It's Over...

Bradford 1 Crewe 5

It's only taken me a week to get round to it, but here, finally, is a report on the last game of the season. With neither side really having anything to play for, it was a chance for both teams to relax and play without pressure. Except, of course, there's always some pressure. The expectation from the Bradford fans, who have endured yet another frustrating season of under-achievement, and the away-day hoodoo that has seen Crewe lose their last eleven consecutive matches away from home.
As I had another engagement on that side of the country, I decided to combine the two and made the trip to my first away game for a while. First since Macclesfield, I believe.And I have to say, I'm glad I made the effort.
Despite having nothing to play for, Dario still fielded his strongest available side, the same side which had dispatched Stockport after a bit of huffing and puffing last week. There was no huffing and puffing in the Crewe ranks this week, as they strolled to a comfortable victory and inflicted their heaviest defeat of the season on Bradford.
Clayton Donaldson was obviously keen to get his name on the score sheet, to claim the Golden Boot, and when Crewe won a free-kick after only ten minutes in "Danny Shelley territory", he claimed the ball and took it, instead of letting Shelley hammer it. To no great surprise, Donaldson's effort came back off the wall. Fortunately, for the frustrated Crewe faithful, a goal was not long in coming. Shaun Miller saw his chance and challenged for a loose pass. The ball broke for him and he charged forward into the area and took the ball past the advancing keeper, with a fair amount of skill it has to be said. He then had the simple task of slotting it into the empty net. This only served to spark Bradford into action and they nearly equalised when James Hanson got on the end of a rebound from a save by Rhys Taylor, but he hit the bar and Crewe were able to clear the danger. Bradford did get a deserved equaliser though, when Artell fouled Speight in the area and Speight got up to put the resulting penalty away. Bradford put some more pressure on but were then caught on the break when Byron Moore took the ball up the right and put in a deep cross for Miller to notch his second from the edge of the area. Two minutes later Donaldson finally got his name on the score sheet when he got the ball on the edge of the area and turned to slip a shot past the Bradford keeper, who was possibly unsighted. Three one to the Alex and the stuffing was knocked out of Bradford on the stroke of half-time when Shelley hit a shot from distance that appeared to swerve through the Bradford keeper's hands.
Obviously, the last time Crewe were 4-1 up at half-time away from home, they went on to only manage a 5-5 draw with Chesterfield, so there were plenty of jokes about that in the bar during the interval. Clearly though, Bradford were not Chesterfield and were unlikely to pull off that sort of comeback. Indeed, they spent much of the second half  mounting a serious rearguard action as they attempted to keep the score at a respectable level. Crewe had a fair few chances but the fifth goal didn't come till midway through the half. The ball pinged around the area from a corner before coming out to Shelley. His first shot appeared to hit a hand, but the ball came back to him and his second shot flew into the back of the net via a slight deflection. Thereafter, the game slowly subsided to a gentle close. Crewe tried to add to their total and Bradford were still looking to get something, but both sets of players seem to know that that was that. There was still time for Sarcevic to make another appearance and for Harry Davis to get a run out in the centre of defence, but there were few alarms on either side.
So, the away-day hoodoo was well and truly broken and, thanks to Barnet beating them, Crewe managed to finish above Port Vale, which was quite funny, given that a lot of their fans had been giving the big one when they were top of the table in November. Clearly, Agent Jim Gannon's mission there was a success! Not that Crewe have much to boast about. They might have beaten my prediction of mid-table (just!) but they could have done better and in the end that horrendous away run has cost them. Just one more win away and they would have sneaked into the play-offs...
So, the season is over, but the blog won't stop. there'll be a review of the season next week and then a look forward to next season. And then a few more blogs during the pre-season before getting back to the serious business of following the Alex.

Down the Dustpipe

Crewe 2 Stockport 0
A small measure of revenge for the Alex after Stockport County ensured their relegation out of League One a couple of seasons back. Stockport were all but mathematically down anyway but this defeat meant that not even a fluke result on the last day of the season would be enough to save them.
In truth Stockport could have been two goals to the good early doors but former Alex striker Anthony Elding showed the sort of touch in front of goal that had led to his release by the club. He brought the ball down excellently in the middle of the goal but somehow blazed wide from five yards. His team mate Greg Tansey then followed suit, wasting a glorious chance to open the scoring. The Alex recovered from those early scares and were soon creating chances of their own. Shaun Miller hit the near post from an acute angle, then put a free header wide when he looked certain to score, and finally saw the Stockport keeper make a good save. Thereafter it was pretty much even stevens. Both sides worked hard but neither was really offering us a cutting edge and we got to half time with neither set of fans particularly happy that it was goal-less.
The second half wasn't a great deal better, to be honest. Crewe were finding it difficult to break down Stockport's five-man midfield and Stockport lacked a cutting edge up front. In the end it was a bit of a relief when Lee Bell pumped a free-kick into the Stockport area and Goodall headed it past his own keeper. Donaldson added another well-taken goal three minutes later to make it two nil and thereafter Stockport's hearts weren't really in the game and it was fairly comfortable. We saw late debuts for Ollie Turton and Casper Hughes, who will surely be featuring more next season, and Sarcevic got another run out.
The final whistle went and that was it. All over at the Alexandra Stadium for another season. for those fans who only saw the home games, Crewe have had a fantastic season - only Chesterfield and Accrington have secured more points at home.  Sadly the away form post-New Year has been the club's Achilles heel.
There's still the final matter of the game at Bradford next week, and here's hoping they can break the away hoodoo. I'm especially hopeful as it'll be my first away trip for a while.

The KKK Took My Baby Away

Wycombe 2 Crewe 0
Eeh, these bank holidays and extra days off have thrown me right out. Should really have done this on Monday evening but was still catching up with stuff from the weekend. And the last two days I've been catching up with jobs around the house.
Anyway, I did  find time to listen to this game on the radio. Sounded like it was a perfect summation of Crewe's season, to be honest. Plenty of chances before Wycombe took the lead shortly before half-time, via the head of Scott Rendell. Crewe then won a fortuitous penalty which Clayton Donaldson saw saved well by the keeper. Almost immediately, Wycombe won a dubious penalty of their own, which Rendell put away confidently. Half-time came and in a fairly even game, Crewe found themselves 2 goals behind. As any of the hardy away fans could have told you, there would only be one result.
Crewe huffed and puffed to little effect in the second half and the Wycombe keeper had little work to do until the arrival of teenage starlets Powell and Clayton. They gave Crewe more of a cutting edge, but they were still not incisive enough to pull Crewe back into the game. Indeed, the defeat could have been heavier had Taylor not saved Rendell's second penalty following Dugdale's handball.
So, 12 games on the road this year and that's the 11th consecutive defeat. And it's that form that has really cost the club in it's search for a play-off place. One more win and a few draws would have seen the club up there in the mix, but it's not to be. The best they can do now is finish 9th, worst they can do now is 14th. Not a great finish really, either way, although I predicted mid-table at the start of the season. Not that I feel particularly good about that.
Saturday's game at home to Stockport is the last home game of the season and will be followed by the Crewe ASi end-of-season party. I've volunteered to take photos during the evening, so won't be getting too drunk. Especially as I'm marshalling on the South Cheshire 20 Mile race on Sunday morning.

Daysleeper

Crewe 2 Morecambe 1
Apologies for the delay in this update on last Friday's match - I was busy enjoying myself on Saturday and Sunday, so didn't have chance to get round to it!
Anyway, having endured the dismal delights of the previous weekend's draw against Lincoln, I was hoping for better. Especially as I was taking my nephew to his first Crewe game in a long time. I think he's come to a couple of youth games in the meantime, but the last game we could both recall him being at was a dreadful FA Cup win over Ebbsfleet at the tail end of Steve Holland's managerial career. Well, I'm pleased to report that the game was better than that, but not by much. Crewe once again looked like they were ready for their summer holidays for much of the first half, with the midfield struggling to make inroads and both Grant and Miller looking out of sorts up front. Morecambe were clearly taking their cue from Lincoln and working hard to try to close down the midfield and put pressure on the defence. It wasn't making for a free-flowing game and chances were few and far between at both ends. Crewe had one chance early doors and thereafter Morecambe were on top but mostly reduced to shooting from distance. Taylor in the Crewe goal made one particularly fine save but there were few other alarms in the first half.
In the second half, Crewe upped their game a bit and started to get on top. Donaldson forced a brave stop from the Morecambe keeper, who required lengthy treatment. Crewe looked to press their advantage but then, in typical Crewe fashion, shot themselves in the foot. A deep cross to the back post wasn't claimed by Taylor, half-cleared by Tootle and Morecambe's Phil Jevons drove the ball back in for Garry Hunter to tap in at the near post. Disappointing to say the least. Nearly an hour gone and Crewe behind at home again. It could have been worse - Spencer got took advantage of hesitation between Taylor and Westwood Sr to lob the keeper, but Dugdale got back to make a goal-line clearance. On 66 minutes Dario made a change, withdrawing an out-of-sorts Miller and giving Max Clayton his professional debut. There has been a lot of talk about the ability of the 16-year old and he lived up to some of the hype by having a very busy half hour. He made some excellent runs, was always looking for space and, for a small lad, had a good leap on him to win the ball in the air. Even the arrival of Morecambe man-mountain Jim Bentley hardly threw the lad off his stride. The only disappointing thing was that he couldn't cap his performance with a goal, but that might have been a bit too good to be true. With Clayton livening up the Crewe attack, the chances started coming again and Donaldson finally got in on the act snapping up the rebound off the goalkeeper from a Grant shot and drawing Crewe level. Crewe than had a decent shout for a penalty as Donaldson appeared to be wrestled down in the area but the referee waved away the appeals. It looked like being another frustrating afternoon for the Alex as normal time ticked away, but there was still 5 minutes of injury time to play. In the third of those minutes, Donaldson hurled a long throw into the area. The ball was cleared to Bell, who lifted it back in and on to the head of the on-rushing Donaldson, who put his header across goal and in off the far post. It was a magnificent header - directed to about the only place where the keeper couldn't have saved it. Cue scenes of joy and delirium as Crewe came from behind to win for the first time this season.
Now if only they can stop the losing streak on the road....

