association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

Broadfield Stadium The Broadfield Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Crawley, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Crawley Town F.C. The stadium has a capacity of 6,134 people, and is owned by Crawley Borough Counc ...

West Sussex League The West Sussex Football League is a football competition in England. It was formed in 1896. The League has eight divisions of which the highest, the Premier Division, sits at level 12 of the English football league system. It is a feeder to th ...

Metropolitan League The Metropolitan League was a football league in the south-east of England between 1949 and 1971.Southern League the following year. They secured promotion out of Division One in 1968–69, only to suffer relegation the next season. Crawley were promoted out of the Southern League Southern Section 1983–84 and spent the next 21 seasons in the Premier Division, before winning promotion into the

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

as champions of the Southern League in 2003–04. The club turned fully professional in 2005 but faced immediate financial difficulties and entered administration the following year. The club survived and appointed Steve Evans as a manager in May 2007. Evans led them into the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

as champions of the Conference in 2010–11 and then secured promotion in their first season in

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

. Crawley spent three seasons in

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

before relegation in 2015.

History

Early years

Having played friendly matches from 1890, with the club's first match played on 22 November 1890 at home to Lingfield, Crawley Town were formed in 1896, and became founding members of the

West Sussex Football League The West Sussex Football League is a football competition in England. It was formed in 1896. The League has eight divisions of which the highest, the Premier Division, sits at level 12 of the English football league system. It is a feeder to th ...

that year, joining the Junior Division. They remained in the West Sussex league for five years before transferring to the Mid-Sussex League, winning the League in only their second season. After disbanding at the end of the 1934–35 season, the club reformed in 1938 and joined Division Two of the Brighton, Hove & District League. They played in the Sussex County Emergency League in 1945–45, before returning to the Brighton, Hove & District League in 1946–47, becoming members of Division One. They stayed at this level until they entered the Sussex County League in 1951 before switching again five years later to the

Metropolitan League The Metropolitan League was a football league in the south-east of England between 1949 and 1971.Southern League. In 1969 they were promoted to Premier Division of the Southern League but the joy was short-lived as the following season they were relegated back to the first division where they remained until the 1983–84 season when they were promoted as runners-up. Crawley's most successful cup run at the time was in the 1991–92 season when they reached

The FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

third round proper and played local rivals

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

, losing 5–0 in front of 18,301 at the

Goldstone Ground The Goldstone Ground (or The Goldstone) was a football stadium in Hove, East Sussex that was the home ground of Brighton & Hove Albion between 1902 and 1997. History The Goldstone Ground stood on Old Shoreham Road, Hove, opposite Hove Park ...

. In 1999, the club entered administration with debts estimated to be around £400,000.https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/30618575.pdf In October 1999, the club was bought by John Duly after a period of 2 months in administration, with Billy Smith appointed as manager. At the time, the Reds were second-bottom, but the club went on to finish in 12th place, 6 points above the relegation zone. Whilst the 2000-2001 season saw Town finish 11th, Crawley were much improved in a 2001-2002 campaign which saw them finish fourth. Whilst Crawley finished 7th in 2002-03, the Reds found success in the 2003-04 season, when they ended their 20-season stay in the Premier Division of the Southern League by winning the division with 84 points, 12 points clear of second-placed Weymouth, and winning the Southern League Cup for the second successive season. The title was secured with four matches remaining with a 3–0 victory at

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

, sparking celebrations from a large travelling contingent. Crawley would now be playing in the

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

, the highest level of non-League football, for the first time in their history.

Conference

A final position of 12th in their first season in the National Division was considered an impressive achievement for the club who finished as the highest-ranked part-time team in the country. Crawley also retained the Sussex Senior Cup by defeating Ringmer. In 2005, the SA Group bought the club and made the decision to go full-time for the first time in the club's history. Although this was necessary in order to allow them to compete in the division, it led to the departure of several key players, including fans' favourite

Charlie MacDonald Charles Lea MacDonald (born 13 February 1981) is an English footballer who plays for Barking. Football career Early career MacDonald played for the Millwall youth team before joining Charlton Athletic as a trainee, turning professional in ...

