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Dario Gradi is appointed as Crewe Manager
After spells managing Wimbledon and Crystal Palace, 42 year old Dario Gradi is appointed as the new manager of Crewe Alexandra. The Railwaymen have just avoided being voted out of the football league and Gradi is charged with the tricky task of keeping them in the league. The Milan born manager is famed for bringing through young talent and aims to set up a youth system to rival any other at Gresty Road. -
Bright spark given debut
Steve Walters becomes the youngest player to ever don the Crewe Alexandra shirt after Dario Gradi hand him a debut at the age of 16 years and 119 days. -
Gradi's youngsters shine
Dario Gradi’s first success at Crewe came in 1989 when his team won promotion to the third division. Gradi lead the Railwaymen to third place in Division Four behind Rotherham United, gaining 78 points from 46 games. -
Back to where they started
Crewe’s progress under Gradi was halted when his side were relegated from Division Three in 1991. The cash strapped Railwaymen gained just 44 points from 46 games, sending them back down to Division Four just two years after gaining promotion. -
Naylor Nails it
After threatening the promotion places for a few years, Tony Naylor’s goals fired Crewe promotion back to Division Three in 1994, managing to win 73 points to clinch 3rd place. In the same year, academy graduate Neil Lennon became the first Crewe Alexandra player to earn a full international cap, playing for Northern Ireland against Mexico as Gradi’s academy scheme really begins to bring success. -
Wembley Glory
Instead of aiming to survive in Division Three (now named Division Two due to the formation of the newly named Premier League), the Railwaymen went from strength to strength, finishing in the play off places every year. In 1997 they finally clinched promotion to Division One after beating Brentford 1-0 in the play off final at Wembley stadium, Shaun Smith scoring the only goal. Seven of 16 man squad that day came up through Dario Gradi’s academy regime. -
Another relegation as Crewe continue to yo-yo
The Cheshire club continued to surprise everyone by staying in English football’s second tier on what can only be described as a shoestring budget. However, in 2002 after enjoying five years in Division One Crewe were finally relegated back to Division Two in 2002, losing out to Rotherham United on goal difference. -
Railwaymen bounce straight back
Despite the club’s relegation the previous year, Dario Gradi managed to hold on to the majority of star players and his persuasion and the player’s loyalty were rewarded by promotion back to Division One at the first attempt. The Alex finished in second position, earning automatic promotion. Academy graduates Rob Hulse and Dean Ashton were the stars of the season, scoring 27 and 16 goals respectively. The promotion winning squad consisted of 16 players who had come up through the academy. -
The Talisman departs
In 2005 Crewe fans were amazed to find that their team was lingering around the play off places in English football’s second tier. Twenty goals from Dean Ashton had fired The Railwaymen to 7th in the table. Ashton’s prolific goal scoring wasn’t going unnoticed, leaving manager Dario Gradi to consider several bids from high profileclubs to consider in January. The £3 million bid from Premier League outfit Norwich City was too good to turn down and Crewe’s talismanic striker was sold. -
Crewe cling on
Dean Ashton’s departure was arguably the catalyst for the major collapse in fortunes which followed. Gradi’s men didn’t win for nearly five months after Januray the 8th, meaning that a play off push had turned into a relegation slog. A win against Coventry City on the final day of the season at Gresty Road meant that Crewe would live to fight another year in The Championship. -
Crewe's frailties confirmed but young starlet shines
With the likes of Rob Hulse and Dean Ashton long gone, Crewe were struggling to survive in The Championship on such a low budget and were relegated back to the newly named League One in 2006. However this season saw the emergence of the latest Crewe Alexandra starlet, 19 year old Nicky Maynard. He scored on his debut with his first touch in a 4-2 win over Millwall and showed that this was no fluke in the following League One campaign, netting 19 times in his first full season in senior football. -
The slump continues
Crewe looked to consolidate in League One but after a steady first season they found themselves teetering on the brink of relegation in 2008. Only point deductions suffered by others saved them from the drop. Despite his team’s failures Nicky Maynard scored a further 15 goals, attracting lots of attention from big clubs. A bid of £2,250,000 from Bristol City was enough to twist Gradi’s hand and Maynard was on his way to the West Country. His goals were missed and Crewe were relegated in 2009. -
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Dario Gradi's regime
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A new era
Dario Gradi resigns as Crewe Alexandra manager to take up a role at the academy, leaving Assistant Manager Steve Davis to take charge. Despite their lowly position and financial worries, the club continues to produce fine talent through their academy. Impressively, nine out of the regular starting eleven for the Alex have come through the academy ranks at the club. However star players Moore, Powell and Clayton are attracting attention from the big boys and may not be around for much longer.