This article details Crewe Alexandra F.C. records since the club's establishment in 1877.^[1]

Honours and achievements

In 100 seasons, Crewe Alexandra have never won a division title, and have only been division runners-up twice.

Football League Second Division (3rd tier)^[a]

2nd place promotion: 2002–03
Play-off winners: 1997

Football League Fourth Division / League Two (4th tier)^[a]

2nd place promotion: 2019–20
3rd place promotion: 1962–63, 1993–94
4th place promotion: 1967–68, 1988–89
Play-off winners: 2012

Football League Trophy

Winners: 2013

Welsh Cup

Winners: 1936, 1937

Cheshire Senior Cup

Winners: 1910, 1912, 1913, 1923, 2002, 2003, 2017

Cheshire Premier Cup

Winners: 2009, 2010

Milk Cup

Premier Section Winners: 1987, 1999
Junior Section Winners: 1990, 1998

Club records

Football League record

Including the 2023-2024 season, Crewe Alexandra has played in 101 Football League seasons. The club has never played in the top flight, and has played only 12 seasons in the second tier (four, from 1892 to 1896, when there were only two divisions); 48 seasons have been in the third tier (30 when there were only three tiers), and 41 in the fourth tier.^[4] In total, Crewe has played in the bottom division of the Football League in 75 out of 101 seasons.

Years	Seasons	Tier	Division
1892 – 1896	4	2nd	Division Two (Best finishing position: 10th of 12 teams, in 1892–93)
1921 – 1958	31	3rd	Division Three (North)
1958 – 1963	5	4th	Division Four
1963 – 1964	1	3rd	Division Three
1964 – 1968	4	4th	Division Four
1968 – 1969	1	3rd	Division Three
1969 – 1989	20	4th	Division Four
1989 – 1991	2	3rd	Division Three
1991 – 1992	1	4th	Division Four
1992 – 1994	2	4th^[a]	Division Three
1994 – 1997	3	3rd	Division Two
1997 – 2002	5	2nd	Division One (Highest League finishing position: 11th of 24 teams, in 1997–98)
2002 – 2003	1	3rd	Division Two
2003 – 2006	3	2nd^[a]	Division One / Football League Championship (2004 onwards)
2006 – 2009	3	3rd	Football League One
2009 – 2012	3	4th	Football League Two
2012 – 2016	4	3rd	Football League One
2016 – 2020	4	4th	Football League Two
2020 – 2022	2	3rd	Football League One
2022 – present	2	4th	Football League Two

Aggregate league record from 1888-89 to 2022-23

Tier	League	Seasons	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Years	Notes
2	Championship/Division 2	12	478	126	106	246	572	926	-354	1892–93 to 2021–22	^[5]
3	League One/Division 3	17	782	262	180	340	971	1164	-193	1920–21 to 2021–22	^[6]
3	Division 3 North	31	1285	456	271	558	1951	2250	-299	1921–22 to 1957–58	^[7]
4	League Two/Division 4	40	1821	645	461	715	2434	2588	-154	1958–59 to 2022–23	^[8]
All		100	4366	1489	1018	1859	5928	6928	-1000	1892–93 to 2022–23

Cup records

Cup	Best performance	Seasons	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Notes
FA Cup	Semi-Final (1887–1888,^[b] lost to Preston North End 0–4)	105	251	89	58	104	370	419	-49	^[9]
League Cup	3rd Round Replay (1974–1975, lost to Aston Villa 0–1)	63	148	47	31	70	209	267	-58	^[10]
League Trophy	Champions (2012–2013, won against Southend United 2–0)	32	95	33	26	36	156	139	17	^[11]

Wins

Biggest league win - 8–0 vs Rotherham United (Division 3 North, 1 October 1932)^[1] - six different Crewe scorers.
Biggest cup win - 9–1 against Northwich Victoria (FA Cup, 16 November 1889)^[12]
Eight goal margins also achieved (8-0 wins) against:
- Hartlepool United (Auto Windscreens Shield 1st Rd, 17 October 1995)^[1] - seven different Crewe scorers (plus an own goal).
- Doncaster Rovers (LDV Vans Trophy 3rd Rd, 10 November 2002)^[1]

