By Jules Hornbrook
18/04/2008 - Alex Sentinel: Changing times not always for the better
Last week I noticed a frightening statistic - Alex gaffer Steve Holland has used a whopping 39 players across this frustrating season.
There's nothing wrong with a large and healthy squad, but you wonder how much of this has been influenced by injury or indecision about team selection.
I don't think you can accuse Holland of rotating players like our one-time allies Liverpool have over the last two seasons. Still, I can't remember going to a game and seeing the same starting line-up this campaign. Times have changed, for sure, but compare this to the awesome Liverpool side of the late 70s, who won the league using 14 players.
That the Alex could have fielded nearly four different teams from their massed ranks is unbelievable. It's made worse when the management continue to reject the idea of running a proper reserve side in a competitive league. That's a real bone of contention among fans who see injured players taking weeks to return to match fitness.
Former players have bemoaned the system, claiming it's nearly impossible to resume first-team duties without some decent competitive action under their belts. Dario Gradi and, more recently, Holland have always maintained that training and fitness would suffer if the players were involved in midweek games.
Instead, our returning players look half-a-yard off the pace. Mistakes are made, passes go astray, key chances are missed. The fans vent their frustration and the players' confidence dips. A vicious circle ensues.
Ahead of next season, and it really is time to be planning, many continue to ask if the Alex squad should be cropped. Drop 10 of the fringe lads and concentrate on recruiting two or three proven players likely to make a difference.
That's easy to say, but we all know how tough it's been to attract players to Gresty Road. Quite simply, the majority of older pros do not want to come here.
It's a tough slog whichever way you look at it. The fan base will be trimmed to the bare bones this summer, worse still if Nicky Maynard is sold. Although that's part and parcel of economic life at Crewe, I don't think such a move would be well received.
Unless something drastic happens on the commercial front, or we can attract a generous benefactor, I can't see us getting back into the Championship.
I hope that doesn't sound too pessimistic - but it's the reality.