Crewe Alex fan zone: Fans full of hope and optimism
Comment by Jules Hornbrook
SUNSHINE on the opening day is a given, just as ludicrous optimism among supporters will always fill the ground as a new season kicks off.
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Following Tuesday's 4-1 demolition of Premier League Birmingham, I'm sure a few have enjoyed a flutter, convinced that win is the start of world domination for the Alex.
That's always been the beauty of football – fresh hope regardless of what happened a few months earlier in May.
The relentless rain and frustration in the transfer market has compounded matters but, as ever, the bulk of supporters are straining at the leash to see some competitive action.
Perhaps the best news of the summer is the addition of Steve Davis.
It's a solid move for the former Nantwich Town manager and a relatively risk-free gamble for Crewe Alexandra. Win, win most seem to think!
After all, Davis played for Crewe in the 1980s and has recently masterminded a phenomenal surge in the Dabbers' fortunes.
There's a genuine belief that his passion for our club, and obvious ability to coach will have immediate effects.
The man himself is sure to learn from the tough-talking, no-nonsense style of Gudjon Thordarson.
A season or two with the Iceman will see him ready to assume control of a league club himself – a step he probably wasn't ready for this summer.
Whether a solo role is at the Alex remains to be seen, but with the Crewe board's penchant for longevity, you'd have to assume Davis was brought in with an eye on the future.
Few would be unhappy with that, and I already love the man's style.
According to the new assistant, the players must be fitter. Good, the fans have always said that.
Second, I'm with him 100 per cent when he says that pre-season results count for nothing.
For years I couldn't understand some fans who stayed away, resisting the lure of sun-drenched terraces at far flung non-league grounds.
Now it's all too clear. It's cosmetic, a way to break in new players, assess trialists and try out a few routines. Oh, and squeeze a few extra quid from the supporters.
Anyone who thought that beating Hull 4-0 last summer would kick-start our League One campaign this time last year was badly mistaken.
So let's just hope that the impressive victory over the Brummie boys wasn't a flash in the pan.
We can't expect 4-1 wins each and every week., but I think that players and management must appreciate that Crewe fans will expect a lot more back in the basement division.
Anyone who followed the club's fortunes in the mid-1990s will recall exciting seasons dominated by attacking football.
That era was inspired by some top talent, with Danny Murphy, Ashley Ward, Neil Lennon and Tony Naylor some of the stand-out characters of the time.
If I could make a wish then it would be to see some of that free-flowing football return.
It's certainly good for the soul.
I'd take winning games, as most fans would. But I'd really like to see us storm a division in style.
Moreover, I'd love to see the new management team achieve something that all others have failed to do – win a division.
Jules is a long-standing Crewe fan. His views do not necessarily reflect those of The Sentinel.
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