Crewe Alexandra: Away Supporters' Guide
RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds.
THE OPPO – Crewe Alexandra aka The Railwaymen / The Alex
DATE – Saturday 12th March
KO TIME – 3pm
THE GROUND – Gresty Road, Crewe– click here and here for maps of the area - the arrow points to where the ground is.
Gresty Road is on the southern outskirts of Crewe, north-west of Stoke - close to the M6 and also very handy indeed for Crewe railway station.
Away supporters are accommodated in the Bluebell BMW Stand – also the base for the stadium safety officer and the control room for the CCTV system. Unfortunately this stand has a low overhang from the roof and numerous support pillars, so you might find yourself with a somewhat restricted view. The Bluebell BMW stand can seat 1,680 supporters (and CAFC are considering expanding this to 2,000); depending on our allocation if more seats are needed some away supporters may be put in the Charles Audi Stand.
Tickets for this match have now SOLD OUT.
GOING BY CAR?
· Travelling from the north east, get yourself onto the A1/A1M southbound; just after you pass A1(M) junction 45 (for the A64 Leeds/York road) you’ll see signs for the M1 – so take the M1 south. You join the M1 at jcn 48 and you need to stay on it until you reach jcn 42.
· Leave the M1 at jcn 42 and head for the roundabout signposted ‘Manchester, Pontefract, Bradford (M62), Hull’.
· At the roundabout take the third exit, signposted ‘Bradford, Airport, (M62) Manchester, Leeds (W)”
· After 37 miles leave the M62 and join the M60
· Leave the M60 at Jcn 12 and rejoin the M62 westbound, signposted ‘Liverpool, Birmingham (M6), Warrington (M62)’
· After 8 miles leave the M62 at the Croft Interchange and head onto the M6 signposted for Birmingham and Chester.
· Leave the M6 at jcn 17.
· At T-junction turn right for Crewe and follow A534 (signposted Crewe, Nantwich). After about six miles, at the third roundabout in the space of about a mile, you pass the Crewe Arms on your right and Crewe Station on your left. Gresty Road is the first left after the Station. Beware: on match days, you may not be able to take this left turn, and may be redirected to the next left (100 yards, South St, at traffic lights).
There’s street parking close to the ground (watch out for ‘residents only’ schemes), also a manned car park in St Clair Street or a council-run, short-stay car park off Mill Street. Many fans park on the service roads of the Weston industrial estate (off the A5020, just south of the Crewe Arms roundabout, opposite the Brocklebank pub).
Crewe also have their own car park next to the ground, costing £1.50 for all day. (800 spaces)
GOING BY TRAIN?
Crewe railway station is only a few minutes’ walk from the ground. Crewe is on the west coast mainline from London Euston with direct connections to Birmingham, Manchester, Stoke and Derby.
The 8.20am Northern Rail service from Sunderland gets you to Thornaby where you change for the 9.55am Transpennine Express to Manchester Picadilly. In Manchester, change for the 12.34pm Arriva Trains Wales service to Crewe which arrives just after 1pm.
For route and ticket information call National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950 or check the National Rail website.
ALS BUS
A Love Supreme are providing their usual coach service down to Crewe. The cost is £16pp and coaches leave the ALS shop (opposite the Stadium of Light) at 8.30am on the day. To book, either phone or fax 0191 565 4422 (Mon-Fri 9-5 and matchdays) - credit and debit cards accepted. Or go to the ALS shop and pay in person. Or reserve your place online - either email mail@a-love-supreme.com to tell them you want to book a place, or click here to book and pay online.
Reservations and refunds deadline 48 hours before departure.
STOPPING OVER?
Travelodge Crewe, (M6 jcn 16) – tel 0870 0850950
Jarvis Crewe Arms Hotel, Nantwich Rd, Crewe – tel 0870 8501743
Waverley Hotel, Pedley Street, Crewe – tel 01270 256223
Royal Hotel, Nantwich Rd, Crewe – tel 01270 257398 (opposite Gresty Rd)
Sleepers Hotel, Thomas St, Crewe – tel 01270 585555
SCRAN AND BOOZE
Nantwich Road (same road as the train station) has plenty of pubs and most will serve away supporters – including The Brunswick (which also has an upstairs bar, giving extra space, popular with away supporters), The Barrel (American-style bar) and The Bank. There’s also The Royal Hotel opposite Gresty Road and Manni’s Wine Bar on the corner of Mill Street.
Another Message board regular KARB says “The town is about a 15-20 minute walk from the station and the ground, but everything you need, pubs, shops, chippy, pizza place etc can be found on the Nantwich Road”.
LEND US A FIVER I’M OUT OF CASH
Shouldn’t be a problem: there’s a cash machine in the aforementioned Royal Hotel on Nantwich Road, another at the railway station, a Nat West machine at 55 Nantwich Road and an Abbey cash machine at ‘Bargain Busters’ on Edleston Road.
THIS SEASON
Currently 16th of 24:
P34 W11 D10 L13 F54 A59 Pts 43 GD -5
HOME FORM
P17 W5 D7 L5 F32 A27 Pts 22 GD 5
LAST MEETINGS
21/09/04 Crewe 3 Sunderland 3 (League Cup R2: Brown 37,83; Elliott 103)
10/08/04 Sunderland 3 Crewe 1 (Robinson 12, Stewart 67, Elliott 90)
01/05/04 Sunderland 1 Crewe 1 (Whitley 25)
22/11/03 Crewe 3 Sunderland 0
28/12/98 Sunderland 2 Crewe 0 (Dichio 15, Bridges 78)
03/11/98 Crewe 1, Sunderland 4 (Dichio 11, Gray 28, Quinn 45, Bridges 61)
18/04/98 Sunderland 2 Crewe 1 (Ball 4, Clark 22)
20/12/97 Crewe 0, Sunderland 3 (Phillips 2, Summerbee 37, Quinn 82)
TRIVIA
Famous Crewe supporters: Michael Crawford (‘Frank Spencer’, ‘Phantom of the Opera’), Rob Cieka (drummer in the Boo Radleys), Gwyneth Dunwoody MP.