Grimly Fiendish

Crewe 1 Lincoln 1
With the play-offs having all but disappeared last weekend at Barnet, this game had little riding on it for Crewe, whatever the boss might have said. Lincoln, on the other hand, were still scrapping for points down amongst the dead men.
In a dire game, in which both sides struggled to create chances, Lincoln's midfield worked hard at closing down the Crewe midfield and the Lincoln front two were constantly pressing the back four, starving them of the time they usually have. Crewe have found it difficult to break down sides that defend in numbers and Saturday was no exception. Joel Grant had Crewe's only shot on target in a dismal first half.  Lincoln weren't creating much either and were mostly shooting from distance. One effort hit the bar but that was about as close as they got.
With my mate Dan having declared that the second half couldn't be any worse, it duly was. After only two minutes Lincoln took the lead. A corner to the back post was hooked back in and a hopefull swing of the leg was enough to divert it in off the post. Thereafter Lincoln reverted to plan A and Crewe huffed and puffed to little effect. Indeed, the lads were fortunate to get back in the game when the referee awarded them a penalty that looked harsh on the Lincoln defender. Donaldson wasn't bothered though as he stepped up to score his 25th goal of the season. With the game level Lincoln looked quite happy with a point and Crewe looked clueless. In marked contrast to the spanking of Cheltenham a fortnight earlier, there was no pace, no snap in the passing and no movement off the ball. It looked like most of the players were already thinking of their summer holidays, to be honest.
The final whistle signalled the end of the remote possibility of reaching the play-offs and that was it. Another season of League 2 football beckons, barring an absolute miracle. With many of the current players likely to move on at the end of the season and a greater reliance on the younglings next year, many fans are already fearing the worst. I'm not, but then I'm sometimes naively optimistic when it comes to the Alex....

The Brute Choir

Barnet 2 Crewe 1

Another away day and another defeat. No longer a surprise, unfortunately. Whatever hoodoo has struck the Alex on the road since they won at Shrewsbury at the start of January shows no sign of being lifted. Ten consecutive defeats and edging towards the worst away run since 1956, when the Alex lost twelve in a row. (Still a long way from the 24 consecutive defeats the Alex racked up back in the mid-1890s, but that's of little consolation.)
I wasn't there to witness it though. A little run-in with gout during the week had left me limping and I had little enthusiasm for a long day in London with a sore foot. Instead I took in Nantwich Town's penultimate home game of the season, against North Ferriby United. Nantwich are battling relegation and needed a win to ease their fears. Luckily for them Crewe Alex loanee Jason Oswell popped up to net twice and give the Town all three points. Oswell's first goal was a tap-in after the North Ferriby keeper had parried a shot. It came just before half-time but was just reward for Nantwich's domination of the first half. North Ferriby came back into the game in the second half, but after 76 minutes Nantwich got a deserved second when Oswell rose to power in a header at the near post.  There was still time for Nantwich to concede a goal and endure a nervy finish but in the end they held on for a deserved three points.
Back to the Alex next week, at home to Lincoln, and then a busy weekend over Easter with Crewe at home on Good Friday and Nantwich on Easter Saturday. Both sides are away on Easter Monday, but I reckon I'll be spending the day on the settee recovering from the Nantwich Jazz Festival....

Too Hot

Crewe 8 (EIGHT) Cheltenham 1

Having comprehensively crushed the opposition in the charity quiz up in Hough on Friday night, it was up early for a walk round the classic "Barnet" route up on Bickerton Hills. It's a fair measure of my basic lack of fitness that I still find this route hard work, despite having gone round it a few times this season. This time round, there were a couple of brief pauses up at the top and then it was pretty much non-stop to the finish, including the final killer ascent back up Coppermine Lane. I was pleased to make it all the way up the lane without stopping, although I have to admit we weren't going particularly fast at that point. And clearly the gods of luck were pleased with my progress, for they rewarded me with the most comprehensive victory I've seen since, er, we beat Barnet 7-0 after my first lucky walk.
This was the first of the seven cup finals, that Lee Bell had claimed the team had to face following their woeful defeat at Hereford and whilst most fans were hopeful of victory, most were also sceptical of the team's chances of winning all of them. This feeling grew after seeing the team changes - Murphy out injured, Pat Ada dropped to the bench and Tootle and Grant back in the side. And Taylor back in goal ahead of Phillips. What we, the fans, didn't know was that Cheltenham's back four was about to have a really bad day at the office and their midfield was going to struggle to cope with Crewe's pace and movement.
Crewe started off brightly and after only three minutes, Miller put Donaldson through the offside trap and he duly dispatched his chance to open the scoring. Six minutes later Ashley R Westwood (the young one) chipped a pass over the top of the defence, Donaldson, in an offside position, didn't chase it and Miller nipped past him to knock the ball beyond the keeper and make it 2-0.  A great start, certainly better than I was expecting. It  put me in mind of the Burton game, where Crewe blew them away in the opening half hour. However, unlike Burton, Cheltenham had no answers to the problems posed by Crewe's movement and pace. With Blanchett and Tootle bombing forward from full back, giving the side some of the width it has lacked in recent weeks, Miller, Grant and Shelley were all able to find room in the middle to pick up the ball and use it. Miller was particularly sharp, I thought. On the half hour or so, Shelley  picked up the ball on the right and swung in a beautiful deep pass-cum-cross over the defence, which Donaldson latched on to and knocked past the exposed keeper to put Crewe three up. Three minutes later Crewe finally managed to do to Cheltenham what many other teams have done to them, and score on the counter-attack from a corner. Taylor claimed the corner, rolled it out to Miller and he charged up the field. With the defence back-pedalling frantically, Miller slipped the ball to an unmarked Grant, who flicked it past the keeper for 4-0.  Unbelievable, Jeff.
I was nervous at half-time, thinking back to previous games when Crewe have been comprehensively ahead and then sat back on the lead, with varying consequences. Although Cheltenham had been probably the poorest side I'd seen at Gresty Road, it was not beyond the realms of possibility that Crewe would shoot themselves in the foot.
The nerves increased when Cheltenham pulled a goal back two minutes after the restart. Could be an unlikely comeback be on the cards? Luckily, no. Tootle capped a fine display by latching on to a Shelley pass and getting to the byline and cutting the ball back for young Westwood to tap in from about a foot.  Four goal cushion restored and things just got better and better. Donaldson duly completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after a careless handball in the area. Then Grant charged at the Cheltenham causing mass panic. He got a fortunate rebound in an attempted tackle to keep possession in the area and the keeper saved his initial shot. Unfortunately for the keeper, the ball rebounded across the area and Grant picked it up again to bury it and notch Crewe's seventh of the game. Finally with a couple of minutes left, Donaldson was brought down in the area for a blatant penalty. Well, we thought it was blatant but the referee took an age to make his mind up. Donaldson graciously handed the ball to Grant who completed his own hat-trick by sending the keeper the wrong way.  Eight goals for the Alex. The first time I've seen the Alex score eight since they thumped Hartlepool in the Auto Windscreens Trophy back in 1995. (I missed the other occasion in recent times when they put 8 past Doncaster in the same competition.) The team rightly deserved the applause they got at the end of the game.
Some people seemed to think there was some significance in the fact that manager Dario Gradi had been at home unwell, but to be honest, I could have been stood on the touchline for the game and Crewe would still have won at a canter. The training ground work, including Donaldson's extra work on his finishing, clearly paid off and the team that Dario undoubtedly picked showed us a glimpse of just how good they can be on their day. Only another six days left for them to be equally good on and here's hoping they can break their dismal away sequence and come back from Barnet with all three points. It won't be easy against a rejuvenated Barnet side that are fighting relegation but if Crewe can be as clinical as they were on Saturday, the dream will still be alive for another week.

Sunshine Superman

Hereford 1 Crewe 0

Despite the sunshine and the improving weather, I couldn't be tempted into making the trip to Hereford, so ended up listening to this one on the radio. With the game being switched to Sunday, this meant that BBC Radio Stoke were covering the game on clear and crackle-free FM. Not that that made listening to the game much of a more enjoyable experience.
Having failed to win their last eight away games, Crewe were looking to stop the rot against a Hereford side that have only won twice on their own ground. In typical Crewe fashion though, they shot themselves in the foot by conceding a soft goal and then couldn't amke the most of the chances they created and ended up coming away with a ninth consecutive away defeat. Having been reasonably consistent on the road before Christmas, Crewe now have the worst record of any team in the division. 
Any play-off ambitions the fans may have harboured have now all  but gone but, to be fair, at least Dario says he hasn't given up. It's a bit late for him to say that, but at least he's said it.

