Crewe Alexandra

Most Oxford fans' fondest memories of Crewe concern that game at Gresty Road on 27 April 1996, when a 2-1 win for the Us saw them leapfrog Blackpool into second place in the Third Division with just one game remaining. For some reason the Crewe officials decided against making the game all-ticket for Oxford fans and, with many fearing a sell-out, this led to lengthy queues stretching down the road a full hour before the turnstiles were due to open. The result was that Crewe opened the away turnstiles early, leading to the sight of a full away end long before the first home fans entered the ground, with many Oxford supporters forced to watch the game among the home support.

Crewe were formed in 1877, adding the suffix Alexandra in honour of Princess Alexandra, who was then Princess of Wales (later becoming Queen after the death of Queen Victoria, as consort of Edward VII, and then Queen Mother until her death in 1925). In 1892 they became a founder member of Division Two, becoming professional the following season. When Division Three was formed in 1921, Crewe joined the Third Division North, but they finished bottom of that division in 1958, joining the newly formed Division Four the following season. Alex won their first promotion in 1963, but were relegated back to the Fourth Division the next season.

In 1968 they finished fourth in the Fourth to earn another promotion, but again they only lasted one season in the Third before dropping back down again. In 1972 Crewe finished 92nd in the League, but luckily for them this was in the days before automatic relegation and they were re-elected to the competition. The same fate befell them in 1979, and in 1980 they finished second from bottom, but they were bottom of the pack again in 1982. Things gradually improved for Crewe, and they won promotion to Division Three in 1989. This time they survived for two seasons in the Third before relegation in 1991.

In 1993 Crewe reached the play-off final for the first time, losing 5-3 on penalties to York City at Wembley. They made up for this lapse by winning automatic promotion the following season and the next season they reached the Third Division play-offs, losing to Bristol Rovers on away goals. They were knocked out in the play-off semi-finals again teh next season, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Notts County, but their persistence was rewarded when they won the play-off final in 1997, beating Brentford 1-0.

Crewe survived in Division Two for five seasons before eventually being relegated on goal difference in 2002. However, they were down for just one season before returning to the second tier, where they survived until 2006. In 2009 Alex were back in the basement again, and last season they finished 18th.

For some reason Gresty Road is now called the Alexandra Stadium. It is an all-seated affair, with a capacity of 10,153. Last season's admission prices were