Lee Bell - Back, Sack or do nothing?

I was going to write a review of the defeat to Newport tonight. But I binned it off. There were things to take from the match without a doubt. A small selection of positives, but mostly negatives. And to be honest, it would have been the same things written about the same issues. And who wants to read that? So instead I've decided to pivot. Instead, I want to discuss the position of manager Lee Bell.

Maybe some will groan and roll their eyes. Maybe some will say it's long overdue. But as I've alluded to in recent weeks, the hierarchy at Crewe Alex have a big decision to make and, the way I see it, 3 options ahead of them. They can either act now to sack Lee Bell and hope a new manager can get more out of a sliding squad that now sits 13th in the table. Or, they can dip into their purses, get him the players he needs in January to improve the squad. Or they can sit on their hands, do nothing and hope for the best. Here is the arguments for all 3:

Back Him

The football at the start of the season was amazing. And you know what, I genuinely think the majority of their performances this season have been acceptable. They pass the ball more, they play more homegrown youngsters. They, up until recently, have been scoring a lot more goals. Say what you like about how last season went, but this season has felt like a return, in sorts, of the Crewe of old. High scoring games, fun, entertaining football. Sometimes entertaining in the wrong way, but better than last season's dross, where I have forgotten most of the games already.

Then there are the injuries. Joel Tabiner's ACL, Shilow Tracey's broken leg, Matus Holicek's 6 month groin issue, Jack Lankester's broken foot and meniscus, then the reaction to the latter injury. In game contact injuries for Demetriou, Thomas, Tezgel, March. They are not Lee Bell's fault, even if you want to try and find a conspiracy around the fact it's happened to them 3 years in a row. It's coincidence, plain and simple. Find me a manager that can deal with that level of absence and still win games consistently, at any level. Then find one that can work with their budget. It's going to be a short list.

Then we have the lack of top end academy talents in the squad. Maybe they are struggling due to the coaching, but maybe they just aren't that good. But I haven't seen much from Tabiner, Holicek or Agius to suggest they are going to go on and play higher than L2. Then we have the likes of Billington, Lunt, Booth, all fairly average L2 players who won't win you many games and won't cost you many either. They might keep you in L2, but they won't get you out of it. Where are the Powell's, Westwood's and Murphy's? Heck, where is the Kirk, Pickering, Wintle and Ng? Or double heck, where is the next Luke Offord and Rio Adebisi from just 2 seasons ago? Without a top crop of academy talent to build around, what hope does any manager have?

The signings have been mixed, but they have found some real gems in the last few windows. James Beadle, Mickey Demetriou, Joe White, Jack Lankester, Max Sanders, Jamie Knight-Lebel, Filip Marschall, Max Conway, Reece Hutchinson, Josh March, Emre Tezgel. They have hit it out of the park on more than a few occasions and it shows they can find the difference making talent. Whether that's all on Bell, all on Josh Kennard and his recruitment team or a mix of both, they've brought in some excellent players in the last 2 1/2 years.

And we can have hope that they've identified the weak links in the team by now and are taking steps to get rid of them. We may as well name them. Sam Waller, Jay Mingi, James Connolly, Charlie Finney, Jack Powell, Louis Moult. Maybe chuck Fin Roberts and Adrien Thibaut into the mix. All need to be moved on sharpish. A GK, RB, CB and CM need adding, quickly. Do that and they can recover to force their way into the promotion picture.

And whilst we're going into pure hopeium territory here, maybe being the chaser works in their favour this season. In the last 2 seasons, they were holding on to a play-off spot at the turn of the year, only to struggle in the 2nd half of the season. It's hope and prayer stuff, but perhaps the players who are out will start to return in the coming weeks once the schedule eases off and that will allow them to pick up form.

A fit Demetriou, Lankester, Tezgel and March make a huge difference to this team. The eventual return of Shilow Tracey helps. Contributions from Bogle and Holicek, assuming they stay fit. help. Surely after all the injury issues they've had in the last 2 months, they are due some luck and for the majority of their key players to stay fit in the 2nd half of the season.

Finally, write Lee Bell off at your peril. We've been here before, several times in fact. Their collapse at the end of 23-24 was saved only by them making the top 7 on the final day. The horrendous start to last season. The horrendous end to last season. The mini recovery after MK Dons this season. The win at Tranmere. Just when you think he's entered untenable territory, he finds a way to pull a result out of nowhere. Can you rule out the same this time?