Time For Action

Crewe 0 Accrington Stanley 0

And lo it came to pass that in the Year of Our Lord 2011 there fell upon Gresty Road a great wailing and gnashing of teeth as neither the Alexandrians of Crewe and the Stanleyians of Accrington could strike the fatal blow and score a goal. The crowd looked upon it and they were mighty vexed. 
It's not unknown for Crewe to be involved in goal-less draws, of course, although they tend not to be too frequent. The last one was almost a year ago at Rotherham but you have to go back to the season before that for the last one at home. A mere 689 days after playing out a goal-less draw with Hartlepool, as they slipped ignominiously out of League One, Crewe notched up another one as lingering hopes of the play-offs all but vanished.
I can't say it was even a particularly inspring 0-0 draw either. Accrington out-muscled the Crewe team and snapped in to win the ball much more often. Both sides were creating chances, but Stanley had the lion's share and will probably feel they ought to have done better with them. They did have a claim for a goal after a McConville shot appeared to have crossed the line but the referee and linesman waved play on. McConville appeared to handle in the build up anyway so, in my eyes, justice was done. After that Stanley, who are on a decent run at the moment, had plenty of chances but either couldn't get it on target or found Taylor in top shot-stopping form.
Perhaps the only good thing to emerge from the night was the re-appearance of Ashley M Westwood at centre-half. A former Alex stalwart, Old Westy (as he's known) had come back to the Alex for a trial and found himself on a deal, then on the bench and thence in to the team. His experience and reading of the game certainly improved the back four. He's probably not a long-term solution (he's 34, which is ancient for a footballer) but he can at least help with the last few games of the season.
The reality is that Crewe now need to win at least six, if not seven of their last eight games. It's not impossible, but it is unlikely. They'll certainly have to come back from Sunday's trip to Hereford with all three points to have any chance. I'm not putting my mortgage on it. 

I See A Darkness

Oxford 2 Crewe 1

I was all set for my first trip to the dreaming spires of Oxford in years, and had even managed to score some free tickets, but fell ill on Friday night and was forced, somewhat reluctantly, to cancel my plans. I managed to pass the free tickets on and hope they were appreciated by the recipients.
The afternoon passed in a heap of frustration. I couldn't listen to the Radio Stoke coverage due to not owning a DAB radio and was unable to get the BBC Oxford up on the BBC's iPlayer.I doubt they would have been broadcasting over the Internet anyway, due to rights restrictions, but I would have liked to find that out for myself. I spent a fair while trying to get iPlayer working but nothing I did seemed to work. It was especially puzzling as the video stream from Murrayfield seemed to be working perfectly well. Turns out that there's some bits of iPlayer that don't currently work in IE for me. I should have tried via Chrome (which works perfectly) but didn't think of that till just now!
Anyway, in the end I gave up and followed the game via the BBC text commentary service, which turned out to be pants (shocker!). It's hard to tell how a game is going when you only get brief updates every two minutes or so, but it seemed Crewe were having plenty of possession. Nonetheless the writing was on the wall once Constable scored. Crewe haven't come back to win a game in which the opposition has scored first all season, so this was unlikely to be any different. It wasn't and a second from Constable condemned Crewe to their eighth successive away defeat. Leitch-Smith's late goal was no consolation. and Crewe dropped three place in the table as the teams around them picked up points.
It's still tight in the race for the play-offs - 5 games at home, all winnable and 4 away, of which 3 are definitely winnable, which would give Crewe 75 points. The dream is definitely not over but unless Crewe can find a way to win away from home it's not going to be achievable.

Ohio River Boat Song

Crewe 1 Southend 0

In lieu of the usual pre-match walk (stymied by having to work till 5.30) I decided to try a pre-match lucky curry. I'm pleased to report that it worked and, with another Tuesday night game coming up, I get to do it again next week. Sheek kebab to start, Chicken rezala and pilau rice for a main and two pints of Cobra, for those that are interested. I'll be having that same meal next week, sat at the same table. Yep, I'm sad.
Fully fed and watered it was off to the ground to take in the game. Southend had a pretty similar record to Crewe's and both sides still harbour ambitions of reaching the play-offs. I'm not sure either side will make it, but there's usually one side that has a late spurt to scrape into the top seven and these sides have as good a chance as any. I would say that Crewe had a better chance as their run in features a lot of games against teams in the bottom half, but frankly, Crewe's record against teams at the wrong end of the table is appalling.
Well, the first half wasn't that good, to be honest, although Crewe created chances with both Artell and Bell hitting the bar. Both teams were a bit sluggish and the tempo never really picked up. Murphy and Moore switched sides and Moore certainly got more joy from their full back than Murphy had, but to be fair to Murphy, he's a central midfielder playing out wide.
With Westwood limping out of the game at half time, there was a bit of a reshuffle for Crewe, with Murphy moving into central midfield and Shelley coming on out wide. The move paid dividends as young Shelley had a stormer of a second half and Crewe's increased tempo saw them take the game to Southend. In the 65th minute, some good work by Shelley gave him room to pick out Donaldson in the area. he skipped past a challenge and hit off a shot which was saved by the keeper. The rebound fell to Miller in the middle of the area and despite almost fluffing his chance, he buried it, to give Crewe the lead. After that, Crewe had a couple of further chances to extend their lead but Donaldson saw his lob come back off the bar and then Artell put an easy header just wide. with Crewe seeming comfortable and cruising, Dario made another change, taking off Byron Moore and bringing on Joel Grant. Instead of a straight swap though, Grant went to centre-forward and Donaldson out to the wing in a sort of 4-3-3 formation. Clearly Donaldson was unhappy with that, but that was what Dario wanted. Grant struggled to retain the ball when it was played up to him though and gradually Southend managed to apply some pressure on the Crewe goal. They were still reduced to shooting from distance and Crewe keeper, Taylor, has shown plenty of times this season that he's a decent shot stopper. Grant did create one final chance for Miller in the last few minutes, but Miller put his shot straight into the keeper's arms. There was still time for Southend to appeal for a penalty, but the referee wasn't interested and instead blew for full time.
There was a bit of a feeling that Crewe had fallen over the line in this one, but in truth, there were very few alarms in the Crewe defence and all the pressure Southend exerted was caused by Dario's late substitution. with Donaldson missing in action on the wing, there was no one to hold the ball up when it was cleared and so it tended to come straight back through the Southend midfield, They weren't up to much though and it was a comfortable three points. The play-off dream lives on for another few days at least!  

The Leader of the Pack

Crewe 2 Chesterfield 0

A bright and early start for me this week, as I finally got round to having a lucky walk pre-match. Off up to Bickerton for a yomp round the Barnet route - about an hour of walking round the Sandstone Trail, up and over Rawhead.  Did it in a reasonable time this week with one or two fewer rest stops than normal, although the killer final ascent still nearly did me in.
Anyhoo, having managed the walk, it was off up to Fortress Gresty to watch the Alex take on runaway league leaders, Chesterfield. Having given them at an almighty scare in the game at their place earlier in the season, I was looking forward to seeing how the Alex would do at home. Both sides try to play attractive football, so we were almost guaranteed a goal fest. It didn't turn out quite like that, of course.
With Crewe unchanged from the side that beat Burton and then lost at Macclesfield it was anyone's guess which of those sides would turn up. Luckily for us home fans, we got the Burton-beaters, although they didn't start quite like that team. In fact Chesterfield had the best of the early chances, but there was nothing terribly clear-cut. Crewe did show, however, that they had the pace and skill to cause the Chesterfield defence plenty of trouble. Having hit the post earlier, Donaldson put Crewe ahead about ten minutes before half time. Strike partner Miller, chipped the ball up to him and he juggled it round the defender and into the area before slipping the ball through the keeper's legs. Fantastic work by "Donaldinho", emphasising just how much we'll miss him when he's gone.
In the second half, Crewe rode their (and my) luck a bit, seeing a shot hit the post and Lester making a right Horlicks of the rebound and then Taylor making a fine low stop before the ball was scrambled away following a corner. But the result was put to bed when substitute Danny Shelley rocketed in a low free-kick, which the Chesterfield keeper could do nothing about.
So a good 2-0 win against the league leaders and almost conclusive proof that the Saturday morning walks do affect the out come of Crewe games! 'Tis just a pity that our next game is at home on Tuesday night.  Wonder if the boss (also a Crewe fan) will let me have the afternoon off...?

