Source: FOOTYMAD
The S24 Preview: Crewe Alexandra v Southend United
The depleted Shrimpers squad have an immediate chance to try and get back in the play-off race, but the Railwaymen will not be making it easy on Tuesday, March 15th; kick-off 19.45. v SHRIMPERSNice beer that Bateman's, shame about the result.Somehow you knew it was bound to be, but forgetting about Tilly and the emotion of last Saturday, the team have been doing so well grabbing results, Wycombe at home, Torquay away for example, when defeat could have been possible as tired legs started to give way, you knew a change in fortune was around the corner.For me Morecambe a week ago was the game that would see how the present depleted squad without any loan signings could keep this great run going, when that was lost I knew the following fixtures were going to be tough, and so it's proved so far with no light to be seen at the moment at the end of a long tunnel that ends in May at Wycombe.This is a real test of Sturrock's management skills, he's got nothing to be ashamed off about Saturday, somebody had to replace Tilly, and we needed three points, good for him for going for it, the players out there should have been able to read the game well enough to keep someone on Imps danger man Grimes, Coughlan and Barker are smart players at this level, but lost the plot there a bit.If he doesn't get his depleted squad in the right frame of mind, defeat will follow, and the table could look pretty nasty come Easter, Tilly keeps going on about getting 50 points, we haven't got there yet, sod the play-offs!It looked a good time to play Crewe a few days ago, not now, with left-back Peter Gilbert unlikely to start, and Captain Craig struggling, it's got a damn sight harder!Keep Evans in, the lad's been doing all right. If Coughlan is up to it I'd keep the central pair together, only Matt Phillips could replace one of them in my book, not the hapless Luke Prosser unless we have to.Miguel Comminges was poor when he replaced Gilbert just before the break at Sincil Bank but if we don't play him he's not going to get much better, Johnny Herd just doesn't seem an option in Luggy's books.Lee Sawyer and Anthony Grant could be a good partnership in the middle with Kane Ferdinand back to counter their forward runs.Up front Blair Sturrock will start I suppose, and he took his goal weell to be fair, and top scorer Barry Corr failed to fiind the net Saturday, so he's due one!Fortune favours the brave, another 2-1 forecast, I just hope this one goes the Shrimpers way after the recent results, but avoiding defeat is just as important. Possible Southend United: Evans, Clohessy, Barker, Coughlan, Comminges, Sawyer, Ferdinand, Grant, Hall, Sturrock, Corr.Subs: Morris, Herd, Prosser, Woodyard, Soares, Asante, Crawford. COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!!OPPOSITION Railwaymen boss, the legendary, (I think we've had enough of legendary managers this week), Dario Gradi, may decide to make changes even after beating league leaders Chesterfield 2-0 on Saturday (report below), as Crewe prepare for a fourth game in 11 days al la Southend.He has previously named the same starting line-up for the last three matches, but could have full-back Matt Tootle available again after missing the last two games with a virus.Midfielder Danny Shelley came off the bench to score a cracking late free-kick against the Spireites and will be pushing for a start.However, the latest is that defender and skipper David Artell, along with strikers Ashley Westwood and, this could be very important, the dangerous Clayton Donaldson, see player to watch below, could all face late fitness tests.Neither Westwood or Donaldson trained Monday, and though the odds are they will start, it would be a major blow for the home side if either drop out, Westwood coming off for eventual scorer Shelley last weekend, while Donaldson was obviously struggling towards the end.Gradi told www.crewealex.net: "I thought David (Artell) looked a bit tired towards the end of the game and that was the reason I took him off. I will check on Dave today, to see how he is. He has played a lot of games and we have a few Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday games coming up. If he is OK then he will play though." Player to WatchAnother top scorer, this one has hit 20 goals already, and one we hope won't do any damge against us like the other choices!Tough to mark though, the former Hibs striker