I decided to have a go at managing a lower league club and have chose the Railwaymen Crewe Alexander.
They are most recently known for having an excellent youth system with the likes of Max Clayton the hottest property left in the side after the likes of Nick Powell and Ashley Westwood moved to the Premier League.
My own affiliation for this club is my cousin was once the LB for them who played more than 80 times for them in 3 seasons i also remember an FA Cup match where he got destroyed by Ronaldo who was playing for Man Utd at the time it was around 2005 i think.
Anyway i wasnt actually going to make it a story but i like the players and 3 wins in a row have only got me more interested.
What a lucky result! We take the lead early on but they manage to pull one back with 10 minutes to go, i then made 3 subs upped the tempo and the CB Ellis managed to score a beautifully struck shot in injury time.
Npower League 1
Crewe 1 - 0 Yeovil
Clayton 2
Max Clayton who has been playing as a AML for me so far grabs a very early goal and we pepper their goal with at least another 20 odd shots but they manage to keep them out with their keeper getting man of the match.
Npower League 1
Walsall 0 - 0 Crewe
A bore draw, but we were very lucky to even pick up a point as they had so many chances especially in the first 30 minutes they had at least 10 shots on our goal but we hung on, on downside was Clayton coming off with a knock.
Capital One Cup 2nd rnd
Crewe 0 - 2 Cardiff
Well i never expected us to win this match but we played some good football and had a few chances but a Bellamy brace in the last 20 minutes finished us off and we are out of the cup which im not too sad about.
Not many deals as we already had 2 loan signings and not much cash, im unsure on how the squad and players are balanced at the moment so i didnt fancy changing too much at the beginnning a GK at some point will be key i may see if im allowed a short term loan and get a keeper in every 3 months
Doesnt mean a lot at this early stage of the season, but does show how the cup win against Tranmere was more impressive than i first thought with them currently top of the league.
My attempts to sign a permanent or temporairy GK hit a few snags we tie up a deal for a keeper like a day after the deadline so wont be getting him til January then tried to sign Martinez from Arsenal on loan for 3 months but he had work permit issues so was again back to square one.
Npower League 1
MK Dons 2 - 0 Crewe
Clayton sent off 54
I thought we had a chance to grab all 3 points after a good first half but Clayton got a second yellow for a stupid tackle and they then managed to grab 2 goals in 4 minutes then just sit on the lead for the rest of the game.
St Johnstones Paint Trophy rnd 1
Fleetwood 1 - 3 Crewe
Shroot 12 Pogba 47, 74
Pogba manages to find his goalscoring boots after not scoring in his last 5 matches and we comfortably beat Fleetwood as the league difference really shows in the second half.
Npower league 1
Preston 2 - 2 Crewe
Inman 53 Aneke 77
A bad result in the end as we concede with seconds to go a rather dubious offside goal after turning the game around with first Inman equalizing and then his replacement Aneke putting us in the lead. Inman is now out for 5 weeks which does not help matters.
Npower League 1
Crewe 1 - 0 Scunthorpe
Aneke 16
A good win as we never look like losing this but in worrying news Pogba got taken off with an injury but we were in cruise control as they started raging getting 2 of their players sent off in the last 10 minutes.
Pogba has unfortunately been confirmed with a broken leg and will miss at least 5 months!!!!!
Npower League 1
Shrewsbury 1 - 0 Crewe
A rather dubious penalty decision gives Shrewsbury the victory in a tightly contested affair where Max Clayton played terribly and has so far shown none of his potential.
Luke Murphy scored an incredible goal in this match from a 30 yard freekick which hit the crossbar and went in, shame it was the only thing i had to be happy about as our dodgy GK strikes again and we struggle to get a draw.
Npower League 1
Crewe 1 -2 Crawley
Aneke 86
We lose this match and deserved too with Dalle Valle doing absolutely terrible with his chance to shine with Pogba injuried and Claytons poor form.
Crawley who we lost to in our most recent match are already the runaway leaders of the league but theres not much between the next 12 odd teams and we are only just beginning in terms of the league, we are predicted 19th so not having a relegation battle on our hands will be considered impressive.
