Crewe Alex 23-24 Season Review - The Rollercoaster Season

Where do you even start to summarise this season? In 02-03, they were good from the start, never let up and got promoted comfortably. In 11-12, they started poorly and allowed Dario to step aside for Steve Davis. That season wasn't a rollercoaster though, it was a season where they were poor up until Christmas and excellent after that. In 19-20, they were once again good throughout.

Most Alex seasons, they are either good or bad for the entirety. I don't think any season has seen them go through the peaks and troughs we saw this season. Ok, the peaks were high peaks and the troughs weren't that low all things considered. But this team has put it's fans through the wringer in a way I don't think we've ever seen before. So, let's try and summarise what has been a crazy season, even by Crewe Alex standards.

A summer of mixed success

I don't think it's unfair to say last summer's transfer window was a mixed one, even given what's transpired in the last few weeks. Harvey Davies didn't work out. Ryan Cooney, Shilow Tracey and Aaron Rowe provided some quality at times and they stepped up at some big moments, but I don't think they are making anyone's top signings lists.

However, they absolutely nailed it with the signing of Mickey Demetriou. His arrival and his performances this season will be talked about for a long, long time to come. His engagement with the fans, his embracing of the local community and most of all, his incredible displays on the pitch. 10 goals and 6 assists. For a CB that doesn't take penalties or free kicks. Outstanding.

Jack Powell was good before his ACL injury and his presence in midfield was missed from the moment he went down. And in Joe White, they found a star who, had he stayed beyond January, would have probably helped them finish higher in the table.

A good start

The Alex made a solid start to the season, going 1-3-1 in August and then unbeaten in September. In amongst those early results were some positive signs. Elliott Nevitt got his first goal since joining and he never looked back. Chris Long and CBR fired in some goals. Powell and Demetriou settled in quickly. Rio Adebisi took a big step forward in his development. They were getting assists from Joel Tabiner.

And then there were the results. Fine multi goal wins over Newport, MK Dons, Forest Green, Gillingham, Tranmere and Crawley. Solid draws with Mansfield, Walsall, Wimbledon and Wrexham. It wasn't all plain sailing. Davies' form in between the sticks was a concern, they were struggling to settle on a formation and they were falling behind a lot.

But they were small quibbles in what was a great opening third to the season, one where they were 7-5-2 after 14 games. They were scoring goals for fun, were unbeaten at home. Things couldn't have been going better, with them sat 3rd after the win at Crawley.

Injuries and cup success

But then the final week of October happened. They lost Jack Powell, Joel Tabiner, Chris Long and Zac Williams in the space of a week to long term injuries. Powell would be lost for the season, Williams and Long wouldn't feature until after Christmas and Tabiner didn't return until February.

As their injuries mounted, their results started to suffer. They lost to Stockport, being defeated for the first time in 14 home games. They did manage to recover with back to back wins over Notts County and Doncaster. Plus, they put in a great showing against Derby, almost coming out as 2-0 winners at Gresty Road. They got the job done in the replay(so long sweet prince) and moved into the 2nd round.

However, those wins were coming at a price. They were having to name scholars and untested youngsters on the bench as more senior players dropped. The schedule during November and December was brutal and the squad couldn't cope.

The results suffered as they went on a 7 game winless streak in all competitions, including a disappointing 4-2 defeat in the FA Cup to Bristol Rovers. That saw them drop out of the play-off spot they had occupied since mid-September as they moved into 2024.

Recovery, departures, a former hero returns and hitting new heights

The Alex entered new year in a tricky situation. They were 8th and there were growing rumours over the potential departures of Connor O'Riordan and Joe White. They had just made a change in net to Tom Booth, who'd had a few wobbles early on. It was no sure thing that they would recover from their slump.

But that's what they did, as they rattled off 4 straight wins. There 2 narrow wins over Bradford and Swindon, but it was on the road where they started to impress. First they went to 2nd placed Mansfield and won 1-0. It was probably their best performance of the season, in the league anyway. It ended Mansfield's unbeaten home run and gave us all confidence that this Alex team weren't going away.

A few weeks later, they went to another unbeaten home team in Barrow and ran them off the park, winning 3-1 in superb fashion. They were getting players back from injury in Williams and Long. Things were looking up.

But the rumoured departures came true as O'Riordan and White did indeed depart, with O'Riordan sold to Blackburn and White returning to Newcastle at the conclusion of his half season loan spell. As an aside, given how little football the 2 played after their moves, I wonder if they both wish they'd have stayed to see the season through.

