Crewe Alexandra are our next focus as we look at all the teams that will be competing in League One during the 2014-15 season.
LAST SEASON
Crewe Alexandra had a nervy end to the last campaign, and only avoided relegation by four points. They finished in 19th place, collecting 51 points from their 46 matches. But they did ship many more goals than they scored, and ended on a goal difference of -26!
THE MANAGER – STEVE DAVIS
Birmingham lad Steve Davis had a lengthy playing career than spanned between 1982-2009. He started at Stoke City, but moved to Crewe in 1983, having failed to make an appearance for the Potters. He became a legend at the club he has gone on to manage, playing 145 matches in a 4 year period at the club, scoring 1 goal in the process.
After Crewe, he moved on to play for Burnley, where he made 147 appearances and scored 11 goals. In 1991, Barnsley acquired his services, and he also made over 100 appearances for the Tykes. He totaled 10 goals, from defence, in 107 matches.
The rest of his playing career was played at York, Oxford United and Macclesfield Town. He also had two player manager roles, at Northwich Victoria and Nantwich Town.
He was appointed manager of Northwich in June 2003, but resigned in September, with Victoria sitting second bottom in the conference national. He moved on to take a player manager job at Nantwich, where he enjoyed a lot of success. Prior to his arrival, the club had never achieved anything above the North West Counties League, but under Davis` leadership, they enjoyed two promotions in three seasons, and also won an FA Vase along the way.
In 2009, his success was noticed by the club where he made his name, and he became Gudjon Thordarson`s assistant, at Crewe Alexandra. He remained as assistant until 2011, when he was given the job following Dario Gradi`s resignation. His first game as manager was a 4-1 defeat to Colchester United in the FA Cup.
In the 2012/2013 season, Davis led Crewe to Johnstones Paint Trophy success, beating Southend United 2-0 in the Wembley showpiece. In May 2013, Davis was linked with the vacant managerial position at Wolverhampton Wanderers, but nothing materialised, and Davis remained at Gresty Road.
VISITING THE GROUND?
Crewe play their home matches at the Alexandra Stadium, also known as Gresty Road. The stadium was built in 1906 and has a capacity of 10,153. However, the record attendance is double its capacity, sitting at 20,000! This attendance was met when Premier League big boys Tottenham Hotspur graced the Gresty Road turf in an FA Cup match in 1960.
Last season, Posh fans were sat in the ‘Whitby Morrison Ice Cream Van Stand`, where away fans are seated on a regular basis. The stand sits opposite the main stand at the ground, and allows for a good view, depending on where you`re sat, due to the amount of poles in the way, holding up the stand!
Post Code for SAT NAV: CW2 6EB
Distance from London Road: 120 miles
SUMMER BUSINESS SO FAR
Veteran goalkeeper Steve Phillips, who has played more than 600 games in a career spanning nearly 17 years, has been released along with defenders Kelvin Mellor and Mark Ellis, midfielder Abdul Osman and forward AJ Leitch-Smith.
Forward Byron Moore was offered a contract extension but has turned the offer down and has also left the club.
Crewe have made two summer signings so far, with Tranmere`s Chris Atkinson and former Rotherham goalkeeper, Scott Shearer, signing deals with the club.
THEY PLAYED FOR BOTH
Former Posh centre back, Sagi Burton, is one of a number of players that have played for both clubs. Current Posh striker, Kyle Vassell, went on trial at Crewe back in 2011, but never actually signed a contract.
Former Posh loanee, Ben Amos, also played for Crewe, as did Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi, and Jake Livermore.
PAST MEETINGS
There have been 46 meetings between Peterborough United and Crewe Alexandra, with the first one being right back in 1960, when Crewe ran out 3-1 winners. All 46 of these matches have been in the League, and the two sides have never met in the cup. Out of the 46, Posh have been victorious in 27 of them, with Crewe winning just 10. There have been 9 draws in the 46 matches, most recently last season, where Posh rescued a 2-2 draw in the last minute of the game.
Back in September, Posh visited Gresty Road, with the fans fully expecting a comfortable victory. However, Crewe got off to the perfect start as Vadaine Oliver gave them the lead early on. AJ Leitch-Smith extended the home sides lead on 21 minutes, before Tyrone Barnett restored hope into the Posh side. Posh left it right until the last minute to score their equaliser, with Michael Bostwick being credited with the goal, despite suspicions that it may have come off a Crewe defender.
The home game went much more to plan for the Posh, but it again started with Crewe taking the lead. Ever impressive Chuks Aneke scored a delightful curing effort to give Alexandra the lead, before Assombalonga equalized from the penalty spot, just two minutes later. Nicky Ajose then gave Posh the lead, before Aneke grabbed the levelling goal for the visitors. But the Crewe back line switched off again, and former Posh winger, Danny Swanson, capitalised to grab a rare goal, before Conor Washington completed the scoring with two minutes to go, sealing a 4-2 win for the Posh.
WHAT THE BOOKIES THINK
Crewe are 80/1 to win League One in 2014-15 and 28/1 to get promoted.
They are 14/1 to finish in the top six and 11/8 to get relegated, making them the favourites to drop down to League Two.
UP THE POSH
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Photo courtesy of www.theposhpics.com
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