Anthony Tonkin, was a LB for Crewe 2003-2006, hopefully once the GK problem is sorted i can start to climb the table as we dont seem to have much of a problem when it comes to scoring its just keeping the other team out
First off i have made a few tweaks to the tactic as without Pogba i dont think we can play with just the one up front so in a risky move the DMC will become another striker
Npower league 1
Crewe 1 - 0 Coventry
Dalla Valle 64
We were on fire in this game and deserved the victory after having dozens of chances, with the extra striker up front Dalla Valle has really got a chance to shine now.
Npower League 1
Swindon 3 - 2 Crewe
Dalla Valle 43, 76
Swindon scored after a few minutes then missed a penalty and i thought this game was all over before 14 minutes had gone, then the LB Robertson goes and gets sent off we still havent play half an hour yet! Dalla Valle did manage to grab a goal back near the end of the first half. Then Dalla Valle goes and equalizes right before CB Ellis decides to get himself sent off 2-2 with 9 men and 10 minutes to go and they quite easily scored with seconds to spare!!!!!!!!
St Johnstones Paint Trophy second rnd
Crewe 2 - 3 Rochdale
Leitch-Smith 41 Dalla Valle 44
A shocking result as they grab the winner at the death and our CB Mark Ellis and the GK have another poor game, the only keepers in the squad are only rated 2 star and i cant seem to get any loans in for a new one, the keeper is destroying our season.
Npower league 1
Crewe 1 - 1 Doncaster
Dalla Valle 78
Our saviour again even if we are not picking up the points we are putting in the performances if we get our new GK in january we will be able to push on and do a lot better. CB Mark Ellis is now out for 7 weeks but is form has been poor for a couple of months now anyway.
Npower League 1
Stevenage 1 - 1 Crewe
Moore 90
A terrible result a terrible game match whatever you want to call it my players were shocking and lucky to get a point Clayton and Dalla Valle got ratings of 5.4!
Thats right your eyes are not deceiving you Max Clayton scored what was only his 2nd goal of the season, hopefully in his new role up front he may be more of a threat, he only then goes and scores again.
Npower League 1
Notts County 1 - 0 Crewe
A terrible result as we go from one extreme to the other Clayton is man of the match in the previous game to having a shocker and Dalla Valle's form is seriously on the down again.
Npower League 1
Crewe 1 - 1 Hartlepool
Leitch-Smith 44
Another poor result we need to beat the teams at the lower end of the table but our small squad is now looking really tired and most are in need of a rest after each match.
Dugdale has been in impressive form taking over the captaincy and the CB role while Mark Ellis is out with his injury and he may keep him out of the side if he stays in this form.
FA Cup First Rnd
Tranmere 4 - 4 Crewe
Dalla Valle 74, 88 Clayton 81, 84
Murphy, Tootle and Aneke are all missing due to fatigue and youngster James Jones starts his first game in midfield, Our side was full of reserves and it showed with Akpa Akpro scoring a hat trick. The two main strikers did come on and score though hopefully giving them some much needed confidence. Well as you can tell i write this up as im going along and was about to put up the score of 4-2 to them then realised that our forwards had got us a draw in the last few minutes!
Npower League 1
Sheff Utd 1 -1 Crewe
Clayton 91
Well first off we went 1-0 down after only a few minutes then in the second half around 60 minutes i made 3 changes and then both are CB's got taken off injuried yet Clayton popped up late on and our 9 man team drew with the mighty Sheff Utd, Clayton is better off staying on the bench and coming on that last 20 minutes and being fresh im thinking from now on.
Rui Marques is out for a stupid amount of time now 5 months, and our CB's are dropping like flies.
Npower League 1
Crewe 3 - 2 Brentford
Dugdale 12 Dalla Valle 18 Leitch-Smith 34
We made hard work of this victory after going 3-0 up before the break but they banged in 2 goals right after the break and we had to sit on the lead to get the 3 points.
FA Cup 1st rnd replay
Crewe 0 - 3 Tranmere
I wish i had an Akpa Akpro 6 goals for him in 2 games against us. Not only that but Dalla Valle missed the game because he was on international duty and got injuried for 2 months!!!!!!!!!
Npower League 1
Carlisle 1 - 2 Crewe
Harry Davis 25 Leitch-Smith 66
A good solid victory as the other stalwart defender Davis gets on the scoresheet hes not been doing anything special this season but always puts in a shift, Leitch-Smith is the main striker now with Pogba and Dalla Valle injuried and Clayton i feel not able to play 90 minutes.
