Crewe Alexandra - A New Beginning

[bcfc1]

I have decided to start a new story with Crewe Alexandra after having a poll for the last couple of days and hearing all of your guys opinions on what I should do. I have just started this story now and I will be updating this shortly after I have looked at my squad and decided on my key players and more importantly the tactics I want to use with the squad I have.

 

[bcfc1]

After having a quick look at the squad I must say I am quietly confident of performing better than expected this season. I think promotion may be out of our reach especially with the quality of some of the teams in this league like Wolves, Sheffield Utd and Preston but a mid table finish would not be a bad result when we are predicted to finish 2nd bottom with only Coventry who start on -10 due to administration predicted to finish below us.

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The club lacks trophies and I am hoping that is something I can bring to the club with only 3 trophies in the cabinet and these are very minor competitions although the Johnstones paint trophy was won only last season.

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I will be hoping Harry Davis will be a rock at the back and make sure everything is tight there. With the lack of a natural finisher at the club I will be hoping that I can make the team hard to beat by keeping as many clean sheets as possible and this is the guy who is going to be vital in doing this. Like most of the squad he is still young and I will be hoping that he can have a big year and push his stats to the next level and be a vital player in the team for years to come.

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The young lad is on loan from Arsenal and he looks a class act for this level. With only one year left on his contract at Arsenal if he has a good year for me now I will definitely be looking at trying to bring him back full time next year. He is powerful, technical and has the mental stats to go with it as well he could definitely be a great player at the club and be a Yaya Toure-esque player for the club.

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A young boy at only 18 he is already judged by my coaching staff to a be 4 star player. His stats at the moment dont really show that but I am hoping he can have a big year for us. He will be operated either as a right winger or a left sided inside forward and i am hoping he can bring goals and assists to the team.

Another player at the club who could have been vital is Max Clayton. A youngster with good potential he could have led the line for team for years to come however he wishes to leave the club on a free transfer and with only 1 year left on his contract I will be looking to cash in on him immediately and trying to invest that cash in areas that I need.

 

[bcfc1]

After looking through my squad and looking at the kind of players I have at the moment I have decided on the 3 formations that I will use throughout the season although they all could be altered throughout the season depending on how the season goes.

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This will be my main formation and the one I will definitely be using at home. I want to be able to control the game in the midfield while also getting enough men forward to try and create a few clear cut chances. While I usually like to retain possession and tire teams out I know at this level the quality of my players is not good enough to do that so I have told them to go a bit more direct and not to waste time on the ball.

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This is my defensive or counter tactic that I will be using against the bigger teams especially away from home. With the 2 dms in the team I feel we should be more solid at the back and not concede too many while going direct with long balls we might be able to catch teams out at the back.

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The final tactic is a tactic that I wont be using much at the start of a game but if I am behind by one with 10-15 minutes to go this is the tactic I will go to. It is pretty much just throw everyone forward to try and grab that equaliser and steal a point from the game. It has worked for me before with other teams but not at this level so I am unsure as to how effective it will be with Crewe.

My next update will be looking at my transfers and looking at who is coming in and who is going out. Hopefully by then I will also have my starting 11 sorted and be able to show that as well.

 

[bcfc1]

In what has been a quiet summer so far only 1 signing has been made and 2 youngsters have been loaned out to the lower leagues.

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The only signing is Joel Byrom from Preston on loan with an option to buy. A natural left midfielder I will be looking to operate him in centre midfield to be an experienced man in the middle who will keep the ball and allow us to control the game a bit more.

With season now about to start there wont be many more signings as there will be more focus on how the team performs in the league. I will updating you by the month so the next update will be after August where I hope we can have a positive start to the season.

 

[bcfc1]

August

Crewe 2 (Addison O.G. 26 Ikpeazu 76)
Rotheram 3 (Vuckic 48, 59 Asamoah 74)

A decent performance against a much better team who had the quality to catch us out and finish their chances.

