AFTER RELEGATION last year, and the sacking of manager Gudjon Thordarson, this has been a season of reconstruction for Crewe Alexandra.

And there's nobody better to handle a job like that than Alex's long-serving former manager and director of football Dario Gradi MBE.

Gradi, 68, stepped back into the breach at his beloved Gresty Road.

And it's no surprise to see him encouraging several youngsters from the Academy which Gradi built and was the basis of the club's success for so long.

In goal is experienced loan signing Steve Phillips from Bristol Rovers.

Phillips, of course, spent several years with Bristol City before moving to the north of the city.

It's a young defence, with ex-Liverpool starlet Danny O'Donnell and former Histon favourite Mat Mitchell-King in the middle.

Ex-Burton right-back John Brayford and youth product Matt Tootle are on the flanks.

For the 4-2 midweek win over Grimsby there were four Academy graduates in midfield.

Ashley Westwood (see Player To Watch), James Bailey and Byron Moore have all made big progress this season.

The more experienced man is winger Joel Grant, a £130,000 signing from Aldershot in 2008.

Grant, a pacy threat from the left, has scored eight goals this season.

Sixteen-goal leading scorer Calvin Zola has been out with hamstring trouble for six weeks.

In his absence Gradi has often paired former Hull, York and Hibs centre-forward Clayton Donaldson with ex-trainee Shaun Miller up front.

Miller, 22, has responded to his chance, and it was his opportunist stoppage-time equaliser which denied Torquay victory in the 1-1 draw at Gresty Road early last month.

The reserve goalkeeper is former Birmingham youngster Adam Legzdins.

Cover at centre-half is supplied by ex-Chelsea starlet Harry Worley, currently on a long loan from Leicester City, and former Stevenage, Exeter and Histon defender Patrick Ada.

There are plenty of young Academy graduates in midfield — Luke Murphy, Chris Clements and Danny Shelley among them.

Steven Schumacher is a more experienced winger, having started his career with Everton and then spending three years at Bradford City.