Those departures meant they had to make moves in the transfer market. Josh Austerfield and Lewis Leigh were added to the midfield and Ed Turns came in to replace O'Riordan. But it was their final signing which drew headlines, as former hero Charlie Kirk returned after his release from Charlton, ending a very unhappy 2 1/2 seasons for him since leaving Gresty Road in the summer of 2021.

As they moved into February, the feel good factor around the club kept building. There were some blips, but they went 3-2-0 and rattled off their 3rd month unbeaten. They reached new heights as they went to Stockport and comfortably won 3-1 against the eventual Champions. That meant they finished the season having not lost to any of the top 3 on the road.

They capped off February with another comfy 3-1 win on the road, this time at Notts County in front of 1,400 Crewe fans. They had moved up to 3rd and it all looked good for them to have a strong push for the automatic spots in their final 12 games, with plenty of favourable games still to play.

The collapse, saving it in the nick of time

How and why it happened will largely be forgotten about now. But what caused their collapse in their final dozen games does need to be investigated. Was it the loss of Luke Offord to a season ending ankle injury the week before the Notts County game? Was it them throwing a 2-0 lead away at home to Morecambe which set the doubts in? Was it the pressure, injuries, fatigue? A combination of all of them?

Perhaps. But what is true is, the Alex fell apart in their final 12 games. The performances, which up until February had been at worst effective if not the most stylish, declined dramatically. Comfy defeats at Doncaster and MK Dons came, followed only by narrow wins over Sutton and Morecambe. There were some solid points against Wimbledon, Gillingham and Accrington, but April was a disaster.

3-0 defeats in 3 straight home games, 2 of them to bottom 4 sides in Forest Green and Grimsby. They slipped from 3rd to 6th and suddenly, them even making the play-offs looked in real jeopardy. Fans were starting to desperately hope other results went their way and thankfully, most of them did.

Another factor was the injuries that once again started to mount. Chris Long, Conor Thomas, Ed Turns, Tom Booth, Harvey Davies and CBR all picked up issues which saw them miss parts or most of the run in. This crippled their ability to rest and rotate and was part of the reason

It left them needing just 1 point from their final game at Colchester to get into the play-offs. Things weren't going well as they fell behind and the teams around them were doing what they needed. They were 1 Barrow goal from falling out of the play-offs as the games wound down.

But just as we waited for what felt like the inevitable, things suddenly flipped. Barrow didn't score. And they grabbed a late goal from Elliott Nevitt to secure their spot on their own.

The downs and ups of the play-offs

Pressure off, the Alex went into the play-offs against arguably the worst opponent they could have hoped for. That was in-form Doncaster, who were on a ridiculous run. They had risen from the bottom of the table to 5th after a 13-4-1 run. They looked unstoppable.

The Alex on the other hand went into the game on a run of 2-4-6 with only 7 goals scored in those last 12. Anyone predicting them to make the final was doing so out of blind faith, rather than using logic.

The form book looked to be playing out entirely as predicted in the first leg, as Doncaster pulled into a 2-0 lead that in truth was a bit of a cruise. The Alex looked broken, beaten and like they were just making up the numbers. The 2nd leg seemed like a formality.

But that in itself cost Doncaster. They went into the game with a false sense of security, with their media and fans feeling like they just needed to turn up to confirm their place at Wembley. Well, they got well and truly humbled and embarrassed, as the Alex raced into a early 2-0 lead and managed to grind out the remaining time to reach penalties. There they triumphed, making their journeys to the final one of the most unlikely.

So close, yet so far

The Alex went into the final full of confidence. If they could replicate the performance against Doncaster and exploit Crawley's defensive weaknesses, they would be heading to L1. Alas, it wasn't the Crewe from the 2nd leg the fans got, it was the version we'd seen from March onwards. Disorganised, lacking in energy and ideas, they were outfought and outclassed by a superb Crawley side who made them look very ordinary. Goals late in both halves from Danilo Orsi and Liam Kelly sealed the Red Devils passage to L1 and left Bell and his staff trying to pick up the pieces of a positive season, which unfortunately ended in disappointment.

Conclusion

It was a season full of ups and downs. It was a season that had it all, from the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows. The Alex put their fans through the wringer, but gave them memories they will cherish forever. Bell and his staff did a good job no doubt. The players fought and battled, no doubt. But finding out why they weren't able to finish the season stronger and why they came up short at Wembley will be the challenge.

As will finding a way to rebuild the squad with key players leaving and various holes to fill in the summer. One thing is for sure though, they will learn from this experience. And if they can come back at a similar or better level next season, then there is no reason they can't be in another promotion mix in 24-25.