Carlisle 2 (Amoo 62 Miller 90+2)
Crewe 1 (Moore 82)

I am disappointed to lose the game so late on but to be out of the cup at such an early stage may help us in the league later on.

MK Dons 2 (Reeves 48, 78)
Crewe 0

A poor result which came from a poor performance. We are currently unable to keep a clean sheet and also unable to finish our chances, a combination that will surely see us relegated. A change is definitely needed if this continues in the next couple of games but I will let the team get used to formations I am currently using before I think of changing them.

Crewe 2 (Moore 12 Montano 38)
Tranmere 2 (Stockton 40 Horwood 76)

Our first point of the season which is the only positive point really. A 2 goal lead which was thrown away is the most frustrating thing.

Leyton Orient 3 (Batt 39 McAleny 53 Odubajo 83)
Crewe 1 (Clayton 22)

Another game where we throw away a league. The defense seems to be a real issue and something I may need to work on more in the near future.

Swindon 3 (Ranger 71 Williams 75, 90+1)
Crewe 0

Another dreadful defensive performance. We just cant keep a clean sheet. I blame myself a bit more for this one though as I pushed for a winner in the last 20 minutes and got caught out badly.

Quite possibly the worst month of management I've had in any save. 15 goals conceded in only 6 games is dreadful and cannot be repeated in the season especially as we only scored 6 goals. I was able to bring in a couple of names to the team.

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A decent youngster who has good potential and is actually a left footed left winger which is rare at any level. He has speed and can cross and dribble. Better mental stats would have been great but I am hoping he can perform for me this season and those stats will grow as he gets older.

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An experienced head who can play a role in the middle for me. A bit of a rash decision to sign him but for only 1 year he is someone who can tutor my youngsters and hopefully make them better players for the future.

 

[bcfc1]

September

Crewe 0
Morecombe 0

A boring cup game which eventually went to penalties which we were eventually able to win. These are a team that a league below us and they were able to take us to penalties and we really struggled then as well. If we keep going like this I will not be having a happy season.

Crewe 0
Peterborough 2 (Kearns 80Pen McCann 84Pen)

Absolutely gutted to lose the game the way we did. Our defense cannot keep a clean sheet and they constantly keep giving away penalties.

Crewe 0
Walsall 1 (Ngoo 86)

Another game where we throw away a possible point late on. I feel as though I will need to find another tactic to be able to see out the game. Thats the fourth game in a row that we havent scored in which is terrible form.

Oldham 1 (Philliskirk 64Pen)
Crewe 0

Another penalty and 5 games without scoring. I have had hard games over the years of playing FM but this could turn into one of the most difficult things I've done. The team seem to be a class below everyone else in the league.

Crewe 3 (Colclough 16 Aneke 88 Davis 90+3Pen)
Gillingham 1 (McDonald 6)

An unbelievable game. I dont know how we scored 3, got a penalty and incredibly came back from being behind. The first win of the season and hopefully can be the start of the season for us.

Overall a disappointing month but with a positive end hopefully next month we can pick it up and get out of the bottom 4 as the table is starting to split into distinct sections and the last thing we want to do is to get stuck down at the bottom of the table and a gap to grow between us and safety.

 

[Kerguelen]

Looks like Crewe are a tough challenge. Hope your form improves.

Any chance you could write what competition you are in next to the results, as it's hard to tell if its a League 1, Capital 1 cup, or JP Trophy fixture.

 

[bcfc1]

Looks like Crewe are a tough challenge. Hope your form improves.

Any chance you could write what competition you are in next to the results, as it's hard to tell if its a League 1, Capital 1 cup, or JP Trophy fixture.

Thanks I didn't realise beforehand how poor their squad is compared to the rest of the league. They aren't technical enough to dominate a game and they aren't clinical enough to catch teams on the counter. At the moment I feel my best chance of success is to try and maintain league 1 status for now and then hope that the youth that comes through can lift the team up. I can't imagine anyone in this league will get regens at a similar level to me.

Sure no problem anything to make it more clear. If anyone has any advice on how to make the story a bit better or clearer feel free to say so. This is one of my first stories on here so any help to make the story better will be more than welcome.