Defeats

Biggest league defeat - 1–11 vs Lincoln City (Division 3 North, 29 September 1951)^[1]
Biggest cup defeat - 2–13 vs Tottenham Hotspur (FA Cup 4th Rd Replay, 3 February 1960)^[1]

Sequences

Longest undefeated run in league - 19 (in 2011-12 season, 24 February 2012 to 17 May 2012 inclusive, including three play-off matches.)
Longest league run without a win - 30 (22 September 1956 to 6 April 1957)^[1]^[13]
Longest run without an away win - 56 (25 December 1954 to 24 April 1957)^[13]
Longest run of home defeats - 8 (29 January to 2 April 2022)^[14]^[15]

League points

Most league points in a season

Three points for win - 86 (2002-2003, Division 2)^[1]
Two points for win - 59 (1962-1963, Division 4 - under 'three points for win' system, total would have been 83)

Least league points in a season

Two points for win - 10 (1894-1895, Division 2 - 16 teams; Crewe lost all 15 away games that season)
Two points for win - 21 (1956-1957, Division 3 North - 24 teams)
Three points for win - 27 (1981-1982, Division 4 - 24 teams; tally would have been 21 under old points system)

Others

Most goals in a season - 95 (in 40 games), 1931-32 Division 3 North
Most clean sheets in a season - 24 (2002-2003, Clayton Ince 20 and Ademola Bankole 4)^[1]
Most away wins in a single season - 17 (2002-2003 Division 2)^[1]

Player records

Appearances

Youngest first-team player - Steve Walters, 16 years 119 days (vs Peterborough United, 6 May 1988)^[1]
Oldest first-team player - Kenny Swain, 39 years 281 days (vs Maidstone United, 5 November 1991)^[1]
Most consecutive League, FA Cup and League Cup appearances - Geoff Crudgington, 138 (between 17 August 1974 and 5 March 1977)

Most appearances

Competitive matches only, includes appearances as substitute. Numbers in brackets indicate goals scored.

#	Name	League	FA Cup	League Cup	Football League Trophy	Watney Cup	Welsh Cup	Total
1	Tommy Lowry^[1]	435 0(2)	21 0(0)	24 0(0)	0 0(0)	1 0(1)	0 0(0)	482 0(3)
2	Peter Leigh	430 0(2)	25 0(0)	17 0(0)	0 0(0)	1 0(0)	0 0(0)	473 0(2)
3	Shaun Smith	400 0(40)	21 0(4)	25 0(4)	23 0(4)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	469 0(52)
4	Kenny Lunt	390 0(35)	17 0(0)	25 0(1)	4 0(1)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	436 0(37)
5	Eric Barnes	350 0(1)	26 0(1)	14 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	390 0(2)
6	Alan Bradshaw	295 0(50)	15 0(1)	12 0(0)	0 0(0)	1 0(0)	0 0(0)	323 0(51)
7	Steve Macauley	270 0(23)	16 0(1)	20 0(0)	11 0(3)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	317 0(27)
8	John Meaney	288 0(38)	19 0(4)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	307 0(42)
9	Byron Moore	262 0(30)	10 0(1)	10 0(1)	15 0(1)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	297 0(33)
10	Mark Rivers	252 0(52)	14 0(4)	18 0(9)	11 0(4)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	295 0(69)
11	Neil Sorvel	250 0(13)	12 0(0)	17 0(0)	4 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	283 0(13)
12	Geoff Crudgington	250 0(0)	14 0(0)	16 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	280 0(0)
13	Callum Ainley	242 0(16)	8 0(1)	8 0(1)	20 0(2)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	278 0(20)
14	Stan Keery	253 0(23)	11 0(1)	7 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	277 0(24)
15	Luke Murphy	241 0(22)	9 0(2)	9 0(0)	13 0(2)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	272 0(26)
15	Barrie Wheatley	240 0(50)	22 0(8)	10 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	272 0(58)
17	Bert Swindells^[16]	247 0(128)	13 0(6)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	9 0(5)	269 0(139)
18	Bob Scott	239 0(16)	6 0(1)	14 0(0)	2 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	261 0(17)
19	Bernard Purdie	230 0(44)	10 0(0)	15 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	255 0(44)
20	Dean Greygoose	205 0(0)	18 0(0)	15 0(0)	13 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	251 0(0)
21	Ben Garratt	223 0(0)	8 0(0)	6 0(0)	9 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	246 0(0)
22	Stephen Foster	217 0(15)	11 0(1)	10 0(2)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	242 0(18)
23	Mark Gardiner	195 0(34)	15 0(4)	15 0(3)	16 0(1)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	241 0(42)