is on song, Coughlan and Barker better be up for it, or let's hope he's injured, hey, things are tough at the moment!For full player info, go here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_DonaldsonLast time OutCrewe Alexandra 2 Chesterfield 1 (played on Saturday, March 12th, 2011);Report: www.crewealex.net/page/MatchReport/0,,10414~53177,00.htmlBeeb highlights: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/9423652.stm7Port Vale3594420156662220151010423555+78Torquay United3585532215752419131210564051+169Oxford United368272219667242714814464650010Crewe Alexandra359443515459313913913665448+1211Stevenage3569327176381515121211423248+1012Southend United357562727647211813913484548+313Accrington Stanley338433120396162711139474746014Aldershot Town3656617215952224101511394545-615Lincoln City357481826628222913616405545-15PREVIOUSLYAt Crewe Alex. (15)At Southend Utd. (16)ResultsTotal%ResultsTotal%Crewe Alex.426.67Southend Utd.956.25Southend Utd.853.33Crewe Alex.425.00Draws320.00Draws318.75GoalsTotalAv.pgGoalsTotalAv.pgCrewe Alex.191.27Southend Utd.251.56Southend Utd.251.67Crewe Alex.130.81On Neutral Ground (0)Overall (31 matches)ResultsTotal%ResultsTotal%Crewe Alex.00.00Crewe Alex.825.81Southend Utd.00.00Southend Utd.1754.84Draws00.00Draws619.35GoalsTotalAv.pgGoalsTotalAv.pgCrewe Alex.00.00Crewe Alex.321.03Southend Utd.00.00Southend Utd.501.61RecordsHighest Aggregate8Crewe Alex. 5 - 3Southend Utd.1969/1970 Highest Crewe Alex. score:5Crewe Alex. 5 - 3Southend Utd.1969/1970 Highest Southend Utd. score:4Crewe Alex. 3 - 4Southend Utd.2008/2009 SeasonDateHomeScoreAwayCompetition2010/2011Sat 16 OctSouthend Utd.0 - 2Crewe Alex.League Two 2008/2009Tue 17 FebSouthend Utd.0 - 1Crewe Alex.League One Sat 20 SepCrewe Alex.3 - 4Southend Utd.League One 2007/2008Sat 05 AprCrewe Alex.1 - 3Southend Utd.League One Sat 13 OctSouthend Utd.3 - 0Crewe Alex.League One 1990/1991Sat 12 JanCrewe Alex.0 - 2Southend Utd.Third Division Sat 01 SepSouthend Utd.3 - 2Crewe Alex.Third Division 1986/1987Fri 13 MarCrewe Alex.2 - 1Southend Utd.Fourth Division Sat 18 OctSouthend Utd.3 - 1Crewe Alex.Fourth Division 1985/1986Sat 18 JanSouthend Utd.0 - 1Crewe Alex.Fourth Division Sat 17 AugCrewe Alex.1 - 1Southend Utd.Fourth Division 1984/1985Sat 08 DecSouthend Utd.3 - 1Crewe Alex.Fourth Division Tue 02 OctCrewe Alex.0 - 2Southend Utd.Fourth Division 1980/1981Fri 27 MarSouthend Utd.3 - 0Crewe Alex.Fourth Division Wed 29 OctCrewe Alex.1 - 1Southend Utd.Fourth Division 1977/1978Wed 01 FebCrewe Alex.0 - 1Southend Utd.Fourth Division Fri 26 AugSouthend Utd.1 - 0Crewe Alex.Fourth Division 1976/1977Sat 15 JanSouthend Utd.1 - 0Crewe Alex.Fourth Division Wed 25 AugCrewe Alex.1 - 1Southend Utd.Fourth Division 1971/1972Mon 13 MarSouthend Utd.4 - 1Crewe Alex.Fourth Division Sat 15 JanCrewe Alex.1 - 2Southend Utd.Fourth Division 1970/1971Sat 17 AprCrewe Alex.1 - 2Southend Utd.Fourth Division Fri 09 OctSouthend Utd.0 - 2Crewe Alex.Fourth Division 1969/1970Tue 27 JanCrewe Alex.5 - 3Southend Utd.Fourth Division Sat 30 AugSouthend Utd.2 - 0Crewe Alex.Fourth Division 1967/1968Fri 26 AprSouthend Utd.0 - 0Crewe Alex.Fourth Division Sat 02 DecCrewe Alex.1 - 0Southend Utd.Fourth Division 1966/1967Fri 17 MarSouthend Utd.1 - 1Crewe Alex.Fourth Division Sat 22 OctCrewe Alex.1 - 0Southend Utd.Fourth Division 1963/1964Fri 14 FebCrewe Alex.1 - 2Southend Utd.Third Division Sat 05 OctSouthend Utd.1 - 1Crewe Alex.Third Division GROUNDFull info from www.footballgroundguide.com here:www.footballgroundguide.com/crewe_alexandra/TICKETSNot surprisingly, it's pay on the night, full costs here:www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/feat/edw9/crewe_alexandra_tickets_611843/index.shtmlWEATHERPlesant enough, cloudy and around 9c's for the kick-off.REF The man in the middle is Gavin Ward from Kent. A full interview with him here: http://refworld.com/referee/170/1/gavin-ward His assistants are Jonathon Hunt (no, not that one!) and Peter Wright; The fourth official is Darren Bond. FIXTURESLeague TwoTuesday, March 14th; (all kick-offs 19.45): Accrington Stanley v Burton Albion, Bury v Torquay, Crewe v Southend, Macclesfield v Lincoln City, Oxford Utd v Stevenage. Friday, March 18th; (both kick-offs 19.45): Chesterfield v Rotherham, Southend v Hereford. Saturday, March 19th; (all kick-offs 15.00): Accrington Stanley v Port Vale, Aldershot v Stockport, Barnet v Morecambe, Bradford v Northampton, Burton Albion v Gillingham, Bury v Cheltenham, Macclesfield