Crewe Alexandra (a): Three Things The Imps Need To Do To Win

Ahead of tomorrow night’s match away at Crewe Alexandra in League One, I asked the Vital Lincoln City members what three things they think The Imps need to do to pick up all three points.

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Here’s what sedgleyimp said:

1. Try something different. Both the formation and the tactics are not working at the moment. MA is still (in my mind) an exceptional coach and will know what is wrong, but he also has a stubborn streak. The tactics that worked fantastically last season are not suited to this group of players. We don’t have anyone who you think could take on an opponent and get past them through speed. Bramall maybe, but even he hasn’t got the close control to make that speed count. So you look at the players who we have and you think that several have shown the ability to beat their man with close control. Even on Saturday both Adelakun and Maguire made some space by trickery and got shots away. Bishop has shown he has an ability to carry the ball forward under control. So use these facets of the players to make the openings. Don’t automatically look to push it wide for a cross as invariably it isn’t working at the moment as those players positioned there don’t have the pace to make that play a success.

2. Don’t overcomplicate things. Have we become a team who wants to score the perfect goal. So often six, seven, eight unnecessary passes are made when a player is in a decent position themselves. Now I am not advocating just having a shot because you are in the opposition’s half, as many seem boom in the stands of the home games, but take the responsibility yourself. Sometimes you get a lucky deflection and the ball can end up in the net or at the feet of your own players. You only have to look at Hartlepool’s winner on Saturday to see the advantage of just putting it into the mixer sometimes.

3. Get Liam Bridcutt back into the starting XI. We need his experience back. The team has a lack of leaders at the moment. A player who will not be afraid to give his teammates a rollicking if it’s gone wrong. If he is fit to start tomorrow night, he goes straight back into the team. His leadership will give us an edge.

Thank you to Graham Burrell and Lincoln City Football Club for the photograph!

Have a go at our Lincoln City versus Crewe Alexandra Quizzes, published last season (they were all correct at the time they were published):

Crewe Alexandra (a): Three Things The Imps Need To Do To Win:https://t.co/3EanEByT2s#CreweAlex #ImpsAsOne

— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) December 6, 2021