The year 2022 begins with the Alex on the road again with a trip to the Pirelli Stadium to face Burton Albion.
This Season:
They sit in 13th place following wins against Shrewsbury Town, Ipswich Town, Sunderland, Portsmouth, Morecambe, Fleetwood Town, Accrington Stanley and Doncaster Rovers, they have drawn with Cheltenham Town, Bolton Wanderers, Gillingham and AFC Wimbledon while they have lost against Cambridge United, us, Lincoln City, Plymouth Argyle, Oxford United, Wigan Athletic, Charlton Athletic, MK Dons, Wycombe Wanderers and Rotherham United.
They lost to Oxford on penalties in the Carabao Cup 1st Round while they lost to Port Vale in the FA Cup 2nd Round after knocking out Fleetwood in Round 1. They finished 3rd in their EFL Trophy group with defeats against MK Dons and Aston Villa’s Under-21s before beating Wycombe in the final group game.
Transfers:
There have been no incoming transfers while 4 players have been loaned out since the last meeting.
Head-to-Head:
Alex Wins: 5
Brewers Wins: 4
Draws: 4
Biggest Alex Win: 4-1 at the Alexandra Stadium in March 2011
Biggest Brewers Win: 3-0 at the Alexandra Stadium in September 2019 (EFL Trophy)
Last Meeting:
Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Morecambe, 18th September 2021
A Michael Bostwick own goal would give the hosts a 10th-minute lead before Charlie Lakin would be sent off for the visitors for a second yellow card midway through the second half. Spurs loanee J’Neil Bennett would get the second for the Alex 3 minutes from time.
Alex: Jaaskelainen; Ramsay, Daniels, Thomas (Offord 73), Adebisi; Murphy (Lundstram 73), Robertson, Ainley (Porter 82); Kashket, Mandron, Bennett
Burton: Garratt; Brayford, Bostwick, Shaughnessy, Hamer; Lakin, Borthwick-Jackson (Morris 46); Smith, Chapman (Powell 69), Akins; Hemmings (Jebbison 69)
Played for Both:
The following players have been contracted to both teams:
Goalkeepers: Ben Garratt, Adam Legzdins, Martin Taylor, Stuart Tomlinson
Defenders: Patrick Ada, Ryan Austin, Danny Blanchett, Paul Boertien, John Brayford, David Gray, Adam Yates
Midfielders: Paul Bancroft, Lee Bell, Colin Daniel, Matty Lund, Luke Murphy, Kevin Stewart
Forwards: Martin Harris, Harold Mosby, Jon Newby, Alex Nicholls, Greg Pearson, Kevin Sheldon, Michael Symes, Derek Tomkinson, Luke Varney, Calvin Zola
Officials:
The officials for this game have been announced here with Peter Wright the referee, Marvyn Amphlett and Alan Clayton are his assistants with Simon Mather the fourth official. The following Crewe games have been refereed by Wright in the last 5 years:
- Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Grimsby Town (27th October 2018) – Whelan, Miller
- Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Colchester United (26th January 2019) – Kirk, Nolan
- Salford City 2-1 Crewe Alexandra (26th December 2019) – Pickering
- Crewe Alexandra 1-1 Blackpool (17th October 2020) – Mandron
Opposition View:
I asked Burton Albion supporter Ed Walker, co-host of the D3D4 podcast, for his thoughts going into the game.
How would you describe the season so far for the Brewers?
Fairly mediocre in truth. It was a very encouraging start with 3 wins to open the season, but things have very much calmed down since. They feel very mid-table at the moment; clearly better than some teams but have shown to be clearly not at the level of other teams in this league.
What is the position that you think needs strengthening in the upcoming transfer window?
I personally would like to see quality added in the wing-back positions. The 3-4-3 we play currently is crying out for a pair of proper, dynamic wing-backs and they aren’t currently here. Lucas Akins and John Brayford can play out wide but aren’t the players they once were. Cameron Borthwick-Jackson doesn’t feel League One level. Tom Hamer is still a bright prospect but has a skillset perhaps more suited to a role within the back 3.
Are there any players that you are missing from this game?
Having been out of action since 11th December, it’s tricky to know for certain who is and isn’t available.
Louis Moult and Sam Hughes have both been out since before the season began, but their long-awaited return should hopefully be during this month.
John Brayford I believe is still out. He was forced off very early into our game at Wimbledon back in October and hasn’t featured since. As for the rest, who knows for sure what’s happened over the last 3 weeks. Hopefully, everyone is ok!
What would be the team that you would pick for the game if you were in charge?
Persisting with the 3-4-3 that’s featured in previous games, I would personally play: GK: Ben Garratt LCB: Ryan Leak CB: Deji Oshilaja RCB: Conor Shaughnessy LM: Lucas Akins LCM: Tom O’Connor RCM: Terry Taylor RM: Tom Hamer LW: Kane Hemmings ST: Daniel Jebbison RW: Jonny Smith
Who is the danger man for yourselves?
I can’t guarantee him playing, but I would go with Tom O’Connor in midfield. He’s a bright player who’s among the best in the team for getting the ball on the turn and progressing it forwards. He’s our top scorer so far on 5 in the league, and notably got goals in back-to-back games in October from corners that went all the way through. Getting hold of midfield could be key to stopping Crewe, and that makes O’Connor and Terry Taylor potentially crucial if they play.
What is the target for this season?
To be honest, if the January window wasn’t round the corner I’d be preparing myself for 22-23 right now.
I’m sure those at the club will have a desire to push for those play-off places, but to do that we’re going to need to make much more effective use of the system we play. There’s clearly a big set-piece threat in this team, but their open play threat hasn’t looked much better than that of the teams down the bottom so far.
I would personally hope we can target a top-half finish, but who knows…
