Red Shift vs Robin Hood - (Crewe vs Notts County)

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

The most famous works of literature from these two localities inspire the name of the title, and you could say Notts County are very much like Robin Hood whenever they play us at Gresty Road...

2002-03 - Notts win 3-0
2009-10 - Notts win 1-0
2012-13 - Notts win 2-1
2013-14 - Notts win 3-1
2014-15 - Notts win 3-0

We just never seem to beat them, 11 times we've played them since I started following us and we haven't won a single match. There are two reasons for this. Partly because we never start seasons off well and Notts do and partly because they always seem to hit form just before they play us, especially when they play us at Gresty Road.

I won't be at this one as I'll be back down South and saving my pennies for the Yeovil game on Easter Monday. On this not-so-Good Friday, I anticipate a 2-0 Notts win because we're awful at home and we'll look complacent and uninterested as per usual. Hopefully we'll get the win needed to secure survival here but I just don't see it given the rampant form Notts are in at the moment.

 

[Optipez]

My head says we're due a defeat.
Watching us without my black and white specs on, I'd say we are physically pretty strong, quite direct with a few players who have enough class to play at a higher level and that Nolan has got them running like dogs, at a high tempo, and with bite but without being dirty.
If Crewe don't match us in a fight, we are capable of forging four or five good chances in a match with players who don't waste too many. It's quite a formidable combination.
Five wins on the bounce though ? Seems a big ask.

 

[LongEatonPie]

I keep saying that we are about to hit a wall and I would like a point here.
In the scheme of things if Newport lose we are mathematically safe.
Nolan will now want to be looking at players for next season so I don't expect us to go out and play at a canter, thats not Nolans way.
2-1 win to Notts

 

[Pieyedfry]

Will be very disappointed if we did not take at least 1000, considering the proximity, being on a bank holiday, the possible good weather and of course, Notts' run of form. I said it before Carlisle and it does sound stupid but some reason I don't see notts dropping another point this season. So i'll go for 0-1 Bola.

 

[DearneValleyRover]

What's with the Robin Hood shit, history states he's from Donny and Notts had a corrupt French lacky pffff

 

[Youpies]

Yeah right...

Anyway, Notts won't get another win on the bounce, it's illogical. Just does not happen. I said the same against Carlisle but then, they are shite.

I can see a draw, and we should retain our league status in the process. Nolan will have the players going for it because they aren't under contract and need to put themselves on show.

 

[Pieyedfry]

That Crewe record is very strange though, Notts definitely have the best record of all football league teams in recent years against them.

I just think the physicality of Notts, especially Ameobi will help see them home, despite Crewe having a decent upturn in form under Artell.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

That Crewe record is very strange though, Notts definitely have the best record of all football league teams in recent years against them.

I just think the physicality of Notts, especially Ameobi will help see them home, despite Crewe having a decent upturn in form under Artell.

Don't be so sure, Rotherham and Bournemouth will give you a run for your money. If it wasn't for us beating Leyton Orient this season then they'd have been in contention too.

11 unbeaten against us, it's a definite loss for us but we can afford to lose this one. Yeovil is huge for us because a win more or less confirms safety there...

(Just checked, it's quite funny how in the 90s we had impeccable records vs Notts, Bournemouth and Rotherham only for that to go down the toilet the minute I started watching Crewe)

 

[Pieyedfry]

Dunno how Crewe haven't taken points from Notts especially the 02/03 season when Crewe barnstormed league 1 and Notts didn't do great

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Dunno how Crewe haven't taken points from Notts especially the 02/03 season when Crewe barnstormed league 1 and Notts didn't do great

That was because you were our first home game that season and we'd just gone down. After that game I think we went 11 unbeaten because we were very complacent in those two opening games of that season. We then had the greatest 46 game season in the club's history but still could only muster a 0-0 at Meadow Lane...

 

[North_Cheshire_Alex]

That was because you were our first home game that season and we'd just gone down. After that game I think we went 11 unbeaten because we were very complacent in those two opening games of that season. We then had the greatest 46 game season in the club's history but still could only muster a 0-0 at Meadow Lane...