Npower League 1
Crewe 3 - 2 Portsmouth
Mike West 16 Leitch Smith 19 Murphy 34
Its nice to be facing a few teams near the bottom of the table with our last 3 wins coming against relegation threatened clubs, but saying that Portsmouth almost turned it around scoring in the 69th and 71st minutes to give us a nervy ending.
Npower League 1
Oldham 1 - 1Crewe
Clayton 78
Super sub Clayton saves the day after they controlled the game from the outset we are on a massive unbeaten run in the league now i think its 6 games which is a lot considering our early season form.
The table certainly shows that it can all change with a few wins under your belt im equal on points with teams in the play offs so when my strikers come back from injuries and i get my new GK in january that has to be the aim, also just a couple of losses and you can quite easily fall back to mid table obscurity.
12 days off was much appreciated with a lot of the team getting a well earned break and finally the return of Pogba in the next game after missing a staggering 19 games in the 3 months he was out.
A good win against a poor side its nice to see us beating the teams we should be now and thats before the window has even openend, Pogba did not play in this game as he is still not quit match fit but its nice to see Clayton grabbing a few goals recently.
Npower League 1
Crewe 0 - 4 Leyton Orient
To say we got destroyed is an understatement! They battered us from the get go and their not even that good of a team our fatigue caught up with us and it just wasnt our day.
Well what can i say first off Shroot is out for 5 weeks, Pogba scored on his comeback after missing the least 20 games and the Walsall manager got sacked after this match, Pogba is my number target man and he hit a superb header to get this underway and it will be nice to give Clayton a rest again.
Npower League 1
Yeovil 1 - 1 Crewe
Leitch-Smith 88
This was a get out of jail card with Smith scoring a late equalizer against a poor Yeovil side who sit 17th before we started this match.
Npower League 1
Tranmere 0 - 0 Crewe
A bore draw but i was just happy to keep Akpa Akpro out for once after 6 goals in his last 2 games against us.
Well its nice to have some options, i took Leitch-Smith off and the AMC stuck to poachers on and they did the buisness in the second half after we went 2-0 down hope this new goalkeeper is worth the hype i have given him.
As you can see we have managed to sneak into the playoff places it shows that a few good results together and you can be right up there with us only 4 points of top and only 7 points of 16th anything could happen in this second half of the season.
With some of our recent dodgy defending and holding out for wins and draws Dugdale always seems to be the player making those clearances and tackles to keep us in the game.
Watching the Young Players Develop is the best part to this game!! Do you have Genie Scout? I use it to track my players progress each month, very good tool!
Watching the Young Players Develop is the best part to this game!! Do you have Genie Scout? I use it to track my players progress each month, very good tool!
Smith puts into the lead early on but its the job of super sub Clayton again to win us the match scoring almost seconds after coming on, i cant wait to get Dalla Valle back aswell and the play offs are well within our reaches with Shroot almost back too.
Npower League 1
Preston 2 - 1 Crewe
Shroot 78
Shroots goal was a mere consolation as after Murphy's early horror injury knocked the fight out of us and we never really got going against 2nd placed Preston
Pogba scores an amazing 22 minute hat trick against second from bottom club Scunthorpe and we need to win this match as we face top team Crawley next.
Npower League 1
Crawley 2 - 0 Crewe
We were never going to get anything from top club Crawley and we were poor, the two faces of our club really showed here as after Pogba's hat trick in the last game he got a rating of 5.3 in this game.
Well after a nervy first have a superb 4 minutes turned this game on its head as we battered bottom club Shrewsbury, so we lost to 1st and 2nd but beat 24th and 21st.
The playoffs are well within our reach still despit losing to 2 clubs up at the top this month, to think next game we could go top or be out of the playoff spaces!
First we had two outgoings in Abdul Osman and Alan Martin, Martin was my first choice GK but he never really put in any decent performances and Osman played around 8 times and wanted a lot more game time which i could not give him.
We signed 2 players for a total of £34k and they are both former premier league players in Darius Vassell and Stuart Taylor who will both do very well at this level.
Michael West who has had a decent run in the side recently due to injuries to others will miss the rest of the season with a bad injury. View attachment 320828
We never looked like losing this games and despite not scoring Vassell got man of the match and played brillaintly and Taylor made a few good saves to boot.
