FourFourTwo's Crewe Alexandra season preview 2023/24 - can Lee Bell inspire his squad to the upper reaches of the table?
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Crewe Alexandra season preview 2023/24 is one of little optimism, though they should stave off relegation relatively comfortably.
Crewe Alexandra stopped the rot in League Two last season, after relegation in 2021/22, but they’ve lost key players including Rod McDonald and Dan Agyei.
England Under-20s goalkeeper Harvey Davies could impress on loan, but it’ll be tough to match last year’s levels. Ryan Cooney adds a bit of know-how to the squad at least.
Crewe Alexandra season preview 2023/24, the fan's view: Steve Bennett (@sargeantbennett)
Last season was just about what we expected, on the whole: mediocre in parts but with a good finish. Stability was key, and we achieved that.
The big talking point is how the club replace departed top scorer Dan Agyei and defender Rod McDonald. The new crop of youngsters need a couple of old heads to help them along.
Our key player will be Chris Long, who’s a good goalscorer – arguably too good for this level.
Our most underrated player is Charlie Finney – a name to watch. He’d have been more prominent last season but for injuries. He is technically gifted and can play in a variety of positions.
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The opposition player I’d love here is Luke Bolton from Salford. He’s greased lightning and gave us a torrid time at Gresty Road last season.
Chris Long of Crewe Alexandra (Image credit: Getty Images)
The thing my club really gets right is giving under-11s free season tickets when bought with an adult ticket. Get ’em hooked early!
The one change I’d make would be matchday pricing for this season or commercial awareness. It’s improved in recent years, but sometimes we still score own goals in that department.
Fans think our owner splits opinions. There are mixed views on our ownership consortium. The chairman [Charles Grant] gets a lot of stick as we only see him when we’ve won a few games or if he’s after season-ticket sales. He goes missing at other times...
Crewe Alexandra manager Lee Bell (Image credit: Getty Images)
The player I’d happily drive to another club is goalkeeper Dave Richards. Sadly, he just isn’t good enough. Our first signing this summer was teenage keeper Harvey Davies, on loan from Liverpool.
Look out for 18-year-old Matus Holicek, our local lad of Slovakian heritage. He is properly gifted.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is that Lee Bell is learning as he goes. He improved as last season went on.
If he left, he should be replaced by someone from outside. We’ve had too many similar voices for too long.
The pantomime villains will beWrexham. I’m already bored of Disney FC and the season hasn’t even started.
We’ll finish 12th. Another season of mediocrity awaits!
Season previews for the Premier League, League One and League Two are all available HERE
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
