Crewe Alex 24/25 Monthly Review - December

If you're freaking out over the Alex's recent dip in form, don't. December is always a poor month for them. Been that way for a while now. Whether it's the festive season proving a bit of distraction for them, or the number of games, or injuries or whatever, they find wins tough. And so it proved for them this time around, with just 1 banked from 5 games. Let's look back at a tricky final month of 2024 to see how they did in my latest monthly review.

Looking Back

Their first game was a home game against Bradford in horrendous weather conditions. A fierce gale was blowing all round the stadium and it made a leveller of things. Bradford adapted better to the conditions and were unlucky not to be in front at half time. The Alex snuck ahead 3 minutes after the break thanks to Omar Bogle. But 7 minutes later, Alex Pattison smashed home an equaliser, before bizarrely getting sent off for booting the ball at Bogle 2 minutes after that. The Alex couldn't capitalise on the extra man and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

They were next on the road on the North East coast at Grimsby. A non-event first half was brightened up in the 2nd half thanks to 2 quick fire goals from Jack Lankester and Joel Tabiner, which put the Alex in a commanding position they never looked like giving up. Grimsby couldn't respond and the Alex took home the points.

Their final game before Christmas was a Friday night sell out against Colchester at Gresty Road. But whilst the mood in the stands was bouncing, the football was a far cry from that, as a bitty and scrappy affair ensued. Neither side could find a goal and a dull 0-0 was the end result.

The Alex's Boxing Day struggles continued at Whaddon Road, as they lost 2-1 to Cheltenham. They'd looked in control after an hour, with a well taken Jack Lankester goal putting them ahead. However, a strange tactical switch undid all their hard work and Cheltenham capitalised to score twice and condemn them to their first defeat since the end of September.

They did finish the month slightly better with a solid draw at MK Dons. Their slow away starts came back to bite them as Joe White smashed in from 20 yards to put MK ahead at the break. But a scrappy equaliser from Jamie Knight-Lebel from a corner gave the Alex a deserved draw. It left them with a 1-3-1 record from their 5 games, which honestly was less than they should have gotten from what felt like a pretty favourable set of fixtures.

U21s

Quite a short one for the U21s. They only played 1 game and that was at home to Hull. They went down 4-3, but it was no disgrace as no contracted players took part, only scholars. A brace from Jordan Hodkin and Will Perry gave the Alex a chance, but it wasn't to be.

They will be busy in January, with 4 league games and a likely quarter final in the Cheshire Senior Cup against either Warrington Town or Stockport County to come.

U18s

It was another up and down month for the scholars. They finished their Development League Cup campaign with a disappointing 5-1 defeat at Wrexham, which sees them finish bottom of their group.

They did however enjoy cup success in the FA Youth Cup, as they battled past Luton at Kenilworth Road. It was a fiesty and entertaining affair, with Luca Moore and Patrick Mlynarski grabbing the goals, but twice the Alex were pegged back.

In the shootout, Miki Lenarcik was the hero, saving 2 of the Luton spot kicks whilst Moore, Xavier Smith, Stan Dancey and Mlynarski all burying theirs. It set up a date on the road against Watford in Round 4 sometime in January.

Injuries

I wrote this about Conor Thomas in my November review: "Conor Thomas continues to battle leg muscle injuries, this time a calf problem. He seems likely to be back in the next few weeks, but once again we're left to ask how long it'll be before his next problem occurs." However, even I will say I can't criticise him for suffering what seems like a freak training ground injury, which looks set to keep him out for the rest of the season.

I'll include Jack Lankester's tight hamstring here, even though it doesn't seem like it'll keep him out for long. Tom Booth, Adrien Thibaut and Fin Roberts have been in and out the squad, but all 3 seem fit at the moment. Kane Hemmings' return is hopefully imminent, as he's been missed.

