The Opposition View: Crewe Alexandra

Last updated : 12 August 2016 By Jim Bonner

Has the winning start to your season altered your expectations for this campaign following relegation from League One?

Probably not just yet. The season could still go bad very quickly, but the start has been very surprising. Maybe League Two is worse than we all thought it was going to be.

What do the Crewe fans think of manager Steve Davis?

Not impressed. He's badly managed the team for the last three years and that has turned a lot of fans away from him and the team in general. He's going to have to produce something really special to convince a lot of fans that he is worth keeping in a job.

Are you happy with your club's transfer activity during the summer?

Yeah, pretty much. Hard to expect a lot from us when we have so little budget and can't attract any decent free agents. Getting Ryan Lowe and Chris Dagnall in was a great pair of additions and the loan signing of Alex Kiwomya looks to be a shrewd one. Those three could turn out to be crucial for us this season.

Who are the key players in the current Crewe squad?

As above, Lowe and Dagnall. We're going to need them to create and score the majority of the goals this season. If Kiwomya is as good as his debut suggests, he'll also turn into a key player for us.

Judging by pre-season and what you've seen so far, what do you think your team's biggest strengths and weaknesses are?

Strengths? Too early to say. Strikers look better with the aforementioned additions, so hopefully we'll have a bit more of a goal threat this season, something we've badly lacked in the last few seasons. 

The defence looks horribly weak though. Aside from centre back Jon Guthrie and maybe left back Zoumana Bakayogo, the rest of the defence are mediocre and as a unit, they are all highly suspect. That area, as has been the case for the last...well...forever, will be our biggest downfall this season.

What do you make of Pompey's prospects this season and how tough do you think Saturday's match will be?

Got to considered promotion favourites given the squad and management Pompey have in place. Their squad looks very strong and I can't look past them finishing in one of the top three spots this season. The match will be a huge test for us. If we can hold with Pompey and grab a draw, that would be a great result.

Predict the outcome of the game.

2-1 loss for Crewe.