Blackburn Rovers boss embarrassed after Crewe defeat

Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray has lamented over the club’s poor defending as they succumbed to a disappointing 4-2 defeat to Crewe on the road. The Rovers recently ended an eight-match winless streak by beating Wigan Athletic but they could not sustain the form as they were once again vulnerable on the road.

Speaking to iFollow Rovers, Mowbray admitted that the team were embarrassing from set-pieces where Wednesday had the upperhand for most of the game. Continue reading “Blackburn Rovers boss embarrassed after Crewe defeat”

Crewe Alexandra hopeful of Max Clayton extension

Max Clayton is yet to decide on whether to commit to the offer of a new three year extension with Crewe Alexandra.

The League One side has offered the teenage striker the chance to extend his stay at the club by a further three years but the England Under-19 striker is yet to make a decision regarding his future. The offer of a new contract has been on the table for the last eighteen months, but so far, the player has refused to sign on the dotted lines.

Steve Davis, the club manager has said that they haven’t given the teenage striker any deadline for signing the new contract, adding that if he stays at the club, it will be great for the club and the player and he will be a big part of the team.

Speaking to BBC, Davis said that the club has maintained that they have always wanted to develop him further, and that Crewe Alexandra would welcome the player being at the club for the next three years and that is what he has been offered by the club.

Clayton was in fine form for the Railwaymen during his time at the club and scored nine times in his first full team as a first team player in 2012/13, which included the all important winner against Southend United that clinched the Saint Johnstone’s Pain Trophy at Wembley.

However, he could only add two more goals in the last season as he broke his ankle during the first round FA Cup clash with Wycombe Wanderers that ruled him out of action for the next five months.

If the player does move on, however, Crewe Alexandra albeit will suffer a huge loss in terms of losing a great young talent, are entitled to a decent fee as the player is still under 24 years old.

Davis Continues To Hope To Avoid Relegation

Crewe Alexandra are involved in the process of extending their contracts of four young players, who have done exceedingly well up until now. This has been revealed by manager Steve Davis, who is fighting to keep the club in the League One. They are now part of the four teams that will be relegated to the League Two unless they find a few wins in the final few matches of the campaign. Crewe Alexandra are level on points with the likes of Tranmere Rovers and Carlisle United, but they have an inferior goal difference. This may prove to be crucial in the relegation dogfight.

Davies has done exceedingly well to close the gap towards the teams fighting to get out of the relegation zone. The 3-1 win over Gillingham has given them a huge boost, but they need to sustain this form in order to stay clear. The likes of Notts County have managed to pull themselves well clear of trouble – for the moment – after a run of three consecutive wins. Ollie Turton, Jon Guthrie, Liam Nolan, and Ben Garratt have been the four players who have been influential for Crewe Alexandra’s season so far. Davies has revealed his plans to keep them at the club with new contracts irrespective of the club’s future in the division.

“We give our young players the opportunity to come through and keep on improving. I’m sure there is more to come from them. Our young players are heading in the right direction and improving all the time. All I would say to those young players is to get their futures sorted out as quickly as possible and accept the terms,” said Davis. Crewe Alexandra have become a breeding ground for young players looking to become first-team regulars. The club has made a sizeable profit from its youth academy.

CREWE STRUGGLE

Crewe Alexandra were defeated 1-0 in the recent match against Stevenage. The result was a major disappointment for manager Steve Davis after he admitted that his team created a lot of opportunities without taking any of them. This is a situation where Crewe Alexandra must convert any of the half chances they get. This is because they already find themselves in the midst of a relegation battle and it could only get worse if results do not come in the near future. Crewe managed to go down to an early goal from Francois Zoko.

Even though they were able to mount a serious challenge on Stevenage’s defence, they were unable to get the crucial equaliser. As the time wore on, it looked like Stevenage would comfortably defend the lead and secure victory. Davis has acknowledged that the result was a serious setback for the team, but he is confident of getting the club back on track in terms of victories. He will have only a few matches to get Crewe back on form. After 34 matches having been played by the club, they have taken just 35 points and are currently occupying the final relegation spots.

However, they are in the drop zone only on the basis of goal difference.

“I’m amazed we didn’t get a goal to be honest. If you won a game on the number of chances created we’d have been laughing. I think they had one shot on target but we couldn’t get the breakthrough. We played well but come away with nothing. The performance was pleasing, the result wasn’t. We move on. We were sloppy for the goal but apart from that we defended well and we deserved something,” said Davis.

Crewe Alexandra take on Swindon Town in the next match and it will be followed by a clash against promotion chasing Peterborough United.

DAVIES CONFIDENT

Crewe Alexandra manager Steven Davies has said that he is confident of upsetting the odds by managing a victory over Milton Keynes when the two sides meet each other in the league encounter. Milton Keynes may be in the middle of the table after an average run of form, but they are still one of the strong sides in the division. Crewe Alexandra, meanwhile, are fighting to stay out of the relegation zone. Only one point separates them from the drop zone. Hence, there is a real need of points and the home match against Milton Keynes provides a perfect opportunity.

Crewe have been in decent form in the last five matches, as they have managed three victories. The club managed to strengthen the squad with a couple of loan signings in the last few weeks. Striker Uche Ikpeazu is likely to be handed his first start of the Crewe Alexandra career against Milton Keynes, while there is also a possibility of George Evans, who also recently joined the club on a loan deal, making an appearance in this match. The confidence given by back-to-back victories have been erased by the back-to-back defeats against Rotherham United and Leyton Orient.

Crewe Alexandra have conceded six goals in these two matches and they will be hoping for a much better defensive performance against Milton Keynes.

“MK Dons have not been able to force their way into the top six so far this season. But, if I was feeling confident going into the Orient game on Saturday with this group at the moment, then I certainly am going into this one. That hasn’t changed, even though we were beaten at the weekend. We put in a very creditable performance on Saturday. And, if we keep playing like that, you just hope it will turn and that we can pick up some positive results,” said Davies.

CLAYTON SUFFERS SETBACK

One of the main players of Crewe Alexandra, Max Clayton, has suffered a major injury setback and he will not be able to feature for his side for the next few months.

While playing for Crewe in the FA Cup game against Wycombe Wanderers, Clayton had injured his ankle and he had been stretchered off the pitch. But, at that point of time, it didn’t seem to be a fracture. It seemed to be just a minor ligament injury, but, the tests later on disclosed that it was actually a breakage and because of that, the 19 years old striker will have to remain out of action for some time.

Although an official statement hasn’t been released yet by Crewe Alexandra regarding the recovery period of Clayton, but, it is believed that the English striker will not be able to play for the remaining part of the ongoing season.

Clayton’s performance in the ongoing season hasn’t been par. He has featured for Crewe in a total of 18 matches this season and has managed to find the back of the net only a couple of times.

Despite his below par form, Clayton was a vital player for Crewe and it will be tough for any other player to fill the void created by him.

Crewe Alexandra’s next match is against Port Vale. That game will be played at Gresty Road on Saturday and there are a couple of guys who are in contention to replace Clayton in the starting XI of Crewe for that game.

Meanwhile, the good news for Crewe Alexandra is that Matt Tootle who had been on the sidelines since a while because of his leg injury has got fit and he is likely to feature for them in the upcoming game against Port Vale.