Player in current squad with most appearances:

As of match played 6 January 2024

Luke Offord - total: 163

Goalscorers

Most goals (and most league goals) - 139 (128), Bert Swindells^[1]
Most league goals scored in a season - 35, Terry Harkin (Div 4, 1964–65)^[1]
Most goals in a match - 5, Tony Naylor (vs Colchester United, Div 3, 24 April 1993)^[1]
Most hat-tricks - 8, Frank Lord^[1]
Most hat-tricks in a season - 4, Frank Lord (1961–62)^[1]
Most hat-tricks in a match - 3, scored by Jack Waring, Tommy Armstrong and Joe Mawson in a 9-2 defeat of Llay Welfare in the Welsh Cup on 24 February 1937.^[17]
Youngest goalscorer - David Jones, 16 years 144 days (vs Gateshead, 10 September 1956)^[1]
Fastest goal - 16 seconds, by Tony Naylor (vs Mansfield Town, Div 4, 13 September 1991)^[18]
Longest goalscoring streak - 7 games: Nicky Maynard (15 March to 19 April 2008; total 11 goals, including one hat-trick)^[19]
Five players have scored in six consecutive games:
- Bert Llewellyn (19 September to 7 October 1959; total 11 goals, including two hat-tricks);^[20]
- Frank Lord (12-27 April 1963; total 11 goals, including two hat-tricks);^[21]
- Ashley Ward (12 November to 3 December 1994; total 10 goals, including two hat-tricks);^[22]
- David Platt (31 March - 25 April 1987; total 8 goals, including one hat-trick);^[22]
- Terry Harkin (16 January - 17 February 1965; total 7 goals).^[23]

Top goalscorers

Competitive matches only. Numbers in brackets indicate appearances made.

#	Name	League	FA Cup	League Cup	Football League Trophy	Watney Cup	Welsh Cup	Total
1	Bert Swindells^[16]	128 0(247)	6 0(13)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	5 0(9)	139 0(269)
2	Dean Ashton	61 0(158)	5 0(9)	3 0(7)	5 0(3)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	74 0(177)
3	Frank Lord	67 0(106)	3 0(8)	3 0(4)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	73 0(118)
4	Mark Rivers	52 0(152)	4 0(14)	9 0(18)	4 0(11)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	69 0(195)
5	Jack Waring	55 0(150)	4 0(11)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	8 0(9)	67 0(170)
6	Dave Waller	55 0(170)	0 0(4)	6 0(8)	5 0(6)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	66 0(188)
7	Jack Basford	60 0(154)	5 0(8)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	65 0(154)
8	Tony Naylor	50 0(137)	5 0(11)	5 0(7)	8 0(3)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	63 0(153)
9	David Platt	56 0(134)	1 0(3)	4 0(7)	0 0(4)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	61 0(148)
10	Johnny King	60 0(238)	0 0(6)	0 0(6)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	60 0(238)
11	Barrie Wheatley	50 0(240)	8 0(22)	0 0(10)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	58 0(272)
11	Rob Edwards	44 0(155)	5 0(18)	5 0(8)	4 0(17)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	58 0(198)
13	Craig Hignett	43 0(138)	8 0(12)	4 0(10)	2 0(5)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	57 0(165)
14	Bert Llewellyn	47 0(96)	6 0(8)	2 0(2)	4 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	55 0(106)
15	Chris Porter	46 0(168)	4 0(9)	2 0(4)	2 0(8)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	54 0(189)
16	Shaun Miller	48 0(205)	3 0(6)	1 0(5)	0 0(9)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	52 0(227)
16	Shaun Smith	40 0(400)	4 0(21)	4 0(25)	4 0(23)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	52 0(469)
18	Alan Bradshaw	50 0(295)	1 0(15)	0 0(12)	0 0(0)	0 0(1)	0 0(0)	51 0(323)
18	Harry Deacon	47 0(118)	3 0(5)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	1 0(2)	51 0(125)
18	Rob Hulse	45 0(116)	0 0(6)	2 0(7)	4 0(2)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	51 0(131)
21	Peter Coyne	47 0(135)	1 0(6)	1 0(4)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	49 0(145)
21	Clayton Donaldson	47 0(117)	1 0(5)	0 0(4)	1 0(4)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	49 0(130)
21	Chris Riley	46 0(136)	3 0(14)	0 0(5)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	49 0(155)
24	Peter Gowans	43 0(140)	4 0(9)	0 0(4)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	47 0(153)
25	Dele Adebola	39 0(122)	3 0(10)	2 0(7)	2 0(13)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	46 0(152)
25	Steve Jones	40 0(162)	1 0(5)	4 0(6)	1 0(4)	0 0(0)	0 0(0)	46 0(177)