Dario Gradi is the League’s longest serving manager, having overseen The Alex since summer '83.
Nobody’s found the definitive answer of why the club is called Crewe Alexandra. Some say the club’s founders were inspired by Queen Victoria’s daughter in law, Princess Alexandra – but others say the name is from the Alexandra Hotel where club meetings were once held.
Trainspotter trivia courtesy of Cockney Mackem: "In the early 1830s Crewe was only a small hamlet with only a wayside station beside a turnpike road. However, in 1837 the village became the junction of three lines, the Manchester & Birmingham, the Great Junction and the Chester & Crewe.
"In 1840 the Great Junction company purchased the Chester & Crewe Railway and large areas of land in Crewe. The company then moved its locomotive and carriage works from Edge Hill, Liverpool to the town. For the next hundred and fifty years, an average of one locomotive a week was produced in Crewe. By 1843 the company had built 200 houses for its workers.
"Other railway companies built lines to Crewe: the North Staffordshire (1848),
Great Western (1863) and the Midland (1867). The original station was constructed in 1849 but was rebuilt eighteen years later with widened platforms
and bays to accommodate the extra railway lines."
Credits: Crewe Alexandra FC, CreweAlex.co.uk, Link, Rough Guide to English Football, Soccerbase, streetmap.co.uk, RAC, BBC, National Rail.
Season ticket prices for 2005/06
Sunderland AFC today announced season ticket renewal details for the 2005/06 season, with an unprecedented price freeze for a sixth consecutive season for existing season ticket-holders who renew by mid-April.
In order to reward supporters for their loyalty, existing season ticket-holders are being given the opportunity to renew their seat(s) by 15th April 2005 - at this season's prices.
By asking fans to renew earlier than in recent seasons, the club is aiming to plan with certainty for next season.
Sunderland AFC Chief Executive Peter Walker said: "Everyone at the club is working extremely hard to achieve success as Mick and the team continue to push for promotion and the loyalty season ticket holders have shown us during this time is very much appreciated.
Everyone at the club is working hard to achieve success as Mick and the team continue to push for promotion, and the loyalty season ticket holders have shown us during this time is very much appreciated- Peter Walker, Chief Executive
"By renewing earlier, existing season ticket holders can secure a price freeze for a sixth consecutive year - making our season tickets significantly cheaper than the majority of clubs in the Premiership and many in the Championship.
"As well as benefiting our supporters financially, the renewal process will benefit the club by providing early knowledge of guaranteed revenue and assisting with cash-flow, enabling us to plan our strategy for the forthcoming season early and effectively regardless of what division we are in."
If the club were to remain in the Championship, it would no longer receive the Premier League parachute payment, approximately £7 million given to clubs for two seasons to lessen the impact of lost revenue, and would not be in the position to continue to maintain a price freeze.
In the event of promotion to the Premier League in May, the early knowledge of guaranteed income would greatly assist the club as it attempts to bridge the ever-growing financial gap to compete in the top flight.
After the renewal deadline, both season ticket and match-to-match prices are set to rise between 5% and 20% in the summer, depending upon the division.
Peter Walker continued: "Unlike the majority of clubs, our prices have been frozen for five years and it is impossible to keep prices static forever.
"Whilst we are mindful of the financial constraints of our supporters and will always endeavour to provide affordable football, price increases are inevitable in the summer. We hope the revenue generated from this will give the Club the best possible chance of competing with our rivals."
Renewal packs are scheduled to reach supporters by mid-March, with existing season ticket-holders required to sign up by Friday April 15th 2005 in order to take advantage of the price freeze, which will see prices continuing to start from as low as £95 for under-12s, and £320 for adults in concession areas.
The club will also offer new concession tickets for juniors in the East and West Stand wings and Premier Concourse wings for the first time, priced at only £240 (subject to April 15th deadline also), which represents a further saving of £100 on current prices.
In order to ensure compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act, the club adjusted its ticketing price structure for disabled supporters in October of last year.
The new charges see wheelchair patrons charged full-price for their season tickets, with personal assistants being provided with a ticket free of charge.
Supporters renewing their season tickets by the April 15th deadline will again be offered the chance to pay in full or spread the cost by taking advantage of the club's interest-free payment scheme.
The three payments will be taken in May, June and July for those season ticket-holders who choose this option. The interest-free scheme will NOT be available after the 15th April renewal deadline.
For further information contact 0191 551 5151.
2005/06 season ticket prices for renewals (April 15th deadline)
Under-12s - Concession Areas £95
Under-16s - Concession Areas £133
Under-22s - Concession Areas £220
Adult - Concessions £320
Adult - Carling North Stand / South Stand £340
Adult - West & East Stand and Premier Concourse Centre £435
Adult - West & East Stand and Premier Concourse Wings £390
Junior - West & East Stand and Premier Concourse Wings £240
Senior Citizen - Concession Areas (not wings) £240
Disabled Prevailing prices above
Personal Assistant Free of charge
Black Cats Bar £699
