Crewe Alex 1-1 Shrewsbury Town 26-27 Review - No excuses

Right, if you are expecting me to pick out the positives out of that garbage or you want a review that makes you feel optimistic about things with the Alex, click off this article now. I am going to vent out all my frustrations with the Alex and where they sit currently. Because ignore all the "unbeaten" and "could have snatched it at the end talk", today was an atrocious performance and if we're being totally honest, the majority of the previous 8(in league and cup) weren't much better either. This is my review of a dire afternoon at Gresty Road:

Coaching

What do they work on in training? Because it isn't translating on to the pitch. They look disorganised, the players don't seem to know what they're doing. They are so poor in all 3 facets of the game currently. Don't believe me? The stats back it up. They are in the bottom 8 for xG created, xG given up, xG difference and big chances. Tom Booth is the 2nd busiest keeper in the league with 4 saves per game. Only Swindon's Conor Ripley ranks higher.

Defensively in transition, they are terrible. Shrewsbury today had enough openings to have scored 3 or 4 and only their woeful finishing stopped it being a heavy away win. In midfield, they have no control over games. They don't dictate the tempo, they don't push the team forward. And in attack, my god, there are some minor improvements, but it's very minor and nowhere near enough after 7 games.

And why is that the case? They had 2 players missing today that might have made a difference in Hutchinson and Thomas. Might. That's not enough to make it a valid excuse for such a dismal display. So, what else is wrong?

For me, it's coaching. Bell was called a 'vibes manager' a few years ago and whilst he's gone so way to proving he is more than that, you can't look at him after almost 4 full years in the job and think this is a tactically smart team. This is a manager who complains about his team going long twice in 4 games and doesn't seem to understand why. He's someone who thinks throwing on more attackers makes you more attacking, which is something he once again referenced in his post match interview today.

The most pressing question everyone should be asking themselves right now is, has he and his staff improved over the last 4 years? Because I honestly don't know how you can say they have.

System

The 4-2-3-1 doesn't work, because it relies on having a good number 10 to support the striker. If we're being honest, they didn't have one last season. Sure, Owen Lunt had his moments, but he managed 2 goals and 3 assists. That's not enough from your number 10. They've chopped and changed who plays behind the striker this season to little success. Lankester, Agius, Tabiner, none have looked comfortable in there. Well, now is the time to stop playing it and to start going with a different system that doesn't use one. 4-4-2 with Thibaut/McNeill alongside March, 4-3-3 with White, Ure and Lunt. It isn't working, so try something else.

Tactics/Subs

Yes, we're back to this. What on earth were the tactical decisions Bell made today? First it was switching Gibson and Lankester to opposite wings for a bit, although that didn't last. Then in the 2nd half, they took both of them off and threw on McNeill and Thibaut and moved a bizarre 4-3-3 with March on the right wing and McNeill on the left. What? How are you meant to create chances when you 2 wide attackers aren't really that creative? It doesn't make sense. Lunt came on and played about 3 different roles, starting at RW, then moving to CM and then pushing up to CAM. Agius came on and played a number 10 role. There were square pegs in round holes all over the place. It's just baffling, none of it made much sense.

No scapegoats

Look, we as fans are quick to scapegoat certain individuals or players who perhaps aren't pulling their weight. Well today it was a team effort. They were all dreadful. Picking out the better performers is like trying to decide which lump of poo smells less. The decision making was off time and time and time again. It never improved. Mishit passes, poor headers, poor tackles, poor bits of movement, shooting when they should have passed, passing when they should have shot. Everything was bad. All of it. Again, the only saving grace is they were playing a side as poor as them and who couldn't shoot. But let's not hear that any individual is being singled out. They were all below par, on and off the pitch.

Concern

The biggest concern from me isn't just how they can't seem to find any consistency to their play, it's that they have played 5 sides in Crawley, Northampton, Port Vale, Colchester and Shrewsbury who've all had poor/so-so starts to the season and they've taken 9 points from a possible 15. That sounds positive, but is it? Are we once again going to be talking about dropped points against poor teams as a reason why, come May(assuming they ever do kick into gear), they are going to be on the outside of the top 7 looking in?

Referee Assessment

Picky for both sides. Gave a lot of soft decisions and I thought the first 3 yellows for White, Sang and Lee were never yellows. His lino disallowing Agius' goal was a poor decision though, he looks onside.

Management Assessment

A terrible afternoon for them. The team look disorganised, unfit and poorly coached/set up. And the worst bit is, I'm not sure they have a clue how to fix it.

Player Assessments

Tom Booth

Having watched the Shrewsbury goal back, I don't think he's to blame, but at the same time, I'm not sure what he's doing either. He just seems to flap at the ball.

Lewis Billington

I say a rare bad game, but there have been a couple of those creeping in now. He struggled against Walsall and wasn't great against Colchester, albeit playing at LB.

Luke Offord

Took a silly booking for a poor decision and whilst he was marginally better than some of the others, he too wasn't great. Did come close late on with a close range shot that was blocked.

Mickey Demetriou

Strapped up and finished the game holding his ankle. He's a tough old customer, but his body seems to be failing him.

Josh Stephenson

Looked very uncomfortable at LB. I'll let him off because it was his first professional game there, but I suspect he got a rude awakening on what it actually takes to play full back at this level.

Matus Holicek

Same old, same old. Neat and tidy at times, but he isn't influencing games at all where he currently plays. Just completely wasted in midfield. Stop. Playing. Him. There.

Joe White

Awful. The early soft booking seemed to rattle him and he couldn't dictate the game like he usually does. Rightly hooked after an hour.

Jack Lankester

Awful. You can see he's trying, but that 2nd half chance where he had the whole goal to aim at but cut inside and saw his shot blocked summed up where he's at currently. He looks bereft of confidence. The question is, do you keep playing him in the hopes that he finds his groove? Because at the moment, he's a passenger.

Joel Tabiner MOTM

Yeah, probably the best player, not that it's saying much. A lovely cross for Gibson's goal puts him up to 3 for the season. I'll take it. I'd still prefer him out wide.

Jordan Gibson

Took his goal well, I can't imagine he's scored many with his head. He was brighter, but he too faded in and out of the game before coming off. Still, it was probably his best game of the season, so another 'I'll take it'.

Josh March

Feeding off scraps and against 3 giant CBs, but why when he broke clean through in the first half did he not trust his pace and chose to let them get back goalside? Not at it today, not that I blame him too much.

Subs:

Owen Lunt

Tenacious in his season debut, but he was ineffective. He'll need time to get up to speed after not playing a competitive game since last February. They need him to stay fit.

Adrien Thibaut

Lively as usual, but he too was feeding off very little.

Charlie McNeill

He can play striker or in the number 10. So why is he coming on to play LW? I don't understand. What do you expect him to do?

Calum Agius

Had a fair goal wrongfully chalked off. He was lively when he came on to be fair.

Overall Verdict

No, it's not 7 unbeaten, it's 5 without a win. There is no other way of looking at it. Is this side capable of going to Rotherham and winning? Or beating Bristol Rovers at home in 2 weeks time? The mood isn't good right now and it's starting to feel like the only plan for improvement at the moment is just praying the better players come good. But the more time goes by, the more it's looking like a forlorn hope.