Notts County 1-0 Crewe Alex 25-26 Review - Awkward Conversations

Sigh. I'm not even sure what to say at this point. Another defeat on the road. Outclassed by another top 7 opponent. More of the same issues tactically and with the lack of depth. Well, I do know what to say. I think it's time to have some honest conversations. About certain individuals. About the squad as a whole. And about the club as a whole. So, let's delve into those in my review of the defeat at Notts County:

Struggling

I love Mickey Demetriou for what he's done for the club over the last 2 1/2 seasons. His leadership, general performances, interaction with the fans, his tenure as captain. It's been top draw. But he is declining physically. It's becoming more obvious by the week.

The injuries are stacking up and he can't perform to the same level he used to. The club have needed to sign an experienced CB to support him and give him a break for the last 18 months. But here we are, with this window closing in a week, still without any viable back up to him. I admire him for playing through all his physical issues. But when the manager is maybe having to change the whole team shape just to cover for his mistakes and issues, it's a problem. What is the transition plan? Is there one? Because this can't continue for much longer.

Squad Building

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Alex have built a decent starting XI for the most part. Billington, Demetriou, Hutchinson, Lunt, Sanders, O'Reilly, Agius, March and Tezgel have been good. But behind them, we have 2 groups. The injured and the poor. Lankester, Tracey, Tabiner, Thomas, Bogle fall into the former group. Yes, the majority of those injuries have been bad luck. But guess what, feeling sorry for yourselves isn't going to solve anything. And when it happens year after year, it goes from bad fortune to a pattern.

Then you have the poor. Waller, Golding, Connolly, Mingi, Rankine, Powell, Finney, Moult, Thibaut. Yes, there are mitigating circumstances why they were poor. I'm not putting all the blame on them, not by a long stretch. But them being in positions to play significant minutes is not great, as none have proved anywhere near the level of the aforementioned colleagues.

The difficult question though is, what will change next season? Yes, the latter group might be largely moved on. They will try again to build a decent XI and depth that can replace them. But for a side with a small budget, will things be any better next season? Can they ever hope to build a squad of 25 players who can all perform to a decent level in L2?

Haves and Have Nots

Today should illustrate just what the Alex are up against when trying to compete for promotion. County were able to bring on Matty Dennis and Tyrese Hall, who have 15 L2 goals between them this season alone. The Alex meanwhile brought on Thibaut and Rankine. Who have 5 goals in their entire league careers.

The Alex are a cash poor side playing in cash rich league, where Salford, on half the Alex's crowds, can drop £500k on Ryan Graydon. Where MK Dons can drop £750k on Aaron Collins. What chance have the Alex realistically got to make it consistently into the top 7 with those disadvantages? The outstanding academy providing cheap talent that is way above a L2 level has gone. They can't afford the best free agents. So barring 1 surprise season every 3-4 years, what more can be expected of the club? And the management?

No disgrace

Look, losing today was no disgrace. Yes, the Alex were poor in every aspect of the game and the only positive is that they only lost 1-0, and not by 4 or 5. But they lost to a decent, well funded team. I can deal with that. What will cost them a shot at promotion is the games where they played well or did enough to deserve more and didn't get it. I'm going to keep coming back to it.

Gillingham, Barnet, Oldham, Chesterfield, Cambridge, Newport at home, Harrogate at home. All could and maybe should have been wins, 18 points banked. They needed a bare minimum of 11. They took 4. That's why they won't finish near the top 7 come May. Not defeats like today.

Go for Broke, or Rebuild?

The Alex now have a difficult choice with a week left in the transfer window. Do they chuck more money at what is increasingly becoming a daunting ask, to not only close the gap to the top 7, but break in and stay there? With the starting XI looking disjointed and lacking energy, with the squad missing key players and them having non-existent depth?

Are they really a couple of loanees at full back, CM or winger really going to make the difference? Is this squad really 2 signings away from being good enough for the top 7? I'm sure the management and players will keep pushing, as they should.

