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THE DARIO YEARS: Here is my personal tribute to the man who revolutionised our club
An awful lot has happened in the past twenty years. The Bradford City fire rocked the English game, and along with the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters, it indicated how primitive football was in comparison to today. In 1983, Bob Paisley was enjoying his retirement from being Liverpool manager, Ron Atkinson was in charge of a woeful Manchester United, and David Seaman was celebrating his 50th birthday(!). The Smiths were at the top of the charts and the final instalment of the Star Wars saga was hitting the cinemas.
But in Crewe, Peter Morris' ill-fated reign as manager of just one year was over, and the directors of Crewe Alexandra, a club on the verge of extinction, employed the largely unknown Dario Gradi as team coach.
This signalled the rise of what has become the longest managerial reign in current English football.
Dario was born in Milan in 1942, but his father died of TB in the war. His mother, a young English lady moved back to London when the war ended. Dario had spells at Tooting and Mitcham, Chelsea and The FA before he embarked on his first managerial post at Sutton United. Soon after he was manager of Wimbledon at Plough Lane. He and Ron Noades then vacated to Selhurst Park and Crystal Palace. Times were hard because of his Womble connections, so when the job at Crewe was available, under-fire chairman Norman Rowlinson appointed him swiftly.
Right from the beginning, the plan was to look to the future. Both the board and Dario shared the vision of one day Crewe Alexandra becoming a club whose salvation was to be in the development of youth. It was not going to be easy, it would take years of hard work, but they all knew it would happen one day.
Crewe would be almost unheard of if it was not for the vast railway connections that intertwined and then sped off across the country leaving the small town behind them. The Rolls-Royce factory that was built during the war along with the station was the logo of Crewe. The football club never achieved much success in the 20th century, and was largely ignored.
When Dario joined the club it was dilapidated and was the home of a fourth
division side that had no real aspirations. Managers had come and gone over the 1970s, six in all (although Earnie Tagg was manager on two occasions), and ambitions were not very high. Big names such as Jimmy Melia and Tony Waddrington could not turn the club around. Fans were getting and an action group was set up.
There was a real possibility of extinction if Crewe were to remain in this state. Dario's appointment signalled the end of this.
Dario had to work on nothing. He recalled that there were nine players, the ground was falling apart and the dressing room was too small to fit both he and the physio in. His first task was to save the club from relegation, which he did.
Quite remarkably we were promoted to Division Three away at Tranmere in 1989, and in 1993, Dario took us to the Third Division play-off final. This was the biggest day of Dario's managerial career. We lost on penalties to York City, with Gareth Whalley missing his spot-kick. As Dario and the players slowly came to realise that another year beckoned in the Third Division, he was already planning the great escape for next season.
One of Dario's biggest achievements came in the form of signing Steve Macauley from Fleetwood Town for £25,000 in 1992. He went on to make 300 appearances for Crewe Alexandra. Shaun Smith was the second half of Dario's plan. He was captured from Emley Town also in 1992, and became maybe the most well respected player (along with Macauley) to wear the red shirt. They were both 100% committed to CAFC, and were loyal servants. Both epitomised Dario's running of Crewe Alexandra.
Dario's biggest moment came in May 1997, when his team of young stars clinched promotion to the unprecedented heights of Division One. Left-back Shaun Smith scoring the only goal of the game against Brentford. Scenes of jubilation at Wembley followed with grown men reduced to tears because of the emotion of it all. Crewe Alexandra in the second tier of English football was unthinkable in 1983.
Dario is most famous for the production line of young, local kids. The list is almost endless. The first big name is David Platt, a youngster who was rejected from the Manchester United youth system in 1985. Dario picked him up and within a year it was obvious his talent was special. He was bigger than the club in some respects, so when Aston Villa enquired about him in 1988, Dario saw it was a big opportunity for Platt, and he went on to become England captain and play for top sides in Italy and England. Without doubt Platt is Crewe Alexandra’s greatest former player.
Rob Jones and Danny Murphy have achieved massive status at Liverpool, and Neil Lennon went on to become Northern Ireland captain and win two Scottish titles with Celtic. Seth Johnson became one of the most sought after signatures in the late 1990s before his £3 million move to Derby County (1999), and then £7 million transfer to Leeds in 2001. Geoff Thomas’ rise to nine England caps was due to Dario.
These players owe their lives to Dario Gradi. Pure and simply players such as Murphy, who admitted to being a difficult kid, would not have made the big time. Rob Jones was a one in a million player. He was the greatest English right back since the days of Phil Neal. Dario is responsible for this.
Dario has been responsible for some of the best memories in my life. The club is thriving now, and last years return to the first division gave us all some extremely memorable and enjoyable experiences. What about Oldham away when rookie Stuart Tomlinson came on and we won due to those late goals from Rob and Dean? The treble over Port Vale and the scintillating displays away at Stockport and Luton? What about the scenes at Loftus Road when the scores filtered through? The scenes at home to Cardiff on May 3rd on the pitch when thousands sung and saluted the efforts of our players and staff?
I also remember the shouts for Dario's head after the Notts. County defeat at home in August last year, and the chorus of boos that followed the home loss to Swindon Town. The players were hurt by these gestures. Dario kept his head held high as he has every right to.
Without Dario Gradi, Crewe Alexandra would be extinct. We found ourselves at the bottom of the fourth division, on the verge of bankruptcy when he was appointed. Look where we are now. Look at Reaseheath. Look at the products of the Alex academy. Look at the Main Stand. Compare Crewe Alex now to that of twenty years ago. It is all down to him. If it weren’t for him, this website would not exist and Crewe would still be a sleepy little town on the Cheshire/Staffordshire border with nothing but the station and Bentley Motor Cars to be proud of.
He has given the people of Crewe pride and a football club that is respected across Britain. His loyalty is what baffles most people outside of Crewe. It is common knowledge that he was offered the FA Technical Directors post when Howard Wilkinson joined Sunderland last autumn. He stuck with unfashionable little Crewe, the club he has built into an empire of pride, trust and respectability.
He is a legend