Beer, Sex, Chips and Gravy

Macclesfield 1 Crewe 0

Another game, another defeat as Crewe returned to the form that had seen them scrap a solitary point from the whole of February. To be fair, they weren't much worse than they have been in other games where they've got a point or better, but their deadly strike force failed to hit the back of the net and once again that assured them of defeat.
The day had started off so well, too. Having booked the afternoon off I had breezed through a morning's work before setting off to Macclesfield in search of decent beers and that. I'd travelled via Kidsgrove and having had a first chance to look at it properly, I have to say I liked the station. There was certainly more to it than you see through the carriage window when passing through and, sitting in the little terraced area between platforms 2 and 3, with the sun shining from a glorious blue sky, it felt like a great day to be out and about.  I got into Macc at about half past two and had a little wander around the town centre before deciding to pop into the Waters Green tavern for the first beer of the day. It was a good job I hadn't waited much longer, because the pub shut at 3, so I only had time for one. Leaving there I headed off towards the Wetherspoons only to be waylaid by a pub-cum-cafe called the Treacle Tap. It was empty but offered the promise of local beers, teas, coffee and pies. Pieminster Pies, from Brizzle, no less. Didn't really fancy a pie at the time, to be honest, but did take advantage of the free newspapers to catch up with the news whilst enjoying a leisurely couple of pints. From thence, it was on to the Wetherspoons, aka Society Rooms for some tea. I had a steak, being as it was steak night, washed down with a couple of pints. Finally, have met up with someone I actually know, it was a stagger off to The Railway View for a few more delicious beers before making my way to the ground.
Probably the less said about the game the better. The first half was pretty terrible, with Dugdale's miss from a free header being about the highlight. Macclesfield took the lead with just about their only chance of the game, when Artell slipped to allow Draper a sight of goal. He stuck it past the keeper from the edge of the area. The second half saw  Crewe improve and create several decent chances, none of which were taken. Macclesfield even gave Crewe a penalty, but Donaldson struck it too close to the keeper, who made a decent save. That's something like 12 penalties awarded and 7 missed so far this season (although I will have to check the stats on that). There were still chances for the Alex, but they could have played all night and not scored, it was one of those games. Full time came and a lot of fans made their feelings known. I didn't stay to see the final whistle as I'd made arrangements to get the coach home and wanted to make the journey with an empty bladder...
That was, according to most, the final nail in the coffin for the Alex's season, but I'm not writing it off just yet - there are still 12 games to go, 7 of which are at home. A decent run of lucky walks and a few wins and the Alex will be right back in there with a chance. The resumption of the lucky walk is scheduled for this Saturday morning, before the visit of league leaders Chesterfield. Surely got to be more successful than the lucky tree chopping or the lucky staying-in-bed...? Surely?

The Best of Jill Hives

Crewe 4 Burton 1

Another home game without a lucky walk, but this time it mattered not as Crewe had this game sewn up within half an hour. A goal after just two minutes by Donaldson, beating the keeper at the near post with a soft shot, was followed by a goal for Miller, beating the keeper at the far post from a similar position, after seven minutes. Two up and cruising, Crewe were looking threatening every time they attacked a shellshocked Burton. There was then a lengthy interruption in play as the referee pulled up with a muscle strain and had to be replaced. There was a call for a qualified referee to replace the 4th official, but sadly, someone had got there before I could get down from my seat at the top of the main stand... On the half hour mark, Crewe were given the chance to extend their lead. Artell was felled by a clumsy push as he competed for a free-kick and the referee awarded a penalty. Of course, being Crewe, this wasn't a foregone conclusion. Indeed Donaldson stepped up and hit the penalty towards the corner only to see Legzdins in goal claw it away. Luckily, the referee's assistant pointed out that Legzdins had stepped forward off his line before the penalty was struck and the referee awarded a re-take. This time Donaldson put more power in his shot and Legzdins dived the wrong way and Crewe were three ahead. After the dire results in February this was more than anyone expected. Burton manager Paul Peschisolido made a couple of changes after 35 minutes and changed the shape of the team to try to get something out of the game but having made it to half time without conceding I was pretty confident Crewe would win the game.
The second half was a completely different affair. With Crewe content to play on the counter-attack and Burton throwing men forward to try to get a goal back, you might have thought that Burton were the team with the three goal cushion. Crewe did appear to be trying to shoot themselves in the foot at times, with the midfield playing so close to the defence that they almost had a flat back eight at times. Burton came close a few times, with Taylor making a couple of decent saves and Westwood and Blanchett making goal-line clearances. However, the threatened goal didn't come until the 83rd minute when an unmarked Winnell had time at the far post to volley in past a helpless Taylor. It was disappointing that Crewe couldn't keep a clean sheet, but perhaps not surprising - they've only managed 7 this season. Still, there was time left in the game for Burton to score more, but they couldn't find a way through. Instead Crewe notched a fourth goal in the second minute of injury time. Substitute Shelley held the ball up well in midfield and found fellow sub Leitch-Smith whose return pass was straight into his run into the area. Shelley's shot deflected off the keeper straight into the path of Donaldson who tapped in from two yards to claim his first hat-trick in the English Football League.
Post-match, despite the win, there was plenty of grumbling in the bar. The second half performance hadn't been good enough, they didn't keep a clean sheet, the scoreline flattered us, that sort of thing. But to be honest, I was happy we'd got a win. I'll take 13 more poor performances like that if we win every game.
There's another must win away at Macclesfield on Tuesday night before a momentous clash with league leaders Chesterfield on Saturday. After giving them an almighty scare at their place before eventually hanging on a 5-5 draw, Crewe will be hoping to put them to bed this time. It'll be a tough game though, so I'll definitely be arranging a lucky walk!  

Bury Parts 1 + 3

Bury 3 Crewe 1

It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive, or something like that, and in the case of following Crewe this month, that's never been truer. Four games away from home, 15 goals conceded and no points earned. Still, I've had some good trips out.beers and dominoes at Northampton, meeting up with family at Rotherham and on Saturday a trip to Bury via a Wetherspoons pub and Taps Bar. Now Taps is a fantastic concept - you get a table which has two beer pumps on it and you can pour your own beer. The beer is charged in tenths of a pint and there's an electronic display so you can track how much beer you've had. Sadly, there are a couple of drawbacks with the concept - you're stuck with whatever is in the pumps on your table and some of the beers are quite expensive (£5.20 a pint in a couple of cases). That said, it was good fun pouring my own beer and if I was in the corporate hosting business I'd certainly look at using that venue to entertain clients. In fact, if my company ever strikes a big deal and takes us out to celebrate, I'll suggest that as a venue.
After the delights of a Wetherspoons breakfast (plus a pint of Roger The Cabin Boy and a pint of Master Bates, both from Nothumberland Brewery) and Taps bar, there was some faffery with taxis up to Bury and thence we were in the ground.
With Dario having decided to play all four of his strikers, there was a general consensus that it would either be a stroke of genius or a total disaster. In fact, in the first half, it didn't seem to be either. Both sides struggled to trouble the goal and neither keeper really had a save to make. Crewe did however manage to capitalise on their extra pace up front when a swift counter-attack saw Miller race on to a clever inside pass from Donaldson to take the ball in to the area and beat the keeper from just outside the six yard box. Almost out of nothing, and not far short of half-time, Crewe had the lead.
But they are Crewe and there were still plenty of anxious and nervous people in the crowd. Most of us couldn't believe that Crewe had nicked ahead, especially given the way they had played in previous matches. Bury didn't look particularly good but no one was counting any chickens...
Bury started the second half with all guns blazing but still couldn't find a way through the Crewe defence. Te ever dangerous Byron Moore had a good chance to put Crewe further ahead, but the keeper made a decent block. Bury came back again and Crewe started to look a little uncertain. On the hour mark, Bury manager Alan Knill made the substitutions that were to change the game. Off went the largely ineffective John-Lewis and Picken and on came the extra pace of Kyle Bennett and the battering ram of Andy Bishop (who usually scores against Crewe). Dario responded by swapping Moore for youngster Nick Powell, but the truth is that that wasn't what was needed. In my humble opinion, he should have brought on Murphy and shored up the midfield by going to a 4-4-2, with Moore on the left and Murphy on the right and Donaldson and Miller up front. With Bury starting to throw the numbers forward, the arrival of Bennett had an almost immediate impact. He found himself in space on the right of the penalty area and the ball fell to him and his instant cross-cum-shot caught out Tootle who could only bundle it over his own line for the equaliser. In short order Crewe were behind as their defence was again caught out by the movement of the front men of Bury. This time, Bennett was given time and space on the edge of the area to hit a shot past Taylor in the Crewe goal. Taylor could possibly have done better but he was probably a little unsighted when the shot was hit. Calamity was to follow calamity as Ryan Lowe found himself unmarked following some neat inter-passing on the edge of the are and he scored for the seventh consecutive game, to match a Bury record set some 57 years ago.  In little more than ten minutes Crewe had gone from leading and looking almost comfortable to trailing by two goals and chasing the game.
In truth, although they had chances Crewe never really looked like getting back in the game, but by the same token Bury never really looked like extending their lead. A mad fifteen minutes or so cost Crewe the game, but it was easy to see that once Bury scored their first, at least one more was going to come. Crewe's defence had the collywobbles and the midfield weren't tracking back quickly enough to cover their opposite numbers.
Ah well, that's February out of the way and there are a couple of nominally easier games to come so perhaps Crewe can find their form again and go on another run. With two months of the season left, automatic promotion maybe beyond them now but there's still the play-off spots to aim for. Fingers crossed.

