Crewe Alex 0-3 Forest Green Rovers 23/24 Review - Fools Day

I'm not going to really go into minute by minute detail of that game. It doesn't deserve it. What I am going to do is detail what exactly is going wrong right now with this team. Because that performance took us back to the dark days of 15-16 and 21-22. Truly pathetic. Spineless. Gutless. You name it, this game was that. And there are many reasons why it happened, so many factors that lead to this. These are my issues on the whole, not just from this one game:

Style of play

I'm asking people to think back throughout the season and identify the truly decent performances from this team, especially at home. I mean the ones that live long in the memory for the football, the goals and the result. I'll name mine: MK Dons(H), FGR(A)(ironic), Wrexham, Crawley(A), Mansfield(A), Barrow(A), Stockport(A) and Notts County(H). That's it. The rest of the results for me have been workmanlike, where they've either won or drawn thanks to hard work and a scrappy determination, not through having lots of quality or through good play. Look closely and you'll struggle to see many home games in that lot.

Thing I'm exaggerating? Look at the stats. 12th in xG, 9th in possession, 18th in shots on target per game, 11th in accurate passes per 90, 19th in touches in the opposition penalty area. There aren't many categories which back up the Alex being a top 7 calibre team. I'm not saying where they are is a fluke, but I am saying that to a neutral, how the Alex are where they are must be a total myth. Because outside of a pretty decent September, January and February, it's been functional, but nothing more.

This is a team that has won on moments, set pieces, togetherness and team spirit. Not quality football.

Injuries

Yes, it's an excuse, but I will give the whole team a break for the metric ton of injuries they've had. What's incredible though is it's been mostly confined to their midfield. Thomas has had constant issues which have limited his game time. Colkett, yeah, lol. Powell does his ACL despite being an ever present for 3 years previously at Crawley, Tabiner having constant injuries from October onwards, Offord moved into midfield, injured after half a dozen games. Lunt missing since October. Holicek missing 4 months with a groin issue. White being recalled just as he was hitting peak form.

For a team who lives and dies on it's midfield, they have struggled since October to find any consistency or quality to their play through the middle and that lack of quality is now starting to bite them in the ass. Does this game happen with a fit Powell and Tabiner in there? No, I don't think it does. That should give any fan hope for next season. But right now, its grim.

Botched selections

By far, and I mean by far, the biggest issue at the moment, is the management. They have been horrendous in the last month. But anyone who thinks this started after an hour against Morecambe have selective memories. This was the 10th time they've fallen behind 2-0 in a game. A quarter of the games! A promotion chaser doesn't do that. And how many of those games were down to the fact the management got the starting XI wrong? Most of them is your answer.

Heck, even in some of the wins it's been an issue at times. Against FGR back in September, it was an issue. Against Tranmere(H), Gillingham(H), Notts County(H) and Doncaster(H), there were various issues.

They've never settled on a formation. They've never settled on a starting XI, although that is largely down to injuries. They have massively overachieved this season to get where they are. Massively. But as time goes by and Bell keeps making the same mistakes and doesn't seem to be really learning or growing as a manager, it makes me concerned long term. I said it during the game and I'll say it again now: The Alex are 6th in spite of him. Not because of him. That's harsh and it might well blow up in my face come the end of the season.

I thought he was a jobs for the boys appointment when he got the position back in 2022. He proved me wrong then and has done at various points this season. Well, he needs to prove me wrong again now.

Signings

When you lose like this to the worst team in the EFL, everything is up for discussion. And you can look at some of their signings, which haven't aged well at all. Harvey Davies, Ryan Cooney, Shilow Tracey and Aaron Rowe have not been good enough. 3 of 7 summer signings being decent in White, Demetriou and Powell is a so-so record. In January, they got it mostly right with Ed Turns and Josh Austerfield, but did signing 2 more defensive minded midfields in him and Lewis Leigh make sense when they had no fit attacking mids?

Why did they think signing Kirk would be a good idea given how lacking in fitness he was? Why did they keep Rowe, who'd been very average up until that point, when an upgrade probably would have made more sense?

Why not sign another striker? They knew the fitness issues with Long and CBR. Ok, CBR's shoulder injury was a freak occurrence, but still, they were very light in that area anyway. They had Sambou, Long, CBR, Nevitt and Agyei who could play there last season. Ok, Sambou was shite, but still, numbers. Sambou went, Agyei went, Long was always going to be unreliable fitness wise. 2 strikers is not enough and it was never going to be enough.

The holes in this team that they were able to patch over for most of the season have become gaping wounds now. RB, RCB, CM, Winger, Striker. There are some massive holes to fill this summer, regardless of what league they will be in. And as their signing record starts to age like milk, I'm not fully confident they know how to rebuild the team.