 

[bcfc1]

October

Sky Bet League 1
Notts County 1 (McGovern 79)
Crewe 0

Another game where we throw it away late on. I can feel a pattern emerging. This is something we desperately need to cut out but through a combination of inexperience and nerves we seem to always throw the game away. I will definitely be looking at a couple of coaches to come in and help us out defensively.

Johnstones Paint Trophy N 2nd Round
Crewe 2 (Ikpeazu 69 80)
Rochdale 0

Another win in this competition and it looks like we could build a run in this cup. Lets hope we can bring this positivity into the league and climb our way out of the bottom 4.

Sky Bet League 1
Preston 1 (Garner 25)
Crewe 2 (Inman 18 Ikpeazu 89)

Incredibly its finally us that get the late winner. And away from home as well which is even more surprising. 3 points that we desperately needed as well still lie in 23rd position and 5 points off safety. A good performance all round with everyone even the substitutes having a good game for once especially Ikpeazu who seems to look as though he can actually perform at this level and is possibly the first choice striker now in the squad.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 0
Bristol City 2 (Baldock 25 Wagstaff 88)

Another poor performance where we didnt have a single shot on target. I wish I could say that is the first time this has happened but its the 2nd or 3rd time in truth and something I really need to solve. The attack is inconsistent and I am hoping to find a top striker for this level who can finish consistently.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 0
Stevenage 2 (Morais 3 Haber 88)

Caught out early on from a set piece and then caught again late in the game when we were pushing for the equaliser. Thats 2 home games in a row where we have been unable to score. I feel like I am repeating the same mistakes again and again and the team seems to be unable to learn from them.

Sky Bet League 1
Sheffield United 0
Crewe 1 (Evans 41)

We definitely seem to be better away from home for some reason maybe its the lack of pressure but a win against a top side in the team that are in the play offs at the moment. The second half was very defensive but we were able to hold for a vital 3 points. I finally feel as though I have a way of gainng points now with a quick start going defensive later on.

A mixed month where we were able to win 3 games with 2 of them away but both home games at home resulted in loses where we couldnt score a single goal. It looks like the inconsistency of my youth players is going to be the problem this season but with no other options at the moment I have no choice but to stick with them and hope they have more good games than bad.

 

[bcfc1]

November

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 0
Bradford 2 (Hanson 45+1, 88)

Another game where a lapse in concentration means we fall behind and we are caught on the counter late on as we push for an equalizer. It seems almost impossible for us to come back when we concede first but we are also not clinical enough to take our chances early on and take the lead.

Fa Cup First Round
Bristol Rovers 1 (Mohamed 21)
Crewe 0

While I am slightly disappointed to lose to a team that are in a division below us I did rest the majority of my first team and I am solely focused on trying to keep us in the division and I cant afford for players to get tired or injured by playing in too many competitions.

Johnstones Paint Trophy N Quarter Final
Crewe 1 (Inman 51)
Accrington 1 (Murphy 50)
Crewe win 5-3 on penalties

A good performance but still unable to finish our chances as we had 13 shots on target in this game to their 2. Happy to win the tie on penalties in the end but they wouldnt have been necessary if we could finish our chances.

Sky Bet League 1
Brentford 2 (Grigg 40 Fillo 80)
Crewe 0

I feel as though I could just copy and paste the analysis of this game for pretty much every other league game I play. We concede first from sloppy defending and then are caught out by a long direct ball late on when we are pushing higher up the pitch. After this loss we now sit bottom of the table and 8 points from getting out of the relegation zone.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 2 (Byrom 58 David 72Pen)
Port Vale 0

Get in there. A massive result against a fellow relegation candidate. We have now taken them over in the table but still lie 5 points from safety ourselves. The first goal would not have been out of place if Barcelona had scored it. We passed it round calmly for what seemed like forever until we found an opening and penetrated their back line quickly before rolling the ball into the bottom right hand corner. The midfield are really starting to gel now as we dominate more and more games I am just hoping the strikers can finish the chances they are able to create.