But deep down, it's time to start facing up to another season in L2 in 26-27, barring an incredible turnaround. Are they going to Bromley and beating them on Tuesday? Are they beating a strong, promotion contending Colchester next Saturday? Are they going to Barnet on a cold Tuesday night and winning? Maybe they are. Miracles can happen. But it's highly unlikely.

I think the club would be wise to start looking to build for next season. And to be fair, a lot of the pieces are in place to build around. Lawlor in goal, Billington, Demetriou(in a reduced role) and Hutchinson at the back. Lunt in midfield. Agius, Holicek and March in attack. Booth, Tabiner, Croker and Owen Taylor as well. They are not bereft of quality.

But what does need to happen is moving away from Moult, Rankine, Thibaut, Finney and Powell. They are not the future. They aren't even the present. Bring in Luca Moore, Olly Armstrong, Stan Dancey and Jordan Hodkin on the bench. Maybe they aren't good enough. But there is nothing to be lost by giving them some minutes off the bench to see how they cope. They might even surprise you.

This isn't waving the white flag. This is just an acknowledgement that after 2 straight seasons of throwing out player development, bringing in players on loan you think will be instant helps in order to go full throttle for promotion, perhaps this is the year you don't do that. Maybe it's time to look at the bigger picture and try to position yourselves better for next season. Just a thought.

Ref Watch

Nothing much to say on him, he was fine. A bit quick with his yellows perhaps, but nothing egregious.

Management Assessment

I think they had to change things tactically, as they were getting overrun. But yet again, the switch didn't help, as they created nothing and kept giving up big chances. The Alex have a mid-table league 2 squad. They most likely have a mid-table L2 management group.

Player Assessments:

Ian Lawlor MOTM

A few flaps in the first half, but several big saves in the 2nd half kept the score down.

Lewis Billington

Poor between him and Pond for Jatta's goal, but aside from that, I thought he coped ok, especially given he played in about 3 different positions.

Alfie Pond

Struggled at times to handle County's attackers and was poor in losing the header, but given it was his 2nd game for the club, I thought he was ok on the whole. He'll have 2 very tough tests coming up against Bromley and Colchester.

Mickey Demetriou

Improved once they went to a back 3, but he's just nowhere near fit and it's costing them. As I said above, I admire his warrior spirit. But he's becoming more and more like the black knight from Monty Python at this stage.

Reece Hutchinson

Solid enough, but today was his 24th league start. He's now played 46 games between February last season and now. Are they just going to keep running him out there every week and risking injury to him? What's the rotation plan exactly?

Max Sanders

Tried his best, but his shooting was very poor. I admire his confidence, but those bangers against Harrogate and Tranmere are looking like the outliers.

Owen Lunt

Invisible as County bossed the midfield. Came off at half time with could have been a knock after he looked to be struggling in the first half.

Tommi O'Reilly

Kept wanting to get on the ball and make things happen, but he was well shut down by County's defenders. Rightly took off on 70 minutes as he continues to look jaded. He needs a game or 2 on the bench, otherwise he'll be of no use to anyone come the spring.

Matus Holicek

Another player I barely noticed was even playing. Just not in the game at all, even when moved to a deeper position.

Calum Agius

The third MIA player. Barely touched the ball, but again I have sympathies as he was pushed from pillar to post throughout the game.

Josh March

Nothing he could do when he had such little support from those around him. Wrestling with defenders much taller than him. On a hiding to nothing.

Subs:

James Connolly

Meh. Nothing terrible, but nothing great either.

Adrien Thibaut

Put himself about, but he did so with his typical lack of quality. Affected nothing.

Dion Rankine

Dire. Offered nothing as usual.

Louis Moult

Got the final few minutes in stoppage time. Another waste of a shirt.

Overall Verdict

Well, dust yourselves off and go again at Bromley right lads? Yeah, to say I'm not looking forward to that game would be an understatement. It's all starting to feel a little inevitable at the moment isn't it?