# 2022–23 Crewe Alexandra F.C. season

The 2022–23 season was the 146th season in the existence of Crewe Alexandra Football Club and the club's first season back in League Two since the 2019–20 season following relegation in the previous season. In addition to the league, they also competed in the 2022–23 FA Cup, the 2022–23 EFL Cup and the 2022–23 EFL Trophy.

## Players

    As of 29 August 2022
| Squad no. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Previous club | Joined first team |
| Goalkeepers ||||||
| 1 | Dave Richards | (1993-12-31) 31 December 1993 (age 30) | Bristol City | 2015 |
| 13 | Arthur Okonkwo | (2001-09-09) 9 September 2001 (age 23) | Arsenal (loan) | 2022 |
| 31 | James Beadle | (2004-07-16) 16 July 2004 (age 20) | Brighton (loan) | 2023 |
| 23 | Tom Booth | (2004-08-02) 2 August 2004 (age 20) | Crewe Academy | 2022 |
| Defenders ||||||
| 2 | Kelvin Mellor | (1991-01-25) 25 January 1991 (age 33) | Carlisle United | 2022 |
| 3 | Rio Adebisi | (2000-09-27) 27 September 2000 (age 24) | Crewe Academy | 2019 |
| 4 | Zac Williams | (2004-03-27) 27 March 2004 (age 20) | Crewe Academy | 2021 |
| 5 | Rod McDonald | (1992-04-11) 11 April 1992 (age 32) | Carlisle United | 2022 |
| 6 | Luke Offord (captain) | (1999-11-19) 19 November 1999 (age 25) | Crewe Academy | 2017 |
| 15 | Connor O'Riordan | (2003-10-19) 19 October 2003 (age 21) | Crewe Academy | 2020 |
| 22 | Billy Sass-Davies | (2000-02-17) 17 February 2000 (age 24) | Crewe Academy | 2017 |
| 28 | Lewis Billington | (2004-02-17) 17 February 2004 (age 20) | Crewe Academy | 2020 |
| 29 | Sean Lawton | (2003-09-12) 12 September 2003 (age 21) | Crewe Academy | 2020 |
| 33 | Sean Robertson | (2001-06-06) 6 June 2001 (age 23) | Forest Green (loan) | 2020 |
| Midfielders ||||||
| 8 | Conor Thomas | (1993-10-29) 29 October 1993 (age 31) | Cheltenham Town | 2022 |
| 10 | Callum Ainley | (1997-11-02) 2 November 1997 (age 27) | Crewe Academy | 2015 |
| 12 | Regan Griffiths | (2000-05-01) 1 May 2000 (age 24) | Crewe Academy | 2018 |
| 16 | Charlie Colkett | (1996-09-04) 4 September 1996 (age 28) | Cheltenham Town | 2022 |
| 18 | Ryan Finnigan | (2003-09-23) 23 September 2003 (age 21) | Southampton (loan) | 2023 |
| 21 | Tariq Uwakwe | (1999-11-19) 19 November 1999 (age 25) | Chelsea | 2022 |
| 24 | Charlie Finney | (2003-10-28) 28 October 2003 (age 21) | Crewe Academy | 2021 |
| 25 | Joel Tabiner | (2003-11-30) 30 November 2003 (age 21) | Crewe Academy | 2020 |
| 27 | Matúš Holíček | (2005-01-25) 25 January 2005 (age 19) | Crewe Academy | 2022 |
| 30 | Owen Lunt | (2004-09-02) 2 September 2004 (age 20) | Crewe Academy | 2022 |
| Forwards ||||||
| 7 | Chris Long | (1995-02-25) 25 February 1995 (age 29) | Motherwell | 2021 |
| 9 | Courtney Baker-Richardson | (1995-12-05) 5 December 1995 (age 29) | Newport County | 2022 |
| 11 | Dan Agyei | (1997-06-01) 1 June 1997 (age 27) | Oxford United | 2022 |
| 17 | Lachlan Brook | (2001-02-08) 8 February 2001 (age 23) | Brentford (loan) | 2022 |
| 19 | Bassala Sambou | (1997-10-15) 15 October 1997 (age 27) | Fortuna Sittard | 2019 |
| 26 | Connor Evans | (2003-09-27) 27 September 2003 (age 21) | Crewe Academy | 2021 |