Player	Injury	Possible Return Date?
Kane Hemmings(ST)	Foot	January 2025
Conor Thomas(CM)	Knee	September 2025
Nathan Robinson(CB)	Knee	January 2025
Jack Lankester(ST)	Hamstring	Early January 2025

Loans

Oliver Armstrong remains on loan at Newcastle, as does Lucas Sant at Hanley and Callum Agius at Marine. It's hard to know when each spell will end, but it's good to see all 3 players getting experience at various levels.

Player of the Month

Jack Lankester

A pretty easy choice, although Matus Holicek pushed him close. 2 goals and 2 assists, he's the only attacker who is consistently producing and his goal contribution tally now stands at 10 and we're not even halfway through the season yet.

Previous Winners:

August: Filip Marschall

September: Ryan Cooney

October: Ryan Cooney

November: Matus Holicek

Step It Up

Max Conway

Again, it's tricky to pick someone here, because I don't think anyone has been particularly poor. But for me, I find Conway a frustrating player to watch. He has 1 goal and 1 assist from LWB, which compared to Cooney who has 1 goal(not including penalties) and 4 assists from the other side, shows we need to see more end product from the loanee.

Previous Winners:

August: Everyone

September: Shilow Tracey

October: Matus Holicek

November: Joel Tabiner

Underrated Player

Matus Holicek

Perhaps putting him here is not really fair, as I think he's drawing a decent amount of praise for how he's playing. But given he's one of only a few who can say they're performing well at the moment, I feel he deserves a mention.

Previous Winners:

August: Jamie Knight-Lebel

September: Zac Williams

October: Fillip Marschall

November: Max Sanders

Analysis

What to say about this month? Well, it's been a hugely frustrating. They only played one side in the top 10 currently and that was Grimsby, who they beat. 2 home games against the sides in 10th and 15th resulted in 1 goal and 2 points. And 2 away games against Cheltenham and MK Dons which could have yielded 6 points, but returned 2.

Let's start with the positives. The defence remains rock solid. 4 goals conceded in 5 games is excellent, with 2 clean sheets banked. Being tough to break down at the back will always give them a fighting chance in games.

But the management's risk averse style is starting to become an issue. They're leaving a lot of points on the board because they aren't committing more energy to getting more goals and wins. 5 points lost from winning positions against Bradford and Cheltenham in particular could have had them 2nd with room to spare. Instead, they're 7th and looking down, rather than up. The shackles need to come off you feel if they want to fend off the teams below them and they need some help in the transfer market to add that extra bit of quality in forward areas that they're missing right now.

Looking Ahead

Previous Predictions:

August: 1-2-1(Actual: 1-1-2)

September: 2-1-1(3-0-1)

October: 2-1-2(Actual: 3-2-0)

November: 0-2-1(Actual: 1-3-0)

December: 2-2-1(Actual: 1-3-1)

December was the first month since August where my prediction was more optimistic than what was returned. The question is now, against the sides in 23rd, 12th, 21st, 24th and 8th in January, how many points can they bring in?

Optimistic Prediction: 5-1-0(win the first 5 games, draw with Wimbledon)

Pessimistic Prediction: 2-3-1(8 points from the 4 home games, lost to Swindon, draw with Morecambe)

Realistic(My) Prediction: 3-3-0(Beat Carlisle, Accrington and Morecambe, draw with Swindon, Bromley and Wimbledon)

Sorry, but no matter which way I look at it, this month presents them an incredible opportunity for points. There is no game I look at and feel they can't get at least a draw. The 4 home games all look winnable and if they're serious about promotion, 9-10 points from those feels like a minimum. The 2 away games don't worry me either.

Final Word

January is a huge month for the Alex, on and off the pitch. If they can find the extra bits of quality they need at RWB, CM and ST, keep the squad together and pick up 10-15 points from the next 6 games, then they'll be in a great position to challenge for a top 3 spot. If things don't go well however and they continue to drop points like they did in December, then holding on to a top 7 spot might be the best they can hope for. Like I said, a huge season defining month for them.