Big decisions ahead for Crewe Alex boss David Artell ahead of Cheltenham season opener

After a successful first season back in League One with a 12th place finish, Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell will be looking for improvement in the coming campaign while hoping that the famous phrase of ‘second-season syndrome’ won’t come into play.

Ahead of the 2021/22 season, there have been a number of new faces that have joined The Alex. Most recent signing Callum McFadzean – from Sunderland – joins fellow new recruits Shaun MacDonald, Chris Long, Tommie Hoban and Kayne Ramsey.

And following a positive pre-season, which saw a good result against Championship side Nottingham Forest and a 1-0 home win against Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers, there are reasons for Crewe fans to be optimistic heading into the opening game of the season this weekend.

Having covered The Alex throughout their pre-season schedule, one thing that you can guarantee is goals! 4-1 and 6-0 wins over Nantwich Town and Witton Albion respectively kicked off the build-up games in style, while a defensively sound performance against Wolves continued that great start. Three days later however, they suffered their first defeat against an impressive Stoke City.

Michael O’Neil’s side dominated the opening 45 minutes and took a 3-0 lead into the break but Crewe’s ‘never say die’ attitude saw them get themselves back into the game with two goals, unlucky not to add a third and an equaliser in the dying minutes with chances passing them by.

Nottingham Forest were the next side to make the trip to the Mornflake Stadium. Again, Crewe found themselves behind at the break – this time by a scoreline of 2-0 – but just as they had done in the previous game, the Alex came storming back with two quickfire goals.

A notably brilliant strike from Rio Adebisi one of those, probably the standout goal netted by Artell’s men in pre-season. The warm-up schedule was rounded off with defeat though, losing out 2-1 to Oldham Athletic.

Crewe host newly promoted Cheltenham Town tomorrow afternoon in what will be the first game of the new season. Looking towards the upcoming season I spoke to Crewe Alex fans Grant Coiley and Steve Johnson to get their views on the team and what their expectations are for this year.

Grant- “I hope that we can improve on last years final position. With the signings that we have brought in, I think it is achievable. I back the clubs aims of reaching the playoffs. So anywhere from first to eighth. But I do think we may just miss out”.

Steve- “It may sound a little negative but avoiding the ‘Second -season syndrome’ and not being involved in the relegation battle would be good after we have lost a few key players from last season to the Championship. After a 12th placed finish last year, I think matching that this year would have to be the minimum, but I think we might finish between 14th-16th.”

When Cheltenham come to town, it will be the first league fixture which Crewe have hosted without any restrictions on the crowd capacity. Steve opened up on just how hard it has been for him to not be able to see his team live in the flesh for so long due to the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic.

“I have spoken to my dad about this recently. It was a very weird experience last season not being able to get to any games at all barring the two that we were able to attend in December as a season-ticket holder. It was good to be able to watch the games on iFollow but it doesn’t compare to being in the ground to follow the team in person. I am looking forward to being back there!”

During pre-season, a number of young players have impressed with Owen Dales, Adebisi and Regan Griffiths amongst others all showing their worth ahead of the new campaign. Callum Ainley is another of those and was described as ‘Our best player on the day’ by David Artell after the Forest game.

It is a new face that Grant is looking forward to seeing play the most though.

“All of the new signings have impressed so far, but Kayne Ramsay looks a step above. It is really exciting to see him continue his form for us. I am also looking forward to seeing Oli Finney back on the field”.

Southampton loanee Kayne Ramsay made one Premier League appearance last season under Ralph Hasenhüttl and will hope to get as much game time as possible in League One this time around.

An important decision which must be made by boss Artell prior to the big kick-off against Cheltenham is who gets the starting roles on the team sheet in both the goalkeeper and centre back slots respectively. Throughout pre-season, both goalkeepers – Will Jääskeläinen and Dave Richards – have been provided with roughly the same amount of game time, and various pairings at the back have been used too.

Grant and Steve both gave me their preferred starters against Cheltenham, though of course the ultimate decision will be up to boss Artell.

Grant- “For me, I would choose Tommie Hoban and Luke Offord. I think they have a good understanding at the back. Who starts in goal is a difficult decision. It is a decision that has been a question for a couple of years now. Vocally and for his commanding of the box you would go with Dave Richards but for shot-stopping, we have Will Jaaskelainen. Both are prone to a mistake. I will leave David to make that hard decision.”

Steve – “The options are Donervon Daniels, Luke Offord, Billy Sass-Davies and Tommie Hoban. Assuming everyone is fit, I would like to see the first two start. I feel they have a better combination. For Goalkeeper, I would choose Will Jaaskelainen as I feel both keepers are as good as each other but he has the ability to be better than Richards.”

Kick-off tomorrow at the Mornflake stadium is at 3PM, where the Alex will be looking to get off to a good start in their second season back in the third tier.

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