Rotherham United old boy and lifelong Millers fan David Artell is at New York Stadium this weekend as the opposition boss. He spoke to the Advertiser

PREPARE for a late fitness test before the Rotherham United v Crewe Alexandra clash this weekend.

Jenny Artell, mother of Crewe boss David, has just undergone surgery and is a doubt for the League One showdown.

Saturday’s match at AESSEAL New York Stadium is a major occasion for the Artell family.

Jenny and husband Greg are Millers fanatics and passed on that passion to their son who grew up supporting his home-town club, went on to play in one of the most famous seasons in their history and is now forging a reputation as a bright young managerial talent.

“My mum’s having a new knee tomorrow,” says David when we speak on Monday. “She’s planning to make it to the game. I’ve said she must be mad because she’ll be in a lot of pain. She says she’ll give it her best shot.”

This will be the 40-year-old’s first visit to New York in a professional capacity and he acknowledges it is more than just another match.

“I think when anyone goes back to a club they have fond memories of it’s a big thing,” he says. “Football is all about emotion and there is a lot of emotion in me and my family for Rotherham United.

“I’ve got a job to do and, first and foremost, Saturday will be a working day. I get paid to win football matches and that’s what I’ve got to try to do. But Rotherham is my home town so it is nice to be going back there.

“I’ll always have that Millers connection. I want them to do well, and they have done well. They keep winning promotion from League One and that shows the progress they have made because they weren’t like that ten or 15 years ago.

“The chairman has done a terrific job and so have Paul Warne, Richie Barker and the rest of the management team. They’ve been a yo-yo club. The challenge for them is to get into the Championship and stay there.”

Crewe’s challenge is to consolidate their place in League One after a summer of rebuilding that saw eight of their starting 11 from last season’s mid-table finish leave Gresty Road.

Artell Junior, a 2-1 victor over the Millers as boss of The Alex in a home FA Cup tie in November 2017, brings his side in 22nd place to face Paul Warne’s men who are sixth

“I watched Rotherham at Lincoln and they are what they are: a big, strong, physical team,” he says. “You can see why they do well in this league.

“They ask physical questions. People sometimes interpret that as a negative thing but it isn’t. It’s a way of winning a game and you have to respect that.

“They’re hard to beat and they win games in a tough league. They don’t have the resources to play like Manchester City. They find a way and that’s a credit to them.”

His memories of the Millers come from their old ground, Millmoor, where he was part of his parents’ regular pilgrimage

“I used to stand in front of the Main Stand where the terracing was,” he says. “I still watch out for their results, of course I do. And if ever I miss one my dad is quick to tell me!”

His season of glory in a red-and-white shirt came as a 20-year-old in 2000/2001 when he and Guy Branston were centre-half kingpins in the Ronnie Moore side that surprised everyone other than themselves by sweeping into the second tier in their first year in the old Division Two.

Artell later moved on to Mansfield Town and went on to have a long playing career at clubs including Morecambe and the one he is now managing, the Railwaymen.

Married to a Rotherham girl, Gemma, and with two teenage daughters, Neve and Freya, he lives in Chester.

“I get back to Rotherham every now and then but not very often,” he says. “The job is all-consuming. We go to see family when we can.”

He moved into management with Crewe in 2017, leading them out of League Two in 2020 and to 12th spot in League One last term, and acknowledges the backing of knowledgeable fans and a supportive board who appreciate how he has kept the club moving forward on limited resources.

“We’ve just sold four players into the Championship for two and a half million quid,” he says. “We develop players and know they will move on to a higher league.

“We like evolution not revolution, but this feels slightly like revolution. We’ve got the lowest budget in the division. There’s only Cheltenham who are close to us.

“We’ve got to produce players and develop players and try to win games at the same time. That’s tough. We’ve sold players and made the club sustainable for the next four or five years.”

Saturday brings a reunion with two more members of the class of 2001: Millers management duo Warne and Richie Barker.

“Warney was part of the front three and the epitome of the team,” Artell recalls. “He worked his socks off. We all did. No team outworked us.

“We were all mates. He was always a worrier, but not in a bad way, not in a consuming way. He was bright, intelligent, a bit of a joker. He would speak up for himself.

“He was a good character. You have to be to stay in football as long as he has. If you’re an ‘egg’, you end up getting found out.

“He’s a good bloke. Richie is a great bloke as well. They’re good people. In management, you have to be a good person. If you’re not, players see through you.”

He’s hoping his mum makes it to the game and says that — for once, for the sake of her boy — Jenny will be hoping her club are defeated. It’s a different matter with father Greg, though.

“My dad will want Rotherham to win,” Artell says. “I’d be concerned if he said Crewe really.

