Crewe Alex: The Realisation

A new manager, a new signing and an extended contract. I think it’s pretty clear that the Alex board know that if we continue the way we were going under Davis, we’d be headed for non league football.

They waited a very long time before sacking Davis. Yes, sure they’ve tried to stick to the club’s model by giving him faith but our decline went on for far too long. Something had to change.

Dave Artell’s been given the nod. I think that’s a fair appointment, and despite a disappointing first match at the helm, I think there’s a lot more positivity around the club right now. His coaching staff reshuffle is encouraging, and I’m really glad to see Neil Baker back involved with coaching. That’s definitely something I feel we’ve missed. I’m also glad to see someone like Arts back in the limelight. It’s a good reminder of the great times we’ve had (under Davis).

It’s also clear to see that the board are now prepared to invest. We’ve kept Alex Kiwomya on for the end of the season which is a huge bonus. We’ve also signed Jordan Bowery – an interesting signing. He’s definitely got a point to prove, and I feel especially with strikers, it can bring the best out of players. Looking at his record, he did score a few goals in League 2 last year, and he’s decent on Football Manager 2015, so he’s got all the right credentials.

Similarly, we’re keeping Danny Hollands on until the end of the season. Although he hasn’t set the world on fire, and has often just seemed like a ‘League 2 version’ of David Fox, I think his experience could come to play an important part for the rest of the season.

The board has suffered a lot of criticism throughout the last few years, and while I hate to see it, a lot of it was probably fair. However, they’re showing now that they are prepared to invest when things are desperate, and they’re pretty desperate now.