Wir Tanzen Ado Hinkel

Accrington 3 Crewe 2

This game was originally scheduled for Boxing Day  but was, of course, postponed as the bad weather wiped out most of the lower league fixtures. I'd originally pencilled myself in for going to the re-scheduled date, but found that I was lacking the necessary enthusiasm for attending and instead chose to take my nephew to watch Nantwich Town at home to FC Halifax United. Not that that worked out any better...
Whilst Crewe were struggling on Accrington's half-finished pitch, Nantwich were fighting a valiant rearguard action against the Evo-Stik League leaders. Both sides made it to half-time level but whilst Crewe had managed to score before conceding, Nantwich were lucky not to be three or four goals behind.
In both matches things went downhill in the second half.
Up at Accrington, Crewe were being outplayed and were soon behind. They worked hard to level the game but then threw it away just three minutes later, conceding yet another poor equaliser. It stayed that way till the end of the game and  that meant that it was five consecutive defeats away from home. Disappointing form that has probably scuppered their play-off-cum-promotion hopes for another season.
Meanwhile down at the Dabberdome, Nantwich were imploding in spectacular fashion. There was a hint of offside for the first goal and a definite push in the build-up for the second, but Halifax were ruthless and once Nantwich's central defender Charlie Reeves went off, the defence lacked  the organisation to cope. Halifax could, probably should, have scored more, having settled the game with four goals in little over ten minutes. Nantwich put in a manful effort to limit the damage, but they were thoroughly outclassed and in the end the six-nil scoreline didn't really flatter the visitors.
So, having had a unrewarding night at the Dabberdome, it's off to Gigg Lane this Saturday to watch Crewe against Bury. As is usual with Manchester-based games, that means it's off to the pubs early for a few beers and a bite to eat before a last-minute dash to the ground. Given Crewe's away form, I'll probably be better off staying in the pub and watching England play France in the rugby...

Open Your Heart

Crewe 0 Stevenage 1

For the second consecutive home game, there was no lucky walk pre-match as I was otherwise engaged, disposing of half a tree. The top half of the tree in my back garden was blown down during some high wind recently and had lain in the garden awaiting my attention for a couple of weekends. Having purchased the necessary tools - bow saw, loppers and axe - I set about it with some vigour. Only to find myself knackered after about an hour and a half and with only half the tree dealt with. So I've got another bit of work to do there one weekend.
Anyway, having done some exercise that I felt the gods of luck would be OK with, it was off to the Alexandra Stadium to see my beloved Alex take on Stevenage. I wasn't expecting a feast of football given Crewe's recent form and Stevenage's preferred style of play. Sadly, I wasn't disappointed.
With Shaun Miller not recovering from his thigh injury in time to play, Dario left Byron Moore up front to partner the returning Donaldson and AJ Leitch-Smith was dropped to the bench. Other than that there were no changes from the side that had scraped a draw against Gillingham the previous week. Personally, I'd have moved Moore back to midfield, dropped Shelley and left AJ up front. The reason being that with Moore and Donaldson up front, there was no genuine pace in the middle, meaning that there was no outlet out wide unless the full backs pushed up.
Despite my reservations, Crewe didn't play too badly. They certainly made more chances and if Donaldson had not just had three weeks on the sidelines, he may well have done better with the chance he got in the first half. To be fair, Stevenage keeper Chris Day came out to make a good block, but Donaldson in top form would surely have buried the chance. As it was, the rebound came to Shelley and he somehow manged to put his effort wide as he knocked it back across goal.  Two good chances and neither of them went in. Apart from that there was little action of note in the first half. There was, however, the curious incident of the Stevenage time-out. There had been some talk on the Internet earlier in the week that, at about 28 minutes into the game, a Stevenage player would go down injured and while he was being treated his team-mates would come to the technical area, take on drinks and receive tactical instructions. And lo, it came to pass that at about 26 minutes into the game, a Stevenage player went down for an injury (the cause of which was unseen by me) and the rest of the team came to the technical area, and so on... Most curious. Not strictly against the laws of the game, I suppose - lots of teams take drinks when there's a break in play - but certainly against the spirit. If this is happening on a regular basis, I wonder if the Football League ought to be taking notice...?
Anyway, after a dismal first-half, the feeling round me was that it could only get better and that Crewe would surely score. It didn't and they didn't. Not for the want of trying though. The scoring that is. Moore put a shot into the side netting, saw Day save one shot with his feet and then, when he finally beat the keeper, saw his shot crash back off the underside of the bar and out. Westwood picked up the loose ball and Crewe had a decent shout for handball but the ref waved the appeals away. He also waved away appeals when Leitch-Smith was bundled over late on and when Tootle was fouled in the area. At least in the latter case he can argue that Tootle stayed on his feet and played the ball. Those three decisions certainly confirmed suspicions that the referee didn't like Crewe. (Another great piece of Internet gossip, fact fans.)
Stevenage, of whom the best that can be said is that they were average, meanwhile were doing a fairly decent job of stifling the midfield but they never really looked like carving out chances of their own. Luckily for them, Crewe's rearguard were helping them out every now and again. One shot flashed across the face of goal and that was about the sum total of efforts I can remember from the visitors. Still, in the dying minutes Tootle gave away a cheap corner to let Stevenage have another go. As they'd done all game, they put a man in front of the keeper and profited handsomely as Taylor was impeded trying to clear the ball and ended up punching it into his own net. 99 times out of 100 you'll see them disallowed for a foul on the keeper. Clearly today was the 100th time... Can't say the defence weren't upset about the goal being allowed to stand with both Artell and Bell having furious word with the referee, but  to no avail.
Crewe couldn't muster an equaliser in the little time that remained and Stevenage  took home all three points in what even their most one-eyed fan must regard as a fortuitous victory. Let's face it, it was a game that really deserved to finish as a goalless stalemate. In between the efforts on goal, there were long spells of dreadful football from both sides. If it had been a boxing match, the referee probably could have disqualified both sides for not making an effort.
And talking of the referee, his performance on the field was bad but not as poor as his performance post-match. Walking through the bar with his assistants, he received a fair bit of abuse, some of it over-the-top in my opinion, but there was no need for him to respond in kind. Very poor. Surely not the first time he's had a mouthful from a fan and guarantees he'll get a hostile reception next time he takes charge of a Crewe game. Although, to be honest, I hope there's never a next time.

The Upsetter

Crewe 1 Gillingham 1

There was no pre-match "lucky" walk this week because I had too much to do on Saturday morning and anyway, my walking partner was unavailable. I had planned to do a load of stuff on my day off on Friday but I was stuck in the house all day because I had to have the front door open while it was being painted and then allowed to dry. So I had to do it all my chores on Saturday instead.
Anyway, having not had the usual lucky walk, I was fearing the worst. Crewe had looked a bit dodgy at the back in the last couple of games and were without their leading goalscorers whereas Gillingham were on a good run having climbed 16 places from 22nd since Crewe beat them at Priestfields. Gillingham had also acquired Adebayo Akinfenwa, who may be the fattest professional footballer but who always prospers in games against Crewe.
The first half was a pretty dismal affair. Crewe had a few attacks, but couldn't capitalise when they got in on goal. Gillingham only had one game plan and that was to knock the ball up to Akinfenwa and get men up to support him. Crewe did a good job of starving him of possession though but putting Lee Bell in front of him and cutting off his supply. Crewe did however have a rare stroke of luck. Danny Shelley worked hard down the left wing to get a cross in and although it was too high for AJ Leitch-Smith, his jump unsighted the Gillingham defender and the unfortunate Sinclair shinned it in to his own net. Shelley later had a chance to extend the lead but hit the ball against the keeper's legs when he maybe should have done better. Then Byron Moore  managed to fall over while overplaying the ball when he should have just hit it first time. Gillingham weren't showing much and were largely reduced to shooting from distance. They weren't making any friends in the Crewe crowd though, as a number of late tackles were flying in. The referee waved a card a couple of times but never really got a grip on it.
Having got to half-time in front, Crewe knew that Gillingham would throw everything at them after the break and so it proved. They moved the ball well, pinned Crewe in their own half and got the goal that seemed to be on the cards when Weston found time and space to lash in an unstoppable shot from about twenty yards out. Disappointing but with more than half an hour to go, both sides must have thought the game was still there to be won. Actually, scratch that. After they equalised, Gillingham seemed to revert to type and played like they were happy with the point. They slowed the game down and, despite being warned twice, the goalkeeper took as long as he could to get the ball back in play whenever he had control of it.
Both sides had chances, although Crewe had rather more. Akinfenwa managed to bustle through the Crewe defence only to see his shot saved by Rhys Taylor's trailing leg. Murphy for Crewe had a couple of good efforts on target and Westwod and Shelley both had shots blocked. It looked like heading to a stalemate but Crewe still gave us a scare. They were almost caught on the counter-attack in the final minutes, but Artell took one for the team by bringing down Dennis Oli just over the halfway line. Artell earned himself a yellow card but more importantly, earned time for the defence to get back and re-organise themselves.
Overall, a draw was probably a fair result. Crewe's defence nullified the attacking threat of Gillingham's leading striker (McDonald), who barely had a sniff, but couldn't create enough against a determined Gills defence either. I would have probably taken a point before the game, although Gillingham were nothing special.
Both Miller and Donaldson will be available again next week and one would hope that this means that they play up front with Moore dropping back to play on the wing and Leitch-Smith and Shelley dropping to the bench. That'd be a bit harsh on Leitch-Smith who is getting his first run in the team and probably still needs games to find his feet and also harsh on Shelley who always found a Crewe shirt with his passes in midfield and gave us an extra option from free-kicks with his thunderbolt shot. Whoever plays, it's a home game against Stevenage and we really need to give them a stuffing after the capers at their place earlier in the season.

