# 2004–05 Crewe Alexandra F.C. season

During the 2004–05 English football season, Crewe Alexandra F.C. competed in the Football League Championship, their 82nd in the English Football League.

## Season summary

At the start of the 2004–05 season, Crewe were rated one of the likeliest teams to be relegated. In the event, they put in a good showing in the first half of the season; comfortably in the top half of the table, but after selling Dean Ashton to Norwich City for a record £3 million in the January 2005 transfer window, Crewe failed to win any more games until the final match of the season, when they defeated Coventry City 2–1 and narrowly escaped relegation on goal difference.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 19 | Coventry City | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 61 | 73 | −12 | 52 | |
| 20 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 40 | 65 | −25 | 51 | |
| 21 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 66 | 86 | −20 | 50 | |
| 22 | Gillingham (R) | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 45 | 66 | −21 | 50 | Relegation to Football League One |
| 23 | Nottingham Forest (R) | 46 | 9 | 17 | 20 | 42 | 66 | −24 | 44 | Relegation to Football League One |

## Results

Crewe Alexandra's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Championship

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 7 August 2004 | Cardiff City | H | 2–2 | 7,339 | Ashton (pen), Higdon |
| 10 August 2004 | Sunderland | A | 1–3 | 22,341 | Rivers |
| 14 August 2004 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–2 | 24,201 | Rivers (2) |
| 21 August 2004 | West Ham United | H | 2–3 | 7,857 | Ashton (2) |
| 28 August 2004 | Derby County | A | 4–2 | 24,436 | Jones (2), Vaughan, Ashton |
| 11 September 2004 | Burnley | A | 0–3 | 11,274 | |
| 14 September 2004 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–2 | 5,682 | |
| 18 September 2004 | Leeds United | H | 2–2 | 9,095 | Ashton (pen), Jones |
| 25 September 2004 | Preston North End | A | 0–1 | 11,823 | |
| 28 September 2004 | Rotherham United | A | 3–2 | 4,498 | Ashton (2, 1 pen), Lunt |
| 2 October 2004 | Watford | H | 3–0 | 6,382 | Jones, Sorvel (2) |
| 16 October 2004 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 3–1 | 6,811 | Lunt, White, Higdon |
| 19 October 2004 | Wigan Athletic | A | 1–4 | 7,547 | Jones |
| 23 October 2004 | Reading | A | 0–4 | 13,630 | |
| 29 October 2004 | Sheffield United | H | 2–3 | 7,131 | Foster, Thirlwell (own goal) |
| 2 November 2004 | Leicester City | H | 2–2 | 6,849 | Rivers, Otsemobor |
| 6 November 2004 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 3–1 | 6,163 | Ashton (2), Rivers |
| 13 November 2004 | Stoke City | A | 0–1 | 17,640 | |
| 20 November 2004 | Gillingham | H | 4–1 | 6,128 | Vaughan, Ashton (2), Jones |
| 27 November 2004 | Coventry City | A | 1–0 | 12,823 | Ashton (pen) |
| 30 November 2004 | Millwall | H | 2–1 | 5,409 | Ashton, Varney |
| 4 December 2004 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–2 | 7,236 | Ashton (2) |
| 11 December 2004 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 3–0 | 6,823 | Lunt, Ashton, Doumbe (own goal) |
| 18 December 2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 25,340 | Lescott (own goal) |
| 28 December 2004 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–1 | 15,770 | Walker, Rivers |
| 1 January 2005 | Leeds United | A | 2–0 | 32,302 | Ashton, Rivers |
| 3 January 2005 | Preston North End | H | 1–2 | 8,667 | Walker |
| 15 January 2005 | Watford | A | 1–3 | 11,223 | Varney |
| 22 January 2005 | Rotherham United | H | 1–1 | 6,382 | White |
| 5 February 2005 | Leicester City | A | 1–1 | 27,011 | White |
| 12 February 2005 | Wigan Athletic | H | 1–3 | 15,188 | White |
| 15 February 2005 | Burnley | H | 1–1 | 7,718 | Jones |
| 22 February 2005 | Reading | H | 1–1 | 5,703 | Varney |
| 26 February 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0–3 | 14,918 | |
| 5 March 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–4 | 8,212 | Lunt (pen) |
| 8 March 2005 | Sheffield United | A | 0–4 | 16,079 | |
| 12 March 2005 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 7,949 | |
| 15 March 2005 | West Ham United | A | 1–1 | 26,593 | Jones |
| 19 March 2005 | Cardiff City | A | 1–1 | 10,007 | Vaughan |
| 2 April 2005 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–1 | 8,458 | Sorvel |
| 5 April 2005 | Derby County | H | 1–2 | 8,026 | Vaughan |
| 9 April 2005 | Millwall | A | 3–4 | 10,767 | Lunt (pen), Jones, Varney |
| 16 April 2005 | Gillingham | A | 1–1 | 10,315 | Vaughan |
| 23 April 2005 | Stoke City | H | 0–2 | 9,166 | |
| 30 April 2005 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–5 | 28,244 | Vaughan |
| 8 May 2005 | Coventry City | H | 2–1 | 9,269 | Higdon, Jones |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 8 January 2005 | Coventry City | A | 0–3 | 7,629 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 24 August 2004 | Blackpool | H | 4–1 | 2,994 | Jones (2), Rivers, Ashton |
| R2 | 21 September 2004 | Sunderland | H | 3–3 (won 4–2 on pens) | 3,804 | Jones, Ashton, Foster |
| R3 | 26 October 2004 | Manchester United | H | 0–3 | 10,103 | |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | TRI | Clayton Ince |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Billy Jones |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Richard Walker |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Kenny Lunt (captain) |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Adrian Moses |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Stephen Foster |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Neil Sorvel |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Justin Cochrane |
| 9 | FW | NIR | Steve Jones |
| 11 | MF | WAL | David Vaughan |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Lee Bell |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Ben Williams |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Ben Rix |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Luke Varney |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Anthony Tonkin |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Chris McCready |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Michael Higdon |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Andy White |
| 22 | GK | ENG | Stuart Tomlinson |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Alex Morris |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Matthew Platt |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Mark Roberts |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Gary Roberts |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Lloyd McGowan |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Kyle Wilson |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Mark Rivers |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Ryan Austin |
| 31 | DF | ENG | Robert Lloyd |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Paul Bignot |
| 35 | DF | NIR | Colin Murdock |
| 37 | DF | WAL | Darren Moss |
| 38 | GK | ENG | Karl Wills |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Keith Briggs (on loan from Norwich City) |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Paul Edwards (to Leek Town) |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Dean Ashton (to Norwich City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Jon Otsemobor (on loan from Liverpool) |
| 17 | MF | ENG | James Robinson (to ÍBV) |