Gradi praises player & Sturrock!: 'Don't think even he would have expected to be doing so well'

06 October 2011 17:02
Crewe Alexandra manager Dario Gradi holds his young striker Max Clayton in plenty of esteem after his goal earned the Lancashire side a 1-0 JPT win over Macclesfield Town, before turning to Southend United boss Paul Sturrock!

Gradi: 'I don't really know too much about his team at the moment'   The Railwaymen's veteran boss Dario Gradi has been around for ever, he's been involved at Crewe Alexandra for 28 years, and seen replacements for his job come and go, but this might be his toughest season yet.   The loss of 2010/11 League Two Golden Boot winner Clayton Donaldson, 28 goals in total, was a huge blow, and though they've turned around a very poor start to this campaign, defeat to the Daggers 2-1 on Saturday, the winner coming in the fifth minute of stoppage time, shows they are still vulnerable, particularly at the back.   In the past there has been no shortage of Crewe youngster's that have moved on to better things having been given their chance by Gradi, something we've possibily been a touch slow at, but maybe they've found another one to bring a smile back to the Gresty Road faithful.   And it's another Clayton, this one being 17-year-old Max Clayton, whose finishing ability was praised by the Alex boss after his goal earned them a 1-0 win over Macclesfield Town in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Wednesday evening.

Teenager Clayton, who was a target for Liverpool when still in Crewe's youth ranks, struck in the 75th minute to settle a hard-fought tie and secure Alex a place in Saturday's area quarter-final draw.

Gradi told the PA: "Max Clayton will do better than that and he will probably be disappointed with his performance. He sets his expectations higher than that but he got a great goal with a header and proved he is a great finisher. He took his goal very well. He hasn't played a lot at this level and probably needs to convince himself he can do that. But he has got a first goal out of the way and even if he had wasted every pass and missed good chances I would be happy because he has got his goal."

Barker and Phillips be aware.

As for Blues boss Paul Sturrock and the former Wimbledon boss, they are the best of mates it seems!

Gradi told www.crewealex.net: "I get on well with Paul and we always have a good chat before and after the game. He is a really good guy and I have got great respect for him but I don't think even he would have expected to be doing so well now."

Maybe he did, but what does he really think of the Shrimpers?

Gradi continued: "I don't really know too much about his team at the moment, but they are doing well after a difficult time. We went there last season and we beat them and he said afterwards that we had better technical players than he had, but he must have found a winning formula now. They are the league leaders, and it will be a hard game."

Nice one Dario, getting that 3-2 result in, surprised you didn't mention it was a double for your lads with a 1-0 result at Gresty Road last March in an awful game.

However, football moves on, and Luggy has indeed found a side who knows how to win; six on the trot, we shall see.

The Gradi Files

Personal information Full name Dario Gradi MBE Date of birth 8 July 1941 (1941-07-08) (age 70) Place of birth Milan, Italy Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) Playing position Defender Club information Current club Crewe Alexandra(director of football & caretaker manager) Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1969–1970 Sutton United     1971 Tooting & Mitcham United     Teams managed 1978–1981 Wimbledon 1981 Crystal Palace 1983–2007 Crewe Alexandra 2008 Crewe Alexandra (caretaker) 2009– Crewe Alexandra * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.† Appearances (Goals).

(Manager info supplied by Wikipedia, for the full article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dario_Gradi)

 

Source: FOOTYMAD