We thought we had won this match as Vassell turned the result around after we went 2-0 down early on but they grabbed a very very late equalizer to rob us of going second.
Npower League 1
Doncaster 0 - 2 Crewe
Clayton 45 Leitch-Smith 78
Aneke sent off 88
With us winning this match comfortably and me having used all my subs up i watched in horror as Aneke tried desperately to get sent off after several fouls while already on a red and then finally got his wish with not long left.
Inman has come in for the injuried Murphy and has scored a couple of wonder goals in recent matches with one a 40 yard worldey that hit the crossbar as it thundered in.
A comfortable victory as Clayton scores an early goal by himself and Inman continues his recent good form with another belter of a goal.
Npower League 1
Colchester 2 - 0 Crewe
Aneke scores an own goal then gets injuried doing it what a numpty! Well we are back to usually for every game we win and push forward their is a sorry match like this to lose.
Npower League 1
Crewe 5 - 4 Notts County
Dalla Valle 5, 55 Pogba 6, 52 Dugdale 37
A huge victory as we went 2-0 up in a matter of moments, but after going 5-1 up before the hour mark yet they knocked 3 back and i had a terrible last 10 minutes worrying that they would get the equalizer.
With so many different strikers around it was nice to see Smith getting a brace but without our new keeper we are sorely lacking in defence but after this draw we have managed to stay in 2nd!
With only 5 games to go we find ourselves 2 points clear in the automatic promotion places but a couple of losses and we could be out of even the playoffs i dont know how we are 2nd with the amount of losses and draws we have i have not won more than 2 games in a row at any point this season.
Another draw as yet again we go ahead this time with 2 goals from Clayton but we still cant see the 3 points home and concede some silly goals i think our small young squad is really feeling tired now and we need this automatic promotion as the playoffs will not bode well for us in this current form.
An easy victory to get us back on track as we face the already relegated Portsmouth and up next face 18th place Oldham.
Npower League 1
Oldham 0 - 3 Crewe
Shroot 13 Furman o.g 22 Clayton 66
Aneke sent off 88
Aneke does seem to like to get sent off when we are comfortably winning! He must get easily bored and when we are winning feel like livening it up and smashing someones face in does it for him!
One game to go and here is the Npower League 1 Table
Goal difference seperates us from all season rivals Tranmere and that ****** Akpa Akpro who just cant stop scoring at the moment! I dont think my players can hack the playoffs, we have Bournmouth and Tranmere have MK Dons who are bottom of the ****** league!!!
Npower League 1
Crewe 2 - 1 Bournemouth
Dalla Valle 34 Pogba 84
Pogba wins us the game but it means little as we only get 3rd and will have to go through the horrible process known as the playoffs, the only upside is we will face Bournemouth who we have just beat.
Npower League 1 Playoff Semi Final 1st leg
Bournemouth 0 - 0 Crewe
A bore draw with Dugdale getting man of the match with this good defensive performance hopefully we can grab a goal in the return leg.
Npower League 1 Playoff Semi Final 2nd leg
Crewe 3 - 1 Bournemouth
Vassell 19, 93 West 77
What a result and signing Vassell even if for just these 2 goals was definetly worth it!! The only downside is stalwart stand in captain Dugdale is out for at least 6 months!
Npower League 1 Playoff Final
Carlisle 1 - 2 Crewe
Murphy 28 Pogba 38
We did it!!! I never thought we would be getting promoted this season but we have managed it, Murphy who has just come back after 4 months out and scored a thunderous goal watched by over 51,000 people, we hadnt lost to Carlisle in our 2 previous league meetings so i knew we had it in us to win and we did.
After a poor start to the season Clayton had a brilliant second half after i brought in a couple more strikers and he didnt need to play every game, he was grateful for the rest and being the part of super sub
Despite only having a 2 star rating Dugdale was the standout performer this year with some brilliant defensive displays and was our stand in skipper for 3 months when Ellis was out and then kept him out of the team for most of the season until he unfortunately picked up his 6 month injury.
Standout performer in this years playoff Luke Murphy gets the recognition he deserves to cap a wonderful season marred with that bad injury in January, shows how good he was when he did get to play though.
The board did all of this without asking me, they dropped Everton who didnt sent us a single player on loan and we are now affiliated with Man Utd who hopefully will give us a few more players, i really hope this wasnt so they can pinch Clayton easily!