On the ball: Chris Travers's sport blog

Sentinel assistant sports editor Chris Travers has his say on the world of football in his new weekly blog…

The inevitable finally happens at Gresty Road

IT took long enough, but the boardroom brains at Crewe Alexandra finally found the guts to give Steve Holland the heave-ho at Gresty Road this week.

Quite what kept them so long in coming to the decision will remain a mystery... but it became apparent weeks ago that the golden boy had reached the point of no return.

In the end, Holland's treatment verged on cruel, akin to keeping alive a pet just for the sake of it, but at long last the man who was piloting the Alex plane as it nosedived to League Two has been spared anymore suffering.

It came as no surprise that 'The Messiah' or Dario Gradi as I believe he was christened, was dusted down and thrust into the spotlight to save Crewe from plunging back into the bottom tier of English football.

Gradi in temporary charge is just about acceptable while the Crewe board decide on their next managerial move... but, in truth, there is only one option open to them.

Ditch the in-house management and employ a new broom to sweep away the mess Crewe find themselves in – which includes showing the exit door to Gradi, Holland and Neil Baker.

As inept as Holland was at the helm, no one man is to blame – a management team are all in it together (well, they claim to be when things are going right) and should all take their share of criticism for Crewe's failings.

Whenever a manager is sacked by a club, it's amazing the amount of times members of the coaching team keep their jobs. Why? Were they that good at their jobs that they're immune to criticism?

The gaffer goes and everyone should go. There is no other remedy for it.

And now, the laughable part is Holland is in talks about his future at the club. In no other organisation do you get fired from a job for performing poorly and then be kept on in another capacity.

The new manager will forever be challenged to replicate the glory days under 'super Dario'... but with him hiding around every corner... is there really any chance of doing that?

It's unlikely, meaning the first step for the Crewe board must be to stop living in the past, and on former glories, wipe the slate clean and start all over again.

Vale go back in time

IS it family reunion time at Port Vale?

No sooner has old boy Dave Brammer waltzed back into Vale Park, than another ex-Valiant, Chris Birchall, is being linked with a loan move back to Burslem.

With Luke Rodgers set to move to Yeovil, will Tony Naylor be signed as cover....?

Was Germany friendly really worth it?

EXCELLENT result, impressive performance.

England's 2-1 win in Germany on Wednesday night saw manager Fabio Capello give fringe players their chance to impress – which they duly did.

But in a pointless friendly, which is what it was despite all the hype about it being Germany v England, how many players have actually forced their way into the side for the next qualifier?

Very few you'd have thought with the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney and Ferdinand set to be mysteriously fit and available for the next competitive game.

Carson's clanger almost proved costly... but there's no point in slating him – he's down at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday and is bound to have a blinder...