Crewe Alex - Wrexham 23/24 Review - Leagues Apart

Yes, there are excuses and mitigating circumstances for why today happened. There are gulfs between the 2 teams in terms of finances, experience and ultimately, quality. Oh and the ref. But the fact is, for as good as they performed today, it came 2 home games too late. Had they performed even half as good as this against FGR or Grimsby, they would have gotten the point(s) they needed to secure a top 7 spot and this result wouldn't have even mattered. I'm not even angry about today, although it was a continuation of most of the issues that have dogged them for the last 2 months. I'm even more angry about those 2 home collapses against the 2 relegation battlers, one of whom went down last week. How do I even begin to review this game? Let's start with this:

Not good enough

The Railwaymen Podcast put out a poll for who X fans thought should be the player of the season. Demetriou won, with Nevitt, Offord and Adebisi coming 2nd-4th in that order. That's a fair assessment of who have been the best 4 players this season. But what interests me is, who would be after them in the rankings? O'Riordan and White probably. Powell and Tabiner could have been but for long term injuries. But after that?

I've said it before, but this team has been carried by a small core of players and the rest have ridden their coattails. There have been flashes from some, sure. But no more than that. Williams continues to make horrendous mistakes. Holicek has struggled to impress. Rowe has been abysmal, as has Cooney, Tracey and Kirk. Long had 1 good month.

Some will talk up Conor Thomas, but he's been average at best. Same for Austerfield, CBR and Billington. This is not a team that is anywhere near ready or good enough to go up.

Mistakes

Sorry, but I'm bored of watching certain players continue to be continually ineffective. Zac Williams has shown flashes of improvement, but he was horrendous today. First, he went teararsing up the pitch to get involved in the Rowe v McLean nonsense and got booked. Then, he switches off a minute later and allows Palmer's flick on past him for Mullin to score. He also lost out to Palmer on the first and got robbed in the 2nd half, which almost saw them concede.

Aaron Rowe was lively today, but how often did it break down with him when he tried to dribble too far, or couldn't find a team mate with a shot or cross? And let's not even go into his stupid petulant foul on McLean which kickstarted the whole nonsense late in the first half. 12 bookings to just 2 goals and 5 assists. Atrocious. Matus Holicek is only a 1st year pro, but he has to start doing better in games. Same goes for Joel Tabiner, who also has the excuse of being young and coming off some long term injuries. Ryan Cooney we'll talk about next. But he's been woeful for the most part this season. There are too many passengers and not enough drivers in this team at the moment.

Ref Decisions

Watch the McLean on Rowe incident again. McLean goes head to head with Rowe, but as no point is there a headbutt motion made. As much as you can despise McLean, it's a yellow for both him and Rowe. Yes, the ref probably missed a few other big calls, but I felt he did that in both directions, as he robbed Wrexham of a clear corner in the first half.

As for the red card, Ryan Cooney probably got pushed. Most times you'll see that foul given. But the fact is, the ref didn't give it and Cooney's flailing hand catches the ball, which was deemed denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. It wasn't running to the corner flag as some mentioned. Mullin easily picks up that ball and runs in on goal. As soon as it wasn't given as a push, it was a red. Unfortunate, but then this is calamity Cooney we're talking about here.

Gulf

Let's also just lay everything out here. Wrexham have depth and quality the likes of which the Alex could only dream of. Their budget for this level will be obscene. Mullin's wage alone will probably equate to 3-4 of the Alex's highest earners combined.

But, they were far better in every aspect today. They defended the Alex's powerpuff attacks easily, broke with consummate ease and took 3 simple goals from a cross, a flick on and a defensive mistake. The Alex can never hope to assemble a team like the Wrexham one, but what they can do is learn from how Wrexham played. They were smarter in the key moments. They had more physicality in important areas, especially upfront where Palmer and Mullin bullied the Alex.

The Alex have taken steps this season. But games like this one only further highlight the massive gulf in quality between them and the 3 sides going up automatically.

Ref Watch - 0

No, he didn't get the McLean "red" wrong. Its borderline, but its' not a red as there is no clear headbutting motion. Did he get Cooney's push wrong? Yes, 100%. That's a game killer. That one moment ruined any hope of a comeback and destroyed what had been a watchable game up until that point.

Management Rating - 5

Nothing they could formation or selection wise as Kirk, Tracey and Long were never starting. Nothing they can do about the horrendous mistakes or the red card incidents. But, 2 wins from 11 games is massively concerning, no matter which league the Alex end up in. They have massive pressure on them going into next season. They need to nail most of their summer recruitment and get off to a good start. Because what we're seeing right now is relegation form.

Player Ratings

Max Stryjek - 6 MOTM

Didn't seem like there was much he could do on the goals and he made a couple of smart stops in the 2nd half to keep the score down.

Ryan Cooney - 2

Had some bright moments, but the fact is his signing has been a poor one and the Alex either need to back Lewis Billington to be their starting RB next season or find an upgrade. Because Ryan Cooney isn't FL standard. He just isn't.

Lewis Billington - 5

What position was he supposed to be playing today? It seemed like he was in the Luke Offord CB/CM role that we saw him play in January. He offered little on or off the ball to be honest.

Zac Williams - 2

Atrocious. Again, I'm getting more and more Callum Ainley vibes from him the more time passes. Can't stay fit, has no clear position which he suits. He had a hand in all 3 goals, got needlessly booked and it undid all the positive things he did.

Mickey Demetriou - 5

Did his defensive duties relatively well, but was let down by those around him. Get him a better CB partner next season please.

Rio Adebisi - 5

Tried his best to get down the left, but his balls into the box were aimless for most of the game. Looks totally out of gas.

Josh Austerfield - 5

Worked hard, got clattered as usual. But his struggles continue as he looks lost without an experienced CM to play alongside.

Joel Tabiner - 4

I know he's been out injured and is lacking match sharpness, but this game only keeps my opinion going that he isn't a CM. His lack of awareness on a few occasions today was criminal. Needs a full, uninterrupted season in 24-25 to make up for lost time this season.

Matus Holicek - 4

He's a first year pro, so I won't give him too much grief. But he needs to start to do a lot better. 1 goal and 1 assist in 25 appearances, isn't good enough. He's a non-factor far too often in games. He, like Tabiner, needs a big season in 24-25.

Elliott Nevitt - 5

Held it up well on occasions, but it was yet more of the same, as he fed on scraps, got pissed off and then picked up a silly booking.

Aaron Rowe - 1

Do I have an agenda against him? Possibly. My agenda is he's shite. Sure, be wowed by the mazy runs and bright moments he has. But watch how many of those moments lead to an accurate pass or cross. He's managed 7 shots on target this season! 7! That puts him behind Joe White(who hasn't been here since January), Demetriou and Adebisi(who are defenders). Woeful player who's had a woeful season.

Subs:

Shilow Tracey - 5

Hard to judge him given he came on when he did, with the game in the state it was.

Charlie Finney - 5

Came on and had a header over the bar. That was about all I can remember.

Charlie Kirk - N/A

Token sub to avoid Nevitt doing something silly late on.

Overall Verdict

Another 3-0 battering at home, their 3rd in a row. This one, there are valid excuses. The 2 that preceded it are where the annoyance lies. Win/draw one of those and none of this matters. But as it is, the Alex will now try to rescue their PO bid down at Colchester next week. It really shouldn't have come to this. But they only have themselves to blame if the worst case scenario happens.