Crewe - Scouting Report

Crewe Alexandra currently find themselves in decent form having picked up 3 points at home against Gillingham. Whilst also successfully obtaining points against Doncaster Rovers, Bristol City and Preston North End. Their form prior to their recent spell wasn't as good, however they are a reasonably decent side.

The Railwaymen are not to be under estimated and although in form it would suggest Notts would come out the likeliest of winners, they cannot be written off so easily.

Run down of their last six games.

Saturday 29^th November – Crewe Alexandra 1 Doncaster Rovers 1

Saturday 13^th December – Scunthorpe United 2 Crewe Alexandra 1

Saturday 20^th December – Crewe Alexandra 1 Bristol City 0

Friday 26^th December – Oldham Athletic 1 Crewe Alexandra 2

Sunday 28^th December – Crewe Alexandra 1 Preston North End 1

Saturday 10^th January – Crewe Alexandra 3 Gillingham 1

The Players – Fact Sheet

Highest Goal Scorers; Nicky Ajose 4, Marcus Haber 4, Billy Waters 3 and George Cooper 3.

Persistent Foulers; George Ray 2 Red Cards and 4 Yellow Cards, Anthony Grant 7 Yellow Cards, Oliver Turton 4 Yellow Cards and Adam Dugdale 3 Yellow Cards.

The Key Players.

Nicky Ajose, Marcus Haber and Uche Ikpeazu would be considered Crewe Alexandra's key front men.

The former Magpie Marcus Haber is well known for being a battler and the occasional goalscorer, whilst Nicky Ajose is the one to watch out for with Uche Ikpeazu being a player who can drift in and out of games, combining especially well with Ajose upfront.

Anthony Grant one of their experienced players, who is also a physical player who likes to make his presence known to the opposition. He creates play, whilst linking up well with the strikers.

Billy Waters is an academy player who is steady all round performer, he has a good set of skill within his locker but he plays the 'simple' passes very well.

Jamie Ness is a direct player who looks to involve himself with every passing phase, when played in the centre of the park he offers the creativity and the forward momentum with his calm influence and his natural ability to string out long distance passes.

Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses.

Crewe Alexandra are not the underdogs to under estimate, they're also not to be fooled by their league position either. They try to play direct football especially within the right way and although they can be a tad bit physical. The Railwaymen look to always get the ball forward, keeping their movement free by picking out the right passes.

Their height and strength are a key pluses, something Crewe find to be very effective within set pieces and when dealing with weaker inexperienced defenders.

The effort they put into the games, whilst looking to explore opposition sides through their attacking play can often foresee decent build up play and this is the method they have put well into practice within recent games, resulting in several impressive results.

Main weaknesses is scrappy play, rushed passes and a general panic when put under pressure. When sides look to get into goal scoring opportunities, players make poor decisions and runs, resulting in other players finding available space.

They have a tendency of dropping behind their opposition and paying too much attention to the ball, better players can use this very effectively.

When hit with pace, there is a vulnerability which suggests space and time will always open up for opposition sides to gain and take chances. Their inability to close down their opposition is a direct result to many teams having scored against them within this season.