MK Dons 3-1 Crewe Alex 23/24 Review - Tactical Disasterclass

The Alex endured a horrible injury crisis back in November and December. But for as frustrating as it was, it felt inevitable for their small squad, who played a lot of games in that period. Well, to see another crisis hit them in what has been a pretty light part of their schedule, and also one of their most crucial ones, is concerning.

We knew the injuries to Powell and Lunt were long term. But to lose Long, Offord, Holicek, CBR and Tabiner for this game in a short space of time is frustrating. Sure, most of their injuries have been unfortunate ones and only Long's can be attributed to being "injury prone", but to be so short at this stage is frustrating and down heartening.

I know there are various reasons for why this has happened. Bad luck mostly. Williams(twice), Holicek and Offord all having bad landings in games and doing their ankle ligaments. Tom Booth's punctured lung, CBR falling on his shoulder, Powell's ACL, Lunt having growing pains. There isn't much you can do about that.

What they did well last summer was finding durable players who were going to give them lots of games. They found that in Powell(freak injury aside) and Demetriou. One of the biggest things to take away from this season is the need to find more durable players who can give them 35+ games of availability a season.

Anyway, here is my review of today's game:

System

People don't want to hear it, but on too many occasions this season, the management have totally botched their starting XI and tactics. It was a big issue at the start of the season and whilst it did get better during the middle section over the winter, it still kept cropping up every few games.

And it's becoming a bigger issue of late, with their constant use of the number 10 position despite not having one in the squad being a source of frustration. Today, it was an utterly bizarre decision to switch to a back 3. They haven't played that system properly since Boxing Day, so to do it now, with only a day or two to work on it, was madness. It doesn't matter what league the Alex are in next season, both Bell and Dicker have a lot to learn and improve on as they pick up experience.

King of Merseyside

If there was one positive to take from the game, it was yet another goal from Nevitt. He made the most of a slip in the MK defence to fire in his 14th league goal of the season, which puts him only 2 behind Dan Agyei's 16 from last season. He could easily become the first Crewe player since Clayton Donaldson(28) and Shaun Miller(18) in 2010-11 to score more than 16 league goals in a season.

Chances

For as bad as the Alex defended, they had their chances on the attack. Cooney and Tracey both missed great chances to score and there were a few other scrambles which should have resulted in more efforts on goal. They definitely merited more than 1 goal, but the problem was, they could have easily conceded 5 or 6 at the other end.

Good Side

All the above being said, MK Dons are a stupid good side. So good was their starting XI and the quality in it, they could afford to leave Dan Kemp, of 22 goals/assists, on the bench. The Alex's depth was all injured. I said it in my preview and I'll say it again, a midfield of Bate, Gilbey, Payne and Wearne is disgusting. They played with a high tempo and moved the Alex every which way in the first half. They look good bets to finish in the top 3 with Wrexham and Stockport stuttering of late.

Good Position

Still, for as bad as the Alex were, once again results went for them. Barrow, Wimbledon and Walsall all failed to win below them. The gap to 8th is still 8 points(9 with GD) with only 8-9 games to go. Heck, if you still think the autos are possible, Wrexham are losing form as well. They are 3 points off 3rd having played the same number of games. It's still very much all to play for as we head into the final 8 games.

Referee Rating - 5

There were a few bizarre decisions as per the course, but overall he wasn't too bad. He let the game flow for the most part and let some strange ones go for both sides. His only egregious mistake was not booking Harrison for dragging back Adebisi and then standing on his ankle. Other than that, he was fine.

Management Rating - 0

Sorry, nowhere near good enough once again. Not only was the starting XI wrong, but their decision to not make any meaningful changes until the final 15 minutes was utterly baffling. For a management group who can be criticised for changing things too frequently, to see them dig their heels in and just blindly hope for something different in the 2nd half, I genuinely can't work them out. A horrendous afternoon for them.

Player Ratings

Tom Booth - 7 MOTM

Aside from a miscontrol on a Cooney back pass, he was superb. He made a number of solid stops and 1 excellent one in the 2nd half.

Ryan Cooney - 4

Had chances to score, 1 which he should score in the 1st half and another which was presentable even if more difficult in the 2nd half. Another silly booking, another game where I can't work out why he starts over Billington. Someone ask Bell please.

Ed Turns - 4

Got turned(sorry) every which way in that first half. Like a few players today, that wasn't his fault so much, but he struggled. Booked and then subbed, not a good day for him.

Mickey Demetriou - 4

His worst performance in a Crewe shirt, but I don't hold it against him. He didn't look at all comfortable trying to defend 1 on 1 against Dennis. It got easier for him in the 2nd half, but it was still a poor afternoon.

Zac Williams - 4

Like the other 2 CBs, I'm not sure I blame him for how poor he was in the early stages. But he was all over the place as MK ran rampant. Maybe with work he could play LCB in a back 3, but this was not the game to try it.

Rio Adebisi - 5

His set pieces were decent and deserved better than what they got, but his all round play wasn't great. Better than a few others in the team, but still found it tough.

Conor Thomas - 5

Tried his best, but once again I'm left frustrated by his lack of nous to find pockets of space and ability to play a forward pass. Not terrible, but MK showed the standard you need to be a top end L2 midfielder. I can't wait for Jack Powell to return next season.

Josh Austerfield - 5

Couldn't get a touch in the first half. He did improve marginally in the 2nd, but again, I'm only giving him a 5 because I think his struggles were down to the management butchering the team selection, not because he did poorly.

Shilow Tracey - 4

He's not very good is he? Save me the "he's in L2 for a reason" shtick as well, he has to be hitting the target with that chance in the 2nd half where he's clean through. He's a bang average player and the Alex need to be upgrading on him in the summer, regardless of what league they are in.

Elliott Nevitt - 6

One of a few who could hold his head up. Took his goal really well, caused MK's defence problems when he got them isolated. Needs way more support than he's getting, especially in the goalscoring department.

Aaron Rowe - 5

Better than he has been lately, he carried on his impressive cameo on Tuesday with another assist on Nevitt's goal. But I still want to see more from him.

Subs(Lol):

Lewis Leigh - N/A

A few nice touches and passes, a couple of poor moments. Still, not much I can say when he only gets 10 flippin minutes can I?

Charlie Kirk - N/A

Seriously? If you're not going to bring him on until the 88th minute, then just don't bother. Baffling management to not have him on 20 minutes sooner.

Overall Verdict

The concerns are mounting. The management can't seem to get things right consistently at the moment and games are slipping away through their poor decisions. And what's worse, I don't think they are learning from those mistakes either, because they keep happening. I fully expect them to go 4-2-3-1 against Wimbledon. Still, 2 wins should be enough to get them a top 7 spot. And whilst I think it's a pipe dream, the automatics aren't out of the picture yet either. It's still very much in their hands.