Written by Max (Scores by Emma!)
Ground #55
Saturday 23rd September 2023
EFL League 2
Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Colchester United
Attendance: 4070
Entry: £27
Crewe Alexandra were formed in 1877 and have played at their current ground on Gresty Road since 1906. No one knows for sure where the unique suffix ‘Alexandra’ comes from but best guesses say its something to do with Princess Alexandra. The club spent the majority of their early years in the 4th tier of the English pyramid and were thankful on multiple occasions that back then clubs were not automatically relegated from the football league and instead had to be voted out. Due to their central location they were kept in the division on multiple occasions thanks to this vote.
The clubs fortunes were dramatically improved and the club changed forever when in 1983 Dario Gradi took control. He would manage the club for 24 years putting a huge focus onto playing attractive football and using the clubs academy to provide players for the 1st team. This ahead of its time ethos saw the club climb as high as the 2nd tier for a number of years in the early 2000’s. The club have since dropped back into the 4th tier but now have a great reputation for developing players with many going on to play at the highest level being sold on for large sums of money which help keep the club going. In the club bar are the shirts of a number of these players that gone on to play higher.
Today’s game saw ‘The Alex’ come up against another club with a level 2 academy, Colchester United. Being a Crewe fan myself I was really excited for this one as for the first time since 7th March 2020 we were returning to Gresty Road for a home game! Crewe’s nickname is ‘The Railwaymen’ due to the Town being home to one of the countries biggest Railway stations so aptly we caught the train from Newark to Crewe for today’s game.
2 and a half hours, and 19 stops, later we arrived in Crewe. We met my Grandad off the train and headed for some lunch at the nearby Duke of Gloucester pub. From there we headed to the ground via the newly refurbished Railwaymen bar and lounge. More on that later on.
Into the ground we went, and for the first time in 3 and a half years, climbed the steps of the towering main stand and up to our seats. The game kicked off and within 2 minutes a great bit of play down the right wing from new signing Shilow Tracey won a throw in which was hurled into the box by another of this seasons new recruits Mickey Demetriou. The ball fell kindly to Chris Long in the box who tapped home from 3 yards. We questioned whether this was quite possibly the first time Crewe have ever scored from a long throw?
Just 8 minutes were on the clock when once again a marauding run forward from Tracey saw him bundled over in the box. The penalty was cleanly dispatched and with less than 10 minutes gone Chris Long was on a hat-trick. At this point, after 3 years away, we were debating investing in a season ticket!
From then on it was an even first half with the best chance going to the visitors when just before half time the forward seemed to be through on goal until a perfect last ditch tackle kept The Alex’s two goal advantage going into the break.
Into the second half we went and rather than try to add to the early goals, the hosts decided to sit back and defend the 2 goal lead. This was a risky strategy as Crewe tend to have a habit of throwing away leads. Just 10 minutes into the half the visitors got a deserved goal back as nerves around the stadium began to grow.
Crewe manager Lee Bell then chose the interesting tactical move of subbing on two 19 year olds and an 18 year old as we tried to cling on to the points. It’s great to see the next batch of academy youngsters coming through into the first team but this perhaps shows the lack of depth in our squad this season.
Attack after attack then ensued from the away side but the hosts managed to hold on to win all three points. The first 8 minutes aside it was an underwhelming performance from Crewe, but the win keeps us on a run of 12 unbeaten at home and keeps us in the play off places at this early stage.
Now to rate our day at Gresty Road, or to give the ground it’s sponsored name, The Mornflake Stadium.
In order to be as unbiased as possible I’ll now hand over to Emma to give the ground it’s scores:
Location: 10/10
Yes, you read it right and I promise this is Emma writing this! Our first ever perfect location score!
The ground is less than a 5 minute walk from the train station and is surrounded by numerous pubs, bars and food outlets. This allows for a really easy and brilliant away day for travelling fans and people like us supporting Crewe from afar! The ground is also surrounded by houses so is easily accessible for local fans too but beware of the pot holes if you are driving. Behind the main stand is a huge car park for anyone travelling by car.
One negative we did find was it seemed local pubs were shut between 5 and 6 after the game. Luckily we found that local snooker club ‘Dishers’ remained open so popped in here while we waited for our train.
Kit: 6/10
Crewe’s kit this season is the usual red shirt, white shorts and red socks combination. Although not noticeable from afar, on closer inspection the shirt includes a subtle stripe effect on the front. We also liked the detail of the blue and white collar.
Crewe’s kits have been really good in recent seasons and manufacturer FBT have been including fan designed shirts which is a great touch. We love the recent away kits and our collection is getting rather out of control! But I only have myself to blame for that, as it does make an easy birthday present for Max if I am struggling for ideas.
Facilities: 6/10
We had heard that the bar near the away end had been improved in recent years so made sure to head there ahead of kick off. From the outside it looked inviting with a new sign above the entrance. Once inside though it looked very similar to what we remembered. The bar was huge with TV’s on the wall showing the early kick offs. Both home and away fans are allowed in the bar and mingled freely which was good to see. There are plenty of tables so there is enough space for people to meet with a pint before the game. The decoration lets it down though with the bar not being very inviting with its pale walls and with no red to be seen it was very strange for what’s supposed to be a ‘Crewe Alex’ bar.
The main stand bar and food kiosk were pretty standard for a league ground. There’s plenty of space under the stand to have a drink or eat your food and the red paint on the floor is a new addition since our last visit and a nice touch.
Look: 6/10
The ground is dominated by the huge main stand which contains over 6,000 of the grounds 10,000 capacity. This stand allows home fans to get a brilliant birds eye view of the action.
The rest of the ground is made up of 3 almost identical smaller seated stands with the away fans housed opposite the main stand in the wonderfully named ‘Ice Cream Van stand’.
Food and Drink: 6/10
The food at the ground is supplied by local Crewe based pie company Wrights which is a nice touch and a bit different to the usual Pukka pies served at almost all football league grounds. We shared a chicken Balti pie and were pleasantly surprised by just how nice it was. A really tasty filling with curry spices in the pastry itself. Certainly a level above what we expected.
The beer choice was limited, especially in the stand where it was Carlsberg only. No dark fruits in the bar or the stand so no bonus point for Crewe and a disappointing prematch for me!
TOTAL SCORE: 34/50
It was amazing to be back at Gresty Road again for the first time since before covid. One question that is still yet to be answered from previous visits: is Crewe mascot Gresty the ‘lion’ an imposter. I reckon he isn’t a lion at all and is in fact a monkey!
We were quickly reminded why we had left it so long between games as our train home was cancelled and we didn’t get home until almost 11pm. The 13 hour day was worth it though to see The Alex continue their positive start to the season and it certainly wont be another 3 years until we are back again.
If you want to see where this score puts Gresty Road on our leaderboard you can check out the table here: Football League Leaderboard.
If you’d like to see our Leaderboard of Non-League Grounds click here: Non-League Leaderboard.
If you like the finer things in life, why not check out our review of the hospitality package available at Gresty Road. CLICK HERE
Check out some more photos from the game below, starting with a photo taken of one of Max’s first visits to Gresty Road over 20 years ago:
Emma’s Ground Guide 