International caps

First capped Crewe player - William Bell, for Wales v. Ireland in Wrexham, February 1886.^[25]
Most international caps while playing for Crewe - Clayton Ince, 31 caps for Trinidad and Tobago^[1]^[26]
First (only) Crewe player to play in a World Cup final tournament - Efe Sodje (for Nigeria v. Argentina, 2 June 2002)^[27]

Transfers

Highest transfer fee paid - £650,000 Rodney Jack from Torquay United in August 1998 (surpassing the £500,000 paid to Shrewsbury Town for Dave Walton in October 1997).
Highest transfer fee received - £6 million for Nick Powell to Manchester United in 2012

Awards

PFA Awards (End-of-season Team of the Year awards, inaugurated in 1973)

First PFA award winner - Defender Paul Edwards was the first Crewe player to feature, being named in the Third Division PFA Team of the Year in 1990.
Most PFA awards - Neil Lennon won three awards while a Crewe player (in 1994, 1995 and 1996).
Other PFA award winners -
- Gareth Whalley and Danny Murphy (both in 1997)
- Rob Hulse (2004)
- Jon Otsemobor and Luke Varney (both in 2007)
- John Brayford (2010)
- Luke Murphy (2013)
- Perry Ng and Charlie Kirk (both in 2020)

EFL Player of the Month (Monthly awards, inaugurated in 2004)

First Player of the Month award winner - Striker Dean Ashton - named EFL Championship Player of the Month for December 2004.
Other Player of the Month award winners - both for EFL League One Player of the Month:
- Nicky Maynard - September 2006^[28]
- Owen Dale - December 2020^[29]

Other

Fastest sending-off - 19 seconds, Mark Smith (v. Darlington, Third Division, 12 March 1994)^[30]

Manager records

Most games managed - 1,359: Dario Gradi (in four spells, 1983-2011)

Awards

LMA League Two Manager of the Year - 1: David Artell (2019–20)^[31]
LMA Manager of the Month - 1 each for Gudjon Thordarson (February 2009)^[32] and Dario Gradi (January 2011)^[33]

Attendances

Highest home attendance - 20,000 vs Tottenham Hotspur (FA Cup fourth round), 30 January 1960.^[34]
Highest home league attendance - 17,883 vs Port Vale, 21 September 1953.^[35]^[36]
Highest home attendance (all-seater) - 10,092 vs Manchester City, 12 March 2002.^[37]
Highest away attendance - 64,365 at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane (FA Cup fourth round replay), 3 February 1960.^[38]
Lowest home league attendance - 1,009 vs Peterborough United, 4 February 1986.^[39]
Highest season average attendance - 9,065 in 1950–51^[36]
Lowest season average attendance - 1,817 in 1986–87^[36]

