

I'm not going to waste time on pre-amble, because I am absolutely furious. Furious at a gutless, incompetent manager who doesn't have the cojones to set up positively AT HOME, against BROMLEY. It's embarrassing it's shameful and Bell is lucky the Alex's board aren't a reactive one, because this sort of game is what gets managers the sack.

And I'm furious at professional footballers who can't do their job on a consistent basis. I don't care that they are division four players, there is no excuse for some of the idiotic decisions that they made today. They should all be ashamed of themselves. This is my review of today's pathetic shambles of a match:

Bright Start

Yes, some will point to the bright start they made. And that shouldn't be ignored. Lankester should have scored when he cut back and had the whole goal to aim at, but he doesn't have a right foot. Thomas couldn't get a better connection on a lovely ball over the top. Lankester then missed a sitter which it looked easier to score. Had they gone 1-0 up in that first 15 minutes, as they should have done, maybe it's a different game. But they didn't, so it's a moot point.

System

The 3 at the back system. Bell said at the fans forum that they would play a 3 at the back at some point. But why at home against a side that was mid-table and had won 1 away game all season? Why play a system that they hadn't used extensively in a game or even tried in pre-season? This was an experiment and you don't do that after back to back wins and when you're playing at home.

Let's get into the reasons why it didn't work. Well, the CBs aren't very good for a start. Connolly is a catastrophe, he was dropped for a reason. Asking him to play LCB when he has no left foot is ridiculous. Whenever either him or Golding got the ball, they were looking for the forward pass. Their only options were wing backs 40 yards up the pitch, 2 CMs who were crowded out in midfield or 2 number 10s who didn't move enough to open up pockets of space. So they had to launch it long to Josh March, who lacks an inch or 5 in height compared to the Bromley defenders. And then, on the occasions he did win his duels, the number 10s were nowhere near him.

At the back, the system was a confused disjointed mess, with the back 3 not knowing whether to stay or go on too many occasions. It was that breakdown in communication that led to Cheek scoring.

Intent

But the biggest gripe I have with the system is in it's intent. Does he go to 3 at the back against Notts County or Harrogate? No, because he backed his players to play 4-2-3-1 and win those games. Which they did. What message does it send out to his players when he drops an attacker and brings in a CB? At home? Against a mid-table side? It says he's afraid of them. Afraid of their height and set piece threat.

He's saying that he doesn't trust a CB pairing of Golding and Demetriou, with Thomas and Billington, to pack enough height to stop Bromley. He will justify this by trying to point out where he hoped to hurt Bromley and why it made sense. But it only made sense in his mind. And it didn't work, because they lost the game.

Holes

Another thing this defeat did do is highlight the sheer number of holes in the squad. They don't have the CBs to play a back 3. This was evident even before the summer started and yet they went and only recruited one, another inexperienced youngster. 12 months ago, they signed 2 in Jamie Knight-Lebel and James Connolly, and that was to go alongside Mickey Demetriou and Zac Williams. So how is it now that they have just 3 in Demetriou, Golding and Connolly? It's yet more bizarre squad building and it doesn't stop at the back either.

Upfront, I have serious questions about why they recruited both Emre Tezgel and Louis Moult. They've been successful using Josh March to win headers and run into the channels. But if his injury is as bad as it looks, they now have nobody else capable of doing his job and that is a big issue. Again, you can't build a squad to play a certain way yet 1 injury likely means you have to rip up your style and start over.

This defeat could have longer lasting ramifications than just the lost 3 points.

Ref Rating

Abysmal. Bought all of Bromley's timewasting and cheap free kick tactics. Should he have sent off Thompson for the high foot on Demetriou? And was it a penalty in the 2nd half, as Lankester felt so strongly it should have been?

But the worst of all was his failure to understand the back pass and "player doesn't have to leave if an injury was the result of a foul" rules. Clueless.

Management Assessment

Clueless. And what's worse, it was totally unnecessary. This wasn't forced on them after a bad run of form or because of injuries. They got it badly, badly wrong and there is just no excuse for it anymore. Not after almost 3 years in charge.

Player Assessments

Tom Booth

A couple of simple saves and punches, I don't understand why the fans lambast him for not getting the ball out quicker when there are usually no options up the pitch.

James Golding

After 2 solid games in a back 4, he looked clueless in a back 3. His passing was dire, he made big mistakes and was rightfully hooked late on. It was his lazy defending which played Cheek on for the winner.

Mickey Demetriou

Once again back to trying to do the jobs of 3 players as his colleagues weren't up to it. He took several nasty whacks and probably shouldn't have stayed on the pitch. One of a few who can hold their heads up high.

James Connolly

Not a L2 defender. Probably not a NL defender either. He's not good enough and we have plenty of evidence to support that claim. Should be his last start and appearance in a Crewe league game for a long, long time.

Lewis Billington

I like him as a defender, but again, a wing back he is not. On a hiding to nothing playing him there. He starts at CB alongside Demetriou next week, because I don't want to see Golding and Connolly.

Max Sanders

Completed plenty of passes, but created nothing. And some of his no look first time attempts were easily picked off. A disappointing game after he did so well against Harrogate.

Conor Thomas

Not a bad performance, but he should have got a better connection on the ball over the top in the first half.

Reece Hutchinson

Lively in the first 15-20 minutes, but once Bromley adapted, he faded and couldn't influence things.

Tommi O'Reilly

A passenger and March's injury was probably the only reason he stayed on as long as he did. He's a passenger at the moment and he desperately needs a break out of the starting XI.

Jack Lankester

A bright opening 15 as with most of them, but as the performance fell off, so did he. Probably shouldn't have played 80 minutes, but on another day he bags 2, so I'm content with what he provided.

Josh March

A nightmare. A tweak if 2-4 weeks, a strain is 6-8 weeks, a tear is far longer. He's not going to be around for a while, that's for sure.

Subs:

Emre Tezgel

A bit more lively, but still struggled to find any space to get a shot.

Owen Lunt

A mixed bag where had a couple of nice runs and moments, but then made some silly mistakes which derailed the attacking momentum.

Louis Moult

The thought of him running the line in the coming weeks doesn't fill me with much confidence. Another meh cameo, he'll get more game now that's for sure.

Dion Rankine

Unfortunate not to get on the end of a ball across the box, but he looked lively and I'd like to know why it's taken until now for him to get a home appearance.

Jay Mingi

Also looked lively. Not getting carried away, but let's see him at RB please.

Overall Verdict

A disaster. Yes, it's just 1 defeat, but it's the latest in a series of worrying trends that have in truth been going on for Bell's entire tenure. Trends which aren't getting better or being learnt from. And now they have to face a fired up and in form MK Dons. Yikes.