How to Fix Crewe Alex's attacking Woes

3 games into the Alex's league season, they have no goals. In fact, if you factor in all the games following their 3-2 loss to Morecambe back in March, they have scored just 8 goals in their last 18 games in all competitions. They are scoreless in their first 3 league games this season. The last time that happened was in 2000-01. With them in the midst of their longest scoring drought to open a season in 23 years, a lot of the questions are being asked about why this is happening and what can be done to fix it.

First I'm going to lay out the issues in their rawest number form. I'm them going to put across the very pessimistic view that is starting to become more dominant. Then I'm going to present how I would go about fixing these issues. So, let's start.

8 goals in 18

Would you believe that the last player to score a goal for this team in the league(not including play-offs) that is still with the club is Shilow Tracey, after his goal against Morecambe on March 2nd. The 5 goals following that were 4 from Nevitt and 1 from Adebisi. Heck, even if you include the play-offs to include Demetriou's goal in the 2nd leg and Holicek's in the league cup, that's 2 goals from players still on this team since March 2nd. 2.

Whats worse is, the lack of goals isn't a fluke either. They are averaging 0.76 goals per game across this 18 game span, with just 3,2 shots on target and 9 in total on average in them. Through 3 league games this season, they are 20th in xG and 22nd in shots on target per FotMob. The numbers don't paint a pretty picture at all.

Pessimistic View

And the worry I have is, I question both the managers ability to get this team firing and the quality of the personnel he has to do so. Since Jack Powell went down against Stockport last October, the Alex's goals per game dropped from 2.42 per game to just 1.09. However, pinning their lack of goals on his absence is short sighted.

Even during their hot streak at the start of last season, the Alex were dramatically overperforming their xG, scoring 34 goals from an xG of just 21.85. Across the whole season, they finished 15th in xG and were the 10th highest over performing team in that regard. They converted 69 goals from just 183 shots on target, a conversion rate of 25%, which is crazily high.

Briefly looking at 22/23, they finished 22nd in the xG table and had the 6th lowest xG for. The pessimistic view is there is little evidence to suggest Lee Bell knows how to get this team playing consistent attacking football. They were 14th in open play goals last season, with even teams like Swindon, Newport, Colchester and Salford managing more. As we all know, a lot of their threat last season came from set pieces. But since Connor O'Riordan's January departure, a lot of that threat feels diminished.

I then question what the Alex have at their disposal this season. Omar Bogle and Chris Long are good players on their day, but their fitness records are questionable at best. Can they be relied upon for 30-ish goals between them? Debatable.

Shilow Tracey and Jack Lankester's career highs for goals and assists are 7. We've not seen much so far this season to say they can be that consistent spark that the team needs. Kane Hemmings looks ok and with service, he might score a few. But he's 33 and his best days might be behind him. The youngsters in Holicek and Tabiner are struggling for form and where their best place is in the team, whilst Callum Agius feels a way off first team contention.

Deeper in midfield, Max Sanders doesn't seem to bring any creativity and we know Conor Thomas doesn't. Kian Breckin and Owen Lunt are unproven wildcards at this point. In defence, we know Demetriou can provide goals and assists, but he won't hit the 14 he managed last season. There is no obvious replacement for Adebisi on the left either, although hopefully Williams, Finney and Conway can replace his 11 goals and assists in the aggregate.

We also as fans need to stop praying for Jack Powell's return. We don't know how far off he is and even if he returned this week, he'll need several weeks of U21s games to get him in contention for league games I'd imagine, given the clubs likely desire to see him avoid any setbacks in his recovery.

If and when he comes through that, his role in the squad will likely be a bench option as he tries to get back into game condition. There is just no guarantee he returns to anything like his best, coming off an ACL injury at the age of 30. He might, but we need to be ready for that not to happen.

So, that's my pessimistic slant, some of which I do believe, some of which I'm playing devils advocate.

How to fix it

The big question then becomes, how to fix it. Well, first you start be readdressing the balance in the squad. That starts with the wide areas and the problem is, there is no easy solution given their wide options in my opinion are weak. A 4-2-3-1 relies on Long, Tracey and Lankester to be productive and for them to get solid support from Williams, Conway, Billington and Cooney overlapping as full backs. On the other hand, a variation on the 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 relies on Billington to give you width and attacking impetus on the right, which I don't think he can. And we don't want to go down the "play wingers at wing-back" path again.

For me though when looking at what formation is best, the 3 at the back is the optimal choice they have and here is how, in my opinion, it should work. First, we start with the back. I think a back 3 of Connolly/Knight-Lebel, Demetriou and Williams from right to left is their best choice. What I'd like to see more of is the left and right sided of the trio drive forward more. Williams has shown his ability to do so, so I want to see more of that from the defender on the right. That's the whole point of having 3 CBs, is that one can drive out of defence to help support the attack, knowing he has 2 other CBs as cover should possession get turned over.

