Crewe Alex 2025-26 End of Season Grades

I have a lot of stuff coming out once the season is officially over and done with next week. A 3 part season review, revisiting my end of season Alex predictions, the analysis of the Alex releasing their retained list. There is a lot. But I also want to look at my end of season grades for each Alex player, so I'm releasing that now so as not to get it lost in the middle of all the other things coming out. Yes, it only covers 45 games, but my opinion isn't likely to change based on the Cambridge game, so I think it can be released now.

When giving out grades, as ever, cup competitions don't count and only players who appeared in 5 league games will be included. So that discounts Shilow Tracey, Joel Tabiner, Fin Roberts, Phil Croker, Jordan Hodkin, Stan Dancey, Luca Moore and Olly Armstrong, but we have added Ian Lawlor, Alfie Pond and Omar Bogle to the list. That left us with 25 players to grade. So, let's get started at the bottom and work our way up.

D - Not good enough

Jay Mingi(Previous Grade: D)

A poor loan signing, the fact he dropped into the NL with Forest Green Rovers upon cutting his loan with the Alex short said a lot.

Charlie Finney(Previous Grade: D)

He made 3 sub appearances in 2026 and that capped off one of the most forgettable tenures of any homegrown Alex player that managed to stay 4 seasons. He's NL bound in the summer, if he's lucky.

James Golding(Previous Grade: D)

Not great when he played before a groin injury saw his loan cut short. Didn't have much impact, wasn't missed when he left.

Louis Moult(Previous Grade: D)

Yikes. Everything that can be said has been. Moving quickly on.

Sam Waller(Previous Grade: D)

Like Mingi, he was a poor loanee. He switched to Harrogate and has barely played for them.

Dion Rankine(Previous Grade: D)

Yikes, yikes and triple yikes.

Omar Bogle(New Entrant)

As I've said before, I have my sympathies with him. That back injury against Mallorca 2 summers ago ruined his entire Alex career. But let's also be honest and admit that as a bench player in 25-26, he was utterly woeful. 1 goal against Shrewsbury and precious little else in the way of impact meant he had a season to forget. I credit him for overcoming his addiction issues, but it's time for all sides to move on.

Jack Lankester(Previous Grade: C)

This might seem like I'm trolling, but I'm deadly serious. And I'm not blaming the player or even the management/medical staff either. It's just unfortunate that one of their most talented players continues to be beset by injury after injury. 12 games in 25-26. 12. It's not enough. Can year 3 be any different? We had all better hope so.

Tom Booth(Previous Grade: C)

The hill I'll die on is that he wasn't that bad this season and the fans just had it out for him simply because he's young and he makes the odd mistake. But 25-26, which started off with a penalty save at Salford, ended with him sat on the bench for the entire 2nd half of the season and his season end in an embarrassing red card in the Cheshire Senior Cup Final. His future is now up in the air. Can he ever reclaim the number 1 spot back and if he does, can he ever convince the fans he's good enough, when most have already declared him a bust and moved on?

C - Acceptable, but could be better

Alfie Pond(New Entrant)

Meh. He scored 2 goals, which was nice, but the fact was, he failed to dislodge a fairly average(at best) James Connolly consistently from the team. He was ok at times, but poor at others and he picked up way too many yellow cards. Given we had Jamie Knight-Lebel and Connor O'Riordan last season, Pond was somewhere between them and James Golding.

Jack Powell(Previous Grade: D)

Was Jack Powell a good player for the Alex in 25-26? No. Did he fill a role and give them some reasonable production giving his declining abilities? Yes, I think so. 4 assists, the same as Sanders in far fewer games, isn't a terrible return. Does he get a new deal? Doubtful, but he did enough to hopefully get himself fixed up with a good club next season.

Matúš Holíček(Previous Grade: D)

Some people loved what Holicek did in 2026 upon his return to fitness. I was less enthused, but even I'll admit he got shifted around into various positions and as Lee Bell acknowledged towards the end of the season, he never truly got over his injury issues. I'm hoping that a summer of rest will see him come back in better shape in 26-27. His 3 goals and 1 assist this season weren't good, so he barely scrapes a C grade.

James Connolly(Previous Grade: D)

Look, would I be moving him on this summer? Absolutely yes. I still think he's poor in most aspects of his game, but even I'll admit he did improve somewhat in 2026, which brings him up from a D to a C.

Conor Thomas(Previous Grade: C)

When he plays, he's fine. Not great and I will forever think some fans vastly overrate what he does and what he brings, but he wasn't a bad performer for them. Once again, the issue is availability. He played just 1,516 minutes of football, the 2nd fewest he's managed in a full season since 2014-15. He's played just 2,555 minutes across the last 2 seasons. 30% of all possible minutes. It's a shocking amount. I really hope the Alex are going to move on from him next week.

Adrien Thibaut(Previous Grade: D)

No player did more to improve my opinion of them more than Thibaut did. I was done after his Bristol Rovers red card, but in 2026 he really emerged as a solid 3rd choice striker, popping up with 2 goals and 2 assists from limited game time. I think and hope he's done enough to earn a deal. He's not the best player in the world and I don't think he'll go on to become anything more than a depth option, but he's a good option to have stored away for when injuries hit.