Still

All that ranting aside, the stupid thing is, the team are still in a great position. It doesn't feel like it, but they are. This result will leave a sour taste in the mouth long beyond the conclusion of the season. They are 6 points ahead of 8th with a massively superior goal difference. The games are ticking away. They still potentially only need 4-6 points to reach the play-offs.

A win against Accrington next week, which admittedly looks a million miles away, and things start to look up. I still think they make the play-offs. Whether they do anything in them is up to them over the next few weeks and 5 games.

Ref Watch - 4

A poor game from the supposedly Championship referee, but he was poor for both sides. He needed help from his assistants on some of the handball shouts and with Kirk's effort which seemed to have clearly gone over the line. He wasn't the reason they lost, but had he made some of the big calls, things could have been different.

Management Rating - 0

I won't haul them over the coals for their selections and subs, but they have backfired spectacularly. A 2 man midfield saw them get swamped yet again, as so often happens when they only name 2 in there and not 3. Playing a brand new system with barely any time to bed it in, again. The sub of Leigh for Austerfield had no logic. The hole in midfield was gaping. So of course they take off one CM for another. Make it make sense.

Throwing in Chris Long when he's barely back from injury, only to see him pull up and come off. Ridiculous. Bell has got a lot of goodwill built up, right up till around the end of February. But if they bottle this chance at a play-off spot, it'll be on them and them alone.

What we are seeing is managerial incompetence on a scale not seen since the end of Davis and Artell's spells in charge. It's that bad.

Player Ratings

Tom Booth - 5

Perhaps could have done better with the second goal, but he was helpless on the 1st and 3rd. He was one of a few who could hold his head up high and absolve himself of blame.

Lewis Billington - 4

I'm not sure he gets much blame either, but he wasn't good. I'm happy to see him back and he didn't disgrace himself. But when you lose like that, nobody gets a good score.

Ed Turns - 0

Horrendous mistake for the first just set the tone. Wonder how serious that injury he got was. I won't suggest he faked it because his confidence went and he didn't fancy it....

Mickey Demetriou - 3

Age and the pace of the season is starting to catch up with him I'd say. Just looks to be running on empty. It's forgivable given his efforts this season, but he looks knackered and in desperate need of a breather. I don't think he's going to get one.

Rio Adebisi - 4

Woeful afternoon from Rio. Defensively all over the place trying to stop them down the left, his attacking play was poor as well.

Shilow Tracey - 0

I'm tired of watching him. He's poor. Really poor. I know good wingers don't grow on trees, but he's been nowhere near good enough most of the season. Such a poor signing.

Josh Austerfield - 0

Horrendous. How he kept his place over Lewis Leigh is baffling. Just nowhere near it and rightfully got hooked off after 30 minutes.

Matus Holicek - 5 MOTM

Probably the only other player aside from Booth who can say he did his best. Looked lively in midfield and made some nice runs and turns. They need to build around him, Powell and Tabiner next season.

Charlie Kirk - 0

Yeah yeah, a good 2nd half. Don't care, he went missing in the first half and he continues to stroll around the pitch looking half arsed, a stranger in the team, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. I've been onboard with trying to bring him back next season, but I'm starting to waver on that now to the point where I wouldn't be bothered if he left.

Chris Long - 0

Never should have started, but giving him the armband is a doozy. He's your leader? Him? Mr Selfish himself. A guy who hasn't started 30 games for the club in 3 seasons. A guy who refused to get vaccinated, which meant him missing multiple games in 20-21. A guy who shoots on sight rather than giving it to his team mates. A guy who screams whenever his colleagues do something wrong. He's your leader. Jesus, the problems at this club run deeper than we thought if he's considered leadership material.

I genuinely wouldn't be bothered if his injury kept him out for the rest of the season. He's of no benefit to this group right now.

Elliott Nevitt - 0

Missed a great chance to score, then spent the rest of the game trying to get himself sent off after getting into silly confrontations with the FGR defenders. He's the only fit striker they have, give your head a wobble and realise there are 5 games to come after this. A 3 game suspension would be the final nail in the coffin at this point.

Subs:

Ryan Cooney - 5

Hard to judge him as FGR has dropped off after he came on. Was fine I suppose. Nothing more to say really.

Lewis Leigh - 5

Was bright, but again, was swamped by FGRs 3 man midfield. Did his best to make things happen.

Aaron Rowe - 0

Woeful. Yet again, shooting from all angles. Just cancel the loan please, I'm sick of seeing shoot on sight wingers without a brain cell in their heads.

Zac Williams - N/A

Came on, got down the left, had a few blocked crosses. That was about it really.

Overall Verdict

Bad. Sometimes bad almost does more to sum up a game than any more fancy synonym does. But that was bad, as bad as some of the low lows we've seen in recent years. But, there is a game next Saturday to put it right in. And 4 more after that. There is time to make this game a small footnote in what can be an otherwise good season. They could still get promoted, bizarrely. Win at Accrington and things feel a lot better. How they do that though is where the concern lies.