Crewe Alex: Big decision was surprise in the end

by Gwyn Griffiths

STEVE Holland insisted he wasn't ready to hold up the white flag of surrender just hours after being ditched by a club who last sacked a manager all of a quarter of a century ago.

If anything, he was upbeat and defiant about his position which had come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks as Crewe's form has gone from bad to worse.

Without a win in League One since September 20, last Saturday's 2-0 surrender to Leyton Orient was played out to the backdrop of protests against his reign.

Such demonstrations have become a feature of recent games in the past month, although Holland appeared to have weathered the storm when club chairman John Bowler stressed his job was not under review ahead of an FA Cup first-round tie against Ebbsfleet.

He emerged unscathed from that, but a laboured 1-0 win over the non-leaguers did him few favours.

The Orient defeat was Crewe's 11th in 16 games and with them six points adrift of safety as well as the prospect of more unrest, the board decided it was time to act, ushering Holland's mentor, Dario Gradi, back in as caretaker boss less than 18 months after he agreed to step aside into a technical director's role.

The announcement caught out staff and players who were supervised by Holland during yesterday's training sessions.

And he was allowed to conduct his regular press session at the club's Reaseheath training complex while the Sword of Damocles was clearly poised over his head ahead of yesterday's emergency board meeting.

During the press briefing, he stressed he had no intention of quitting, and claimed he was immune to speculation about his future.

"I have to accept full responsibility for the results, but the easiest thing would be to hold up the white flag and quit," he said. "I am really determined to turn this around as quickly as possible.

"I understand how football works and I appreciate the fact the board have put faith in me as it would not be the case at a majority of clubs."

That faith, though, ran out early yesterday afternoon, although, in inimitable fashion, the precise detail of his demise was unclear.

Players were left to speculate that he could hardly have stood down after spending time preparing them for this Saturday's encounter with Stockport.

Even one of the club's own board members knew nothing of the decision until it was posted on the club's official website late in the afternoon.

Daniel Potts, whose large share-holding could have led to the club changing hands two seasons ago, is recovering from a building accident which has left him unable to travel from his Isle of Man base.

"I've not heard from the board as I am recovering from a foot injury, so I can't comment on the decision. Obviously this has been discussed at length at the board meeting," said the director.

"You can't just pinpoint one thing, but the team hasn't been producing the goods clearly.

"At the time Steve took over, I thought it looked a good appointment and we had done well to get someone of his calibre."

Striker Tom Pope said: "I can't believe it. He took three 20-minute sessions to get our fitness up on Tuesday. He was upbeat and seemed to be looking forward to Saturday.

"There can't be a nicer guy in football than Steve. There's lots of people who say managers rant and rave and shout obscenities, but Steve was never like that.

"I feel really sorry for him. And it is down to the players – it is a shame we've not been able to help him.

"He's been connected to the club for 15 to 20 years and is one of the best coaches in the country. He was pursued by Tottenham a couple of years ago, which just shows how good he is."

It was that likelihood that they would lose Holland to an Academy posting in the Premiership in the summer of 2006 which influenced the chairman's powers of persuasion.

And with long-serving boss Gradi struggling to emulate former glories in the third tier after relegation from the Championship, Bowler encouraged him to gradually introduce Holland into the first-team picture.

Before the end of the 2006/2007 season, heading off the increasing mood of gloom among the faithful, a managerial reshuffle was announced with Holland taking over the prime position and Gradi assuming a more continental role as backroom guidance.

It was a revamp likely to confuse many who insisted Gradi was still pulling his strings, although in fact from last August it was Holland who trained and selected first-team personnel and made a string of signings, spending around £500,000 alone in the summer.

Strikers Calvin Zola, Anthony Elding and Clayton Donaldson were all brought in as a board, previously criticised for not reinvesting the money earned from high-profile sales such as Dean Ashton, loosened the purse strings.

But so far none of the trio have delivered better than leading scorer Pope, whose price was little more than a family package holiday when he was signed from junior outfit Biddulph Vics.

While money has been lavished on expensive attacking options, the middle of the park has been neglected after promising loan signing Jake Livermore, from Tottenham, was injured in a pre-season game.

The surplus of strikers has triggered a baffling sequence of permutations up top, guaranteed to anger fans as much as the failure to redress a woeful defensive record.

Early progress in the Carling Cup and Johnstone's Paint Trophy, with a creditable display in a third-round exit in the former at Liverpool helped gloss over the problems in the league.

But another loss to a side in the bottom four after similar painful surrenders at Hereford and Yeovil appears to have been the straw which has broken the camel's back, prompting yesterday's outcome.

Crewe's board have not acted as drastically since former chairman Norman Rowlinson parted company with Arfon Griffiths and Peter Morris, both in the space of nine months back in 1982/83.

Former favourite Craig Hignett, who could yet emerge as a potential long-term managerial candidate, said: "I'm a little bit stunned as it is such a long time since Crewe sacked a manager.

"I know a bit about how Steve worked as I was still at the club when he was starting off as a coach. It is a very hard league and Crewe are not renowned for spending fortunes.

"But I am sure the players all know Dario and will know what to expect. He has got high standards, but whether he can change it that much remains to be seen."

It is understood that assistant manager Neil Baker's position is unchanged by the announcement.