“When you’re in football, the emotion does go a little bit; not the want to win — that’s different — but that emotional attachment to one team gets dulled. You still want that team to win, but you’ve seen the other side of the game, you’ve seen what football is.

“My dad hasn’t seen any of that. He should still have all that emotional attachment in buckets, and he does.

“He should want to go to war for Rotherham United and I’d be worried if he said ‘Ah, I’d be all right with Crewe winning’ even though it’s his own son managing the opposition.”

And that’s not the end of the Artells at New York this weekend.

Their love of the Millers runs right through the family and David’s sister, Joanne, will be working, as usual on a matchday, in the stadium’s corporate area.

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DAVID Artell remembers how his season of success with Rotherham United suddenly exploded into life.

The young centre-half was on the bench when the Millers travelled to Wrexham in the old Division Two (now League One) on a Tuesday night in September 2000 three days after a 6-1 loss at Cambridge United.

The squad arrived only ten minutes before the 7.30pm kick-off because of a delay on the A56 caused by a taxi-drivers’ fuel protest and Brian Wilsterman pulled his hamstring just nine minutes into the game.

Artell was his replacement, played well in a 3-1 victory and never looked back, going on to make 37 league appearances as Ronnie Moore’s men took the division by storm to win automatic promotion.

“I got sent off late on in a 1-0 home win over Wycombe Wanderers in the match after but got straight back into the side,” he says.

“As the season unfolded, I remember going into games thinking: ‘We’re not going to lose. We played 3-4-3 and it didn’t matter who played, we were all in it together.

“The team’s success was sort of built on what Rotherham people are built on: hard work, a bit of know-how, a bit of ability, making the most of yourself. All the things the town was, we were as a football team.

“It was a brilliant football education of how to do things. Nothing was expected of us and we just kept showing people.”

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One to watch

French striker Mikael Mandron joined Crewe from Gillingham in the summer of 2020 and has scored 16 goals in just over 50 appearances. This season, the 26-year-old has hit the target twice in ten outings. He started out at Sunderland before moving to Wigan Athletic, Colchester United and then the Gills.

Form guide

Crewe: LLWDWL

Millers: LWWLDW

Crewe suffered four league losses on the trot early in the season but picked up with a 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury Town and a 2-0 home win over Burton Albion before a 3-1 loss at Gresty Road on Tuesday against Morecambe.

Last time out

The sides met at Gresty Road in the first round of the FA in November 2017 when the Millers were on their way to League promotion and Crewe were in League Two. Rotherham dominated the first half and led 1-0 at the break through Will Vaulks but Crewe hit back and sealed a 2-1 win late on.

Recent clashes

Jan 11 2014, League One:

Millers 4 ( Kieran Agard, Lee Freckington 2, Alex Revell) Crewe 2

Aug 3 2013, League One:

Crewe 3 Millers 3 (Lee Frecklington 2, Ben Pringle)

Mar 6 2012, League Two:

Millers 1 (Lewis Grabban) Crewe 1

Aug 16 2011, League Two:

Crewe 1 Millers 2 (Adam Le Fondre, Ben Pringle)

Feb 5 2011, League Two:

Millers 3  (Nick Fenton, Adam Le Fondre, Ryan Taylor) Crewe 1

Nov 20 2010, League Two:

Crewe 0 Millers 1 (Adam Dugdale og)

The clubs have met 83 times since 1923 and Rotherham have won 31 of those games. Crewe have recorded 32 victories and there have been 20 draws.

Rival boss

Rotherham-born David Artell was part of Ronnie Moore’s Millers side that famously won promotion to the old Division One (now the Championship) in 2000/01. The centre-half was a regular in the team, forming a terrific partnership with Guy Branston. He went on to play for, among others, Morecambe and Crewe. Now aged 40, he became Crewe boss in 2017 and took them up to League One in 2020.

Man in the middle

Sam Ellison is in his second season as an EFL referee. This season the Wiltshire official has taken charge of eight games, issuing 31 yellow cards and four reds.

The odds

Rotherham are being tipped to win on their own turf, with the Bookmakers offering 2/5 on a Miller victory and 5/1 on Crewe leaving New York Stadium with all three points. The draw is 10/3.

Millers

1-0: 11/2

2-0: 6/1

2-1: 13/2

3-0: 9/1

3-1: 10/1

3-2: 25/1

4-0: 16/1

4-1: 18/1

4-2: 35/1

Draw

0-0: 12/1

1-1: 7/1

2-2: 14/1

3-3: 66/1

4-4: 200/1

Crewe

1-0: 14/1

2-0: 33/1

2-1: 16/1

3-0: 90/1

3-1: 55/1

3-2: 55/1

4-0:200/1

4-1:175/1

4-2: 175/1