## Squad statistics

    As of 17 October 2022
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | League Two | League Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | WAL | Dave Richards | 3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Kelvin Mellor | 21 | 1 | 16+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Rio Adebisi | 11 | 1 | 6+2 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | WAL | Zac Williams | 16 | 0 | 12+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Rod McDonald | 13 | 1 | 11+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Luke Offord | 21 | 0 | 17+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Chris Long | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Conor Thomas | 19 | 0 | 17+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Courtney Baker-Richardson | 18 | 8 | 11+4 | 7 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Callum Ainley | 12 | 0 | 10+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Dan Agyei | 23 | 5 | 17+0 | 5 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Regan Griffiths | 5 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Arthur Okonkwo* | 19 | 0 | 17+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Oliver Finney | 9 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Charlie Colkett | 4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | AUS | Lachlan Brook* | 14 | 1 | 7+4 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | RSA | Khanya Leshabela* | 13 | 0 | 2+8 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | GER | Bassala Sambou | 19 | 1 | 10+4 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | WAL | Eli King* | 13 | 0 | 8+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Tariq Uwakwe | 19 | 0 | 16+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | WAL | Billy Sass-Davies | 9 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Charlie Finney | 5 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Joel Tabiner | 10 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |

### Goals record

    As of 8 October 2022
| Rank | No. | Nat. | Po. | Name | League Two | FA Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | Total |
| 1 | 11 | | CF | Dan Agyei | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | 9 | | CF | Courtney Baker-Richardson | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | 15 | | CB | Connor O'Riordan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | 2 | | RB | Kelvin Mellor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 3 | | LB | Rio Adebisi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 17 | | RW | Lachlan Brook | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 10 | | CAM | Callum Ainley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | 5 | | CB | Rod McDonald | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | 16 | | CM | Charlie Colkett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | 18 | | CM | Ryan Finnigan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | 25 | | CM | Joel Tabiner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | 21 | | CM | Tariq Uwakwe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | 7 | | ST | Chris Long | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | 19 | | ST | Bassala Sambou | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 39 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 41 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of 8 October 2022
| Rank | No. | Nat. | Po. | Name | League Two | League Two | League Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy | League Trophy | Total | Total | Total |
| 1 | 2 | | RB | Kelvin Mellor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 9 | | CF | Courtney Baker-Richardson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 20 | | CM | Eli King | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 4 | | CB | Zac Williams | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 8 | | DM | Conor Thomas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 11 | | CF | Dan Agyei | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 19 | | CF | Bassala Sambou | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | 21 | | CM | Tariq Uwakwe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 3 | | LB | Rio Adebisi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 5 | | CB | Rod McDonald | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 13 | | GK | Arthur Okonkwo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 16 | | CM | Charlie Colkett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 18 | | CM | Khanya Leshabela | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 25 | | MF | Joel Tabiner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Player | Transferred from | Fee |
| 1 July 2022 | CF | Courtney Baker-Richardson | Newport County | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2022 | CM | Charlie Colkett | Cheltenham Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2022 | CB | Rod McDonald | Carlisle United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2022 | RB | Kelvin Mellor | Carlisle United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2022 | DM | Conor Thomas | Cheltenham Town | Free transfer |
| 11 January 2023 | CF | Elliott Nevitt | Tranmere Rovers | Undisclosed |
| 19 January 2023 | RW | David Amoo | Stevenage | Undisclosed |
* ↑ The transfer was announced on 31 May, and would become official on July 1, once his Newport County contract expired
* ↑ The transfer was announced on 14 June, and would become official on July 1, once his Cheltenham Town contract expired
* ↑ The transfer was announced on 28 June, and would become official on July 1, once his Carlisle United contract expired
* ↑ The transfer was announced on 20 May, and would become official on July 1, once his Carlisle United contract expired
* ↑ The transfer was announced on 19 May, and would become official on July 1, once his Cheltenham Town contract expired

### Out

| Date | Pos | Player | Transferred to | Fee |
| 23 June 2022 | CM | Madger Gomes | Unattached | Mutual consent |
| 30 June 2022 | GK | Sam Booth | Kidsgrove Athletic | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | GK | Will Jääskeläinen | AFC Wimbledon | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | RB | Travis Johnson | Crawley Town | Withdrew contract offer |
| 30 June 2022 | RW | Scott Kashket | Gillingham | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | CF | Mikael Mandron | Gillingham | Rejected contract |
| 30 June 2022 | CM | Luke Murphy | Macclesfield | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | CF | Tyreece Onyeka | Stafford Rangers | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | CF | Chris Porter | Oldham Athletic | Mutual consent |
| 30 June 2022 | CM | Joe Robbins | Bamber Bridge | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | LB | Nathan Woodthorpe | Lancaster City | Released |
| 1 July 2022 | CM | Josh Lundstram | Altrincham | Undisclosed |
| 5 August 2022 | CM | Tom Lowery | Portsmouth | Free Transfer |
| 31 January 2023 | CM | Oliver Finney | Hartlepool United | Free Transfer |
* ↑ The transfer was announced on 28 May, and would become official on July 1 once the transfer window opened