Aint No Sunshine

Rotherham 3 Crewe 1

Well, there certainly ain't no sunshine at the Don Valley Stadium. That's twice I've gone there and twice that it's tipped it down with rain. As per last year I took my Dad, but this year he drove and my cousin and his son came with us. Can't say it was any better a day out though.
With the rain already falling when we set off, it steadily got worse as we got closer to Sheffield. By the time we'd found somewhere to park I was dubious that the game would actually go ahead. Last year, the pitch hadn't looked like it was draining properly and I had little confidence that things would have improved. I was right - there were groundsmen out forking the pitch virtually up to kick off. Their efforts were not in vain though and the game went ahead.
The first half was fairly dismal to be honest. Rotherham had the majority of the possession and the territory but they couldn't really create any clear cut chances. Crewe looked to break forward when they got the chance but with both Miller and Donaldson missing the strike force lacked a cutting edge. With neither side looking likely to score, a draw at half time would have been a fair reflection. Sadly though, Crewe showed their usual vulnerability to crosses, as the Rotherham winger was given enough time to put in a low cross, which found it's way to Fenton, who stabbed it home from close range.
One nil down at half time and playing in terrible conditions, things didn't look good for the Alex. However, they worked hard in the second half, created a few more chances and got back in the game. Just after the hour mark, AJ Leitch-Smith latched on to a through ball from Lee Bell and, despite looking slightly offside, turned inside the defender and rolled home a shot from the edge of the area. Parity and just reward for the work that Crewe had done in the first fifteen minutes of the half.
As the second half wore on both sides had opportunities to add to their tally. For Crewe, Leitch-Smith couldn't hit the target from an acute angle and then Shelley rolled the ball wide when he looked odds-on to score. Up the other end, Newey blasted a free-kick against the Crewe wall and Law sky-ed the rebound. With six minutes to go, disaster struck for Crewe. A long ball upfield was headed on into the Crewe penalty area and with Taylor and Ada both hesitating, Le Fondre nipped in between them to lob the bouncing ball over the keeper's head. Tootle made a desperate attempt at a clearance but the ball had already crossed the line before he hooked it out. Worse was to come. With two minutes to go, Artell attempted to play the ball out down on the touchline, only to be robbed by Taylor who took it into the area and hit an unstoppable shot into the top corner. From playing reasonably well and looking like getting a hard-earned point, the Alex once again shot themselves in the foot. I'm blaming my Dad, of course - I don't think he's seen a Crewe win since that last game of the season against Coventry in 2005. Mind, they have been poor since then, and he only gets to three games a season at most.
Post-match, we had to take a bit of a detour to get back to the car park due to the stewards sending all the away fans out at the opposite side of the ground to where we entered. It was a bit of a ramble over a railway bridge, then a canal bridge and a splash down a wet canal tow path. The good news though was that my Dad decided he wouldn't be going back, so if Crewe play there next season, there's a chance I might see a win!
The upshot of the defeat, combined with last night's results, is that Crewe have slipped out of the play-off positions and are now four points adrift. They do have games in hand on some of the teams above them but with tough games against Gillingham, Stevenage and Bury coming up, I'd rather they had the points, to be honest. Anyway, back to the lucky walk on Saturday morning, hoping it works against a resurgent Gillingham team.

Look Out, There's a Monster Coming

Northampton 6 Crewe 2

Can't say that that was the best Tuesday night I've ever spent. Having won free tickets and coach travel in the Crewe ASi Christmas Raffle, I was looking forward to a first trip to Northampton in a long while. The last time I went there they were playing at the County Ground. The day started well with a couple of beers and lunch in the pub before boarding the coach. As is usual with the Sandbach Travelling Alex coach we stopped off at a pub on the way. In this case it was the Cherry Tree at Catthorpe. I settled in for a few pints of Ringwood's Boondoggle (very nice) but somehow got suckered into a game of dominoes. Serious dominoes with money on it and everything. Well, it was close but my partner and I just missed out in a tight best-of-three series. At one all and with both teams just needing one point to win, we were getting the hurry up as the coach was about to leave. A rushed last hand saw the opposition sneak home and take the money.
Worse was to come though. Much worse. For starters, the coach driver managed to miss the turn off the motorway to the stadium and then travelled another three miles before turning round, meaning we arrived at the ground  with about five minutes to spare. (Not sure why anyone was surprised tho - getting lost seems to be a regular occurrence on the Fordy fun bus.) I had to collect my tickets from the ticket office, so the late arrival wasn't ideal. Still, I picked them up and got into the ground in time for kick off. and Crewe promptly took the lead when the Cobblers keeper let AJ Leitch-Smith's effort squirm through his hands and into the net. If the ref had blown the whistle there and then it would have been a decent day. Unfortunately there was another 88 minutes to be played and things rapidly went downhill for the Alex.
The first came from some decent play by Northampton but Pat Ada unaccountably threw himself to the floor instead of marking Shaun Harrad and Harrad made the most of his opportunity from close range. Harrad then won a rather fortunate free-kick just outside the area. Rhys Taylor positioned his wall to cover the near post and then stood behind it, obscuring his view of the ball, which duly went in at the far post.  From one up, Crewe were two down in a matter of minutes. The rest of the half was much more even though as Crewe recovered their composure. Despite lacking the pace of Moore and Donaldson up front, Crewe were still creating chances with Miller providing the main threat. Miller it was who duly won a penalty shortly before half time. It was definitely a penalty, but his theatrical dive was a bit exaggerated to say the least. Westwood stepped up to take it, but his low penalty was too close to the keeper, who blocked it easily, and saw the rebound scrambled out for a corner. Crewe couldn't make the corner count either and within a minute Northampton had a corner of their own. Crewe have been vulnerable from the set-piece all season and Northampton's Beckwith had a free header to put Northampton 3-1 at the break.
If the calamitous defending in the first half had been galling, things turned simply embarrassing within three minutes of the restart. Barely a minute into the second half, Crewe got very caught out trying to play the offside trap against a Northampton free kick. Whilst it could be argued that at least three players were offside, the ball never went anywhere near any of them. Instead Holt, in yards of space and onside, took the ball into the area and slipped it past a hopelessly exposed Rhys Taylor.  Two minutes later, Westwood was dispossessed in the middle of the park and Osman ran twenty yards unchallenged before letting fly a shot into the top corner that Taylor had no chance with. Game over. From one up to five one down in about 35 minutes. Most of us were left shaking our heads in disbelief. The rest of the second half was a bit more even but clearly Northampton had taken their foot off the gas a bit. With Miller having gone off injured at half time, Crewe were lacking a cutting edge and were finding it difficult to create chances, although the forward line did look more threatening with the introduction of Powell and Sarcevic just after the 70 minute mark.  Northampton were really doing a lot either, but then they didn't have to - Crewe could be relied on to gift them another chance. and that chance duly arrived in the 80th minute. Northampton attacked down the right and rolled in a harmless looking cross. Bell, the covering player in the area, then slipped on his backside and the ball bobbled past him to McKay, who couldn't believe his luck, but made no mistake with his finish. The sixth goal was the cue for a lot of Crewe fans to head for the exits. Can't blame them but they did miss Sarcevic's debut goal for Crewe - a well-taken shot from the edge of the area after neat interplay with Grant.
In the end, it was embarrassing, but not because Crewe were thoroughly outplayed but because they gifted Northampton some seriously soft goals. All six of them were entirely avoidable, although given Crewe's weakness from corners at least one was inevitable. The penalty miss was also frustrating - Crewe must have missed more penalties than anyone else this season.
Got to put this result behind them though and hope that it really was just one of those days when everything that could go wrong did. We shall see how the side bounces back against a Rotherham team that managed to lose to crisis-stricken Port Vale on the same night Crewe were self-destructing against the Cobblers.  The bad omen for this though is that I'll be taking my Dad to the game and he hasn't seen Crewe win in nearly six years...

Take It Easy

Crewe P-P Accrington Stanley
Well, that was a bit of a surprise. A couple of cold nights and the Gresty Road pitch freezes enough to cause the postponement of today's game. Probably the last thing either side needed given the number of postponements before Christmas and the resultant backlog of fixtures. Crewe have still got to go to Accrington as well before the season is out, so both teams could be playing twice a week through the next couple of months.
The only positive to draw from the postponement is that at least Dave Artell should be fit when we do finally play against Accrington, although, of course that's no guaranteed. The drawback to the postponement is that Clayton Donaldson's suspension will now include the home game against Gillingham.
Oh, and I didn't go for a lucky walk, so at least that wasn't wasted.
Next up for Crewe is a visit to Northampton on Tuesday. I've got free tickets, so hope the weather is going to be OK. The forecast is reasonable though, so hopefully it'll be a good day out.

