By Jonathan Stevenson

In June 1983, having finished second-from-bottom of the old Fourth Division, little Crewe Alexandra appointed Dario Gradi as their new manager.

Holland has the onerous task of filling Gradi's shoes at Crewe

It was the most inspired decision in the club's history and the reverberations have been felt around English football ever since.

The Milan-born manager's much-feted ability to produce top-class young players is part of the legend of the game.

David Platt, Geoff Thomas, Rob Jones, Neil Lennon, Danny Murphy, Robbie Savage, Dean Ashton - they were all put through the Crewe system masterminded by Gradi.

Now, 24 years after his project began, Gradi will gradually hand over the reins to another man.

His chosen successor, Crewe academy coach Steve Holland, talks BBC Sport through the next 12 months of change at Gresty Road, as the Railwaymen prepare for the dawn of a new era.

It was agreed between the chairman John Bowler, Dario and myself 12 months ago that this season would be a transitional period.

CREWE FACTFILE Founded: 1877 Ground: Alexandra Stadium (Gresty Road) Capacity: 10,046 Achievements: FA Cup semi-final (1888), Welsh Cup winners (1936, 1937)

The ultimate objective of that period is me taking over totally as the manager of Crewe Alexandra.

This season, I will be the first-team coach and Dario retains his manager title. It's rare in this country, but a system used more often on the continent.

Dario will take the administrative managerial responsibilities, have an influence on players being bought and sold and deal with contracts and the press.

This will allow me to focus all my attentions on the coaching and selection of the team.

We have had a long time to plan this between the three of us and assistant Neil Baker, too, we know what the score is and we've got a good chance of making it work.

I was an ex-professional and came to Crewe as a youth team coach 15 years ago, my first coaching role.

I have just completed my Uefa Pro Licence course, which is the pre-requisite to managing in the Premier League, so that is the ultimate coaching qualification.

I have helped Dario with the first team previously, though my involvement has varied from year-to-year because until now my responsibility was always the academy.

Because of the nature and size of the club, on a regular basis during the week I have watched DVDs of Crewe's games with Dario and taken groups of players for different bits of training.

Certainly towards the end of last season I was involved in first-team training quite a bit with this season in mind.

What you must remember is that the nucleus of the Crewe side historically has come from the academy, which obviously gives my role a little more credence from a first-team perspective.

Along with the coach education programme I have gone through with the Football Association, Dario has been a huge influence on my career.

As a young coach, you probably could not wish for a better mentor than Dario has been for me.

It is a privileged position I have been in and I have obviously learned an awful lot.

If you look at the uniqueness of the football club, Dario has been manager for 24 years and he is the country's longest-serving manager, so that makes him special for a start.

He has built something and stuck with it, it is a long-term project which he is still working on.

If you look at the players he has developed over the years and the things they have gone on to achieve, I think that probably makes him pretty unique too.

I think if you look at the best examples of success with both first-teams and academies, you will usually find that there is some stability behind it.

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Clearly the nature of the game these days makes it more difficult for managers to enjoy the stability that is required to build something.

Dario, Neil and myself have worked together for the past 15 years and we know each other inside-out.

I believe that the reputation Crewe has earned for the type of football we have played down the years and the individuals who have gone on and played at the highest level is remarkable.

Everyone has the occasional player like that, but for a club of our size to have had as many as we have is unusual.

That is down to the development programme we have down here and the longevity of it. Being able to continue it over a long period of time is a great reflection of what Dario and everyone else has done.

I'm not suggesting for one minute that we are this, that or the other, but when you remember the resources we have and home gates of between 4,000-4,500, given that our record is incredible.

I have been doing the same job for 15 years and I have thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'm looking forward to a change and the challenge that having to get results for a first-team brings.

In my time at Crewe, we have been in this division five times and last season's 13th-placed finish was our lowest league position since I came here.

So we know we have a lot to do to improve this year and we've got an idea of what needs to be done.

We are almost where we wanted to be squad-wise. It was disappointing to lose Luke Varney to Charlton for £2.5m, but that is an accepted way of life for Crewe.

Replacing his goals will not come easy, but we have one or two up-and-coming strikers who will get the chance to show what they can do.

There is always the opportunity at a development-based club like ours that someone will come through and surprise you - and we hope that continues.

We're Crewe - it is what we have done for such a long time and is what we will carry on doing.

By Chris Bevan

Varney and Maynard have scored 17 goals between them this season

It seems that Crewe manager Dario Gradi has worked his magic again.

From David Platt to Dean Ashton the list of players who have gone from Gresty Road to greater things is a long and illustrious one.

And now there is a new generation of young talent under Gradi's wing that is being tipped for the top.

Teenage defender Billy Jones and strikers Nicky Maynard and Luke Varney have all been in impressive form for The Alex - with the latter two impressing against Manchester United in the Carling Cup on Tuesday.

Their team-mate Ryan Lowe tells BBC Sport what the trio have to offer and why the Premiership scouts have been flocking to watch them over the past few months.

MAYNARD FACTFILE Born: Winsford Age: 19 Position: Striker Clubs: Crewe, Witton Albion (loan) Games: 17 (13 starts) Goals: 11

I met Nicky at the tail-end of last season of last season when he made his debut at home to Millwall. He came on as a substitute and scored - and he has not looked back since.

You see him in training and you can tell he is destined for the top - although he still needs to learn a few things.

But he is only a kid in his first full season and has got time on his side for him to fulfil his potential if he keeps working hard.

He does try to use the ball when he gets it outside the box but he probably needs to work on his build-up play. The manager is always on at him to try to get more involved in the game.

But his strength is his goalscoring ability. He gets in such good positions and always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

He turns centre-halves well too. His all-round movement is good and he could turn out to be an excellent all-round player.

JONES FACTFILE Born: Shrewsbury Age: 19 Position: Full-back Clubs: Crewe Games: 111 (106 starts) Goals: 9

When I was playing for Shrewsbury all you would hear in town was 'Billy Jones, Billy Jones, Billy Jones'.

Everything about him is impressive - he can play in so many different positions too - and no wonder other clubs are keen.

He has been in the Crewe team since he was 16 and is an excellent player with great potential.

Playing with him this season, you just don't see anybody going past him - even in training not many manage it. He is a proper solid defender.

Billy has turned down a new contract at Crewe because he thinks he can play at a higher level.

He has been here for a while so maybe he thinks it is time for a fresh challenge.

You read all kind of rumours in the papers about teams being in for him, but knowing Billy like I do, I don't think he is the type of person who would let it get to him.

He just wants to try to progress himself and you cannot really fault him for that.

VARNEY FACTFILE Born: Leicester Age: 24 Position: Striker Clubs: Quorn, Crewe, Quorn (loan) Games: 81 (53 starts) Goals: 19

Luke has come from Quorn in the Midland Football Alliance which is the same standard I was at a few years ago when I was at Burscough.

He has done so well to make the step up so easily and there is more to come from him I am sure.

Again you hear that clubs are looking at him but he is the same as the others - not bigheaded at all. They are not talking about which clubs are watching them, they just get on with things and are enjoying their football.

Luke is a player who has bags of pace and knows where the goal is too.

There are still a few things he needs to pick up but the best place for him to do that is Crewe. He has the basic elements he needs in place and can only improve further.

Dario is so good to learn from - and of course the players listen to him, you only have to look at the players he has brought through to know it is worth your while.

He does coach you and improve you and I just wish I was here a few years ago when I was a bit younger and maybe things could have been different for me too.