Crewe Alex 1-1 Bradford City 24/25 Review - Gone With The Wind

Promotions are won and lost on teams ability to perform in the colder months of the season. Anyone can look decent when the pitches are decent and the weather is warm. But between November and February is what separates teams in my opinion. And if today is any indication of how the Alex are liable to perform in the coming weeks and months, then they have a long way to go to prove they belong amongst the top dogs in L2. If they can't start turning these draws into wins, then their top 3 hopes will blow away in the wind, much like we all almost did inside Gresty Road today. Let's break down the game:

Conditions

We said before the game that the conditions would be a leveller. And perhaps they were. But honestly, I felt Bradford worked the wind far better than the Alex did. They knew when to chuck it long and when to pass it around. The Alex didn't capitalise on kicking into the wind in the first half at all and in truth, Bradford could and should have been 1-0 up at half time. Only a fine Marschall save and the crossbar prevented that. They never looked comfortable in possession and off the ball, they got pulled open several times by the Bantams quick passing. Yes, the wind. But the Alex seemed far more affected by it than Bradford did today.

A Medical Issue

I know it was windy out there, but I think some of the Bradford players need to get checked out for medical conditions, as they kept falling to the floor. The ref gave every single 50-50 decision Bradford's way after being fooled by their constant diving. Look, I know the Alex can shithouse results with the best of them and they aren't averse to falling to the floor themselves on occasion, but what we saw from Bradford today was utterly hilarious.

Jack Shepherd was diver in chief, but their antics after Pattison's red card were a disgrace, trying to get an Alex player sent off in retaliation. No wonder Bradford fans want to see the back of Graham Alexander. I would on today's evidence.

The Ref

And let's talk about the ref. He deserves his own section, given how big of a factor he was in this game. I'd put him into the top 10 of all time worst refereeing displays I've seen in an Alex game. Some of the things he called as fouls were hilarious. The red he got spot on, but he spent the rest of the game trying to level things up. He was desperate to improve on his 5.6 yellows per game coming into this and he managed that with 8 today. Disgrace.

10 men

45 minutes against Port Vale. 30 minutes today. The Alex have struggled against 10 men recently. Yes, when that happens teams clam up, they raise their energy levels and dig in. But even so, the Alex didn't make the most of their extra man at any stage today. They couldn't build attacks or sustain pressure. They didn't work it around to tire out what should have already been an exhausted Bradford team. This was another big opportunity missed.

Unbeaten

However much I'll criticise the performance, there are positives. At least they avoided defeat. This draw takes them to 10 unbeaten, their longest run since 2020-21. A Bogle goal. A Lankester assist. Another pretty solid defensive performance. It wasn't a good performance, but they are thankfully avoiding defeats on their off days. And double thankfully, they won't play in conditions that poor all season, touch wood.

Ref Assessment

I've said all I need to say above. Horrendous.

Management Assessment

I didn't agree with starting Connolly or Tabiner, nor did I agree with dropping Holicek or starting all 3 of Bogle, Lankester and Tracey. I didn't understand switching to 4-3-3 when Conway came off, nor bringing on Finney on the left wing and leaving Williams at LB. The tactics confused me as well. Not their finest days to be honest.

Player Assessments

Filip Marschall

Not sure how much he could do about the goal, although I'm sure he'll be disappointed to be beaten by a ball going through his feet. Did make a good save from Pointon and didn't make any mistakes in the wind, which I'll take.

James Connolly

He didn't make any mistakes and tried his best to get on the ball and drive the team forward once Bradford went down to 10. Still prefer Knight-Lebel.

Mickey Demetriou

Struggled a bit at times, not his finest game but also not terrible either.

Zac Williams

I want to see more from him. He needs to join attacks more often and support an increasingly isolated looking Conway. Just sort of there at the moment. Beaten too easily for the cross for the Bradford equaliser.

Ryan Cooney

He's faded a lot since his strong November. He's been solid defensively, but he needs to show some more going forward, as he's not been a factor for a while now. Although he did create the goal with the cross into Lankester I suppose.

Max Sanders

He was fine, but nothing more than that. His effort in the 1st half sums up his struggles in the attacking third. Again, we need to see more.

Joel Tabiner

Badly out of sorts. 26 touches in 88 minutes of football. It's not enough. He shouldn't have started today and he shouldn't start against Grimsby.

Max Conway

Took an early knock which seemed to affect him, although I didn't see anything to suggest he needed to come off. Hopefully his HT withdrawal was just a precaution.

Jack Lankester MOTM

He's the only one who looks like creating anything at the moment. He was lively all game and his assist for Bogle was fortunate, but a sign that he's the best attacking player they currently have.

Omar Bogle

Not a great game from the big man, he struggled to hold the ball up or link up with Lankester and Tracey. His goal did salvage what had been a not so memorable performance.

Shilow Tracey

I don't mind him struggling in these conditions, what I do mind is him picking up an utterly stupid 5th yellow card, which now takes him out of the Grimsby game. Hopefully the break does him some good, as he's looked jaded in the last few outings.

Subs:

Matus Holicek

He had 4 fewer touches in 45 minutes than Tabiner had in 88. Which says a lot about both players. He didn't deserve to be on the bench and whilst he didn't have a great impact, he still did enough to warrant coming back into the team next week.

Jack Powell

It was nice to see him back in the team at home after 14 months out. Would it be possible to see him in a game where the opposition aren't down to 10 men?

Charlie Finney

I'm glad to see him come on, but why at LW exactly? Or was he at LWB? If Conway can't play against Grimsby, I'd like to see Charlie start there.

Adrien Thibaut

Didn't have much chance to get involved as a late sub.

Overall Verdict

10 unbeaten home and away, 8 unbeaten at home. All good stuff. But 4 draws from 5 is an issue and they need to get back on the winning trial. The midweek game with Wrexham doesn't help, but perhaps it gives a chance for the fringe players to stake a claim for a starting/squad spot at Blundell Park.