Sky Bet League 1
Carlisle 1 (Robson 35Pen)
Crewe 0

Im a little disappointed to lose the game to a penalty in the first half but they are in the playoffs at the moment and we put in a very good performance. With a bit more luck we could have snatched a point or maybe all 3 here today.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 2 (Ells 19 Morris 90+5)
Crawley 0

Amazingly this means we have won twice in the month yet again. Thankfully we are now able to win games but we need to cut out the losses espeically those that come late on in the game. Being able to hold onto those points will see us lift ourselves out of the bottom 4 and secure our place in this division for next season.

Not the worst month of football but we still need to cut out the mistakes. I know that at this level mistakes are always going to be made but if we start making less mistakes than our opposition then we can definitely survive this season as the core of this team are really starting to pick up their performances.

 

[bcfc1]

December

Johnstones Paint Trophy N Semi Final
Shrewsbury 4 (Atajic 8 Eaves 11, 50 Taylor 87)
Crewe 2 (Ikpeazu 15, 49)

I am really disappointed to be out of this competition at this stage. We could have gone further and potentially retained the trophy. There was a quick start to both halves but we were unable to ever really get a strong period in the game and put them under any pressure. They deservedly beat us but with how open the game was I always felt we could have got something from this match.

Sky Bet League 1
Coventry 1 (Delfouneso 47)
Crewe 0

I am gutted to lose this game as they are down there with us and especially to concede from an Aston Villa player but now they are pretty much mid table. Thats how close the table is at the moment. There are only 12 points between 24th and 14th which means with a decent run of form we can definitely climb out of the bottom 4 push for a mid table finish.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 1 (Colclough 16)
Shrewsbury 1 (Atajic 52Pen)

If we had won this game then we could have climbed above them and be only 1 place from safety. However it wasnt to be and we still lie 2nd bottom of the table and now 5 points from safety.

Sky Bet League 1
Colchester 0
Crewe 1 (Osman 32)

An incredible victory against top of the table. I dont know how we do it but we have now beat both Colchester and Sheffield United who are at the moment the top 2 teams in the league and looking for automatic promotion. We played well especially the midfield 3 of Osman Aneke and Byrom and they fully deserved the 3 points.

Surprisingly a quiet December with only 4 games in the month but with us gaining 4 points from a possible 9 in the league it wasnt the worst. We now lie 3 points from safety which is incredible considering a month or so ago we were almost 10 points off 5th bottom. Hopefully in January we can pick up a couple more wins and finally get out of the bottom 4 which is a position we havent been in since roughly the 3rd match day.

 

[bcfc1]

January

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 2 (Ray 47 Colclough 65)
Carlisle 2 (Miller 35 Berrett 63Pen)

To come from behind twice to gain a point is pretty impressive for us and with us dominating the last 15-20 minutes we could have potentially won the game. I will happily take the point though which takes us only 2 points from getting out of the bottom 4.

Sky Bet League 1
Wolves 3 (Foley 9 Golbourne 56 Lingard 76Pen)
Crewe 3 (Inman 38 Colclough 78 Morris 89)

A late equaliser which deservedly gives us a point. We have definitely turned a corner and if we can keep this form up we will definitely get out of the bottom 4 and maintain our League 1 status.

Sky Bet League 1
Rotherham 1 (Pringle 41)
Crewe 1 (Moore 71)

Another draw but with two hard games in a row both away from home I am happy to take these points. We are proving to be hard to beat which is a very good attribute to have going into the second half of the season.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 1 (Inman 53)
Leyton Orient 0

A vital victory which lifts us only 1 point from safety. Our current form would put us in the top half of the table which is very impressive and if we can keep it up I dont see why we cant push to finish mid table by the end of the season.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 0
MK Dons 3 (Baldock 74 Potter 78 Samuel 81)

I am absolutely livid to concede 3 late goals. We should have seen this game out at home and came away with a point.

