Newcastle Town 1-7 Crewe Alex - 6 Thoughts

It wasn't my intention to create another review of a friendly, but when so much happens in one 90 minute game, I felt the need to put down some thoughts. I'm not sure how many thoughts I end up having, so I won't commit to any. But here are some musings from myself as the Alex racked up another heavy win over a non-league team from down the A500.

Injuries

You thought we'd escaped injuries. Yeah, no. Tonight was a bruising encounter for the Alex and the list of walking wounded seems to be stacking up. Jack Lankester remains on the come back trail and whilst we assume Mickey Demetriou is not being risked, I can't say I've seen him in any of the pre-season training videos. How do we know he isn't injured exactly? Adrien Thibaut remains out, Nathan Robinson is MIA. That's 4.

Tonight, Matus Holicek came off with a knock and Lee Bell didn't sound optimistic that he would be available for a little while. Josh March was sporting a wrist brace, Louis Moult got a cut on the back of his head.

But the most concerning of all was the injury to Joel Tabiner, who came off after just 3 minutes with what looked to be a nasty knee injury. He got into a tussle with one of the Newcastle CBs and the Newcastle player fell on Joel's leg. He seemed in a lot of distress and very quickly the physio whisked him off. He was later spotted on crutches and Bell reported that his knee has swollen up and he's off for a scan.

The way he described the injury makes it sound like we should be fearing the worst, which of course would be a season ending ACL tear. Even a meniscus injury like the one Lankester suffered is a 3-5 month recovery.

With the squad already at least 3-5 players short of being properly competitive, they can ill afford a friendly like this one where several players picked up problems. If Tabiner is out long term, that'll leave another huge hole to fill in what is already a light on numbers attacking group.

"Off Poorly"

We finally had clarification on Omar Bogle's situation in Lee Bells' post match interview. He said, and I quote: "Omar's off poorly at the minute, so obviously we can't select him at the minute. We hope he's alright. As soon as I've got any more news on that I'll let you know".

Now, it might have only been a few words, but it said much more than I think Bell intended. First of all, Bogle was pictured fit and healthy doing training sessions with Conor Thomas and a bunch of the other Alex seniors shortly before pre-season commenced. So taking Bell at his word, this illness seems to have hit just as pre-season got underway and has lasted the last 2 1/2 weeks. What horrible timing.....

Second, the "we hope he's alright" comment caught my eye. To listen to him say that, it doesn't sound like they are even that aware of what Bogle's 'ailment' even is. I'm not expecting them to disclose full medical details which could be kept private for specific reasons, but that vague statement gives the impression they don't actually know what is causing him to miss all this time. And finally, him saying he will update once he has more news is again worryingly vague in the sense that it appears to say they don't know when his return will be.

His whole tone was very dismissive and matter of fact and not at all like the way a manager who has a genuinely ill player who's been off for over 2 weeks would or should sound. Considering he was less than a minute before that showing genuine distress and anguish over Tabiner's injury, the shift to how he talked about Bogle was stark.

Regardless of whether you believe Bell or not, the update is not good news. If Bogle is genuinely ill, it sounds alarming that he's been off 2 1/2 weeks and there is no sign of a return. Or if you believe Bell is lying to hide an issue like the club/Bogle trying to find a new club for him or he's just flat out not returned for pre-season training, that's not good either. This is not what they need with the season just over 3 weeks away.

Youngsters Shine

In more positive news, the youngsters stole the show in this game. Ok, some of them aren't so young anymore, but Jordan Hodkin, Lewis Billington and James Connolly were instrumental in the 1st half, with an assist for Hodkin, a goal and an assist for Billington and a goal for Connolly. Stan Dancey was decent as well, looking very composed on the ball.

Then in the 2nd half, there were 2 well taken goals for Luca Moore, whilst Olly Armstrong caught the eye against his former loan club. Phil Croker also looks to be on his way to becoming a fan favourite, as his scrappy early performances have stood out. We'll have to wait to see how he copes against better teams in the coming weeks, but he's had 2 solid games now.

Lapse

If there is one disappointment, aside from the injuries, it's the goal they conceded. Because it was so careless and from an individual who can ill afford to be drawing attention to himself. I'll still maintain that it's becoming more and more irritating by the day that Zac Williams continues to pull on the colours of a kit he continues to disrespect by not signing a new deal. And the Alex continue to disrespect themselves by allowing a wantaway player to walk around the place like he still holds an active contract.

To then see him commit a naive error to gift Newcastle the breakaway that forced the penalty is a mistake he can't afford to be making, especially when you add that to the way he ended last season and the 2 game ban he still has to serve. And that's even if he re-signs with the club. He should be doing all he can to keep his head down, not drawing more ire with errors like this one.

Maybe some feel it's harsh to single him out. Well, had he signed a new deal 6-12 months ago, I wouldn't feel the need to highlight it. But he hasn't. So he gets criticised.

Death, Taxes and Former Players

There are 3 certainties in life: Death, taxes and Crewe Alex re-signing a former player. After Luke Murphy, Kelvin Mellor, Tommy Lowery and Connor O'Riordan, this time, as was rumoured a few weeks ago, it's former captain Ollie Turton who is being linked with a move back to Gresty Road. He didn't feature on Saturday at Kidsgrove, but played in this game, turning out in the 2nd half.

He was solid and slotted in well alongside his team mates. I have my reservations, but he's only 32 and played 28 times in L1 for Huddersfield Town last season. Him alongside Lewis Billington competing for the RB on a 1 year deal would be fine with me.

Upping the quality

This was the Alex's 2nd game against tier 8 opposition. So you have to factor that in to any performance analysis. Well, from here on out, their opponents step up in quality, in rather big increments. Next up is a trip to 7th tier Ashton United, who finished in the play-offs in the Northern Premier League last season. Then it's 6th tier National League North side Radcliffe next Tuesday.

After that it's the 2 fixtures against Birmingham and Stoke, which will give them a better idea of where they are at. Then they will finish against another National League North side in Southport. So they are in for some much tougher tests before the season kicks off. I hope they enjoyed these 2 shellackings. Because I don't think the games from here on out will be as easy.