Notes and references

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Upon its formation in 1992, the Premier League became the top tier of English football; the Football League First, Second and Third Divisions then became the second, third and fourth tiers, respectively.^[2] From 2004, the First Division became the Championship, the Second Division became League One and the Third Division became League Two.^[3]
^ Crewe originally lost 2–3 to Swifts F.C. in the Fourth Round Replay, but the game was declared void, and replayed. Crewe won the replay 2–1.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Club records taken from official Crewe Alexandra website Archived 21 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ "History of the Football League". The Football League. 22 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013.
^ "League gets revamp". BBC Sport. 10 June 2004. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
^ "Club League Divisional History Summary 1888-89 to 2022-23". MyFootballFacts.com. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
^ "Aggregate Championship / Old Division 2 League Records from 1892-93 to 2021-22". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
^ "Aggregate League One / Old Division 3 Records from 1920-21 to 2021-22". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
^ "Aggregate Old Third Division North Records from 1921-22 to 1957-58". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
^ "Aggregate League Two / Old Division 4 Records from 1958-59 to 2022-23". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
^ "FA Cup Competition Rankings". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
^ "All Time League Cup Rankings to the end of 2022-23 Season". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
^ "All Time Football League Trophy Competition Rankings to the end of 2022-23 Season". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
^ Crisp, pp.12, 20.
^ ^a ^b Dates taken from 1956–57 results section from crewealexandra–mad.co.uk
^ "Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Bolton Wanderers". BBC Sport. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
^ "Crewe Alexandra 1-3 Fleetwood Town". BBC Sport. 2 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b Crisp (1998), pp.55-63.
^ Crisp, p. 63.
^ Crisp, p. 124.
^ "Games played by Nicky Maynard in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^ Crisp, p. 91.
^ Crisp, p. 94.
^ ^a ^b Crisp, p. 126.
^ Crisp, p. 96.
^ "Crewe 1-1 Doncaster". CreweAlex.net. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
^ "Wales vs Ireland international football match report". EU Football.Info. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
^ "Clayton Ince - International Appearances". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
^ "Sodje, Efe". National Football Teams. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
^ "Player of the Month Awards 2006/07 - League 1". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
^ "Sky Bet League One: December Manager and Player of the Month winners". EFL. EFL. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
^ Crisp, Marco (1998). Crewe Alexandra Match by Match (2nd ed.). Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 1-899468-81-1., p. 125.
^ Powell, David (27 July 2020). "Crewe Alex boss David Artell picks up LMA Manager of the Year accolade for League Two". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
^ "Thordarson pays tribute to squad". BBC Sport. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
^ "Manager of the Month 2010-2011". League Managers Association. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
^ Crisp, pp.9, 91.
^ Crisp, p.85.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Crewe Alexandra F.C." European Football Statistics. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
^ "Crewe Alexandra 1–3 Manchester City". Doing the 92. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
^ Crisp, p.91.
^ Crisp, p.117.

Source

Crisp, Marco (1998). Crewe Alexandra Match by Match (2nd ed.). Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 1-899468-81-1.

v t e Crewe Alexandra Football Club
The club	Players Managers Academy Seasons Records and statistics Women's team
Grounds	Alexandra Recreation Ground Gresty Road
Matches	1993 Football League Third Division play-off final 1997 Football League Second Division play-off final 2012 Football League Two play-off final 2013 Football League Trophy final
Other	Blue Moon Norman Rowlinson (chairman 1964–1988) John Bowler (chairman 1988–2021) Sexual abuse scandal
Seasons	1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23

v t e Lists of football records and statistics in England by club
Premier League	AFC Bournemouth Arsenal Aston Villa Brentford Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Crystal Palace Everton Fulham Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Southampton Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Championship	Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bristol City Burnley Cardiff City‡ Coventry City Huddersfield Town Hull City Luton Town Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City Preston North End Queens Park Rangers Reading Rotherham United Sheffield United Stoke City Sunderland Swansea City‡ Watford West Bromwich Albion Wigan Athletic
League One	Accrington Stanley Barnsley Bolton Wanderers Bristol Rovers Burton Albion Cambridge United Charlton Athletic Cheltenham Town Derby County Exeter City Fleetwood Town Forest Green Rovers Ipswich Town Lincoln City Milton Keynes Dons Morecambe Oxford United Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Portsmouth Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Town Wycombe Wanderers
League Two	AFC Wimbledon Barrow Bradford City Carlisle United Colchester United Crawley Town Crewe Alexandra Doncaster Rovers Gillingham Grimsby Town Harrogate Town Hartlepool United Leyton Orient Mansfield Town Newport County‡ Northampton Town Rochdale Salford City Stevenage Stockport County Sutton United Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Walsall
Non-League	Oldham Athletic Swindon Supermarine Torquay United Wrexham‡ York City
Defunct	Hereford United Thames Ironworks
Clubs are grouped by their division in the 2022–23 season. • ‡ club based in Wales that competes in English leagues.