Then I want to see both wing backs played much, much higher up the pitch. Look at Conway and Billington's average positions from the Swindon game on the left, per WhoScored. If you are playing with wing backs, the clue is in the name. WING backs. Both of them should be level with the midfielders. They need to be encouraged to push much, much further forward.

Moving into midfield, the duo of Conor Thomas and Max Sanders doesn't work. I've stated many times why I don't want Conor Thomas in the team, but let me reiterate. Against Swindon, he played the whole 90 minutes. He made just 31 touches and completed just 13 of 24 passes. Against Chesterfield, he somehow managed 24 touches in just 30 minutes of playing time before he was dragged off. Against Barrow, it was 38. Compare that to Sanders, who across the 3 games has managed 78, 20 and 64.

That means Thomas is averaging a touch every 30 seconds compared to Sanders who is touching it once every 15 seconds. It's a massive difference. In the early League Two average passes table for this season, Sanders ranks 55th. Thomas is 178th. I do understand why Thomas starts. He adds height and probably a bit of defensive stability. But when the team is going through such a chronic struggle in attack, sacrifices have to be made somewhere. These 2 players cannot start together, it's that simple. So, Thomas should make way, whether that's for Tabiner, Breckin or Lunt, I don't care.

Next, I'd be telling whoever they insist on starting in the number 10 role that a lot more is needed. Joel Tabiner has looked short on confidence in that role and he needs to find ways of getting more involved. He needs to drop deeper when the Alex are trying to pass the ball through the thirds to offer himself as a third option in midfield. Being more mobile and finding pockets of space to receive the ball on the half turn would also be something to work on.

Alternatively, he could be dropped deeper to play alongside Sanders at Thomas' expense, leaving his number 10 spot to be filled by Holicek or Lankester. Holicek has only been given 2 starts through 4 games, one down the middle against Rotherham, where he scored and the other was out wide on the left for some unknown reason. Give him a run of games in the number 10 spot, with Tabiner and Sanders behind him, to see how he does.

Hemmings obviously starts until Bogel is fit to return and give him some competition. But through 3 games, he's cut an isolated figure, managing just 4 shots and 1 on target. He desperately needs support. To do that, you could either go with 2 wingers(3-4-3), 2 number 10s(3-4-2-1), or one number 10 and a 2nd striker(3-4-1-2). Now, at this stage, I can't say for certain what combination works.

But the good news here is that they have options to move things around to try and find the best arrangement. If you want to go 3-4-3, then you can mix and match between Long, Tracey and Lankester, with maybe working in Holicek as well. 3-4-2-1, my preference, could see them start Lankester and Holicek behind Hemmings. In the 3-4-1-2, Holicek or Lankester could drop into the number 10 spot, whilst Long, Bogle and maybe a new striker could compete with Hemmings for the 2 starting spots upfront.

My next issue to fix is how the Alex are trying to create chances. There is little creativity coming from down the middle, with the focus seemingly on putting in crosses from wide areas. The Alex rank 7th in crosses so far this season with 67. However, there to me is little sense in whipping in balls when the only player to aim at is Hemmings.

The quality of these deliveries has also been sorely lacking. The balls into the box from out wide need to be far better, both from open play and set pieces. Also, getting more players in the box would be beneficial. If that means starting 2 strikers, so be it. If that means having 2 number 10s or 2 wingers and getting them in there instead, fine.

Finally, we come to actual attacking intent. Bell talks about wanting to see lots of 4-3s. Well, his actions so far point to a team that is focused too much on what the opposition are doing and about ensuring defensive stability, rather than attacking desire. Why else do 2 non-creative midfielders start every week? Why else do the wing backs start so far back?

Look at Saturday, where they started with a 5-2-1-2 and never deviated away from that even as they made changes. It's 0-0 at home going into the final 10 minutes, why not sacrifice a defender and get an extra attacker on? It could have made the difference.

Conclusion

That is my main set of points for how to improve things in attack for the Alex. Allow more forward runs from the LCB and RCB. Get the wing backs pushed higher up. Break up the Thomas and Sanders midfield duo. And get more attackers in the box to attack crosses. They have got to focus on getting the balance right, but the good news is they have the games to do it. Bromley will be tricky, no doubt. They've had a good start to the season.

But in September, they play 2 early strugglers in Morecambe and Accrington and I'm still to be convinced Harrogate and Newport won't also find themselves near the bottom as well. They have the games coming up over the next month to get things resolved and get some confidence and form back.

But they'll only do that if there is a fundamental shift in how the team is set up and told to play. If Bell can get them playing with more attacking intent, then this season doesn't have to be a poor one. However, if he can't get a tune out of them, then I get the sense that the fans patience won't last much longer. And once you've lost the fans, there is often only one outcome at that point.