Friends Reunited In Trinidad

Two players who spearheaded Crewe’s late ‘glory years’ could go head to head on the world sage tomorrow night. With England taking on Trinidad & Tobago in a friendly tomorrow night, there may well be an added spice for any Alex fans watching.

Whilst goalkeeping legend Clayton Ince could be lining up for Trinindad, it’s needless to say that Dean Ashton will be hoping to finally win his first senior England cap after two very very long years of waiting.

Both Ince and Ashton were formidable in the team that began the year 2004 11th in the Championship, just five points off the play-offs. With Ashton’s free-scoring habits and Clayton Ince becoming one of the most, if not the most, successful Alex keeper ever, that team will forever be looked back upon as a great one.

Within months (or days in Ashton’s case) of then all ties between Ince, Ashton and Crewe Alexandra were broken. Ashton moved on to Norwich for £3.5million whilst Ince moved to Coventry on a free. It’s sad that the only one of the three not to go on to relative success afterwards was Crewe Alexandra FC. Ashton is well on his way to being the all time great academy product from this club, whilst Ince has tasted another record breaking season and promotion with Walsall.

If they face each other tomorrow night, 10:30pm GMT, then it’ll be a little bit of nostalgia all round. From Ashton making his England debut against his former team mate to it highlighting to us fans just how badly wrong these past four years have been. It’ll be a spectacle though, two true Alex greats up against each other in front of the nation – a rather tired and bored nation no doubt, but the nation all the same.

Good luck to both of them, though Ince may understand if we want Ashton to stick a couple past him….