That 0-3 defeat to Notts at home in 02/03 was watched by over 6000 on a Tuesday night, we never had a home crowd under 5000 and this was when we only gave the Popside to away fans (1600), even massive club port vale could only give us our 4th highest crowd that season, think they had the begging blankets out that day as well, no doubt air brushed from history. Anyway, My point being, some of our board would have people believe that we are little ole Crewe in the same bracket as Accrington and Morecambe (no disrespect), but a promotion* chasing Crewe Alexandra can attract reasonable crowds at home and on the road, no better or no worse than the vales, Walsalls, Shrewsbury etc, we have been spoon fed from our own media and board that we are tiny and therfore should be happy with being in existence and anything else is a bonus. Fuck off, that is a club that in resources (training facility's) and potential crowds should be thinking at least mid to top half league 1, that c*** Davies liked to blurt out how small we were, didn't the daft bastard say Lincoln awere much bigger than us, fucking when, never seen them in the Championship. I think Big Dave would probably go the other way, talk us up than talk us down. Rant over.

*The 2011/12 promotion season the crowds did not pick up until the end of the season what with us still being in the bottom half of the league at the start of 2012, and plus Crewe fans are that clever they did not want to give that fraud Davies anymore credit than he was deserved.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

That 0-3 defeat to Notts at home in 02/03 was watched by over 6000 on a Tuesday night, we never had a home crowd under 5000 and this was when we only gave the Popside to away fans (1600), even massive club port vale could only give us our 4th highest crowd that season, think they had the begging blankets out that day as well, no doubt air brushed from history. Anyway, My point being, some of our board would have people believe that we are little ole Crewe in the same bracket as Accrington and Morecambe (no disrespect), but a promotion* chasing Crewe Alexandra can attract reasonable crowds at home and on the road, no better or no worse than the vales, Walsalls, Shrewsbury etc, we have been spoon fed from our own media and board that we are tiny and therfore should be happy with being in existence and anything else is a bonus. Fuck off, that is a club that in resources (training facility's) and potential crowds should be thinking at least mid to top half league 1, that c*** Davies liked to blurt out how small we were, didn't the daft bastard say Lincoln awere much bigger than us, fucking when, never seen them in the Championship. I think Big Dave would probably go the other way, talk us up than talk us down. Rant over.

*The 2011/12 promotion season the crowds did not pick up until the end of the season what with us still being in the bottom half of the league at the start of 2012, and plus Crewe fans are that clever they did not want to give that fraud Davies anymore credit than he was deserved.

I grew up in that era and we averaged just under 8000 a week in the Championship. Even in League One before Holland ruined us we were still getting between 5000-6000 up until 2007! The unfortunate rise of Stoke may have had an impact on our attendances but we were very well supported throughout most of the 2000s.

As you rightly say, Davis kept trying to talk budgets and club sizes up all the pissing time, whether we played Lincoln, Eastleigh, Carlisle, Mansfield or Shrewsbury, but that was to mask his own obvious failings and reduce fans expectations because he knew just how much of a clueless fraud he was deep down. Thankfully he won't manage in professional football ever again given there's a catalogue of evidence to deny him another job at professional level because put him in charge of a club who aren't as patient as ours and he'll be chased out of town the moment it starts to go tits up.

Graham McGarry and Pete Morse were obviously friends with Davis and literally wouldn't say a bad word about him. They're nowhere near as pally with Artell even though the fans universally love Artell and 90% of them loathe Davis and if it started to go wrong under Artell it wouldn't surprise me at all if they start giving him a bit of grief.

Interesting Mr Bowler's letters came out this week though and said he expects us to see us challenging at the top end of League Two under the new management next season. We haven't even secured safety in this league yet and I hope that that doesn't come back to haunt us given the club's past instances of notorious complacency.

I still get offended by people saying we're inferior to Shrewsbury. Back when they were at ramshackle Gay Meadow every single one of their best players ended up taking the train to Crewe and signing for us. No wonder we ended up turning shite shortly afterwards...

 

[North_Cheshire_Alex]

I grew up in that era and we averaged just under 8000 a week in the Championship. Even in League One before Holland ruined us we were still getting between 5000-6000 up until 2007! The unfortunate rise of Stoke may have had an impact on our attendances but we were very well supported throughout most of the 2000s.

As you rightly say, Davis kept trying to talk budgets and club sizes up all the pissing time, whether we played Lincoln, Eastleigh, Carlisle, Mansfield or Shrewsbury, but that was to mask his own obvious failings and reduce fans expectations because he knew just how much of a clueless fraud he was deep down. Thankfully he won't manage in professional football ever again given there's a catalogue of evidence to deny him another job at professional level because put him in charge of a club who aren't as patient as ours and he'll be chased out of town the moment it starts to go tits up.