Calum Agius(Previous Grade: C)

6 goals and 2 assists is a fine return for a 2nd year pro. But dig deeper and you'll find a player that I'm worried about heading into 26-27. He can score goals, but he lacks any creativity/crossing ability, pace or skill. Not ideal for a winger. He isn't strong or quick enough to play the number 10. Nor is he a striker. So what position does he play? This is something of a headache for Lee Bell next season.

Mickey Demetriou(Previous Grade: B)

Maybe some will be furious at this drop. But I really genuinely think he's had a fairly average season. Age is catching up to him quicker than anyone, including himself, would like to admit. Yes, he was playing below 100% for most of the 2nd half of the season due to his knee injury and I admire for battling it out week after week. But his performances suffered because of it and the mistakes crept in.

He's been a fantastic player, leader and ambassador for the club in the last 3 years and he still has some good football left in him. But a succession plan is needed, as the end of his career is fast closing in.

B - Good season, but can he find another level?

Ian Lawlor(New Entrant)

I was not against Lawlor when he signed, I just don't think he was as good as some made out. Certainly not as clear of Booth as some made out. Was he an upgrade? Yes, probably. But it was marginal and he made some pretty huge mistakes in the final few games which directly led to the Alex dropping out of promotion contention.

Still, an upgrade is an upgrade, so I'll be fair and put him here.

Lewis Billington(Previous Grade: B)

Reliable, durable, deputy captain, very few goals come as a result of his mistake. My only gripe is his struggles going forward, especially when compared to Hutchinson on the other side. Still, he won the PFA player of the season award and finished runner up in the fans player of the season voting, so all in all a very good season.

Owen Lunt(Previous Grade: B)

It was such a shame that a recurrence of his back problems saw the 2nd half of the season go downhill for Lunt. He did his best to battle through it all, but it became too much and he eventually got shut down for the final third. They missed his energy and tenacity in the team and I think he came on leaps and bounds in 25-26. 2 goals and 3 assists was a decent enough return as well, so hopefully he can get back to full fitness and kick on once again in 26-27. Personally, I'd have given him the young player of the season award over Tezgel.

Emre Tezgel(Previous Grade: B)

10 goals and 2 assists in just 31 games, only 20 of them starts, is a fantastic record. Right? Yes, but also no. Because for every goal he scored for the Alex, he missed 2-3 clear chances. The misses will haunt me as much as I'll remember the ones he did score. Gillingham away, Chesterfield at home, Grimsby away. Amongst several others. Don't get me wrong, he was an good signing for the Alex, but I can't help but feel his finishing cost the Alex as many points as it won them. Which leaves me conflicted. As I said above, I think Lunt should have got the young player of the season award and not Tez.

Max Sanders(Previous Grade: A)

Sanders had an excellent first half of the season and I'd argue would have been a shoe in for the player of the season award at the half way stage. But his form really dropped off in 2026 and it meant that he didn't even finish in top 2 of voting for the POTS award. He had a good season, but no goals or assists in his final 20 appearances meant his season finished on a down note. He was good overall, but whether it was through injury or other factors, he wasn't as good in 2026 as he was in 2025.

A – Fantastic, No Notes

Tommi O'Reilly(Previous Grade: A)

His season did end in a little bit of a downer, but 7 goals and 11 assists is a fantastic return from a player nobody knew what to expect from when he joined. This was his breakout year and he showed outstanding technical ability to be the Alex's most creative player by far. His energy levels dipped in the 2nd half of the season and I think Bell didn't rotate him as much as he should, but O'Reilly will be fondly remember as a great player for the Alex. He deserved more than to finish in mid-table. He took home the players player and fans player of the season awards, so well done to him.

Josh March(Previous Grade: A)

6 goals and 1 assist added in 2026 meant he goes into the final week as the Alex's top scorer and their 2nd highest goal contributor. Given he was written off by some pundits last summer, he proved them wrong and then some by bettering his Harrogate return from 24-25. A live wire who was pushed to the wing on a number of occasions, he had a good season and I can't think of many things to criticise him for.

Player of the Season

Reece Hutchinson(Previous Grade: B)

I've been so impressed by Hutchinson this season. Coming over from the League of Ireland midway through his season with Sligo, it could have gone badly wrong. But he was durable, not missing a game through injury, and his all round performance levels were fantastic for the most part.

Defensively he was solid all season, making only a handful of big mistakes. But it was his attacking work rate which won me over. 4 goals and 5 assists was more than anyone could have hoped for and it's what put him ahead of others in the team. He won the goal of the season award for his strike against Oldham. I personally think his Accrington one was better, but it was still a great effort.

Durability, reliability, good in both boxes. An excellent season and my player of the season. The long line of excellent Alex LBs has another name to add to the list, following in the recent footsteps of Harry Pickering, Rio Adebisi and Max Conway.