Crewe Alex 24/25 Monthly Review - August

Right, my first proper monthly review of the new season, as we look back at August. Let's not waste any time and get straight into it.

Looking Back

To say it's been a mixed month is an understatement. Things started poorly, with a narrow 1-0 defeat at Barrow to open the season. The Alex conceded a poor goal from a corner and despite huffing and puffing in attack, they weren't even able to have a shot on target.

A few days later, they travelled to Rotherham in the first round of the League Cup, looking to progress to the 2nd round in back to back seasons for the first time since 2005. They weren't able to though, despite a spirited effort. They took the lead thanks to a cracking goal from Matus Holicek early in the 2nd half. But the lead lasted only 5 minutes as Rotherham responded and then they snuck in a late winner to send the Alex out.

Whilst the first 2 results weren't great, they were hardly a disaster. The disaster came a few days later in their first home game, as Chesterfield came to town and ran riot. They scored 3 goals inside 12 minutes and added a 4th within 28 minutes. A 5th shortly after half time compounded the misery and sent the Alex to a 5-0 defeat.

Things improved somewhat the following week at home to Swindon, as they looked more engaged and more solid at the back. However, their attacking work still left a lot to be desired as they struggled once again to get anything going and for the 2nd time in 3 games, failed to have a shot on target. They got on the board with a 0-0 draw, but there wasn't a lot to feel great about.

Things did improve though with a 5-1 battering of the Liverpool U21s in the first group stage game of the EFL Trophy. Goals from Fin Roberts, Chris Long(2), Ryan Cooney and Adrien Thibaut gave the whole club a lift, especially considering Roberts scored on his full debut and Thibaut scored on his overall debut.

The improvement continued at Bromley yesterday. Whilst the team selection and start left a lot to be desired, with Lewis Leigh smashing in the opener after just 2 minutes, things did improve. The Alex played some decent football at times and looked a bit of a threat, at times. After Bell made some attacking subs, they eventually got their reward, as late goals from Mickey Demetriou and Chris Long swung the game around to give the Alex a much needed 2-1 win to get the season up and running.

U21s

The Alex's struggles on the first team level extended to the U21s, as they suffered a tough opening to the season as well. They played 3 games against Swansea(A), QPR(H) and Bristol City(A) and weren't able to get a goal or result out of any of them, losing 4-0, 1-0 and 2-0 respectively. Hopefully once their EFL Trophy games are done and things settle down, some results can follow for the reserves.

U18s

It's been a little better but still mixed for the U18s. They started off with a narrow 3-2 home defeat to Bristol City before heading to Ipswich Town in their 2nd game and flipping that scoreline with a 3-2 win.

Their 3rd game was a little tougher, as they fell to a heavy home defeat against Charlton, who are usually right up there in the league. They opened their Developmental League campaign with a 4-4 home draw with Fleetwood. Finally, they finished the month with a narrow defeat at Watford to leave them 1-0-3 in the league, with 7 scored and 11 conceded.

Injuries

I can't remember we had an injury list this small. The Alex currently have just 3 players sidelined. 2 of them are Powell and Robinson, who are recovering from long term injuries. Powell seems to be another month away from returning from his ACL injury, which is positive news. Robinson seems unlikely to return in 2024, so he's more of a long term absentee.

The only other missing player is Tom Booth, who worryingly has his 3rd injury in just 9 months since breaking into the first team. Fingers crossed he's back soon.

Player	Injury	Possible Return Date?
Jack Powell(CM)	ACL	Sept-Oct 2024
Tom Booth(GK)	???	Mid-September 2024
Nathan Robinson(CB)	???	Late 2024/Early 2025

Loans

The Alex don't currently have anyone out on loan, although I expect that to change in the coming weeks. Likely candidates for loan spells away are Lucas Sant, Fin Roberts, Adrien Thibaut and potentially Owen Lunt and Callum Agius as well, given they've all struggled to make the squad in recent weeks and need games to develop.

