Little Alex reborn: Crewe's formula to halt the yo-yo years

Despite one of the division's smallest wage bills, smart recruitment allows Lee Bell's side to mix with the big hitters

- Dominic Booth

Crewe travelled to MK Dons for a vital League Two promotion game last Saturday but one Iman central to the club's resurgence in the past two years, the head of recruitment, Josh Kennard, was not present. Instead, he travelled 70 miles further, to watch a National League South game between Chelmsford and Bath, a vital scouting trip he hopes could yield results just as productive as a win on the pitch.

Crewe lost 3-1 at MK Dons, but that they are even in the promotion picture in an ultra-competitive season alongside the big budgets of Wrexham, Stockport and Mansfield owes a lot to Kennard's meticulous and data-assisted philosophy. The Alex operate with one of the smallest wage bills in the division and the squad consists almost entirely of academy products and signings made by Kennard. Not one cost a fee.

Kennard, however, is keen to play down the data angle. This is not Moneyball and he is not Billy Beane. "I would describe my approach as holistic," says the 29-year-old. "I'd like to think if there's anything we can use to help our decisions, we'll use it. If there's good data, we'll use it. If there are good scouts, we'll use them, and we want good character references too."