2009–10 Crewe Alexandra F.C. season

Pre-season

• 2 May: Crewe are relegated to League Two after a 3–0 loss at home to League One champions Leicester City.
• 7 May: Manager Gudjon Thordarson releases 10 players from the squad, including captain Julien Baudet to the MLS, leading to 19 players being left from the previous season.
• 19 May: Pre-season games are announced against three Premier League sides, Wigan Athletic, a Wolverhampton Wanderers select XI and Birmingham City.
• 21 May: Crewe announce their first signing of the summer, with central defender Patrick Ada signing from Histon, while assistant manager, Neil Baker, leaves his position.
• 4 June: Chief scout Glyn Chamberlain leaves the club after four years.^[1] and Crewe make their first sale for money after Tom Pope agrees a £150,000 move to Rotherham United.
• 17 June: The same day the fixtures are released, Crewe announce that Nantwich Town manager Steve Davis has been appointed new assistant manager.^[2]
• 5 July: Prior to a 7-0 win over Newcastle Town in a friendly,^[3] Billy Jones is made the forthcoming season's captain, with Anthony Elding as vice-captain.^[4]

2009-10 season begins- August

• 8 August: Crewe start off their season with a 2–1 defeat at home by Dagenham & Redbridge.^[5]
• 11 August: Crewe's League Cup campaign ends in the First Round after a 2–1 defeat at home to Championship side Blackpool.^[6]
• 15 August: Crewe get their two away wins of the season after a 0-4 win over Grimsby Town,^[7] then a narrow 0-1 win over Darlington three days later.^[8]
• 20 August: Tottenham Hotspur recall on-loan 'keeper David Button.^[9]
• 22 August: Crewe get their first win at home, and a third straight clean sheet with a 1–0 win over Hereford United after Billy Jones scored the rebound from his saved penalty kick.^[10]
• 29 August: Crewe fail to score for the first time this season, and suffer their first away loss after losing at Bournemouth 1–0.^[11]

September

• 1 September: Crewe lose in the Football League Trophy to Stockport County, the first Cheshire derby of the season.^[12] and re-sign David Button on loan until 3 January.^[13]
• 5 September: Crewe's second Cheshire derby of the season ends with a Crewe win, 2–1 against Macclesfield Town at home, to send Crewe up to fifth in the table.^[14]
• 12 September: Crewe travel 30 miles to Shrewsbury Town, where their inconsistent season continues with a 2–0 loss.^[15]
• 19 September: Crewe's 23 shots against Aldershot Town's six do not help as they lose 2–1.^[16]
• 25 September: Crewe honour Accrington Stanley's request to play on a Friday night to help with Accrington's debt, but end up losing 5–3.^[17]
• 29 September: Crewe have two men sent off in a match for the first time since 1996, in a 3–2 loss at home to Bury, with former Crewe striker Ryan Lowe scoring for the visitors.^[18]

October

• 2 October: Crewe part company with Gudjon Thordarson with immediate effect after a board meeting,^[19] with Dario Gradi again taking the position as caretaker manager.
• 9 October: Bolton Wanderers recall on loan goalkeeper Ádám Bogdán.^[20]
• 24 October: After Crewe lose away at Notts County,^[21] striker Anthony Elding is placed on the transfer list.^[22]
• 27 October: Tottenham Hotspur recall on loan 'keeper David Button again.^[23]

November

• 7 November: Crewe lose in the First Round of the FA Cup to Blue Square Premier side York City.^[24]
• 21 November: Following Crewe's 2–2 draw away at Northampton Town, Crewe become the last Football League side to draw a game in the new season.

December

• 2 December: Steve Phillips saves two penalties as Crewe are the first team to win at Saltergate this season after a 3–2 win at 5th placed Chesterfield.^[25]
• 5 December: Crewe draw at home with Lincoln City 0–0, Crewe's first no-score draw of the season, and first since April 2009.^[26]
• 12 December: Crewe become the first team to beat Barnet at home after a 1-2 win.^[27] Matthew Tootle is later cleared of diving by the FA, but his yellow card is not rescinded.^[28]
• 19 December: Crewe's home match with Torquay United is postponed due to a frozen pitch at The Alexandra Stadium.^[29]
• 26 December: Crewe come from behind twice to secure a 2–2 draw with top of the table Rochdale, who were looking for a record sixth successive away win.^[30]
• 28 December: Crewe's final match of 2009 is a 4–1 loss away at Macclesfield Town.^[31] The result means Crewe finish the year in 12th position in the league.^[32]
• 29 December: Harry Worley's loan is extended until the end of the season.^[33]

January

• 1 January: Crewe's first two games of the New Year against Hereford and Grimsby are postponed, due to the heavy snow around Britain.
• 5 January: Striker Anthony Elding and the club agree to mutually terminate Eldgin's contract with immediate effect.^[34]
• 6 January: Steve Phillips extends his loan until 30 May.^[35]

February

• 23 February: Crewe's match with Chesterfield is put back by 24 hours due to a bad weather forecast.

March

• 19 March: Crewe sign Lancaster City striker Jordan Connerton for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. Crewe loan Connerton back to Lancaster City for the remainder of the season.^[36] AJ Leitch-Smith also goes out on loan, to Curzon Ashton until the end of the season.^[37]

April

• 26 April: Ashley Westwood is awarded the Player of the Season award at the Crewe ASi Award Night. Westwood also picked up the Newcomer of the Season award, whilst Calvin Zola's goal against Bradford City on 10 October is voted as the Goal of the Season.^[38]
• 27 April: Crewe retain the Cheshire Premier Cup after an extra-time win over Macclesfield Town at Gresty Road.

