Crewe Alex 1-2 Stoke City - 5 Thoughts

So, the Alex lost their 100% pre-season record, as they fell to a 1 goal defeat against Stoke for the third time in 5 years, after their 3-2 and 2-1 losses in 21-22 and 24-25 respectively. It was another entertaining game played at a good tempo and with plenty of chances. Here are some thoughts I had on the game:

Defensive Issues

There was a gulf in quality in the 1st half. Stoke's mostly first team caused the Alex a lot of issues with their movement and speed of play. But the goals the Alex conceded were entirely avoidable and not thanks to sharp movement or extra quality. The first was from a corner where Bosul Lawal stole a yard on his man and was able to slot home from 10 yards out. How he had that much space and how there was nobody in place to block it will be something to look at.

And the 2nd came from the Alex not getting out to stop a cross, something they found tricky to do on both sides. In came the cross and it went straight in, missing everybody and fooling Booth. Of course, this isn't a major worry, as the Alex won't be coming up against crossing of that quality every week in L2. But give opponents as much time and space as they did tonight and eventually, they will be punished.

Early Changes

It was a little surprising to see Stoke make wholesale changes so early, after just 45 minutes. I suppose I get it, as they will be looking to make the 2 home games against Wolves and Burnley more like league games. But what the changes did do was make it a more even game. It allowed the Alex to come back into it and create some excellent chances.

They had enough to have drawn the game, as Josh March hit the bar when it was easier to score. Callum Agius put one narrowly over, Connolly headed wide in a good position, Sanders tested the keeper from a free kick and they probably should have had another penalty. Granted Stoke had a few chances of their own and also hit the bar, but the changes did make it more interesting as a contest.

Penalties

A real positive was that the Alex earned and scored yet another penalty, their 4th in 6 games. As we all know, penalties earned in friendlies carry over in frequency into the league, so I look forward to the 30-31 spot kicks they are about to receive over the course of the 46 game season. That's half their goals taken care of.

In all seriousness, this was another self earned one, as more hard work forced a mistake in the Stoke defence. I know they won't seriously earn 30 penalties this season, but if they continue to be busy around the penalty area, they will force L2 defences into errors. If they can get even 9-10 penalties, this will help alleviate what looks to be their weakest area: the attack.

"2 Tomorrow"

The point about depth has been done to death, but it does sound positive that the Lee Bell specifically stated he expected 2 players to arrive in the coming days. I wonder is one of them is the long rumoured Emre Tezgel, who you'd imagine Stoke kept around for depth purposes to play this game and now might be willing to sanction a loan move. Is the other winger Dion Rankine? Or maybe Sunderland full back Jenson Jones, who was linked through a Sunderland fan page on Twitter/X a few days ago?

Stand Outs and So-Sos

With 6 of the 7 games now in the bank, it's time to start thinking about who's impressed this pre-season and who's blended in to a certain exten. Bare in mind, this doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, it's just some observations.

Well, one of the standouts has been Josh March of course. A goal in every pre-season game so far will do that. Lewis Billington is carrying himself with more confidence going forward and he's looked far better going forward. James Connolly also looks more assured. Tom Booth, the 2nd goal in this game aside, has earned himself the starting spot for the Salford game. Reece Hutchinson has looked like a decent addition at LB in the 3 games we've seen so far as well. And finally, Phil Croker, Olly Armstrong and Luca Moore have impressed out of the younger players in the squad.

Then we have the so-so players, who've done well at times and not so well at others. The midfield 3 of Lunt, Sanders and Thomas have been ok. They've looked like a cohesive unit who know how to play together well at times, but then there have been moments where they look a bit confused. It's still hard to see where the goals/creativity are coming from with these 3.

O'Reilly, in only a couple of games admittedly, has shown flashes of talent and ability, but RW doesn't look to be his spot. Agius has drifted in and out of games, which is fine, but him finding those pockets of space to get crosses/shots away will be important. Charlie Finney has looked fairly average at LB and now looks firmly to be 2nd choice, given he's being used as an emergency RW at the moment.

Jack Powell, who has done alright for the most part, looks set to start the season on the bench also, as he seems like the 4th choice midfielder at the moment. That's even assuming they stick with a 3 man midfield as well. What value will he provide from that spot?

Fin Roberts unfortunately hasn't done an awful lot to advance his cause as he enters his 2nd year with the squad. He's been fairly anonymous in the games this summer and I think he looks likely be pushed out of the squad fairly quickly once Holicek and Lankester return and once the new attacking faces join. Which is a shame.

There are definitely a few question marks to be had over various spots and players as they head into the final friendly of the pre-season.