Guardians of a Vision – not ‘style police’

The Sentinel here) wades into the debate on our new, more direct way of playing:

“Defender John Brayford believes the ‘style police’ should lay off in-form Crewe.”

This totally misses the point. We (and by that I hope to include several hundred fans who actually get it) are not “style police”. We don`t just want to see nice passing for the sake of it. Yes, we actually believe that this is the most effective way of winning matches, but more importantly, it`s the best guarantee of a sustaining a profitable football club in the long-term. For the last 25 years, the club has been organised around a clear way of thinking.

We invest in the future. We play a certain way that is not only

esthetically pleasing but it earns respect from the football world and that, in turn, helps attract more young starlets to our Academy, which produces talented and skilful players that become first-team players and then, if they`re good enough, get sold on and more investment is generated. It`s a virtuous circle that has become the envy of many other clubs and is praised by everyone from the late Bobby Robson, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger to football coaches the world over.

However, the system breaks down when money is wasted on expensive rejects from competitor clubs; transfer fees are “invested” in places other than the Academy; the team becomes reliant on temporary short-term loan signings and the first-team adopts a playing style that is at odds to that being taught at every other Crewe team from 6 to 16 year olds. Things started to go off track a few years ago and they appear to be getting worse.

It`s not about Gudjon, anymore than it is about Dario. It`s bigger than both. It`s about understanding that Crewe Alex only exists today thanks to a unique, long-term vision for how the club should be run.

A win this weekend would be great. Another next week and every week until Christmas will see us on a promotion charge. But at what cost? If we forget out roots and just do whatever it takes to win points, then we risk losing everything. Long after the current players and management have moved on, it`s only the fans that will remain.

Remember it`s us that pay money into the club and it`s them who take it out.

We should be listened to. We are not “style police”, just the guardians of a vision.

Bizza