It Takes More (Bloodshy Main Mix)

Crewe 2 Bradford 1

Well, this game might not have had the added attraction of Sian Massey, the assistant referee maligned by Messrs Gray and Keys but, by God, it had just about everything else. Ms Massey was withdrawn from duty by her bosses in order to prevent the game becoming incidental to the Sian Massey show. A wise move, especially after Andy Gray was sacked by BSkyB in the afternoon. The numerous journalists and Press officers descending on Crewe ended up with a show without Punch. Although they did get a show with a headbutt, ironically.
Having heard the news that Sian Massey was out, attention turned to the pitch. Dario made two changes to the Crewe line-up, recalling Murphy in place of Shelley and calling up Phillips for the suspended Taylor. No major tinkering there, despite the hints that he might rest one of the strikers. Bradford meanwhile had signed a lad from Oldham that very day and threw him straight into the team. He was to have quite an impact, but not in a good way...
Crewe were almost caught out early on, when former Alex trainee Gareth Evans found time and space to hit a shot, but with only the keeper to beat, he dragged his effort narrowly wide. After that, it was pretty much normal service for Crewe as Bradford struggled to cope with the pace and movement of Crewe's front three. Donaldson and Moore in particular were getting a lot of joy against the  Bradford defence, who seemingly didn't have much answer. After fifteen minutes Crewe deservedly took the lead when Miller found time and space in the area to deliver a low cross which was easily tapped in by Donaldson. After that, Crewe dominated and spurned several chances to increase their lead. And they were made to pay when a rare Bradford attack resulted in a free kick outside the area. Bradford worked a training ground routine to perfection to give Duff a simple header to level the scores. Parity was to last only  a minute or so though as Crewe went ahead again with a "Route One" goal. The ball was knocked back to keeper Phillips who launched it upfield. The Bradford defenders let the ball bounce and Moore nipped in to take it beyond them and slip it past the advancing Bradford keeper. 
Just before half time, the game took a major turn. The aforementioned Worthington clattered into the back of Donaldson and appeared to stamp at him while he was on the ground. Donaldson reacted furiously, jumping up and confronting the Bradford player. Their heads came together as they stood eyeball-to-eyeball. Donaldson leaned in and that was it. You can't lead with your head and the ref had little option but to send Donaldson off. Worthington escaped with only a booking to his name and must have thought he'd got off lightly. Less than a minute later that was more confusion and uproar as Bradford defender O'Brien went straight through the back of Matt Tootle with a disgraceful challenge. In the melee that followed afterwards, the referee issued Evans with a second booking and sent him off but then changed his mind and instead showed O'Brien a yellow card. From the stands it looked like he'd got that all wrong - O'Brien's challenge was worthy of a red card and Evans deserved a second booking for kicking the ball away.  Given his earlier failure to send Worthington off, a few round us were beginning to think the ref had travelled on the Bradford bus... His assistant wasn't much help either - perhaps Sian wouldn't have let the Bradford players and management badger the ref into changing his mind? whatever, they officials left the field at half-time to a resounding chorus of boos.
Although Crewe are usually quite poor at defending a lead, they came out in the second half and lined up with virtually everyone behind the ball. Miller was left on his own up front at it was all hand to the pump as Bradford laid siege to the Crewe goal, trying to make their numerical advantage count. To be fair, although the Crewe defence looked shaky at times, they were mostly restricting Bradford to long-range shots, and when they did get close in Phillips was up to the task. Crewe were still creating chances on the counter-attack and missed one glorious chance to extend their lead following some great play by Tootle and Moore. Otherwise it was backs-to-the-wall stuff. Luckily, Bradford were pretty dreadful and you can see why they haven't scored many - a phrase involving a cow's arse and a banjo springs to mind....
At the end though, after a very nervy second 45 minutes, there was a massive roar when the referee blew for time. Crewe had defended valiantly and held on to win and take the three points. With the other teams around them drawing or losing, Crewe's three points boosted them up to third in the table. There's a long way to go, of course, and they'll be without Donaldson for three games now, but there's a sniff of promotion in the air and Crewe fans are starting to think that maybe Dario Gradi really is a football genius. I guess we'll find out on Saturday when Accrington come to town. If Crewe can beat them without Donaldson, even I might start dreaming the dream....  

Glass Candle Grenades

Aldershot 3 Crewe 2

With old friends returning to Nantwich for the day, there was no way I could go to Aldershot and get back in time for the evening of drinking and dining that we had planned, so I gave this one a miss. I know that makes me look like a part-timer, but I did do the midweek trip to Torquay and am off Northampton next week for another midweek game. Having seen the highlights on TV, I'm quite glad that I didn't go - Crewe gave away some shocking goals and threw away a point in the last minute of injury time. Also, the ground at Aldershot doesn't seem to have changed since I was there more than twenty years ago, and it was a bit of a tramp-hole then! So another disappointing defeat on the road for the Alex, although the teams around them in the table didn't take advantage and they remain just three points off the automatic promotion places.
Whilst the Alex were committing suicide in spectacular fashion (a red card for the keeper and conceding from the resultant free kick) I was with some old friends on the terrace at Nantwich Town. We were rewarded with a consummate display of missed opportunities from the Dabbers as they failed to make their superiority count. Having hit the bar twice and then the post in the first half, they were undone in the second half when Bradford Park Avenue scored what would prove to be the  only game of the game. Despite throwing everything at the opposition Nantwich couldn't score, being thwarted by goalkeeper, woodwork and their own deficiencies. 
Post-match it was off to the pub to watch Villa play Manchester City before heading off to the Aroi Thai restaurant. The food was, as usual, absolutely superb, although the service was fairly slow. To be fair, they were extremely busy (what with it being Holly Holy Day and all) but the capers I had getting a pint of lager were a bit much. In the end I ended up with two on the table - one I'd fetched myself from the bar and one which arrived minutes later. Oh well, saved me ordering another one later. The meal was great and decent value too - with drinks it worked out at little over £22 a head, plus the tip. Thoroughly recommended.
Next up for Crewe is tonight's game with Bradford. A game that has had a little more attention thrown on it this week after Andy Gray and Richard Keys were recorded talking in unflattering terms about tonight's assistant referee, Sian Massey. Let's hope that all we're talking about afterwards is another Crewe win...

This Is The One

Crewe 2 Port Vale 1
After the frustrating defeat at Vale Park back in October, this was the return that everyone had been looking forward to. I try to keep a lid on it - after all we don't get any more points for beating the team down the road rather than a team at the other end of the country.  And the season is decided over the course of 46 games and not 2 local derbys.
That said, I was concerned enough to re-try the "Barnet" route for my lucky walk on Saturday morning. It's a circular trek round the Sandstone trail, starting and ending in Coppermine Lane. The Barnet route gets most of the ascents out of the way early, going up to Rawhead before descending (mostly) to the final, killer, stretch uphill along the lane. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how much easier it seemed than the last time I walked that route, but then I am about 21 pounds lighter and wasn't hungover and sleepy after a long night on the ale....
Anyway, walk done, I then had my lucky crash out on the sofa for an hour, before heading off up to the game with Charlie, my walkmeister. We got up there fairly early to find that there was already a decent queue outside the ticket office. Once Charlie had got his ticket , we headed into the ground. It was probably a good job we'd got there early as  there  was obviously a lot of part-time fans (including Charlie) who'd turned out for the game. We took our seats (well, actually, probably someone else's seats on this occasion, but we always sit there) and took in the atmosphere before kick-off. Most of which involved peering down Gresty Road from our lofty perch and pointing out the police cars that were swarming round there...
The game itself was a strange affair. Port Vale, under new manager Jim Gannon and missing key players through injury, seemed to have set themselves up to take a draw and Crewe's much-admired passing game was proving strangely ineffective. For all the possession they had in the first half, Crewe didn't really create that many chances. That said, only one side looked like they were going to score and Shaun Miller duly put the Railwaymen ahead in the 18th minute. Some neat interplay saw Donaldson feed the ball to Miller inside the penalty area. He was allowed to turn and put a shot across the goal. Port Vale keeper Tomlinson was a bit slow going down and was beaten by the bounce as the ball  went in at the far post. Cue delirium amongst the Crewe fans. After that it was mostly Crewe in the ascendancy and at half-time we were beginning to wonder if the team might pay the price for not making more of their dominance.
It was certainly something that came back to haunt them just before the hour mark, as a hopelessly optimistic header back to the keeper from Blanchett, left Taylor in no-mans land and he ended up clattering through striker Justin Richards to leave the referee no option but to award a penalty. No controversy over this one though, unlike our two previous meetings. Richards dusted himself down and calmly sent Taylor the wrong way from the spot to give Port Vale a foothold in the game that they scarcely deserved. Further calamity followed for Crewe when defensive lynchpin Artell limped off injured not long after. His replacement, Dugdale, had had a poor game last time out, so the Alex faithful weren't too optimistic. How wrong we were. Dugdale was untroubled by the relatively toothless Vale strikers and proved to be a useful addition at set pieces. Having worked his way into a good position to head one corner, he then timed his run to perfection as Crewe worked a short corner routine.  Both he and Miller celebrated as they'd arrived at the same time to nod the ball in at the far post past a despairing dive from Tomlinson. Having watched the replay several times, it's still not clear who does get the final touch but the goal has been given to Dugdale and that's good enough for me. I'm sure Miller will score a few more this season while I'm not convinced Dugdale will.
After the second goal, it was really a case of playing out time. Vale never looked remotely like getting a second goal and, to be honest, they could have conceded more. When the final whistle went, there was elation all around (apart from the Vale fans sat behind me) and the team thoroughly deserved their ovation as they left the field.
To be fair, the Vale are on a fairly poor run of form, have just got a new manager in and were missing three or four key players. Even so, they were much worse than I expected. Rob Taylor on the wing caused Tootle problems all game and Richards was an occasional threat but apart from that there was little menace in the team and their back four and keeper were having a very off day. Some of that, of course, was down to the pace and movement of Crewe's front three - Moore, Donaldson and Miller - who will trouble any defence in League Two. Still, never mid, it's another win and four out of five for 2011. It also ups the win ratio for the lucky walks which is now at W5 D1 L1.
Next up for Crewe is a trip to Aldershot, which will be another test for them. I won't be going as am out celebrating a couple of friends' birthdays. On the other hand I will be off out tonight (Wednesday) to watch Crewe at home in the FA Youth Cup against Leeds, so that makes up for it.

