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Crewe Alexandra F.C. Academy

May 04, 2024

53°04′19″N 2°26′39″W / 53.071862°N 2.444094°W / 53.071862; -2.444094 The Crewe Alexandra F.C. Academy is the player development centre of English Football League club Crewe Alexandra F.C. Set up by manager Dario Gradi in the late 1980s, it achieved official status as an FA Youth Academy in the late 1990s. By concentrating on developing its own players the club remained profitable (a rare thing in lower-division football at the time) by selling them on after they have gained experience with Crewe. The Academy is known to stress technical excellence, which accords with the aim to have the first team play attractive, passing football. Academy graduates include full England internationals Rob Jones, Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson and Dean Ashton and Wales international David Vaughan, plus the club's current manager and previous manager.

History edit

During the late 1980s, Gradi and club chairman John Bowler got the local council to contribute to the costs of an all-weather pitch on waste ground to the south of Gresty Road.[1] This formed the starting point for a youth coaching facility managed by Bill Prendergast, which by the early 1990s was coaching 120 youngsters every week.[2] In 1995, Crewe leased a 20-acre site at Reaseheath, near Nantwich, planning a £750,000 training and player development facility largely funded by transfer sales: since 1983, Crewe had raised £3 million in fees while expending just £200,000.[3] A year later, in 1996, Crewe received a lottery grant to develop a youth coaching facility in nearby Shavington[4] (which eventually replaced the Gresty Road all-weather pitch, removed during redevelopment of Crewe's main stand in 1999-2000). By 2015, player sales had generated over £20 million which had largely been invested in modernising Gresty Road and in developing its Academy set-up.[5] Crewe was the only club outside the top two divisions to have a Category Two academy club.[5]

Players who passed through the ranks at Crewe include the England international players Geoff Thomas and David Platt and Welshman Robbie Savage, and Northern Ireland internationals Neil Lennon and Steve Jones (Platt was the most successful, totalling more than £20 million in transfers and captaining the England team). All these were youngsters signed from other clubs, but Gradi also had considerable success in nurturing Crewe's own trainees - notably full England internationals Rob Jones, Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson and Dean Ashton and Wales international David Vaughan.

Over 100 former youth players have made it into the first team at Crewe. In April 2013, in the team's final game of the season, manager Steve Davis fielded a team whose starting 11 were all Crewe Academy graduates.[6][7] This feat was repeated five years later by Davis's successor David Artell (formerly operations manager at the Academy) on 5 May 2018.[8]

In April 2022, Artell's immediate successor as Crewe manager, Alex Morris, became the first Academy graduate to manage the club's first team, with another graduate, Lee Bell, as assistant.[9] Bell's predecessor as assistant manager, Kenny Lunt, was also an Academy graduate. In November 2022, after Morris stepped down for compassionate reasons to become assistant manager,[10][11] Bell was appointed as Crewe manager,[12] becoming the second Academy graduate to manage the club.

In 2020–2021, Crewe's academy was ranked 11th highest of 82 in England and Wales, and was the highest ranked Category Two Academy, in terms of producing players who had made league appearances.[13] In 2021–2022, the academy climbed to 9th overall, ahead of Liverpool's academy.[14]

Notable graduates edit

Players highlighted in bold have gained international caps for their countries. Players who were signed straight to the first team from elsewhere are not included (such as former internationals Neil Lennon, David Platt, Robbie Savage, and Geoff Thomas).

References edit

  1. ^ Hornbrook, p.36.
  2. ^ Hornbrook, p.56.
  3. ^ Hornbrook, p.94.
  4. ^ Hornbrook, p.118.
  5. ^ a b McClurg, Ian (9 February 2015). "The pioneering work of Crewe Alexandra's Academy". These Football Times. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Crewe 2-0 Walsall". BBC Sport. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  7. ^ Scott, Ged (24 April 2013). "Crewe Alexandra: Dario Gradi's academy dream set to come true". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  8. ^ "Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Cheltenham Town". BBC Sport. BBC. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  9. ^ "David Artell: Crewe Alexandra part company with boss following relegation to League Two". BBC Sport. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Alex Morris steps down as First-Team Manager". Crewe Alexandra. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Alex Morris: Crewe Alexandra boss steps down to be assistant, Lee Bell becomes interim manager". BBC Sport. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Lee Bell appointed First Team Manager". www.crewealex.net. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  13. ^ Griffiths, Gwyn (13 December 2021). "Crewe Alex: 'best' academy is punching above its weight against big clubs says Artell". Crewe Nub News.
  14. ^ "Top 10 academy ranking is 'credit to hard-working staff'". CreweAlex.net. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.