Graham McGarry and Pete Morse were obviously friends with Davis and literally wouldn't say a bad word about him. They're nowhere near as pally with Artell even though the fans universally love Artell and 90% of them loathe Davis and if it started to go wrong under Artell it wouldn't surprise me at all if they start giving him a bit of grief.

Interesting Mr Bowler's letters came out this week though and said he expects us to see us challenging at the top end of League Two under the new management next season. We haven't even secured safety in this league yet and I hope that that doesn't come back to haunt us given the club's past instances of notorious complacency.

I still get offended by people saying we're inferior to Shrewsbury. Back when they were at ramshackle Gay Meadow every single one of their best players ended up taking the train to Crewe and signing for us. No wonder we ended up turning shite shortly afterwards...

Speaking of Shrewsbury, that 02/03 season they knocked us out of the FL Trophy or whatever it was called back then, it was the only blot on the copy book that season, think the crowd at Gay Meadow was about 4500, about 50% of those were from Crewe, not bad on a Tuesday night. Like for like the Alex are better supported than Shrewsbury, always have been always will be.

Getting back to McGarry, during lasts seasons relegation, it became a habit of mine to listen to his pre match build up before I set off to the game, the amount of times he banged on about "it's hard for Crewe to compete with the likes of" and you could insert any team in league 1, even fucking Rochdale and Bury and any team with a smaller crowd than us, yet some of our brain dead fans took this as gospel and that we were a small fish in a big pond, rather than ask McGarry and co why we can't compete against clubs with lower crowds than us. Like you say, Davies and his supporters used the shite budget argument as a way to try and make out we were small in every department, which was ludicrous to anyone with half a brain cell.

The trouble with the Alex is that for decades pre Gradi, the support was never tested as we only ever had 2 seasons out of the bottom league, but our board and some supporters seem to want to hold on to the 'apply for re-election era' as a marker for what the club is all about, it's bollocks and they seem to actually want to pretend the golden years never happened, hopefully Dave and Kenny will try to give the club some ambition.

 

[Youpies]

Don't forget the glory days under Gudjon at Crewe. My what a sexy 352 that was

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Don't forget the glory days under Gudjon at Crewe. My what a sexy 352 that was

I still am the proud owner of one of Gudjon's famous scarves, a prized possession. Absolutely loved that man even if the football he served up particularly after relegation was a bag of shite. A far more likeable character than Steve Davis however.

Hopefully we don't repeat what Gudjon did and end the season with a long winless run that saw us relegated after a great upturn in form...

 

[TimeyWimey]

Gudjon made Davis's style look like more like Guardiola's in comparison. He was also a c***, far more aggressive in dismantling the club than Davis. Davis provided some amazing times, Gudjon was a shit stain from start to finish. He should never have been allowed near the club, still baffles me why or how he was ever appointed in the first place. They were dark, dark days.

 

[jacobncfc]

The absolute state of that ref booking Shola for diving at the end, though.

 

[North_Cheshire_Alex]

The absolute state of that ref booking Shola for diving at the end, though.

Very true, it should have been a red as the clown had already thrown the ball at our fans after your first goal, then his countless shirt pulling incidents and a few other incidents of falling down, then he capped off his ex premiership historonincs with a shameless dive, no wonder he kept clutching his shoulder after diving that high over our keeper, what an arsehole.

 

[jacobncfc]

The throwing the ball at your fans thing was a bit silly, but having seen it from a few yard away live and now on a replay, you'd struggle to find a more blatantly penalty. C'est la vie, sort of our own fault for gifting two goals out of nothing in a game that we otherwise totally controlled.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Think the draw is good karma as some of our performances vs Notts in the past have been good but we usually got shithoused the one time we switched off at the back in games. Just happy we didn't lose to Notts at home for the 6th time in a row.

Poor on Friday I'm led to believe but I said I'd have taken a point before kickoff so I'm happy in the end. Notts and Plymouth were our bonus games in the run in anyway so that sets us up nicely to confirm our safety at Yeovil.

 

[TimeyWimey]

The throwing the ball at your fans thing was a bit silly, but having seen it from a few yard away live and now on a replay, you'd struggle to find a more blatantly penalty. C'est la vie, sort of our own fault for gifting two goals out of nothing in a game that we otherwise totally controlled.

Tbf, your goals were complete gifts too.

Amoebi was such a obnoxious twat all day he deserved the no-pen call.

 

[jacobncfc]

Tbf, your goals were complete gifts too.

Aye, that's fair. Did think we had more of the play and the better chances beyond that though - Garratt's save from Ameobi in the first half was absolutely superb.