Crewe Alex 24/25 Monthly Review - November

So, then nights are closing in, the weather is turning cold and we're into the grind of the winter months. Where we tell the wheat from the chaff. Where promotion bids are made or destroyed. The Alex went into November in surprisingly good health, with a cup game and 3 tough league fixtures to navigate. I think it's fair to say how things turned out were quite different from what we expected. Let's do our monthly review of November for them:

Looking Back

The month started about as badly as you could have imagined. The Alex went into a very winnable FA Cup game with Dag & Red at home and put in an insipid performance that was devoid of the skill, heart and passion we've seen before and after it. A penalty from the Daggers with 20 minutes ago was enough to seal the upset and send the Alex crashing out in embarrassing fashion.

Thankfully though, they were given the opportunity to put that right with a short trip down the M6 to Walsall, who were flying high in the top 3 at the time. The Alex put in a typically battling display and had it nicely locked at 0-0 until Omar Bogle broke away and tucked the ball neatly in the bottom corner from a tight angle to send the almost 1,000 Crewe fans wild. Unfortunately, they couldn't hold on and a stunning strike from Nathan Lowe rescued a draw for the Saddlers and left the Alex with just 1 point when they really could and should have picked up 3.

They were then back home to face another high flyer in Notts County. To be fair, they caught County at a good time, with the Pies down several key attackers. Still, the Alex still had to perform and they did, with Shilow Tracey scoring a stunning breakaway goal with 5 minutes to go in the 1st half to give them the lead. A controversial penalty on the hour mark gave Ryan Cooney the opportunity to extend the lead and indeed he did. The Alex then proceeded to see the game out, albeit not helped by a late red card for Chris Long. But it was still a fine win over another top opponent.

The hits kept on coming as they then went down the A500 to face the Vale, who were sat top at the time. This time though they had to battle from behind after Vale graduate Jack Shorrock smashed one in the top corner from 25 yards out inside 3 minutes. Things got easier for them when former loanee and new Vale signing Rekeem Harper lunged in on 48 minutes despite being on a yellow and off he went. The Alex proceeded to dominate the game, but the elusive equaliser seemed like it was never going to come. That was until stoppage time when Max Conway found Jack Lankester in the box and he slammed home a more than deserved equaliser to cause delirium amongst the 2,158 away fans. They ran out of time to find a winner, but did take a useful point home.

Last up in November was a rearranged trip to Carlisle, which was moved to yesterday after both sides went out of the FA Cup in the 1st round. After their exertions against the Vale, they came out sluggish and once again fell behind early. They tried to claw their way back into the game, but generating momentum proved to be difficult. However, much like the Vale, when it seemed like they were never going to catch a break, they won a penalty from Lankester's good work in drawing a foul. He took the spot kick himself and buried it to give the Alex a hard fought, but not very deserved point.

It left them with a 1-3-0 league record for the month which was very positive.

U21s

It was a typically up and down month for the U21s, who only played 3 games in the end. In the league, they lost back to back games, first 0-1 at home to Coventry and then 3-2 away at Fleetwood, with Chris Long and Fin Roberts scoring the goals in that one. Despite being 3-2-9 in the league, they find themselves 9th out of 11 in the North Division.

There was better news in the Cheshire Senior Cup, as they saw off Congleton 4-2 at Gresty Road, with goals from Jordan Hodkin, Will Perry, Roberts and Callum Agius helping them progress to the final 8. They will now face one of Cammell Laird, Warrington Town or Stockport County away from home sometime in January. As for the league, they only have 2 games left in 2024 thankfully, at home to Hull and away to Sheff Wednesday.

U18s

It was a decent month for the U18s. They were able to book their place in the 3rd Round of the FA Youth Cup with a comfortable 2-0 win over Blackpool at Gresty Road, with Joe Collins and Luca Moore bagging the goals.

In the league things were fairly positive as well. They managed to pick up 4 points against Barnsley and Burnley at home, meaning they are now unbeaten since August on home soil. Away from home, they lost to Birmingham City, but did manage to end the month with a win at Wigan. They now sit firmly in the middle of the pack in the North Division, with an FA Cup trip to Luton in a few weeks time.