### Loans in

| Date | Pos | Player | Loaned from | On loan until |
| 22 July 2022 | RW | Lachlan Brook | Brentford | End of Season |
| 26 July 2022 | CM | Khanya Leshabela | Leicester City | 31 January 2023 |
| 29 July 2022 | GK | Arthur Okonkwo | Arsenal | 13 January 2023 |
| 25 August 2022 | CM | Eli King | Cardiff City | January 2023 |
| 18 January 2023 | GK | James Beadle | Brighton & Hove Albion | 19 April 2023 |
| 18 January 2023 | CM | Ryan Finnigan | Southampton | End of Season |
| 31 January 2023 | RB | Sean Robertson | Forest Green Rovers | End of Season |
* ↑ On 4 January, Brook's loan from Brentford was extended until end of the season.
* ↑ Originally on a season-long loan, Okonkwo was recalled by Arsenal on 13 January 2023.
* ↑ Originally on loan to the end of the season, Beadle returned to Brighton after sustaining an ankle injury on 10 April.

### Loans out

| Date | Pos | Player | Loaned to | On loan until |
| 5 August 2022 | CB | Connor O'Riordan | Raith Rovers | 1 January 2023 |
| August 2022 | CB | Sean Lawton | Nantwich Town | 24 February 2023 |
| 29 August 2022 | GK | Tom Booth | Kidsgrove Athletic | 29 September 2022 |
| 7 October 2022 | CF | Connor Evans | Marine | 7 November 2022 |
| 17 October 2022 | GK | Tom Booth | Nantwich Town | 11 April 2023 |
| 2 January 2023 | CB | Lewis Billington | Leek Town | End of Season |
| 24 February 2023 | CF | Connor Evans | Nantwich Town | End of Season |
| 4 March 2023 | LB | Charlie Finney | Chorley | 1 April 2023 |
| 4 March 2023 | CB | Billy Sass-Davies | Woking | 1 April 2023 |
| 17 March 2023 | CF | Bassala Sambou | Oldham Athletic | End of Season |
| 24 March 2023 | LB | Sean Lawton | Hereford | End of Season |
* ↑ On 18 September, Lawton's loan at Nantwich was extended by a further month. On 18 January, it was extended until the end of the season. On 24 February he returned to Crewe due to the two-player loan rule.
* ↑ On 7 January, Booth's loan at Nantwich was extended until the end of the season. On 13 January, he was temporarily recalled by Crewe (for seven days) following Okonkwo's recall by Arsenal. In April, he was recalled by Crewe following an injury to loan keeper James Beadle.
* ↑ On 27 February, Billington's loan at Leek was extended until the season end.

## Pre-season and friendlies

On 18 May 2022, Crewe announced their finalised pre-season schedule with away trips to Nantwich Town, Macclesfield, Kidsgrove Athletic, Barnsley and Halesowen Town followed by a home game against West Bromwich Albion. A further home friendly with Rotherham United (for 23 July 2022) was also noted, though the match was later removed from the original press release. On 25 July 2022, a trip for an XI side to Whitchurch Alport was confirmed.
Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

### Mid-season

During the season, Crewe announced they would face Brentford B in a behind-closed-doors friendly.

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| League Two | 30 July 2022 | 8 May 2023 | Matchday 1 | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 48 | 60 | −12 | 030.43 |
| FA Cup | 5 November 2022 | 3 June 2023 | First round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 050.00 |
| EFL Cup | 9 August 2022 | 26 February 2023 | First round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 000.00 |
| EFL Trophy | 30 August 2022 | 2 April 2023 | Group stage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 033.33 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 52 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 50 | 72 | −22 | 030.77 |
Last updated: 12 May 2023 Source: [ Soccerway]

### League Two
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 10 | Swindon Town | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 61 | 55 | +6 | 61 |
| 11 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 49 | 56 | −7 | 61 |
| 12 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 58 |
| 13 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 48 | 60 | −12 | 58 |
| 14 | Sutton United | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 46 | 58 | −12 | 58 |
| 15 | Newport County | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 53 | 56 | −3 | 57 |
| 16 | Walsall | 46 | 12 | 19 | 15 | 46 | 49 | −3 | 55 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 8 May 2023. Source: [ Soccerway]

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A |
| Result | W | W | L | W | D | D | L | D | W | L | D | D | L | D | D | L | W | W | L | L | L | W | D | D | D | L | L | D | W | D | D | D | D | W | L | L | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | W | W | D |
| Position | 8 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 13 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures
On 23 June, the league fixtures were announced.

### FA Cup

The Alex were drawn at home to Leyton Orient in the first round and away to Barnsley in the second round.
Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

### EFL Cup

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures
Crewe were drawn away to Grimsby Town in the first round.

### EFL Trophy

On 20 June, the initial Group stage draw was made, grouping Crewe Alexandra with Bolton Wanderers and Tranmere Rovers. Three days later, Leeds United U21s joined Northern Group B.
| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Bolton Wanderers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Tranmere Rovers | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 5 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Leeds United U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | L2 | Crewe Alexandra | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 2 | |
Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures