My Crewe story - The Railwaymen on track to the top…

August 2016

Premier Division
Crewe – Fulham: 4 – 1
Goals: Townsend(2), Gommers, Devlin
Great start to the season. Townsend gave us the lead, but Valon Berisha equalized for Fulham. Townsend put us ahead on the 60th minute then turned provider for Gommers to score a screamer from the left corner of the area. Devlin got the 4th from a corner. 1st spot temporarily ours 

EURO Cup 4th Round 1st leg
Crewe – B. Jerusalem: 6 – 0
Goals: Devlin, Kapiloto own goal, Kaas, Jonker(2), Mensah

Next match, a visit to Old Trafford…

Friendly
Nigeria – Botswana: 4 – 0
Goals: Uzochukwu, Chrisantus(2), Chibuike

Premier Division
Man Utd – Crewe: 1 – 0
A Rooney goal was enough for United in a one-sided match, we were second best throughout with no shots on target.

EURO Cup 4th Round 2nd leg
B. Jerusalem – Crewe: 1 – 3
Goals: Svensson, Mensah, Keinan own goal

We have been drawn with SLB, Metalist Kharkiv and Legia Warszawa in the EURO Cup group stage.

Premier Division
Crewe – Aston Villa: 0 – 2
Bad result! Though we dominated possession and had more shots, we did not take our chances and succumbed to goals from Bent and Hobbs.

Been trying to sign West Ham's Danny Wilson but Man Utd made a bid as well, and Danny snubbed us for Utd.

September 2016

African Nations Quals Grp D
Nigeria – Equatorial Guinea: 2 – 0
Goals: Chrisantus(2)

African Nations Quals Grp D
Sudan – Nigeria: 2 – 7
Goals: Ighalo(4), Anichebe(2), Chibuike

Premier Division
Burnley – Crewe: 1 – 3
Goals: Lebourg, Gro, Townsend

EURO Cup Grp D
Legia – Crewe: 0 – 5
Goals: Haddad, Devlin, Gro, Vince, Townsend


League Cup 3rd rnd
Crewe – Blackburn Rovers: 2 – 0
Goals: Mensah, Townsend
2 goals in extra time gave us a hard fought win, but the best team prevailed here. Mensah come on as a sub and made the difference, scoring one and making the other one for Townsend. However, he got injured late on and will be out for 5- 6 weeks.


Premier Division
Arsenal – Crewe: 2 – 2
Great result! We showed we are no pushovers coming twice from behind to earn a draw!


EURO Cup Grp D
Crewe – SLB: 1 – 1

October 2016

Premier Division
Crewe – Bristol City: 6 – 2
When Adorjan sent a delicious lob from outside the area on the far right on the crossbar, I thought it was going to be one of those days again. But then Redsted scored a screamer of a first club goal from 25th metres. Townsend got the second and two minutes later, had a lob on the crossbar as well. The ball came back into play and was badly cleared to Adorjan whose shot was deflected into the net.
Up to 8th from 13th


African Nations Quals Grp D
Nigeria – Madagascar: 4 – 1
Goals: Ighalo(3), Anichebe
I must say that since the last African Nations Cup when we lost to Cameroon in the semis and then lost the 3rd place play off, I have made some changes to the team with older players like Joseph Yobo and Ogbonna being replaced and others who did not perform like Anthony Ujah, Lukman Haruna and Ahmed Musa being first choices no more. I have given the chance to youth and some other fringe players and some, especially Ighalo, have been performing admirably. Ujah may still have a chance, but Ighalo and Anichebe are now my first choice and they have been proving me right in all matches so far. In my defense, only Taye Taiwo remains, all others replaced by youth like Alex and Kenneth Odita, Jude Agu, Yusuf Taiwo. And in Laurence Amadi, I have discovered a promising talent for Nigeria. Ighalo has now even broken Samuel Eto’o’s record of number of goals in African Nations Qual.
I have good hope that this bunch of players will have a better tournament this time.

Premier Division
Derby – Crewe: 0 – 0
That’s a match we should have won and told this to the team afterwards, especially against the last in the league!

EURO Cup Grp D
Metalist – Crewe: 0 – 2
Goal: Vince(2)

Good win but unfortunately, we will be missing Townsend and Vince for up to 4 weeks through injury.

League Cup 4th rnd
Crewe – Ipswich: 3 – 1
Goal: Haddad(2), Devlin

We went behind and managed to equalize just before half time and went on to win the game.

Premier Division
Chelsea – Crewe: 1 – 0

That’s a defeat that’s hard to take. I can only imagine how it would have gone without Haddad’s dismissal. Down to 13th

Very good story this, well done, hope you go on to win the Premiership now !

Thanks. I hope to do it. I just think that right now, this young team lack a certain cutting edge. I guess that will come with experience and if I can add some experienced players to this team, which I thought I would be able to do by signing Danny Wilson, but he preferred Man U and their enticing high wages....

November 2016

EURO Cup Grp D
Crewe – Metalist: 4 – 0

Rotated the team and gave a chance to some fringe and youth players and the team played well though they showed their non-prolificacy again in front of goal with so many shots off target. It was great to see two promising youth players, Webster and Long add their name on the scoresheet.
We have qualified for first knockout round of EURO Cup with two games in hand.

Premier Division
Crewe – Man City: 5 – 3

That was a hell of a game. Changed the shape of the team with both Tirloni and Catalano operating as defensive midfielder to shield the defense against the wealth of attacking power City has. We started well and scored through Devlin, but City was level 8 minutes later and ahead 4 minutes after that due to a marking error. 2-1 down at half time, I had a go at the players because they conceded 2 avoidable goals. Gernsoe equalized after a great run and shot from outside the area. With some tired legs on the pitch, I brought on Redsted for Lebourg and moved O’Brien in the centre and Conti replaced Adorjan. With 8 minutes to go, Toure equalized for City and I thought that was it. Conti had other ideas though. He beat the offside trap, ran with the ball and put in a cross for Gommers to score a simple tap-in. O’Brien got another one for us to put the game beyond doubt. Gommers MoM with a goal and 3 assists. Up to 9th.

Premier Division
Birmingham – Crewe: 1 – 0

This is a game we should have won or at least drawn given the amount of chances we had. I’m disappointed with my players’ inability to score sometimes! Devlin out for 3 weeks and we are down to 11th.

International Friendly
Nigeria – South Africa: 2 – 2
Goals: Obi Mikel, Ideye


International Friendly
Wales – Nigeria: 1 – 2
Goals: Obi Mikel, Ujah

Premier Division
Crewe – Blackburn: 4 – 2
Great win, and could have been more if Gro headed goal was not ruled out for an imaginary foul. Also, late on, Conti played a superb through ball to release Adorjan whose shot hit the post.


Premier Division
Crewe – Everton: 3 – 0


Premier Division
Sunderland – Crewe: 0 – 0

Unlucky! We should have won, but their keeper Mignolet and the woodwork played their part in preventing us from scoring.

EURO Cup Grp D
Crewe – Legia: 2 – 2

That’s a game we should have definitely won but condeded 2 in the later stages of the game. Well, I did put a second team that I felt comfortable could win the game anyway, but I guess the lack of experience showed especially after I brought on a couple of youth players. It was indeed after the substitution that Legia got back in the game, so my mistake here. Still, we got the top spot of the group for now with SLB losing to Metalist. Last match against SLB will be decisive on who takes first place.

EURO CUp Group D with one game to go


Premier League table end of Nov 2016

December 2016

Premier Division
Crewe – Tottenham: 2 – 1

Finally, in our 4th confrontation, we have beaten Tottenham. I started defensively with 2 holding midfielders, Catalano and Tirloni, shielding the defense and 3 attacking midfielders and one striker. It did not seem effective as Tottenham took the lead and all our shots off target. Changed the formation in the second half and moved Gernsoe up to partner Townsend. We reaped the benefit as on a counter, Gernsoe crossed from the right for Townsend to head in off the post for the equalizer. We had two shots by Tirloni on the crossbar before Gernsoe was fouled in the area and Townsend converted from the spot. The penalty may have been debatable but it favoured us this time! Up to 5th

Louis Van Gaal, the Tottenham head coach was fired after this result!

League Cup quarter final
Aston Villa – Crewe: 0 – 4

Great performance! We controlled the game from start to finish and scored the goals to show it. Watching the replay of the own goal, that goal should have gone to Gro and not be classified as an own goal, but that’s a game issue , as irrespective of Djourou’s intervention, Gro would have scored from Jonker’s cross being so close to the empty net.

Aargg, Arsenal again in League cup semis!

Premier Division
Southampton – Crewe: 1 – 3

Good performance! The guys responded well to the equalizing goal and Gro was decisive with his double.

EURO Cup Grp D
SLB – Crewe: 1 – 1

We have been drawn against Schalke 04 in the EURO Cup 1st knockout stage.

Premier Division
Wigan – Crewe: 2 – 5

Great game! We took the lead when we were awarded a penalty, for a foul on Svensson, transformed by Townsend. McCarthy equalized for Wigan with an unstoppable shot in the top right corner after a misunderstanding between Devlin and Foster. We regained the lead through a Gernsoe header 10 minutes later from a cross by Jonker. Catalano extended our lead from a Gernsoe cross. 3 minutes later, Gernsoe got his second after a run started in our half and going on to beat the keeper with a shot int he bottomleft corner of the net, before McCarthy scored again. We regained a 3 goal lead when Gernsoe was put through by Townsend and went on to beat the keeper for his hat trick.
Gernsoe may have been unhappy with my comments that I thought he could play even better but he responded positively on the field to prove me right!

Premier Division
Crewe – Ipswich: 3 – 1

Good win. We are up to 4th in the league now

Premier Division
Liverpool – Crewe: 1 – 0

We were second best throughout, no complaints! Back to 5th. Only thing is that we conceded after I changed tactics to a more attacking one to try a smash and grab! Can only wonder now...

Premier Division
Fulham – Crewe: 0 – 7

Fulham started brightly and were the most likely team to score in the early stages, outplaying us with their slick passing. Were it not for some superb defending, we would have been a couple of goals down. We gradually got into the match and had more possession and as the tide started to turn, we threatened more. On the 34th minute, the inevitable happened! A great ball out of defense from the keeper found Gro, who passed to Gommers who passed to Townsend who returned the ball to Gro on the shoulder of the last defender. Controlling the ball perfectly, he got in the area and powered a low shot past the keeper. Right after the restart, Gro was again at the centre of things. He found Svensson on the right, whose run and cross was met by Gommers for the second goal. Catalano got the third from Gommers freekick. Gernsoe scored the fourth when released by Gro. Gro scored the fifth after a great run from the centre circle and shot at the edge of the area. Sub Adorjan scored a good goal into the right corner of the post and Gro got his hat trick when fed by Vince in the area. A magnificent second half performance from the team. I cannot think of a better way to end the year!
Fulham’s fans left stupefied after their team slumped to a miserable defeat!

League table end of Dec 2016

Jan 2017
I’ve been awarded the Dec 2016 Manager of the month for Crewe's 6 wins and 1 defeat

Fulham have snapped up Raheem Sterling from Liverpool for 11.5 million. The kid wanted away as he was not in good terms with the Liverpool coaching staff. I did not join the race for his signature as I was happy with my wingers, Svensson, Gommers and Jonker and had a better option quietly in process…

Premier Division
Crewe – Man Utd: 4 – 0
We got off to a great start, scoring from our first attack, Townsend the scorer when he pounced on a rebound in the box to send the ball in the corner of the net beyond De Gea. I think this goal stunned Man U and before they could regroup, it was two. Foster sent a freekick into the box and Gro raced ahead of his marker to get to the ball before De Gea and send a powerful shot into the roof of the net. Gernsoe added a third 4 minutes later when he latched onto Townsend’s through ball, got in the area and shot low into the net. Gernsoe made it 4 when he met Svensson freekick with a header. He would have been MoM had he scored from the spot instead of hitting his penalty straight at De Gea.


FA Cup 3rd round
Crystal Palace – Crewe: 2 – 4



Johannes Hettich has signed. I managed to quietly sign this great prospect under the nose of the giants…



League Cup semifinal 1st leg
Arsenal – Crewe: 0 – 0

We both had chances and overall we were the better team but Arsenal held on for the draw.

Premier Division
Aston Villa – Crewe: 1 – 3


Premier Division
Crewe – Newcastle: 5 – 0

Great win with Townsend scoring 4 goals! Up to 3rd!

Premier Division
Crewe – Burnley: 2 – 0

This win was more difficult to get as Burnley battled on, but in the end we were deserved winners.

African Cup of Nations
Nigeria – Cameroon: 2 – 2

League Cup semifinal 2nd leg
Crewe – Arsenal: 4 – 0

Arsenal had the better of the early exchanges but a counter on the 8th minute saw Gernsoe run down the right and fire in a cross that Hettich slide in to meet ahead of the defender to score. Arsenal came out for second half all guns blazing and were very close to equalizing when Fierro’s shot on the edge of the area hit the crossbar and bounced in front of the line and Tirloni managed to clear the ball. Our task was made more difficult when on the 50th minute on a counter, Townsend fed Gernsoe on the right and the latter went on a run and into the box and fell under the challenge of Koscielny. Already on yellow, the referee gave a second yellow and red for simulation to Gernsoe! I immediately changed tactics to counter and repositioned Townsend centrally upfront. We got a second goal 5 minutes later when Svensson’s freekick from the left was met by Catalano’s header at the far post. Arsenal rallied but Badelj fierce shot from long range was blocked by the keeper and then hoofed clear by Catalano. Fierro shot wide a couple of times. Then on the 74th minute, a long clearance by Svensson was chased down by Townsend and Arsenal’s Dede and in the box, Dede was deemed to have fouled Townsend by the referee, thus awarding us a penalty. Townsend coolly slotted home. In the 89th minute, sub Kaas got a fourth when a Gommers cross was cleared on the post by Dede and Kaas scored from the rebound.


Man Utd has been defeated on aggregate 4 – 5 by Burnley in the other semifinal. So, the League Cup final will be between us and Burnley.


African Cup of Nations
Angola – Nigeria: 0 – 2
Goals: Ideye(2)

FA Cup 4th round
Crewe – Leicester: 4 – 2


League table end of January 2017

February 2017

Won the manager of the month award for consecutive months

African Cup of Nations
Burkina Faso – Nigeria: 2 – 2
Goals: Agu, Uzochukwu
We have qualified as second of the group behind Cameroon

Five players called up to the senior side of their respective country: Gernsoe, Devlin, Adorjan, Catalano, O’Brien, with Devlin and Catalano being called up for the first time. It would be great for Crewe if Devlin is selected for England duty as it would mean an academy product has been deemed good enough for the English senior side!

Premier Division
Bristol City – Crewe: 1 – 5

Good win. Townsend opened the scoring with a swerving shot into the far corner inside the box. Svensson doubled our lead. Bristol City maybe had a good goal ruled out for offside and that maybe changed the game because when they scored afterwards to make it 2-1, it could have been 2-2 instead. But we picked up the pace in the second half to score 3 more goals. New signing Hettich MoM with his goal and 2 assists. Up to 2nd in the table above Liverpool on goal difference.



Ivory Coast now wants my services. I cannot possibly accept it especially when I am in the middle of the African Cup of Nations with Nigeria and with a quarter final coming up! Checking the group stages, Ivory Coast came out last of their group which explains why they have approached me. They must have sacked their coach!

Arsenal has beaten Liverpool at the Emirates 2-1 handing us the advantage on 2nd place.

African Cup of Nations Quarter Final
Nigeria – Sierra Leone: 4 – 2
A semifinal clash against Cameroon now awaits us, a repeat of the previous semifinals in 2015 when we lost on penalties.

African Cup of Nations Semifinal
Nigeria – Cameroon: 1 – 0
Goal: Temile

We scored deep into added time to clinch our way to the final!
My top scorer, Ideye, will be missing the finals though after collecting another yellow card.

Premier Division
Crewe – Arsenal: 1 – 0

Koscielny deflected Svensson’s cross at his near post to give us the lead. Though we had other chances and Arsenal could not really test my keeper, it finished on this 1-0 score.

Man City have drawn 1 - 1 away to Blackburn, whereas Liverpool and Man Utd have both won.

African Cup of Nations Final
Nigeria – Mali: 2(p) – 2
With 5 players missing through injury, Ogbonna, Taye Taiwo, Uzochukwu, Anichebe and Victor Moses and Ideye suspended, this is very much a changed side that I have been forced to put up for the finals as 4/5 of these 6 would have been in my starting lineup and I now have only 4 outfield players on my bench.

Things started badly for us as Mali scored with the first attack after a misplaced pace by Temile. Mali was then awarded a penalty on the 20th minute for a foul by Apam in the area, for which he received a yellow card. Ighalo managed to pull a goal back just before half time. With us chasing the game, things went from bad to worse for us with the dismissal of Apam for a second yellow card. I was thus forced to change the shape to replace the dismissed full-back, forcing us to operate with only one striker. Amadi equalized for Nigeria 5 minutes before end of normal time, thus forcing extra time. The game went to penalties where we scored our first three kicks and Enyeama saved all three shots from Mali players, making us the new African champions.

EURO Cup 1st Knock Out round 1st leg
Schalke – Crewe: 0 – 2

Superb away performance to get a very much smash and grab win over Schalke who had the better share of possession but could not break our defense down, expertly marshaled by Devlin and shielded by Catalano in a defensive midfield role. The first goal was a perfect example of a good counter. A bad corner by Afellay was intercepted by Tirloni who looked up and sent a ball towards the halfway line for Townsend to run on to. He waited for support by the corner line and floated a low cross in that the advancing Hettich smashed in with the help of a deflection.
We are now on an 8 straight wins streak establishing a new Crewe record for consecutive wins.

EURO Cup 1st Knock Out round 2nd leg
Crewe – Schalke: 1 – 0

We were lucky this time around with Schalke missing a couple of clear cut chances and hitting the crossbar, but we held firm to progress.

League Cup Final
Crewe – Burnley: 2 – 0

I think we had 3 or 4 shots against the post/crossbar in the first half before Catalano scored in first half added time, but we were in complete control and deserved winners in the end, though it could have been by a bigger margin.

March 2017

FA Cup 5th rnd
Hull – Crewe: 3 – 6

The first 30 minutes was a pretty tight contest with Hull fighting for every ball and restricting our movement such that Hull pegged us back 2 times. But then before half time, we pushed up a gear to go in at half time with a 2 goal advantage. We increased our margin in the second half to win quite comfortably but Hull did push us to up our level to ensure we progress.

Arsenal has beaten Man Utd 3 – 1 at the Emirates

Premier Division
Everton – Crewe: 2 – 0

We lacked some sort of urgency in our play today and could not convert the chances that came our way. The dismissal of Devlin for a foul as the last defender made it more difficult for us.

Man City was defeated as well by Southampton 1 – 0, so we are not losing additional ground on the league leaders, but Liverpool won 4 – 0 away to Derby. We have 2 games in hand and we should look to capitalize on those to get back level with Liverpool and 1 point behind Man City.

EURO Cup 2nd Knock Out round 1st leg
Fiorentina – Crewe: 0 – 2

Gro missed 2 penalties! After the second miss, I was starting to wonder whether it was going to be another one of those days where we could convert our chances like the previous match against Everton. Fortunately, we managed to score twice giving us a great option to progress to the next phase. It was at this stage two seasons ago that we went out against Lyon.

FA Cup 6th rnd
Crewe – Liverpool: 2 – 1

Great win! Mensah is knocking at my door for a starting berth with his performance in the last 2 matches.

EURO Cup 2nd Knock Out round 2nd leg
Crewe – Fiorentina: 3 – 2

Great win! Only blemish is Catalano’s red card for a two footed tackle. Mensah continued his fine show of form with 2 goals.

We have got Tottenham in the FA Cup semifinal and Spartak Moscow in the EURO Cup Quarter Final and if we manage to go through, it will be either Fenerbahce or SLB.

Premier Division

Crewe – Chelsea: 0 – 1
We conceded due to a goalkeeping mistake. Oliveira came out to claim a ball but Lukaku got to the ball first and headed into an empty net. We were poor as well going forward and lost and did not pose a threat as all to Chelsea.
We need to regroup as the next match away to Man City will make or break our surprising title challenge!

Catalano has been handed a further 2 match suspension by the disciplinary committee for his sending of against Fiorentina.

World Cup Quals (AFR) 2nd Rnd Grp 6
Gabon – Nigeria: 1 – 3
Goals: Ideye, Obi Mikel, Taye Taiwo

Premier Division
Man City – Crewe: 1 – 1

Good result away to City.

Premier Division
Crewe – Derby: 5 – 1

Gommers is out for 2-3 months with a torn hamstring.

League table end of March 2017

April 2017

Premier Division
Crewe – Birmingham: 2 - 0


Liverpool has beaten Man City at Anfield 3 – 0 to take a firm option on the title. It seems that our defeat against Chelsea is proving costly.

EURO Cup Quarter Final 1st leg
Crewe – Spartak Moscow: 3 – 3

We did not start well and conceded in the 10th minute, but recovered to storm back with a 2 goals lead. However, we let Spartak back in the game and they have got a good draw at the death. We will need a super away performance to qualify!

Premier Division
Blackburn – Crewe: 1 – 2

Good win. It was a fabulous strike by Tirloni outside the area, a left footed swerving shot into the top left corner.

Liverpool drew 1-1 away to Birmingham so we still have a chance at the title.

EURO Cup Quarter Final 2nd leg
Spartak Moscow – Crewe: 1 – 2

I changed to 4-1-2-2-1 formation for this away match with Tirloni shielding the defense in the absence of Catalano. We had a great start with Devlin scoring from a corner but Spartak equalized soon after. Hettich determination gave us a second goal in a scramble in the box. I switched to a counter attacking style in the second half to avoid a repeat of the first leg and we managed to hold on to go through to the semis.

We will meet Fenerbahce in the semis after they beat SLB.

FA Cup Semifinal
Tottenham – Crewe: 3 – 3P

Epic match! Tottenham started stronger and opened the scoring through Cavani. Gro equalized just before half time with a great long range shot that went in just below the crossbar. The match then turned on its head in the last quarter. Lebourg gave a penalty in the 77th minute transformed by Cavani. But right after the restart, from a free kick in our favour, Tirloni floated a ball into the box that Tottenham keeper Vorm failed to catch and Townsend sent the ball into the net. Townsend then had a goal ruled out for offside and the match went to extra time. In second half of extra time, Townsend transformed a penalty for a foul on Mensah. But 3 minutes before the end, Cavani popped up again to score and send the game to penalties. When Townsend sent the first penalty wide, I thought that was it for us, but then Pjanic and then Admir Mehmedi missed the last penalty to hand the win to us. We are in the final!

We will play Man City in the FA Cup final!

Premier Division
Crewe – Sunderland: 2 – 0


Man Utd won the Manchester derby at Old Trafford 3 – 2

Premier Division
Tottenham – Crewe: 1 – 2

Started with a 4-1-2-2-1 formation in this match. First half was goalless and we hit the crossbar twice. We scored when Gro timed his run to perfection to collect Jonker’s ball over the top and poke it past the keeper. Tottenham equalized though with 15 minutes to go and I instantly took the gamble to change to a 4-4-2 formation which paid dividends when Townsend scored the winning goal on the 85th minute.
We are second, 3 points behind Liverpool. Looks like this will go down to the wire with our last game a home encounter against Liverpool. We have to win the other matches first.

EURO Cup Semi Final 1st leg
Crewe – Fenerbahce: 1 – 1

We managed to clinch a draw in the 91st minute.

Premier Division
Crewe – Southampton: 1 – 0

A hard-fought win though we should have won by a bigger margin. Southampton keeper Ben Amos did a great job to thwart us.

Liverpool got a 1-0 win over Tottenham at Anfield

League table end of April