Sources edit

External links edit

  • Alex Soccer Centre website

May 04, 2024
crewe, alexandra, academy, 071862, 444094, 071862, 444094, player, development, centre, english, football, league, club, crewe, alexandra, manager, dario, gradi, late, 1980s, achieved, official, status, youth, academy, late, 1990s, concentrating, developing, p. 53 04 19 N 2 26 39 W 53 071862 N 2 444094 W 53 071862 2 444094 The Crewe Alexandra F C Academy is the player development centre of English Football League club Crewe Alexandra F C Set up by manager Dario Gradi in the late 1980s it achieved official status as an FA Youth Academy in the late 1990s By concentrating on developing its own players the club remained profitable a rare thing in lower division football at the time by selling them on after they have gained experience with Crewe The Academy is known to stress technical excellence which accords with the aim to have the first team play attractive passing football Academy graduates include full England internationals Rob Jones Danny Murphy Seth Johnson and Dean Ashton and Wales international David Vaughan plus the club s current manager and previous manager Contents 1 History 2 Notable graduates 3 References 3 1 Sources 4 External linksHistory editDuring the late 1980s Gradi and club chairman John Bowler got the local council to contribute to the costs of an all weather pitch on waste ground to the south of Gresty Road 1 This formed the starting point for a youth coaching facility managed by Bill Prendergast which by the early 1990s was coaching 120 youngsters every week 2 In 1995 Crewe leased a 20 acre site at Reaseheath near Nantwich planning a 750 000 training and player development facility largely funded by transfer sales since 1983 Crewe had raised 3 million in fees while expending just 200 000 3 A year later in 1996 Crewe received a lottery grant to develop a youth coaching facility in nearby Shavington 4 which eventually replaced the Gresty Road all weather pitch removed during redevelopment of Crewe s main stand in 1999 2000 By 2015 player sales had generated over 20 million which had largely been invested in modernising Gresty Road and in developing its Academy set up 5 Crewe was the only club outside the top two divisions to have a Category Two academy club 5 Players who passed through the ranks at Crewe include the England international players Geoff Thomas and David Platt and Welshman Robbie Savage and Northern Ireland internationals Neil Lennon and Steve Jones Platt was the most successful totalling more than 20 million in transfers and captaining the England team All these were youngsters signed from other clubs but Gradi also had considerable success in nurturing Crewe s own trainees notably full England internationals Rob Jones Danny Murphy Seth Johnson and Dean Ashton and Wales international David Vaughan Over 100 former youth players have made it into the first team at Crewe In April 2013 in the team s final game of the season manager Steve Davis fielded a team whose starting 11 were all Crewe Academy graduates 6 7 This feat was repeated five years later by Davis s successor David Artell formerly operations manager at the Academy on 5 May 2018 8 In April 2022 Artell s immediate successor as Crewe manager Alex Morris became the first Academy graduate to manage the club s first team with another graduate Lee Bell as assistant 9 Bell s predecessor as assistant manager Kenny Lunt was also an Academy graduate In November 2022 after Morris stepped down for compassionate reasons to become assistant manager 10 11 Bell was appointed as Crewe manager 12 becoming the second Academy graduate to manage the club In 2020 2021 Crewe s academy was ranked 11th highest of 82 in England and Wales and was the highest ranked Category Two Academy in terms of producing players who had made league appearances 13 In 2021 2022 the academy climbed to 9th overall ahead of Liverpool s academy 14 Notable graduates editPlayers