Having seen Crewe Alexandra play at The Broadfield, I was incredibly impressed by the way they played, but also the way in which their team is set up.
The Alex Academy has produced some impressive players in the past, Dean Ashton, Robbie Savage, Seth Johnson, David Vaughan, Nicky Maynard and Neil Lennon were all graduates under the Dario Gradi era, which saw Alex rise all the way up to the Championship. But it's the current crop of players that have caught the eye. Crewe have risen from 17th to 8th position in the space of three months, and all thanks to the younger generation of the recent graduates.
Like no other team in the country, Alex give the opportunities to the younger players who are well deserving of the chance. 8 of the 11 players who started against Crawley are from the Academy, and all didn't look out of place. Nick Powell, just turned 18 is tipped to play for England in the future, and Crewe look set to lose him in the summer after Ipswich had a reported £500,000 bid rejected. But like in the past, Crewe will invest the money in the academy and look to bring through even more players.
Dario Gradi stepping down to be academy manager is arguably due as much credit as current manager Steve Davis, who's young crop of players look set to challenge for the League Two play-offs places. The pace of Byron Moore and Nick Powell has given full-backs nightmares up and down the country, and AJ Leitch-Smith has matured as a striker. Murphy and often Clayton pull the strings in the midfield.
Dugdale at the back is accompanied by the experienced captain of David Artell, who's experience to Alex is as important as youth. He commands the back and wins everything in the air, aswell as Phillips in the goal who brings confidence to the young full backs. The style of play was clear to see, get down and pass it, similar to the Barcelona style of play.
With Crewe on an eleven-match-unbeaten run and climbing the table week on week, not many would bet against Steve Davis' forcing their way into the play-offs, I certainly as a Crawley fan would not fancy us to beat them should we play them again.
