Crewe Alexandra v. Cardiff City - Match Preview

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By Chris O'Brien
March 19 2004

The Bluebirds visit Gresty Road on Saturday with Lennie Lawrence troubled by an injury-ravaged midfield which is likely to see Lee Bullock make his first start of his loan spell from York City. Other major team news sees James Collins set to start his first City league game since September.

Cardiff City, and an away following estimated at 600, visit Gresty Road on Saturday to face a Crewe Alexandra side who are looking for points to secure there place in the First Division next season. The Railwaymen currently sit 15th in the table, just behind Cardiff on 44 points, and need just a handful of points to secure a place in England's second flight next season.

The Bluebirds would seemingly already have reached that landmark with 49 points, only a point away from the 'safe 50' that is usually the benchmark for survival. However, the comments from officials and players at the club would deem simply staying up as a failure. City boss Lennie Lawrence has announced, in a rather dejected manner, that he believes Cardiff's faint chances of a play-off spot are now dead and a place in the top-half of the table would be a more realistic aim.

The word realism is one that cannot be associated with Cardiff City this season, with consolidation as a First Division club seemingly not enough for the club and continuous talk of promotion to the Premiership raising the expectation of supporters to a high level on the unrealistic scale! The crisis talk that has been doing the rounds following the mid-week home defeat against Reading, who are a very good side, is evidence of this.

Looking at the table, the play-offs are still possible on paper. Eight points separate City from the top six, with the games remaining, although the gap is likely to increase with teams having games in hand. Still, even though qualification for the end of season lottery may still be on the minds of a few Cardiff players, is this what the club should be aiming for? Personally, a respectable mid-table finish would be an excellent season after gaining promotion, rather luckily, through the Second Divison play-offs, despite many of the players harbouring big pay cheques and over-the-top price tags. Criticism is fine for players who are not performing to the standard they should be, or to players who are not putting the effort in, but it is unfair to slag off a team who are aiming for something where the bar is set too high, and is gradually being placed higher.

As for Saturday, Lennie Lawrence is facing a bit of a selection dilemma ahead of the visit to Cheshire particularly in the midfield department. Paul Parry, deeply missed on Tuesday night against Reading, has been ruled out of the trip and so have fellow midfielders and Irish duo Willie Boland and Graham Kavanagh, who is of course out for the rest of the season. This means Lee Bullock look set to make his first start of his loan spell after scoring as a substitute against Reading. Gareth Whalley, desperate to prove himself against his former club with his contract expiring soon, will also start in midfield with off-form Richard Langley and the hard-working John Robinson making up the quartet. An out-of-favour Mark Bonner will warm the bench as cover.

James Collins is the surprise inclusion in tomorrow's team. The Welsh under-21 skipper looks likely to start the game after being treated very unfairly by Lawrence throughout the season. The centre-half, who will line up alongside Daniel Gabbidon at the heart of the defence, must take his chance with both hands and try and earn himself a deserved regular spot in the team. This means Tony Vidmar, who retains his ever present league record, will revert to left back with Chris Barker expected to be dropped from the match-day squad completely and former Ipswich Town full-back Gary Croft will start on the right side of defence. Spencer Prior looks set to be the only defender on the bench, and is another player desperate to prove a point with the summer 'cut' of players expected. The defence will be protecting Martyn Margetson, who will continue between the sticks following an international call-up from Welsh boss Mark Hughes.

Peter Thorne will not return in time, so Alan Lee and Robert Earnshaw will form the up front pairing for the visitors. Gavin Gordon and play-off hero Andrew Campbell are both expected to be on the bench, and are another pair who are looking to find form to get themselves back into contention for a starting place in the Cardiff line-up. Lawrence brought on Gordon against Norwich, and the target man was all set to come on against Reading before the equaliser was hit by Bullock, so the City boss is clearly looking to give the striker, linked with a move to Oxford United, a chance to prove his worth.

As for the hosts, Dario Gradi made a late addition to his squad on Friday evening with 'keeper Ben Williams signing from Manchester United, where he is fourth choice, on a short-term loan. The shot stopper, who is yet to register an appearance for the Premiership champions, will start the game in a move that will give him some valuable first-team experience. Crewe are set to reshuffle their defence, with Chris McCready and Adie Moses set for their first starts since returning from injury.

Crewe's home form is poor with Gresty Road not exactly a fortress for Dario Gradi's side, winning 2 of their last 6 matches and losing the other four. However, Cardiff's form on the road isn't exactly admirable, with only one win from the last 6, and only one draw amongst the 5 non-wins. The statistics and form book show this is a hard one to call, and the bookies reflect this opinion. The hosts are priced at 5/4, an away win at 15/8 and the draw, which hasn't been on City's form books for 7 matches, priced at 11/5.

One to Watch - Dean Ashton
The Crewe Alexandra striker has 15 goals to his name, and took a huge morale boost at the JJB Stadium lately, ending a spell without a goal with a tremendous hat-trick which included two penalties to beat the Lancashire outfit. He was also on target in the Railwaymen's recent home defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion, forming a formidable partnership with Northern Irish international Steve Jones, who has scored 16 goals this season, although unsurprisingly none of these have been for his county! The Cardiff defence are likely to be kept on their toes by the duo. Kenny Lunt, a familiar name in Football League circles will also be one to keep an eye on, with Welsh under-21 David Vaughan another strong name in the Crewe squad.

Bluebird to the Bone Prediction - Crewe Alexandra 0-3 Cardiff City
City seem to perform well when things seem 'down and out' and with a number of players desperate to prove a point for Lennie Lawrence's boys, I tip an away win tomorrow. Robert Earnshaw to be amongst the scorers, in what will either be a lucky narrow win or a high-scoring victory for City!