highlighted in bold have gained international caps for their countries Players who were signed straight to the first team from elsewhere are not included such as former internationals Neil Lennon David Platt Robbie Savage and Geoff Thomas This sports related list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items April 2022 nbsp Rio Adebisi nbsp Dele Adebola nbsp Callum Ainley nbsp Ben Amos nbsp Dean Ashton nbsp Ryan Austin nbsp James Bailey nbsp James Baillie nbsp Lee Bell nbsp Paul Bignot nbsp Lewis Billington nbsp Tom Booth nbsp Junior Brown nbsp Mark Carrington nbsp Max Clayton nbsp Chris Clements nbsp George Cooper nbsp Ryan Colclough nbsp Neil Critchley nbsp Owen Dale nbsp Brendon Daniels nbsp Harry Davis nbsp Maurice Doyle nbsp Adam Dugdale nbsp Chey Dunkley nbsp Paul Edwards nbsp Rob Edwards nbsp Connor Evans nbsp Gareth Evans nbsp Nick Farquharson nbsp Charlie Finney nbsp Oliver Finney nbsp Christopher Flynn nbsp Stephen Foster nbsp Ben Garratt nbsp Steve Garvey nbsp John Grant nbsp Regan Griffiths nbsp Michael Higdon nbsp Matus Holicek nbsp Caspar Hughes nbsp Rob Hulse nbsp Michael Jackson nbsp Eddie Johnson nbsp Seth Johnson nbsp Travis Johnson nbsp Billy Jones nbsp James Jones nbsp Rob Jones nbsp Charlie Kirk nbsp Sean Lawton nbsp Scott Leather nbsp A Jay Leitch Smith nbsp Tom Lowery nbsp Matthew Lund nbsp Josh Lundstram nbsp Kenny Lunt nbsp Owen Lunt nbsp Joe Lynch nbsp Nicky Maynard nbsp Ben Marshall nbsp Chris McCready nbsp Shaun Miller nbsp Byron Moore nbsp Alex Morris nbsp Toby Mullarkey nbsp Danny Murphy nbsp Luke Murphy nbsp Perry Ng nbsp Liam Nolan nbsp George Nunn nbsp Michael O Connor nbsp Luke Offord nbsp Connor O Riordan nbsp Jason Oswell nbsp Harry Pickering nbsp Tom Pope nbsp Nick Powell nbsp George Ray nbsp Paul Rennie nbsp Lewis Reilly nbsp Mark Rivers nbsp Ben Rix nbsp Joe Robbins nbsp Gary Roberts nbsp Mark Roberts nbsp James Robinson nbsp Billy Sass Davies nbsp Callum Saunders nbsp Danny Shelley nbsp Peter Smith nbsp Neil Sorvel nbsp Kevin Street nbsp Ritchie Sutton nbsp Joel Tabiner nbsp Stuart Tomlinson nbsp Matthew Tootle nbsp Daniel Trickett Smith nbsp Ollie Turton nbsp David Vaughan nbsp Richard Walker nbsp Steve Walters nbsp Billy Waters nbsp Ashley Westwood nbsp Gareth Whalley nbsp Owain Fon Williams nbsp Zac Williams nbsp Kyle Wilson nbsp Andy Woodward nbsp Nathan Woodthorpe nbsp David Wright nbsp Adam YatesReferences edit Hornbrook p 36 Hornbrook p 56 Hornbrook p 94 Hornbrook p 118 a b McClurg Ian 9 February 2015 The pioneering work of Crewe Alexandra s Academy These Football Times Retrieved 29 March 2021 Crewe 2 0 Walsall BBC Sport 27 April 2013 Retrieved 29 April 2013 Scott Ged 24 April 2013 Crewe Alexandra Dario Gradi s academy dream set to come true BBC Sport Retrieved 29 April 2013 Crewe Alexandra 2 1 Cheltenham Town BBC Sport BBC 5 May 2018 Retrieved 10 May 2018 David Artell Crewe Alexandra part company with boss following relegation to League Two BBC Sport 11 April 2022 Retrieved 11 April 2022 Alex Morris steps down as First Team Manager Crewe Alexandra 4 November 2022 Retrieved 4 November 2022 Alex Morris Crewe Alexandra boss steps down to be assistant Lee Bell becomes interim manager BBC Sport 4 November 2022 Retrieved 4 November 2022 Lee Bell appointed First Team Manager www crewealex net 1 December 2022 Retrieved 1 December 2022 Griffiths Gwyn 13 December 2021 Crewe Alex best academy is punching above its weight against big clubs says Artell Crewe Nub News Top 10 academy ranking is credit to hard working staff CreweAlex net 20 October 2022 Retrieved 21 October 2022 Sources edit Hornbrook Jules 2000 The Gradi Years Crewe ISBN 0953887707 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link External links editClub website Alex Soccer Centre website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Crewe Alexandra F C Academy amp oldid 1204718261, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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