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Today’s performance has already been described as the worst in living memory by certain Alex fans. I can fully understand their frustration after the impressive 3-1 defeat of Nottingham Forest two weeks ago and the promise shown before that against Walsall and Ipswich. However, the naivety was evident both away at Cardiff and Coventry, but today should have been different. It was only Watford.
Today is right up there with the worst of them, for several reasons. First of all, once again we proved that we can beat some of the best this league has to offer, but we'll struggle to beat lesser opposition. I also thought that we were well equipped to break down such a woeful side as Watford (who lets face it have been pretty bad this season) despite their ten-man defence and understandable tendency to play on the counter attack.
I honestly believe that the partnership of Neil Baker and Steve Holland MUST take a fair portion of the blame, despite the anti-Ashton group dismissing him YET again.
The team selection was poor. I understand that they are inexperienced and that their input to the team selection and tactics is minimal, so why did the board decide to stick with them and not get someone in to help out without our inspirational manager?
Most people seem to be blaming Deano for our lack of cutting edge today. I agree wholeheartedly that he was far from himself, but the disgusting comments about him not fit to wear the shirt are gullible and fickle. Dean Ashton isn't the one who should carry the can for this, Baker and Holland are.
This defeat harks back to the ultra depressing no shows against Notts County, Plymouth Argyle, Swindon and Luton Town last season. The stupid booing of players only made me more sure that we haven’t moved on from last season. The awful state of the pitch gave us an excuse last season, but not this time around.
We are used to having the brilliance of Dario Gradi at our disposal, but not for the foreseeable future. Baker and Holland have stepped into the breach, bravely some would say, but I don’t see them doing much good until Gradi returns, by which time we could be relegation favourites.
We were playing arguably the worst side currently in the league, and the tactics of B & H were not up to scratch. Watford had played five away games, lost five away games in the league before today. They had won one game prior to today’s game, which was in the middle of September. They had also conceded in every game so far this season.
Their squad has been ripped apart due to financial implications, and Ray Lewington had a job to have a full team to pick this season.
Watford were asking to be demolished before the referee had even blew the whistle.
So why the hell was Neil Sorvel, possibly the most defensive player in the Nationwide League selected over Ben Rix, who has been our most consistent player since pre season started back in June?
Why was Chris McCready, a natural centre-back, who has no attacking bones in his body and little pace, was selected over the £150k new left back and former Cornish sprint Champion Anthony Tonkin?
Watford even made it easier for us when Alec Chamberlain was controversially adjudged to have handled outside of the box, and Bruce Dyer was sacrificed for teenage rookie keeper Lenny Pidgeley.
We didn’t take advantage of Watford’s plight as the Crewe attack acted like amateurs against Watford’s organised and stubborn defence. It was painstakingly obvious that the Hornets were out to put all ten men behind the ball and use the speedy Danny Webber as a means of counter attack.
The lack of invention from Crewe was laughable. Baker’s response was to replace McCready with Rix and Cochrane with Edwards, with Vaughan moving to left back and three strikers implemented. Sorvel remained despite his obvious desire to slow down every attack and pass back to Foster and Walker at every given opportunity.
Edwards, Ashton and Jones were feeding off scraps. Lunt and Vaughan’s crossing were terrible. Every set piece was over hit into touch or straight into Pidgeley’s hands.
The team seem to have completely lost the plot without Dario Gradi running things. I sympathise with the situation that the club find themselves in with Gradi absent indefinitely, but more consideration and preparation should have been shown when the club handed the reins to B & H.
The loss of Brammer was obviously a blow, but surely we should be able to have a steady replacement at hand for when he is absent if we are serious about staying in this division.
The constant emphasis on Dean Ashton to continually produce is not on. For gods’ sake, he is only nineteen. The boos from the crowd directed at Dean didn’t help him or the team to get on with what should have been an easy three points. The club have made no great strides to help him and Steve Jones out especially since the injury of Allan Smart over a month ago.
What pissed me off the most though is Baker’s comments regarding Ashton after the match. It is all well and good if kept behind the scenes, but publicly slamming him is not on. It is not the Crewe Alexandra way of doing things. The pressure of running this club in the absence of DG has hit him hard, the way he laid into him on the radio only goes to prove this. His criticism of players should be kept for Reaseheath or the dressing room, not on regional radio so it looks like there is a rift at the club. It is totally unacceptable. Dario Gradi would certainly not have done such a thing.
I am prepared to offer B & H some time to get going, it is the least they deserve especially when they find themselves in the tricky situation regarding DG. They need us more than ever at times like these.
However, the motives behind today’s team selection and unwillingness of the players to unlock this below average side needs to be addressed quickly, and I for one am dreading the winter months if this losing streak carries on against Bradford City.