Injuries

I had been under the assumption that Kane Hemmings' broken foot would have been healed by the end of November and he'd have been able to target a full return before Christmas. However, the management that he still faces another 4-5 weeks on the sidelines, which puts his return in 2025, which isn't ideal.

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. Nathan Robinson is looking at a 2025 return from a knee operation.

Omar Bogle joins the list after missing the game yesterday, but hopefully his absence is a short one.

Player	Injury	Possible Return Date?
Kane Hemmings(ST)	Foot	January 2025
Conor Thomas(CM)	Calf	Mid-December 2024
Nathan Robinson(CB)	Knee	Late 2024/Early 2025
Omar Bogle(ST)	Leg	Early December 2024

Loans

Oliver Armstrong wrapped up a disrupted spell with Newcastle, but Lucas Sant and Callum Agius both started loans in November. Sant got his spell off at Hanley well, scoring with a long range effort. Callum Agius also got off to a flyer with Marine, popping in a goal last Tuesday. Sant completes his loan in a week unless it's extended, whilst Agius will stay on Merseyside until the 2nd January.

Player of the Month

Matus Holicek

In a strange month where nobody has been truly outstanding, I think Holicek has been slightly better than the rest. He's getting more involved and getting stuck in to the physical side. His assist at Walsall was excellent and if he can find a bit more end product to go with his all round game, he'll start to draw some real attention.

Previous Winners:

August: Filip Marschall

September: Ryan Cooney

October: Ryan Cooney

Step It Up

Joel Tabiner

He had a good game against Notts County no doubt. But he drifts through too many games, including the other 4 in November where he was a virtual non-factor. 1 goal and 2 assists in 15 games just isn't good enough.

Previous Winners:

August: Everyone

September: Shilow Tracey

October: Matus Holicek

Underrated Player

Max Sanders

I'll start by saying his set pieces are terrible. And that's massively frustrating. But aside from that, he's been good in possession, always looks to offer for the ball(can he teach the other midfielders how to do it?) and tries to get involved.

Previous Winners:

August: Jamie Knight-Lebel

September: Zac Williams

October: Fillip Marschall

Analysis

An unbeaten November in the league is hard to grumble at. The FA Cup defeat still stings, but 5 points from Walsall, Notts County and Port Vale is a decent return, even if the way they got the draws from the 2 away games felt like they left 4 points behind.

The way the Alex are playing is positive in defence. 3 goals conceded from 4 games is excellent and they now boast the best defence in the division by xGA. But you can't help but feel it continues to be at the expense of their attacking play. 20th in shots on target per game, 10th in xG(boosted by 4 penalties), 10th in touches in the opposition box. It's not terrible, but there are definite grounds for improvement.

Having consistently available attackers would be a start, as we're heading into December and we've still not had that yet. The midfield are showing small signs of improvement, although again that area could still be better.

Health wise they're in fairly good shape, with only 4 players out injured and 2 of them due back before Christmas. Things are looking positive as they head towards Christmas, but they need to keep pushing.

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)

After a daunting looking November, December definitely looks more favourable, although landmines still remain. The average position of the 5 teams they face is 11.4, which shows they face mostly mid-table teams. Tricky and unpredictable.

Optimistic Prediction: 3-2-0(Win both home games, take 5 points from the 3 away games)

Pessimistic Prediction: 1-2-2(Beat Colchester, draw with Bradford & Grimsby/Cheltenham, lose to Cheltenham/Grimsby and MK Dons)

Realistic(My) Prediction: 2-2-1(Win both home games, take 2 points from Grimsby and Cheltenham, lose to MK Dons)

I'm going with a down the middle prediction at the moment. I think they've got enough to get past the 2 home opponents, but their struggles to break teams down on the road concerns me. So I won't say they'll win any of them. Still, 8 points from 5 games. If though they can get to 40 points by the end of the month, that'll be fantastic.

Final Word

It's been a decent month all things considered. Avoided any bad injuries, went unbeaten in the league and are now sat 3rd as they approach Christmas. Things are going well, but they are only as good as their last game. So they need to keep pushing and find that extra gear as they head into a schedule of 4 games in 13 days between December 20th and January 1st. It's a tough stretch, with some tricky games to lead into that as well. If they can stay in the top 3 come the turn of the year, I'll be delighted.

Oh and did I mention that they haven't won a game in December since 2021. So they have the chance to end a long drought.