v Torquay, Oxford Utd v Crewe, Shrewsbury v Wycombe, Stevenage v Lincoln City. BETCrewe (to win) - 15/13, Draw - 11/4, Southend (to win) - 5/2. For all the footy odds go here: www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-two/TRANSPORTBy Train go here: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=EDW7By Car go here: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=EDW7By Coach go here: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/feat/edw3/crewe_alexandra_657406/index.shtmlPUB AND PIESFor the best drinking around the ground and in the town go here: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/feat/edw8/worth_the_walk_to_the_arms_pub_crawl_in_crewe_657290/index.shtmlSOMEWHERE TO LAY YOUR HATFor an overnight stay: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/feat/edw1/crewe_alexandra_611834/index.shtmlHISTORYCrewe are nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's historical links with the rail industry. The club was formed in 1877 and reputedly named after Princess Alexandra (some suggest that the decision to form the club was actually taken in a pub named after the Princess and the club was named after the pub). They were founding members of the Second Division in 1892 but only lasted four years in the Football League. Since re-entering the competition in 1921, they have mostly remained in the lower divisions and have no major honours to their name.In June 1983, Crewe appointed Milan-born Dario Gradi as manager. At that time, Crewe had again just avoided being voted out of the Football League. Gradi quickly gained a reputation for developing young talent, allowing Steve Walters to become the youngest ever player to pull on a Crewe shirt: aged just 16 years and 119 days he played against Peterborough United on 6 May. Gradi's efforts paid off in 1989 when Crewe won promotion to the Third Division. They went back down two years later, but were promoted again in 1994. In the same year, Neil Lennon became the first Crewe Alexandra player to gain an International cap for 60 years when he was selected to play for Northern Ireland against Mexico. Gradi then led his charges to the unprecedented height of Division One in 1997, after victory over Brentford in the Division Two playoff final, and kept his team there until 2002, despite a club income on which many more lowly clubs could not survive.As of the summer of 2007, Gradi was the longest serving manager in English league football; he celebrated his 1,000th game in charge of Crewe on 20 November 2001 - an away fixture at Carrow Road, the home of Norwich City F.C., and completed 24 years in sole charge of the club. During Gradi's control, the club gained a strong reputation for its youth policy, and gained official status as an FA Youth Academy. By concentrating on developing its own players the club remained profitable (a rare thing in lower division football at the time) by selling them on after they have gained experience with Crewe. The Academy is known to stress technical excellence, which accords with Gradi's aim to have his sides play attractive, passing football.On 24 December 2008 the Icelandic former manager of local rivals Stoke City, Gudjon Thordarson, became the boss with Gradi taking a backseat role, but after a good start the team then went on a poor end-of-season run, in which they did not win for 10 games, and were relegated back down to League Two. On 2 October 2009, after only nine months in charge, Thordarson was sacked as Crewe manager after a run of poor results. Dario Gradi was reinstated as caretaker manager in time for the following day's match against Rotherham. With the club on course to finish in a relatively safe mid-table position, despite lingering close to the playoff places for the majority of the season, a later run of poor form saw the team booed due to the dissatisfaction of their own fans. The season ended with the club in 18th place, only five places above the relegation zone. Gradi responded to this disappointment by refusing to take the team on a pre-season tour, as with last year, stating that he "doesn't want to reward the players for what happened this season". As for the present term, after a dodgy spell recently, beating runaway league leaders Chesterfield at Gresty Road Saturday has put them right back on track for the play-offs. (For a more comprehensive history of the club, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crewe_Alexandra_F.C.)