May

• 1 May: Assistant Manager Steve Davis takes control of the first team's goalless draw at Rotherham United whilst Dario Gradi went on scouting duties.^[39]
• 8 May: Crewe's final match of the season is a 1–0 loss at home to Bradford City, leaving Crewe finishing 18th in the league table.

Disciplinary record

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name				Notes
19	MF		Westwood	4	0	1
6	DF		Ada	2	0	1
3	DF		Jones	2	0	1
2p	DF		Martin	0	0	1
15	FW		Miller	6	0	0
28	MF		Walton	5	0	0
4	MF		Schumacher	3	0	0
12	DF		Mitchel-King	2	0	0	Conceded two penalties
27	DF		Worley	2	0	0	Conceded one penalty
10	FW		Zola	2	0	0
8	FW		Donaldson	2	0	0
25	MF		Verma	1	0	0
18	MF		Murphy	1	0	0
16	DF		Bailey	1	0	0
23	DF		Tootle	1	0	0

Source: Crewe Alexandra
Only competitive matches
= Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

Awards

Individual

Date	N	P	Nat.	Name	Award	Notes
2009-08-17 17 Aug 2009	10	FW		Zola	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2009-08-24 24 Aug 2009	13	GK		Legzdins	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2009-10-12 12 Oct 2009	10	FW		Zola	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2009-10-31 October 2009	10	FW		Zola	PFA Player-of-the-Month	Source
2009-11-02 2 Nov 2009	20	DF		Shelley	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2009-11-02 2 Nov 2009	4	MF		Schumacher	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2009-11-02 2 Nov 2009	10	FW		Zola	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2009-12-07 7 Dec 2009	23	DF		Tootle	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2009-12-14 12 Dec 2009	11	MF		Grant	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2010-01-25 25 Jan 2010	11	MF		Grant	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2010-02-22 22 Feb 2010	19	DF		Westwood	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2010-03-08 8 Mar 2010	8	FW		Donaldson	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2010-03-29 29 Mar 2010	12	DF		Mitchel-King	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2010-04-26 26 Apr 2010	19	DF		Westwood	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2010-04-26 26 Apr 2010	10	FW		Zola	League Two Team of the Week	Source
2010-05-03 3 May 2010	13	GK		Legzdins	League Two Team of the Week	Source

In

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
24	GK		Button	20	EU	Tottenham Hotspur	Loan	Summer	20 Aug 2009	Loan	Crewe Alexandra
24	GK		Button	20	EU	Tottenham Hotspur	Loan	Summer	27 Oct 2009	Loan	Crewe Alexandra
6	DF		Ada	24		Histon	Transfer	Summer	30 Jun 2011	Free	Crewe Alexandra
12	DF		Mitchel-King	25	EU	Histon	Transfer	Summer	30 Jun 2011	Free	Crewe Alexandra
25	MF		Verma	22	EU	Leicester City	Loan	Summer	10 Nov 2009	Loan	Crewe Alexandra
27	DF		Worley	20	EU	Leicester City	Loan	Summer	14 May 2010	Loan	Crewe Alexandra BBC Sport
28	DF		Walton	21	EU	Plymouth Argyle	Loan	Summer	30 Jun 2010	Loan	Crewe Alexandra
29	GK		Bogdán	22	EU	Bolton Wanderers	Loan	Winter	9 Oct 2009	Loan	Crewe Alexandra
31	GK		Phillips	31	EU	Bristol Rovers	Loan	Winter	3 Jan 2010	Loan
30	DF		Martin	22	EU	Wealdstone	Transfer	Winter		£5,000

Out

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
6	DF		Baudet	30	EU	Colorado Rapids	Transferred	Summer	Free	Crewe Alexandra
18	MF		Carrington	22	EU	Milton Keynes Dons	Released	Summer	Free	Crewe Alexandra
14	DF		McCready	27	EU	Wrexham	Released	Summer	Free	Crewe Alexandra
21	GK		Tomlinson	24	EU	Barrow	Released	Summer	Free	Crewe Alexandra
			Danville		EU	Free agent	Released	Summer	Free	Crewe Alexandra
			Thompson		EU	Free agent	Released	Summer	Free	Crewe Alexandra
2	DF		Woodards	25	EU	Milton Keynes Dons	Released	Summer	Free	Crewe Alexandra
22	MF		Daniel	21	EU	Macclesfield Town	Released	Summer	Free	Crewe Alexandra
15	DF		Abbey	30	EU	Free agent	Mutual Consent	Summer	Free	Crewe Alexandra
7	MF		Bopp	25	EU	Free agent	Mutual Consent	Summer	Free	Crewe Alexandra
19	FW		Pope	23	EU	Rotherham United	Transferred	Summer	£150,000	Crewe Alexandra
8	MF		O'Connor	21	EU	Scunthorpe United	Transferred	Summer	£225,000	Crewe Alexandra
	DF		McManus	20	EU	Curzon Ashton	Loan	Winter	Loan	Crewe Alexandra

Last updated: 10 October 2009
EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; N = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); Age = age on the day of the signing; Moving from = only indicate the club the player was playing before start playing for this club in this season, for the type of the moving see Status column; Moving to = only indicates the club the player is going to play next, for the type of the moving see Status column; Ends = when the player's current contract ends; n/a = Not applicable.

Table

Results summary

Results by round