The Voice - Match preview Crewe Alexandra vs Bradford City Monday 1st January 2024 3:00pm

A very poor performance against a very very poor team , officiated by an inexperienced over officious and error strewn referee.

A toxic game it was.

 

Very poor today 1st half wasnt the best but 2nd half was even poorer ............ should have at least try to put some passes rather than aimless punts upfield .............not gonna get two down on them been onba decent run but hopefully this is simply a blip

 

No maybe about it poor argument Smith has offered little today they were the right call.

 

More pens are probably saved guessing than simply standing where which is also a guess when you think about it

 

Very frustrating. Poor performance. Poor refereeing - but can’t blame that for poor final ball on so many occasions.

 

First cross on GA. Continuation of putting Derbyshire on the bench and then playing him is outrageous.

 

I felt that we wouldn’t win this at the break. There was no way that Crewe were gonna come out for the second half an play poorer than the first. If we didnt shit the bed with our set pieces at the start, we’d have won this comfortably.

I dont know why we are getting rid of Stubbs. Hes miles ahead of Platt

Kelly was poor. As was Smith. Odour was useless in that second half. Ridehalgh needs binning off. The moment Richards is out, our left side attacking input goes to shit

 

Pretty good summing up that Kev, a complete nothing performance. No tactic other than to just lump it forward. 2 points from the Christmas period and didn't really look that good in any of those games. Young now should be getting a start up front when he comes back.

 

GA showing signs that MK Dons warned us about. Yes, we had a great start but the football, when it doesn't work, looks absolutely terrible. No way should we be throwing all the big lads up top with 15 minutes to go against Crewe! Why not try to play the ball? We have players capable of playing football and shouldn't be resorting to the kitchen sink.

 

Cracking cross into the box, maybe he should get game tim e for his crosses and free kicks, because our delivery today we shocking.

 

The run was always going to end, but it’s a real shame today was the day. We were certainly not beaten by the better as I thought Crewe were eve worse than us.

Thought we were really poor today. Crewe were there for the taking and we looked sluggish. I commend GA for sticking with a winning lineup, but think he should have changed the starting XI today and freshened it up. The miss of Walker and Pattison is an achilles heel for us, although I thought Odour was one of the best today. First time Pointon gets to cross a ball it’s perfect, why didn’t we see him earlier?

One of those days. We’ve had a great run and a decent Christmas period against some very decent sides. January should be a really interesting month, put this one behind us as quickly as possible.

 

Dreadful second half, I said after Donny that the style has gone far too much the other way but a few wins will always blind people. There’s a balance between what Hughes did and what Alexander is doing and we’ve yet to find it, but it’s one man’s job to do it.1 point against two poor teams in Morecambe in Crewe should show us that despite an uplift in form, for which we should be grateful for or mid table would be optimistic, we’re mid table in reality. January is a poor time to do squad surgery so it’s another season wasted imo.

 

Overall a rather disappointing return for the 3 Christmas games, but I guess the run prior to that was unexpectedly positive too. Probably why 2 points feels a bit more deflating.

 

You don't have to be a long way from the ball at all. If the referee interprets it as a cynical challenge, rather than one that's a genuine attempt to play the ball then potentially he'll be handing out a red. It absolutely nothing to do with the vicinity of the ball.

 

2 points from 9...?
Midtable it is then...

 

Far too much aimless long ball rather than holding it when nothing is on. When we got it down and passed we actually looked capable of creating but the hot and hope stuff was dreadful.

 

Smith and Cook poor up front,Smallwood back to average in midfield and we just can’t giving simple goals like the penalty today,simple ball over the top.

 

It was a poor game and tactics from us. However if I was a Crewe fan I would be distraught, they offered nothing. Traditionally we always lose to teams like this. The ref was abysmal no idea what he was doing which added to the chaotic nature of the game.
The squad is bloated but it is not of a good quality. Surgery required.
I also think the team looked jaded. Christmas schedule no doubt. They have a week to recover.

 

Well i hope the club have a few rabbits to pull out of the bag. Beyond about 14 players everything is dross.
A couple of injuries to those select few and we fall apart . 2 points from 9 , is a very poor return.

 

Thankfully the bubble has burst.

Employ donkeys, play donkey get a donkey performance!

Happy New year.