Crewe Alexandra 23/24 Monthly Review - April

There we go then, the 23/24 season is in the books. Well, the regular season part of it is now. It's been another long and gruelling 9 months. I feel tired and I haven't even played any games. The players and management must be exhausted. Well, that's the way it looked as they struggled more in April than they did in March. However, despite these struggles, they were able to drag themselves over the play-off threshold and make it back to the play-offs for the first time since 2012. But, for one last time, let's look at the month just finished and see what happened:

Looking Back

We all hoped I think that after a tough March, a more favourable looking April would be just the tonic the team needed to turn things around. Well, it didn't turn out that way. Things started off horrendously with a 3-0 drubbing at home against soon to be relegated Forest Green. The Alex started nervously, but fell to pieces as 3 first half goals from the away side put them in control. The Alex responded somewhat in the 2nd half but they couldn't manage to get the first goal which might have made things interesting and fell to a heavy defeat.

They improved somewhat on the road at Accrington, but it was another tough watch as the home side showed little enthusiasm and almost tried to hand the game to the Alex, only for them to struggle to create any openings. They emerged with a deserved point, but the lack of attacking prowess was a concern.

They went into another trip north, this time a midweek visit to Morecambe, desperately needing a win to keep the chasing pack at bay. They were able to get it, just. Morecambe, like Accrington, had moments, but the Alex defended well and grabbed a huge goal through Elliott Nevitt, which took them onto the magic 70 points mark.

Back to back home games against 2 teams at either end of the table were next up. But any hope that the Morecambe game had restored confidence was shattered as they fell to back to back 3-0 defeats. In truth, both Grimsby and Wrexham dominated and were full value for their heavy wins. The Alex's performances in both were wretched.

So, they went into the final day down at Colchester knowing that, after all the teams around them had played their games in hand, a point would see them earn a top 7 spot. They once again struggled, as Colchester took a first half lead and never really looked surrendering it. As the Alex searched for a way back and the fans nervously checked social media for how the other scores were going, they finally got a moment of magic.

In the 91st minute, Joel Tabiner put in a lovely backheel to send Charlie Kirk away. He put in a superb cross onto the toe of Nevitt, who was able to scramble home the equaliser they desperately needed. It meant that other results become immaterial as they finished 6th. Next up is the in form Doncaster in the playoffs.

U21s

You can probably guess what happened with the reserves. It was yet another tough month for them, as a ragtag team of seniors, scholars and trialists had to navigate a ridiculous 8 games in April. In the league, they went 0-1-5, conceding 21(update) goals in the process. That cemented their place at the bottom of the development league north table.

They did come close to cup glory in the Cheshire Senior Cup, but in the end they fell just short, losing 4-2 to Hyde United on penalties after drawing 2-2 in regular time. After their home game with Charlton was cancelled, I belive they still have 2 more games to play at this level.

U18s

The impact of so many U18s being called up to play for the U21s had a knock on effect on this youth team level as well. They struggled in April, going 1-0-4 and conceding 14 in those games. Still, those players that did play hopefully picked up some useful lessons and can be better players for it in the future.

As for their final fixtures, they are supposed to play Coventry home and away today(1st May) and Saturday(4th), which would see them play 29 games, 1 more than I thought. But who knows how they schedule things.

Injuries

Probably their worst month of the season yet. CBR recovered from his shoulder issue to pick up a calf problem immediately after, but he was able to return for Colchester, making him available for the playoffs. They then got a group of hamstring injuries, with Conor Thomas and bizarrely, the 2 keepers within days of each other, picking up issues. The number of muscle injuries sustained this season has been ridiculous and needs serious investigation to avoid it happening so frequently in the future.

But just when you'd hoped they'd gotten through April without anymore problems, Chris Long and Matus Holicek both limped off against Colchester, throwing their participation for the play-offs into doubt.

Player	Injury	Possible Return Date?
Jack Powell(CM)	ACL	July-August 2024
Owen Lunt(CM)	Back	Summer 2024
Luke Offord(CM/CB)	Ankle Ligaments	Summer 2024
Conor Thomas(CM)	Hamstring	Early May 2024
Tom Booth(GK)	Hamstring	Mid-May 2024
Harvey Davies(GK)	Hamstring	Mid-May 2024
Ed Turns(CB)	Knee	Early-May 2024
Chris Long(LW)	???	???
Matus Holicek(CM)	???	???

Loans

It was a disappointing final few weeks of the season for Billy Sass-Davies, who saw his Boreham Wood side relegated on the final day. Dave Richards' season with St Johnstone will continue into May, with their survival in the SPL not yet assured. Charlie Colkett's loan with Notts County ended with him making just 4 sub appearances. That to this day will remain one of the most baffling loan moves I think I've ever seen.

Player of the Month

Elliott Nevitt

It was slim pickings as most of the squad struggled, but I'll go with the only player to actually score a goal in April. Nevitt's 2 strikes against Morecambe and Colchester were literally the reason the Alex were able to drag themselves over the line. He's been immense this season and can feel proud of his 16 league goals.

Previous choice:

August: Mickey Demetriou

September: Chris Long

October: Mickey Demetriou

November: Connor O’Riordan

December: Elliott Nevitt

January: Luke Offord

February: Ed Turns

March: Tom Booth

Step It Up

The Attackers(Bar Nevitt)

This is a bit of a cheat, but I don't want to call out any 1 player. Instead I'll put this on all the attacking players the club have. That's CBR, Holicek, Long, Rowe, Kirk, Tracey. In 2024, they have a combined 5 goals and 5 assists between them. That's nowhere near enough. If they are to anything in the play-offs, they need these players to step up.

Previous choice:

August: Harvey Davies

September: Jack Powell

October: Chris Long

November: Shilow Tracey

December: Courtney Baker-Richardson

January: Chris Long

February: Aaron Rowe

March: Charlie Kirk

Underrated Player

Luke Offord

Another slight cheat answer, but I don't think we realised just how important Offord was or is to this team until he was gone. Their form has cratered in his absence, which I do is partly coincidence and partly due to them lacking any other semblance of experience in the midfield. But his loss has been a huge issue and one they've never looked like filling.

Previous choice:

August: Joel Tabiner

September: Rio Adebisi

October: Zac Williams

November: Courtney Baker-Richardson

December: Luke Offord

January: Lewis Billington

February: Harvey Davies

March: Conor Thomas

Analysis

Is the Alex's lack of form in April just down to their injuries, notably in midfield? Perhaps it could be that simple. A fit Joel Tabiner and a rotating trio of Powell, Offord and Thomas probably don't see them have such a skid. But I worry their struggles go beyond just missing a few players.

The tactics at times seem muddled and confused. They seem to try and play football one minute, long ball the next. There doesn't seem to be any particular style or patterns to the play. Obviously a lot of that doesn't matter now, but there is a lot for Lee Bell to fix over the summer, regardless of what the Alex do in the play-offs.

Final Word

They achieved what they wanted to and that's all that matters. Now they have to ensure their journey through the play-offs isn't a short one, against the in form Doncaster of all teams.