Sky Bet League 1
Tranmere 3 (Lowe 40, 81Pen Lappin 62)
Crewe 1 (Oliver 10)

We have chucked away a lead here but we were lucky it was only 3. They hammered us from start to finish where they had over 10 shots on target. It was no surpise that my keeper was my teams man of the match.

Sky Bet League 1
Stevenage 0
Crewe 3 (Moore 3, 30 Byrom 11)

It was a quick start and then just sit on the ball and control the game. After the 3rd goal we only had 2 more shots on goal but we were able to limit them to only have 4 in the whole game.

An interesting month where we got close to coming out of the bottom 4 twice but at the end of the month we are still 2 points from getting out of it. At the moment I am not too worried as I feel we have the quality to get out of it but if we are still in the bottom 4 when it gets to March/April I will be very worried for the team.

 

[bcfc1]

February

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 0
Sheffield United 1 (Obika 56)

We werent too bad in this game and we pushed them all the way but in the end they had a bit too much quality for us and they got revenge for the defeat we inflicted on them earlier in the season.

Sky Bet League 1
Bradford 2 (Hanson 2 McLean 47)
Crewe 0

Another loss but this was also a bad performance. We couldnt attack or defend and we had no strength in the middle to try and dominate the game. Aneke was missing for this game through suspension and it showed. We are definitely going to miss him next season.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 2 (Colclough 28 Ellis 34)
Brentford 1 (Grigg 90)

They gave us a late scare at the end with another chance after the goal that hit the bar. Colclough looks as though he could be turning into a decent player who can dominate the wings for us in years to come. A goal and an assist means he deservedly got the man of the match award.

Sky Bet League 1
Port Vale 1 (Garrett 82O.G.)
Crewe 2 (Ellis 79 Byrom 81)

An incredible final 10-15 minutes where everything happened. There was a missed penalty, a red card and an own goal. After this win we are only 1 point from safety. I can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Although we are still in the bottom 4 I can be slightly happy with this month which sees us pick up 6 points and make sure the gap between us and Oldham who are currently 20th is as small as possible.

 

[bcfc1]

March

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 1 (Oliver 29)
Swindon 1 (N'Guessan 17)

Another game where we dont lose which is important at this stage. The last thing I want now is a big lose to destroy the little morale we have left. We played okay but we need to perform a bit better if we are to stay up.

Sky Bet League 1
Peterborough 2 (Alcock 62 Assombalonga 79)
Crewe 2 (Ikpeazu 49, 55)

I am gutted at this result. With a win we could have been out of the bottom 4 and into a position of safety for the first time since september. We are steadily getting there and are now joint with Oldham who lie in 20th place.

Sky Bet League 1
Walsall 2 (Watson 4 Lalkovic 32)
Crewe 3 (Ikpeazu 53, 73. 90+1)

An incredible victory and an incredible performance by Ikpeazu. He had 3 shot in the entire match and finished them all with ease. He is looking a class act and I am gutted that he is only in on loan. More importantly we are out of the bottom 4 for the first since september. Lets hope we can stay there until the end.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 1 (Pogba 43)
Oldham 1 (Worrall 33)

It was vital we didnt lose this game and we didnt. We now have a gap over 4th bottom of 2 points and with only 9 games left we definitely have a good chance of staying up this season.

Sky Bet League 1
Gillingham 1 (Vassell 22)
Crewe 1 (Colclough 33)

Another draw. They points keep on adding up even if they are tallying up in 1's.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 0
Notts County 1 (Dumbuya 90+2)

A game that just slipped through our fingers at the end. It was a great performance against a team that are in form.

Sky Bet League 1
Crewe 1 (Pogba 87)
Coventry 2 (Delfouneso 29, 76)

I cant wait to see the back of him. Delfouneso has scored 3 goals against me in 2 games in which Coventry won both times.

A decent month especially with the fact that we are no longer in the bottom 4. Everyone at the bottom are in very bad form as you can expect so if we can pick up 2 wins in the month I reckon we could be safe.