Carlisle United: Crewe Alexandra's Lee Bell contender to replace Paul Simpson | OneFootball

Simpson was sacked after a 2-0 defeat against Tranmere Rovers, on Saturday.

Crewe Alexandra manager Lee Bell is a "top contender" to replace Paul Simpson at Carlisle United, according to reports.

The 58-year-old had taken Carlisle to promotion in the 2022/23 campaign, after coming back to save them from relegation in the prior season, but things then went downhill once they began life in League One.

The Blues made the decision to move on from Simpson following their poor start to the season. They had lost three of their opening four games, taking their record to just eight wins in their previous 50 league fixtures.

Simpson was sacked the day after the transfer window closed, and United's owners, the Piatak family, are now on the lookout for his replacement.

Youth team coaches Mark Birch, Steven Rudd and Jamie Devitt have been placed in charge of first team affairs, as per the club's statement announcing the sacking of their former boss.

Lee Bell emerges as a top option for Carlisle United

Football Insider have reported that Bell is one of the people being looked at by Carlisle, and is said to be a "top contender" to get the currently vacant position.

The 41-year-old took over at Alex in December 2022. They ended up finishing 13th in League Two by the end of that campaign, but they then reached the play-off final in the following season.

Crewe and Carlisle have had a similarly poor start to the new season. They lost their first two matches 1-0 and 5-0 to Barrow and Chesterfield, respectively, but have picked up four points in their second pair of league fixtures against Swindon Town and Bromley.

United aren't scheduled to play the manager that they are currently being linked with until December. They face former play-off rivals Bradford City at Valley Parade on Saturday.

Carlisle must steer clear of Lee Bell

If the Piataks make the decision to pursue Bell, then that signals that their hopes of pushing for promotion this season are largely dead.

Their former manager was bashed for being stubborn about what some described as archaic tactics. This opportunity to recruit someone new and get away from the old ways is a great one. Appointing Bell wouldn't fully captialise on that opportunity.

By no means is he a football dinosaur that is going to bring a horrible version of the sport to Brunton Park, but it wouldn't be an inspired choice; one that has the potential to lead Carlisle forward into the future.

That Crewe side that went to Wembley in May had plenty of talent in it. Bell got to work with players like Elliot Nevitt, Rio Adebisi, Christopher Long and Aaron Rowe, and yet they weren't one of the better teams in the league, statistically. They overperformed in a lot of major categories.

Alex were around mid-table when it came to open play expected goals, open play expected goals against, expected goals from set pieces and build-up attacks (attacks involving 10+ passes that end in a shot or a touch inside the box), as per The Analyst.

Those aren't the hallmarks of a manager that is going to lead this currently dysfunctional team to a promotion charge and beyond.

With the goals that Carlisle have set, Bell just doesn't feel like the best option for them.