After 19 days without a game, County are finally back in action this Boxing Day, as we take on Crewe Alexandra in a mouth-watering Cheshire derby at Edgeley Park.
Recent postponements against Rochdale and Gillingham, due to the recent sub-zero temperatures across the country, our last league fixture came three weeks ago – a stunning 5-0 win at Dave Challinor’s former side Hartlepool, who sat bottom of the league at the time.
That win, our biggest away from home in the Football League since the final day of the 2006/07 season, saw us move into the top half of the table – five points behind Mansfield in the final play-off spot. Results elsewhere since then have seen us drop one place to 13th, with AFC Wimbledon leapfrogging us, but the gap to the play-offs remains at five, with Carlisle United now occupying 7th place.
Opponents Crewe have also gone three weeks without kicking a ball, after their recent games against Leyton Orient and Walsall fell foul to the weather. The Railwaymen’s last competitive game saw them narrowly beaten at home to Newport County, a result that leaves them 17th in League Two – three points behind County, with a game in hand.
Don’t forget, County fans can now park at the NCP Car Park at Stockport Train Station for a discounted price of just £3 on a match day, via the ParkPass App! Click here for more information.
Coming to the game on Monday? Click here to view our Fan Information pack, containing all you need to know ahead of your visit to Edgeley Park.
Don’t forget to turn up early this Boxing Day for the grand opening of the County Courtyard, which will be open from 1.30pm-6.30pm!
Our Opponents:
Crewe and their supporters will likely be quite glad to see the back of 2022 – a year that saw them relegated from League One in what their local media described as ‘one of the worst’ seasons in the Club’s modern history.
The Railwaymen finished bottom of the third tier, 11 points adrift of safety with just seven wins and 29 points from their 46 games. Their fate was sealed with four games left to play, after a run of 15 defeats from 16 league games which included eight defeats in a row; their worst such run since 1982.
That spelt the end of manager David Artell’s time in charge after five years at the helm, winning promotion from League Two in 2020, with his assistant Alex Morris being given the job over the Summer.
Tasked with leading the Club back in League Two, Morris, in his first senior managerial role, got off to a good start with three wins in his first four league games – although heavy defeats to Salford and then to Grimsby in the Carabao Cup were early warning signs of what was to come.
Just one win in their subsequent 12 league games, against struggling Crawley Town, led to the surprise announcement in November that Morris was stepping down from his role and going back to being assistant manager due to compassionate reasons, with his assistant, Lee Bell, taking the job on an interim basis.
Three 1-0 wins in his first three games in charge, including beating League Two leaders Leyton Orient in the FA Cup and promotion-chasing Swindon in the league, saw Bell appointed as the Club’s permanent manager just a month later.
A former Crewe player, Bell has been at the Club in a coaching capacity since 2015 in multiple roles across the academy and first-team. Recent postponements mean he has only had the one game in permanent charge of the Club though – that defeat to Newport County three weeks ago.
They have been hampered in recent weeks by injuries to key players up front – most notably the loss of top scorer Courtney Baker-Richardson, who faces a lengthy spell out after suffering a serious hamstring injury. The 27-year-old had scored seven goals in 15 games prior to that injury.
The side have missed him dearly. Only Gillingham and Rochdale have scored fewer than their 18 league goals so far this season, with just five of those coming away from home.
Match Stats:
- Not including the Cheshire Senior Cup, this will be the first meeting between the two sides since 2011. Our last win against Crewe came in 2009, 4-1 win away in the Papa John’s Trophy thanks to a Carl Baker hat-trick.
- Over the last ten games in League Two, only Walsall and Leyton Orient have picked up more points than County’s 20. Crewe, meanwhile, sit 21st over the last ten games, picking up ten points.
- If selected, Antoni Sarcevic will make his 50th appearance for the Club this weekend.