Sack Him

The case against the manager is strong though. 1 win from 8, 3 wins from 12, 5 from 19 and even 9 from 23. It's not very good is it? Add in the collapse at the end of last season and it's 12 wins from 43. That's relegation form I'm afraid. In a results business, Bell hasn't been getting the results for going on a full season now. And talking purely results, the poor performances have been eye gougingly bad. Being dumped out of the cups(ignoring the Vertu) in the first round most seasons, the failure to turn up when playing in front of discounted entry home crowds.

The style of football I would argue has been better this season, but only in patches. Far too often, the abandon playing through the thirds and just chuck it long over the top for the attackers to run on to. It hasn't worked consistently and I think it speaks to a lack of ideas from them. Tactically they are poor. The 4-2-3-1 has undoubtedly worked, but the lack of a plan B is glaring. Every week, the subs make things worse. They have more yellow cards(5) by subs than they do goal contributions(4). 7 gained points from losing positions compared to 12 lost points from winning ones also demonstrates an inability to affect games.

Then we look at the injuries from the other side. Maybe some are bad fortune, but pushing Mickey Demetriou to play every week at 35 and then being surprised when he breaks down isn't bad luck, it's woeful judgement. Being surprised at seeing Conor Thomas go down is poor judgement. Keeping both on to play through injuries only to have to withdraw them and then see them miss weeks is poor judgement. Add in watching Josh March and Emre Tezgel do the same. Why is it Charlie Finney missed a whole season in 23-24 due to delaying a calf operation? Why is it Matus Holicek needed 2 operations on his groin?

What about squad planning? Who's bright idea was it to carry 11 senior attackers into the season and 7 defenders? Why did they sign Louis Moult when they had March, Tezgel and Bogle, plus planned to play a 4-2-3-1? Why did they not address the issue of relying on Demetriou to be their only over 25 years old defender? They can't be surprised at seeing the defence fall apart without him, yet they did nothing to address that possibility for 18 months. That's managerial negligence. Why are they so wafer thin at CM and at full back as well? Why do they constantly go for the cheap option in goal?

I get doing right by players, but a small L2 team can't carry an injured Shilow Tracey for 12 months when the option to release him was there last summer. They can't keep holding on to sub standard dross like Charlie Finney and Jack Powell in the hopes they'll get better. Football is a ruthless business and I don't get the sense Bell is ruthless at all.

Whilst we praise the good signings, let's also discuss the incredible misses they've had over the last 18 months as well. James Connolly, Kane Hemmings, Louis Moult, Jay Mingi, Dion Rankine. How can the same individuals who signed off on Lankester, Sanders and Tezgel sign off on the above names? Honking decisions, each of them. We can hope this January, they will find those difference makers, but is there any guarantee after the last 2 January's didn't?

Do Nothing

Or maybe, the club will take the middle ground. They won't dip into their pockets for more signings, because they can't afford to. They also won't sack the manager, because they can't afford to and don't know who to replace him with. So maybe they'll continue on like normal and hope and pray things will turn around in the coming months. Let me explain why that would be a terrible strategy. Sure, they can hope for key players returning. They can hope the easing of the schedule will see players get time to recover and more importantly stay fit. They can hope for a reversal of last season's 2nd half downturn. If it works, they'll be laughing.

But if things don't work out, they will be putting themselves in a really difficult position. The fans are already restless. Social media reaction has been damning and the fans in the stands are approaching Tranmere away from last season levels of frustration. Lose against Cheltenham on Thursday and things could get properly toxic. The fact is, if the team go on a run like they did in the first half of 2025, Bell's position will become untenable.

The fans who were won over and started coming during the 23-24 promotion run will start to disappear if promotion looks a distant dream. Their away games between now and March are all long trips where they'll struggle to take 300 fans each, Notts County aside. The home games in that time frame are against sides who'll also struggle to bring more than 300 a piece. Attendances will plummet, I guarantee it.

Then what about 2026-27? What optimism are the club going to sell to the fans then, after 2nd season of decline after the 23-24 play-off/Wembley run? How are they going to convince fans to fork out £400 on a new season ticket, another £100 on 2 new shirts, hundreds more on away travel and tickets? It's not going to happen.

Conclusion

Look, they are in a difficult position right now. And if we're being deep down honest with ourselves, we know option 3 is the route they'll take. Because they'll see it as the safest option. But things could be taken out of their hands should things continue to decline without a clear sign of ambition from them that either they feel the manager needs more help or his results/style of football haven't been good enough and better is needed in the dugout.

Sitting on their hands and going into 'hope and pray' mode is a massively risky strategy. As is either of the other 2 options, I do get that. As I've said for many weeks though, the club are at a 3 way crossroads and they have to get their next path correct. Fail to do so and I dread to think where things end up 6/12/18 months from now.