See how the press reported our 0-0 draw with Rovers
Crewe ChronicleAFTER watching Crewe draw 0-0 with Tranmere, boss Steve Davis said: “We played some decent football, I thought it was a decent game.
“But neither side created enough opportunities to score. They were a lot of things flashing around the box but nobody was clinical.
“The important thing was we didn’t lose the game. It was a good performance from the centre-halves and that’s back-to-back free-kicks.
“I don’t think it was a drab 0-0. They are a good side, top of the league, so I was delighted with our defending. We just need to be more of a threat the other end. We can improve on that and we will do.”
Liverpool Echo
MEETINGS between Crewe Alexandra and Tranmere Rovers FC don’t usually generate the kind of anticipation that preceded Saturday’s Gresty Road encounter.
The visit of the free-scoring League One leaders to the club with the Midas touch in developing young talent looked like the most attractive fixture on the domestic calendar on a day when the Premier League and Championship took a break for internationals.
Talent scouts from no fewer than 17 Premier League clubs and a dozen more from the Championship took the opportunity to check on the latest crop of young prospects from the Crewe Academy.
On the opposite side of the ground from the scouts, 1,358 travelling fans packed into the sweltering heat of the Ice Cream Van Stand in the hope of seeing Tranmere continue their exciting start to the campaign.
As it was everyone – scouts, supporters, managers and players – went home slightly disappointed after witnessing a contest that was not so much a showcase for the best the division can offer but a fairly typical representation of League One football. Both Crewe and Tranmere proved more adept at countering each other’s virtues than finding their most creative form. Defenders took the honours, keeping clear-cut scoring opportunities to a premium.
The Sentinel
CREWE manager Steve Davis is preparing to raid the loan market for striking reinforcements after Harry Bunn left the Gresty Road pitch on a stretcher.
The young Manchester City loanee collapsed in agony clutching his knee on the hour, and it looks likely he will be joining fellow forward Mathias Pogba on the treatment table.
Their absence places a heavy scoring burden on youngsters Max Clayton and Ajay Leitch-Smith, who failed to make an impact on unbeaten Tranmere's watertight backline on Saturday.
Davis said: "Harry twisted funny on his knee, but we won't know how bad it is until we have looked at it properly.
"If it is an injury that is going to keep him out for several months then he will go back to Man City and I will have to look into the loan market to bring someone else in.
"Pogba's still a few weeks away, so we need to look to bolster the forward line”
The Sun
TEENAGE striker Max Clayton put on a show for the scouts galore who had come to watch Crewe’s latest wonder kid.
Manchester United, who paid Crewe £4million for Nick Powell, 18, in the summer, were among the 19 Prem clubs and 12 from the Championship represented.
Clayton, 18 last month, impressed as the Railwaymen earned a draw to knock Tranmere off the top of the table.
Less than 48 hours after playing for England Under-19s in Germany, Clayton (below) gave a livewire display and keeper Owain Fon Williams denied him a goal after 66 seconds.
Crewe boss Steve Davis said: “There’s not a lot I can do about all those scouts being here but it means we’re doing something right with our young players.
“Max has got great potential but he isn’t ready to leave here yet, he needs more games for us.”
Rovers chief Ronnie Moore said: “We didn’t do enough to win but we’re still unbeaten and in the top two so I can’t be too critical.”