Player of the Month

Filip Marschall

Yes, I know this will come as a surprise to people, but he's the player I've rated the highest across the opening 4 games. He's been solid to start his Crewe career, making a number of smart stops against Chesterfield and Bromley in particular. Has he been perfect? No, not at all. But given the shocking errors we see up and down the league every week, he's not dropped any serious clangers. So for now, he takes this one.

Step It Up

Everybody

I don't think anyone has been glaringly bad to the point they are worse than anyone else, but I think it's fair to say that everyone currently in the squad needs to up their levels by a notch or two. There have been signs some players are getting back to their best, but everyone needs to improve and get better.

Underrated Player

Jamie Knight-Lebel

In the 232 minutes of football he's played in the league, the Alex have conceded just 2 goals. He's dealt well with stepping into first team football for the first time, which can be a big challenge for some. He'll have to keep his levels high to keep out James Connolly, but it's been a solid start to his pro career so far.

Analysis

First 3 games: Not Good

Final 3 games: Not perfect, but better

From the lows of losing those opening 3 games, the last 3 have been a marked improvement, which is hopefully a good sign for September. There are still familiar question marks. What sort of style are they going for? What's the best formation? What's the best starting XI? Things we were left to ponder last season.

The main negative is that the attack looks a big concern. There were positive signs at Bromley as they found the quality to score twice, but through 4 games they've not had much consistency going forward. 2 goals from 4 games isn't going to cut it, so they'll have to keep working on that.

In more positive news, they've been competitive in 3 of their 4 games and both the cup games as well. Chesterfield is starting to look like a one off in terms of how off it they were. Quite why they were so woeful remains a concern, but remove that game and they are 1-1-1 in the other 3 with 2 scored and 2 conceded. Ok, it doesn't work like that, but when 75% of your sample is that and only 25% is the 5-0, there is more evidence to suggest they can be consistently competitive going forward.

We need to start to see them move away from the quite defensive 3 at the back system, which they switched to to stop the bleeding after the Chesterfield drubbing. With an increase in confidence and returning bodies upfront, you feel like they can start to look to get more of their attackers in from the start to try and redress the balance.

They'll need to do it carefully, as if they go too attacking, they'll potentially expose their defence once again. But we'll hopefully see some small steps taken in the coming weeks. We'll see if their improvement holds up as things progress towards the 10 game mark.

Looking Ahead

August was a favourable month and the Alex, needless to say, didn't maximise that opportunity. They have another potentially favourable September against 4 teams who I don't think will be troubling the top 7 come May. First up is 24th placed Morecambe. Then they travel to 22nd placed Accrington and finally welcome 15th placed Harrogate. Finally they have long trip to Newport to complete the month.

Oh and of course they have Blackpool in the 2nd game of the EFL Trophy on Tuesday knowing a win would guarantee their progress to the knockout stages. So, what do expect?

Optimistic Prediction: 3-1-0(Beat Morecambe, Harrogate and Accrington, draw with Newport)

Pessimistic Prediction: 1-1-2(Beat Morecambe or Harrogate, draw the other, lose to both Accrington and Newport)

Realistic(My) Prediction: 2-1-1(Beat Morecambe and Harrogate, draw with Accrington, lose to Newport)

Ideally, the Alex could get through this month unbeaten, as I honestly don't see any of these 4 teams that they can't get results from. Obviously they'll have to take it 1 game at a time and it starts by ending their dreadful home record against Morecambe of course, but if they can from there, then things can really start to look up.

Final Word

Are the Alex turning a corner after 3 improved performances and results? Or is this a false dawn? I'm feeling a little bit more optimistic, especially as they head into what looks to be, on paper, a favourable September with a lot of potential points on offer. We're stepping into the new month with tentative confidence and belief. Let's hope that isn't looking horribly misplaced in 4 weeks time.