Crewe Alex: Positive Signs?

Today was the day that Dave Artell took the reins of Crewe Alexandra for the very first time, in what turned out to be a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Luton Town. However despite the negative result, there were many positive signs that can be took from the game. Yet there are also some issues which appear a reoccurring theme with the club. Over all though, there are more positives to take than negatives and, you could see a clear change. I will discuss these negative similarities and positive differences in this article. I will also mention how we can carry the positives forward as we go on in, what some fans are calling, ‘The Artell Revolution’.

Firstly the most noticeable difference by far was the amount of fight and passion the lads showed on the pitch. If we lost the ball, we’d go to win it back. That wasn’t happening previously, and we were often pinned back and compressed into our own half as a result of that. We were also trying to win the ball back when we didn’t have it initially, closing the opposition down – pressing forward. To quote myself, in my last article I said, ‘Out of all the players I’ve seen at Gresty Road in the last seven/eight years, Dave Artell is definitely the most passionate. Hopefully, that passion for football has stayed with Dave, and can rub off onto the players in The Alex dressing room’ (and on the pitch). I saw the passion that Artell had as a player, on the pitch today. However, we struggled to keep the intensity up for 90 minutes – ultimately that is what cost us today.

Despite the more determined performance, there are still plenty of creases to iron out. The main issue today was poor defending. On the whole we defended well, but the two mistakes we made were punished – not wanting to ‘beat around the bush’ I’d say that: It was the poor examples of defending which cost us – the second, most costly goal, imparticular. The player got to the byline and pull the ball back, leaving an easy finish for Jake Gray. The defenders who were frantically rushing back to defend on the goal line were in such a rush they actually left the man free. Those things happen in football and you have to bite the bullet, put your hands up about that one, and refocus – understanding that it happens. Dave Artell mentioned those things happen in his post-match press conference. You can’t always help them. However it must be kept in mind Artell has only had one week with the players, that’s a couple of training sessions and not much more. In that time he won’t have fully got his philosophy across. It takes time. However if we can stop the rot, we can use the time in between games to the full – rebuild confidence, improve intensity and stamina, ultimately getting results. I’m keen to reiterate however it does, and it will, take time.

Looking to the future however, one thing that has been talked about often is the arrival and exits of a few new players at Gresty Road. The player types on the ‘wish list’ of many Alex supporters are; a tall striker, a central midfielder, and a centre half. I would personally prioritise a ‘target man’ and a centre half, the re-signing of Danny Hollands would cover for the midfielder – if he was to extend his deal. Dave Artell said he was hoping to bring in someone for today’s game, but now expects a deal to be announced ‘early next week’.