Creeping Up On You (Part 2)

Torquay 2 Crewe 1
And so, following the Saturday victory, it was off, in expectation rather than hope, to Torquay for the Tuesday night game. A mere 240 miles or so. Determined to make an occasion out of it, a few of us had booked time off and were staying overnight. We made an early start, departing from Crewe on the 8.22 train to Stafford. Changing at Stafford our party was split as there weren't enough spare seats for us to be together. No problemo. Once the train arrived at Birmingham the commuters all departed and there was plenty of room. We bagged us a table and one or two of us started on the beers. I was determined to be sensible, so didn't crack one open till after we'd departed Cheltenham just before 11. It was probably the last sensible thing I did all day...
Rather than travelling straight to Torquay, we de-trained at Newton Abbot for a couple of cheeky beers and some lunch. Beers were drunk and food wolfed down. After a restful couple of hours, it was back to the station and on to the train to complete the journey down to Torquay. Except we got off at Torre as that's where the Travelodge we'd all booked into was. Stopping only to dump bags in rooms and freshen up a little, it was into a taxi and off into Torquay  for yet more beers and to meet up with fellow Crewe fans. At around six o'clock-ish, it was time to head up to the ground for a few beers in the Torquay club bar. Probably not a good idea for me - I was suffering already. The beers there nearly finished me off. I was so drunk I had to get someone to pick up my free tickets for me.
Sadly, for all of us, our efforts in making the journey were rewarded with possibly the worst 45 minutes of football that Crewe have played all season. They were quickly a goal down and Torquay could have added more before they notched their second. Crewe were lucky to go in only two down at half time.
In complete contrast, Crewe came out much the stronger in the second half and had a couple of good chances before Danny Shelley crashed in a thunderous free kick. They kept pressing and late on Donaldson could have snatched a point when clean through on goal but he dragged his shot wide. On the balance of play, a draw would have been a bit harsh on Torquay, who had blown Crewe away in the first half.
Anyway, post-match it was back into the Torquay club bar to drown our sorrows. Or drown some chips in a pint of Guinness, as was actually the case. Luckily for our livers, they threw us out at closing time and it was back to the Travelodge to crash out for the night.
Wednesday morning and we all had a bit of a lie-in before heading off back into Torquay for breakfast and more beers. Thence it was off to the station for a train to Dawlish for some lunchtime beers. Once we'd had a few there, we stocked up with train beers for the journey home. The journey back lasted four hours, unfortunately the beer didn't. Mind, one of our party was reaching his limit. Once back in Crewe, we had a couple more before I called it a night, finally staggering back into my house a full 37 hours after I had left it.
So much for cutting down on the beers. I have to say that when my alarm went off at 7 the next morning I truly was sick, sorry and sober....

Creeping Up On You (part 1)

Crewe 3 Wycombe 0

A bit of a late catch up from me here as I was too busy to do it last week. Blame my boss for making me do some work instead of letting me surf the web all day. That and the fact that I went to Torquay mid-week (more of which in Part 2).
First up was a home game against an in-form Wycombe Wanderers. I went for a lucky walk as is usual before most Saturday home games. This time we went up to Delamere Forest and had a good, hard 90 minutes or so trekking, without much in the way of rest either. The wind was surprisingly cold but, apart from that, it was a good workout.
With both sides having a decent recent record, this game was odds-on to be a tight affair and so the first half proved. Crewe created chances, but couldn't put them away. Wycombe didn't create as much but still had two good chances to take the lead. I would have settled for a goal-less draw if offered it at half-time.
It turned out I would have been a fool - Crewe came out and totally dominated the second half. Having missed two easier chances in the first half, Donaldson finally put us ahead with some sublime footwork leaving a Wycombe defender on the floor, before Donaldinho smashed the ball past the keeper. Just a minute later he doubled the advantage latching on to an excellent through-ball from Shelley and knocking an early shot beyond the despairing Wycombe keeper. Crewe had been all over Wycombe since the break and it was just reward. Shaun Miller added the icing on the cake late on, tapping in a rebound after Lee Bell's shot had hit the post. It was the least Crewe deserved and maintained their perfect start to 2011 - three wins and three clean sheets.

Canyons of Your Mind

Shrewsbury 0 Crewe 1

On reflection, it probably wasn't a good idea to start on the ale at eleven o'clock in the morning, but at least I had the sense not to carry on celebrating Crewe's win when I got back to Nantwich. I wasn't looking forward to returning to work after a 12-day break as it was and a hangover might have persuaded me to give it a miss altogether...
Anyway, I was up and breakfasted reasonably early on Bank Holiday Morning and it was straight on to Fordy's fun bus for a jolly day out. We stopped at the Sports club in Prees, as per last season, and tucked into the ale. I had, over the course of the stop there a pint of Ansells Mild, two pints of Stonehouse Cambrian Gold, a pint of Caledonian Deuchars IPA and a pint of Wood's Triple A. It wasn't just ale, ale and more ale though - I did have a sausage baguette and a bacon bap whilst I was there. It was back on board the bus and off to the ground shortly before 2pm.
Once at the ground I met up with a couple of mates and had time for a handy bottle of Carling before kick-off. Taking my place in the stand I was glad that I'd had the foresight to bring my sunglasses, as the low winter sun penetrated the clouds and shone right into our faces. Even withe sun in our eyes we could see that Crewe were really up for the game. With the midfield controlling the game and the pace of Donaldson, Miller and Grant troubling the Shrewsbury defence, it looked like the Alex were on top. There were occasional worries from Shrewsbury attacks but by and large Ada and Artell had their strikers in their pockets. The most frustrating thing for us Crewe fans was that it looked like the side were going to have one of those days when they couldn't score. I even texted a mate to that effect at half-time.
Having managed to dodge the queue at the tea bar at half-time and slip in for a Carling, a cottage pie and a coffee (the coffee wasn't for me) it was back into the stands for more of the same in the second half. Crewe's forwards kept creating chances and in quick succession both Miller and Donaldson dragged shots wide with only the keeper to beat. Fortunately the goal that they were now threatening arrived in the 67th minute, when Tootle's low cross found an unmarked Miller on the edge of the six-yard box and he sent the keeper the wrong way with a cool finish. He also sent the 680 Crewe fans wild with excitement. Shrewsbury responded by throwing on their substitutes and there were a few hairy moments, including a goal-line clearance by Lee bell as Crewe looked to hold on. In the end though, they were running the clock down with the ball down in the Shrewsbury corner adn looking fairly comfortable and good value for the win.
An excellent result for the lads and a second win of the year and a second clean sheet. Plenty more tough games to come (Wycombe, Torquay and Port Vale in quick succession) but an encouraging start to the year. If the midfield can maintain that sort of control and form and the strikers start putting away their chances, Crewe must have a realistic chance of making the play-offs and even challenging for automatic promotion. After all there's nearly always one side that puts together a great run after Christmas and there's no reason why it shouldn't be the Alex. Please?

Easy Lover

Crewe 2 Northampton 0
First game of 2011 and I'll be quite happy if the rest of them are as straight-forward as this one. Northampton had a couple of chances early doors, but once Crewe had weathered the storm, they were hardly troubled. Which was a bit of a relief because I didn't go for my lucky walk in the morning. Mind you, given the weather - constant drizzle - I was glad I didn't go. It was the sort of rain that didn't feel too bad, but soon soaked you through. Not ideal conditions for walking in, let alone playing football, and there was a slight concern that the pitch at Gresty Road might be waterlogged. No worries on that front, although it did cut up quite badly in the second half.
As for the game, well, the Cobblers had a couple of threatening opportunities early doors and even hit the crossbar with a dangerous cross, but once Crewe settled, they were in control. Donaldson, in particular, caused the defenders all manner of problems and really should have put Crewe ahead a lot earlier than he did. Having missed two one-on-one chances, he finally opened the scoring with probably his most difficult chance as he raced through and lobbed the ball over the on-rushing goalkeeper.  Much relief all round.
Second half, it was much the same - Northampton not offering much and Crewe wasting several decent chances. Miller doubled the lead with some fantastic footwork in the box, bringing the ball down and skipping past the keeper before sliding it in. After that, the game was as good as over. Crewe did their best to play themselves into trouble occasionally - giving the ball away in midfield far too often - but the Cobblers weren't good enough to take advantage.
As useful and decent performance, and with the team hardly having to get out of second gear, hopefully they'll have plenty left in the tank for tomorrow's game at high-flying Shrewsbury. And, indeed, for the numerous games coming up in the busy month of January. Subject to the weather, of course.