Away the Gas – Crewe Alexandra

With the horrendous form of late, and after losing at home to Swindon last week, the inevitable happened with the departure of Darrell Clarke. For me, along with many other Gasheads, it was a sad day. Even to the very end, Darrell was not receiving too much discontent from the Rovers faithful. However all in all, I think the decision was a correct one, albeit the ones on the pitch had massively let him and Darrell’s coaching staff down.

Jack Sparkes came out with similar comments after the match ahead of us, and it was good to hear someone stepping up with an honest assessment.

So, it was Steve Evans to be given a chance in the managerial hotseat. I must say that he was my own first choice, but there were also a couple of other decent experienced managers in the running, one being Neil Warnock.

I feel that we needed Steve Evans no-nonsense style of management and with over 1,000 games of experience, al ot of that in Leagues One and Two.

We set off for Crewe at 1:55pm and on our way to Cheshire we stopped off at Frankley services for 30 minutes.

Arriving at Gresty Road at 5:25pm, we were instructed to depart the coach outside the ground and the coach would return here at the end of the match.

In past seasons we were more than welcomed by a friendly steward to use the club bar outside the away end. However, on this occasion it wasn’t to be. There was confusion to follow, as the stewards firstly directed our fans the wrong way around the ground to the away end, of which we haven’t been allocated previously. It turns out the entrance to this stand was where we had been dropped off in the first place!

Also, we were told the away fans couldn’t use the fanzone. This was later proved to be a mistake on Crewe’s part, as the steward informed us they had in fact got this wrong.

This was all too late, as most of our fans had already headed to the local pubs, who were happy to take our custom.

One of my tasks was to purchase some programmes on behalf of the Supporters Club for our subscribers. Crewe now produce a monthly magazine, as opposed to a matchday programme, priced at £6.50p.

I had done some research of the local fish and chip shop beforehand. Only a few minutes walk from the ground, this was the choice, and it wasn’t going to disappoint.

A generous piece of fish with crispy batter and chips was very good and came to £10.95p.

As we entered the ground, the refreshment stand was selling the usual fayre of pies and hot drinks. Hot chocolate was priced at £3.

As the players emerged for their pre-match training/warm up, I was impressed with Steve Evans assistant Paul Rayner’s set-up.

With the goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards all in their own groups going through their pre-match routines with their individual tasks.

However, the connection between most players and fans seemed distant to me. It was almost like a stand off of no one knowing what to expect. The fans were trying to lift the players, but a lot were not responding. It was left to Alfie Kilgour to get the crowd going, along with Byron Anthony and Paul Raynor.

A lot has gone on in the last two or three months and it seemed problems were still in the air. No doubt the new management team will get a hold of this, as they learn of the problems surrounding our club.

On to the match and it was a fairly even game with chances for both sides. Crewe took an early lead with a low cross which was put in comfortably from 6 yards out. It was good to see an immediate response and we equalised within three minutes when Callum Morton was put through on the right by Alfie Kilgour. Morton rounded the goalie and he found the left corner, on the angle.

Crewe had a player sent off for raising his hand into Clinton Mola’s face and Mola was yellow carded for his reaction. The second half provided chances for both teams and Luke Southwood pulled off two decent saves to keep the score level. I felt that it was a missed opportunity for us to win the game. Just not being able to find the final pass and shot to settle the match.

Crewe didn’t seem to know whether to stick or twist, but a draw was a fair result in the end. Sparkes was my man of the match, providing some superb balls into the box. Luke Thomas had an excellent game, despite being subbed in the second half. The Supporters Club coach vote went to Callum Morton, who worked his socks off and I think will become a fans favourite, chasing everything and putting in 100% effort at all times.

ATTENDANCE 9,125 with 406 Rovers fans.

It was a strange situation at the end of the game, with not all players acknowledging the travelling fans, even though the fans reaction was a decent one at the conclusion.

We all know that new faces are needed in the January transfer window and I personally cannot wait for that, as we put all our trust into Evans and his coaching staff to build a team with no slackers. In my opinion a lot of players in our squad have had enough chances and a rebuild is about to begin.

We left Gresty Road at 9:50pm and it was a slow getaway from the area. We were also held up with roadworks closing the motorway near Gloucester. Going straight back, we arrived at The Mem at 12:45am.

Thank you to all who have supported the away travel service this past year, which has certainly been some testing times. We all hope for a much better 2026. UTG