Alarm bells are ringing; CREWE ALEXANDRA 4 BLUES 1.

Byline: Colin Tattum

YOU may only be able to learn so much from pre-season in relation to when the real stuff gets underway.

But there is no disputing now that there is cause of alarm about Blues.

Whacked by a team relegated into League Two last season after surrendering a position of first-half strength, this depressing result follows on from other poor ones and laboured performances since the report-back date.

Making matters worse are a glut of injuries that have begun to undermine continuity and effectiveness defensively.

And at Gresty Road last night Blues continued to struggle to stick the ball in the back of the net.

It's pretty sobering stuff all told with an opening day Premier League game at Manchester United looming ever closer.

What made it all the more odd - or concerning if you prefer - was that Blues seemed to be poised to produce their best and most heart-enindisplay of all their friendlies so far.

In control for large chunks of the opening period, the cohesion was there, the passing good, nice angles were being made and inter-play was decisive.

James McFadden put Blues into a 17th-minute lead when he got the deftest of touches to a superb diagonal ball lofted by Keith Fahey.

Six minutes earlier another such pass by Fahey had teed up Garry O'Connor but he dragged his shot wide from the right of the penalty area.

Alex McLeish picked a starting side that probably provided a few pointers to his thoughts for the big kick-off.

McFadden and Fahey were on either flank, Barry Ferguson and Damien Johnson in central midfield.

In the defence, Stuart Parnaby was again asked to do a job at leftback and Franck Queudrue was pressed into emergency action at centre-half on his first start of preseason.

And here's where the make-do- andmend is hurting Blues.

Parnaby had to go off with a calf injury in the 30th minute and Queudrue was nowhere near up to speed.

That said, the way Blues fell apart in the second half was excruciating.

Steven Schumacher's stunning volley seconds before the half-time whistle brought Crewe an equaliser.

And they transformed the game on the resumption, leaving Blues dazed and down at heel.

Queudrue instinctively stuck out his head into the path of a cross from the left but unfortunately, facing his own goal, the ball looped beyond Joe Hart (49).

And three minutes later Joel Grant sauntered in and curled a neat shot just inside the post to make it 3-1. Fahey, who has this pre-season emerged as a real contender for Blues, smacked a fierce volley that on-loan Spurs goalkeeper David Button pushed up and away smartly.

But that was that for Blues and after the usual raft of substitutions were made by both sides - Lee Carsley had to take the centre-half mantle - it got worse.

Mathew Mitchel-King strode forward and got his 20-yard left-footer through Carsley's challenge and past Hart (66), who made an acrobatic save to stop Byron Moore piling on the misery in the final stages.

The sparkle of promise shown at first had been replaced by chaos, disorder and a lack of zip. Crewe cashed in - and they're not Manchester United.

CREWE: Button, Brayford, Jones (Westwood ht), Schumacher (Bailey 71), O'Donnell, Ada (Chanot 71), Donaldson, Elding (Moore 60), Zola (Miller 71), Grant (Murphy 77), Mitchel-King (Tootle 83). Not used: Legzdins.

BLUES: Hart, Carr, Parnaby (Wilson 30), Roger Johnson, Queudrue (Carsley 60), McFadden (McSheffrey 67), Damien Johnson, Ferguson (Bowyer 60), O'Connor, Jerome (Phillips 60), Fahey (Larsson 60). Not used: Maik Taylor.

CAPTION(S):

Gary O'Connor fires a shot at Crewe's goal. Kevin Phillips has a go from distance. James McFadden celebrates his goal with Cameron Jerome. Wrecking Crewe: Dejected Blues players leave the pitch after the 4-1 defeat.