Crewe Alex's 2024-25 Season Review Part 1 - The Good

I don't know what anyone at Crewe Alex went into this season expecting from this season. After a tough end to last season, with the way their form sputtered out, then the elation at making it to Wembley only to fall flat on the big day, it was hard to know how they would bounce back from such a topsy-turvy season and where the board, the management, the players or even the fans expected them to finish this season.

Well, the more . And I include, fans, players, management or those at the boardroom level in that statement. A season where they finished 13th, in a weaker league, is a massive step back. But as with any season, there are a lot of things to break down as to how and why Crewe Alex ended where they did. I broke my review into 3 parts and today I'm going to start with the good. Yes, as crazy as that sounds, there are some positives to take into next season.

Let's get into them:

Difference Makers

I know there has been a lot of scrutiny over the Alex's transfers, but I think that they got reasonable returns out of a lot of their signings from last summer. Jack Lankester was obviously the stand out of the bunch, but Max Conway was also a great pick up and won player of the season. Filip Marschall was runner up with 16 clean sheets, the most for a single Alex goalkeeper in a season since Clayton Ince in 2002-03. Jamie Knight-Lebel, Max Sanders, Connor O'Riordan, Tommy Lowery. They all gave good accounts of themselves individually, even if as a team it didn't quite click.

Whilst there is no doubt Omar Bogle and Kane Hemmings didn't do well enough, I put a fair chunk of their struggles down to constant injuries and a poor system around them. Point being, I think there is fair evidence to say that this recruitment team know how to find players. And if they are given a good crack at it this summer, there should be confidence they can find 4-5 difference makers once again.

System That Works

I know a lot of these positives are weight down by negativity, but you have to credit Bell for finding a system that worked(sort of) for a good portion of the season. I understand why they did what they did in going to the 3 at the back and for the most part, it kept them in games. It gave them a rock solid base to build on. They were good defensively on the whole, even if things did slide a bit towards the end of the season. Yes, things went pear shaped in the end, but for the most part, the system they brought in had them in the play-offs until the middle of March.

Away Record

The Alex's away record, so often their downfall, was a real strength this season. It did fall off towards the latter part of the season, but they were still pretty competitive for the most part. Their 6 defeats were 3 narrow 1 goal losses, a 3-0 loss swung by a red card, a 2-0 loss where they missed a penalty at 1-0 to equalise and a 2-0 loss when they had given up the ghost. They took points off 8 of the top 10 on the road and went 3-7-2 against teams in the top half. They were competitive for the most part and for that, they can feel proud.

Injuries

People will bemoan the injuries they suffered, but a good chunk of them felt totally unfortunate. Omar Bogle's back, Kane Hemmings and Jack Lankester's foot/knee issues, Conor Thomas' knee and Shilow Tracey's leg were all long term problems, but these are freak occurrences which they could not control or avoid. Yes, some of the issues came from poor handling, namely Demetriou's calf and Hemmings hamstring, but they got 30 league appearances out of 11 different players, which is impressive given only 9 players managed that last season.

They got full(or almost full) seasons out of Marschall, Conway, Williams, Knight-Lebel, Sanders, Tabiner and Holicek. Powell didn't get injured following his return from his ACL injury. The issue they had was, the vast majority of their injuries occured in the forward areas. But generally, I think the way they managed injuries is to be commended.

Consistent Success = Very Hard

To finish in the play-offs in any season in L2 is very hard. 24 teams try to do it every season and only 4 succeed. 3 do better, but you get the point. 17 teams fall short. What Bell and his management achieved in 23-24 shouldn't be undersold.

Nor should what they were to start to do this season, but couldn't quite see it through. They had the squad in the top 7 until mid-March. Yes, we are going to come on to how things ended, but lets also remember that mounting back to back promotion charges is incredibly difficult.

In the EFL play-off era, between the 1987-88 season and this season, 154 teams have made the play-off spots in League 2. In those 39 seasons, of the 115 who fell short in the play-offs, only 45 have repeated their success by finishing in the play-offs/automatics the following season. That means that 70% of all sides that finish in the play-offs one year don't make it back into the top 7 the following season.

Maintaining success is hard, especially for a club like the Alex where their best talent often leaves every summer. The fact that they got this team in the hunt for as long as they did after such a disrupted summer in terms of their best talent leaving is to their credit, until early January at least.

Long Term Pieces

You have to squint hard to find positives on the playing side, but there are several. Jack Lankester was superb when he played. If he can stay fit for 30+ games next season, the Alex will have one of the best attackers in the division. They seem to have found the long term roles for Matus Holicek and Joel Tabiner as wide attackers. Put those 3 in behind a Nevitt style striker and it feels like they are on to a winner. Max Sanders and Owen Lunt in midfield, Mickey Demetriou at the back. There is a core group there you feel. Add in depth in Agius, Connolly, Robinson, Roberts and Thibaut before you even start discussing new signings and there is a solid group to build around.

I know plenty will disagree, but I feel they are in a much better place squad building wise. Whether they have the manager to do it is another question, but they have pieces to build around. Yes, they'll need new signings in various spots, but then no L2 side will be without holes going into a summer. But for me, a solid core of players is there to build around and no long term injuries to worry about, Shilow Tracey aside should he return I suppose. And whilst I'm not trying to say finishing 13th is good, they should have a clear summer to plan and hopefully target improvements in the various positions where they need help.

Support

Say what you like about this season and how it's gone, but the backing of Crewe Alex fans has been superb all season. They averaged over 600 away fans, which is a great turnout for a side who don't normally travel in large numbers. At home, they averaged almost 4,500 fans(not including away numbers). For a club that only managed 3,000-3,500 in the early days of the Artell era, this was excellent to see.

There was very little crowd trouble home or away. The atmosphere in the Gresty Road at home games and in the away ends on the road were excellent. Yes, some players will take plaudits for their performances, but the fans were the 12th man all season and they rightfully deserve praise.