and goalkeeper Andy Little, who were unable to give up their day jobs to play full-time. The 2005–06 season didn't start well for Crawley as the club found themselves third from bottom and out of the FA Cup after a shock defeat to Braintree Town. Francis Vines was subsequently sacked and replaced by former

Chelsea FC Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...

manager and player

John Hollins John William Hollins (born 16 July 1946) is an English retired footballer and manager. He was initially a midfielder who, later in his career, became an effective full-back. Hollins, throughout his footballing career, featured for clubs such a ...

and his assistant Alan Lewer. Things got worse for Crawley and as attendances dropped, and so too did the club's income; the club's owners were forced to slash the players' and staff wages by 50% due to lack of funds. Several key players left the club, including captain

Ian Simpemba Ian Frederick Simpemba (born 28 March 1983) is an Irish former semi-professional footballer who most recently played for Eastbourne Borough as a defender. Simpemba played for Wycombe Wanderers in the Football League Second Division in the 200 ...

,

Simon Wormull Simon James Wormull (born 1 December 1976) is an English former footballer who is head coach of Isthmian League club Three Bridges. As a junior, Wormull played for Tottenham Hotspur in the final of the 1995 FA Youth Cup and in the Intertoto Cup ...

and record signing

Daryl Clare Daryl Adam Clare (born 1 August 1978) is a Jersey-born Irish former professional footballer and coach. He is currently a football coach at Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education. As a player he was a striker from 1996 to 2016 for Grim ...

; it looked certain that relegation was on the cards. However five straight wins through March and April saw the club climb the table to 17th place and beat the drop by 10 points. The club was docked three points at the end of the season for breaching the annual playing budget but this had no effect on the final standings and Crawley's league status was safe. However, they later went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

, with insolvency specialists

Begbies Traynor Begbies Traynor () (until 1997 known as Traynor & Partners) is a firm specialising in corporate restructuring. They were formed in 1989, expanded through mergers and organic growth and were floated in 2004. The company employs over 700 people and ...

placed in control of the club.

Financial problems

Although Crawley Town F.C. had been in administration in the late 1990s, trouble began in March 2006 when the club's players and staff were made to take a 50% pay cut and the entire squad was put up for sale; Crawley went into administration in June of that year. It was revealed by local newspaper the Argus several days later that the chairman Chas Majeed was an undischarged bankrupt and therefore banned from holding a high position within the club. Majeed later resigned from his post but remained involved. The fans started a "Red Card" campaign in order to remove Chas Majeed and his brother Azwar Majeed (Crawley Town's owner) from the club, with fans waving red cards at the Majeeds and forming a supporters' trust. It was revealed that the club was around £1.1million in debt with nearly £400,000 due to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and the Majeeds claimed they were owed £700,000 by the club. By July of that year, the debts were closer to £1.4 million, including money owed to current and former staff, and an offer of 25p in the pound was rejected by the creditors. With HMRC unwilling to move on its demand and being the biggest creditor (the Majeeds were unable to vote on the matter despite being owed money), it looked unlikely that the club would be saved. By August 2006, only one bid had come in for the club which was from the current owners; it was rejected by three to one; the administrators were therefore obliged to liquidate the club and it was announced that the club would fold later that day. However, a couple of days later, in one final attempt to rescue the club, the creditors met again to decide on a final offer. The creditors were split and so the administrator voted in Crawley Town's favour, allowing them to start the new season. The creditors would meet 14 days later to decide on an offer of 50p in the pound. The club was told that if the offer was rejected then the club would fold there and then, and there would be no going back. By September 2006 the club's debt was at £1.8 million making former/current players and staff the biggest creditors and giving hope that a rescue bid would be accepted. The offer of 50p in the pound was later accepted and Crawley Town was able to continue playing for the time being, though this didn't stop HMRC from trying to wind up the SAGroup (Majeed's company) over unpaid taxes. Azwar Majeed was later jailed for tax fraud relating to his various other businesses. Crawley started the 2006–07 season by winning their opening three games and all but wiped out their 10-point deduction. The following month, however, the club's form dipped and this led to John Hollins and Alan Lewer losing their jobs. The news did not go down well with the fans as the pair had stuck with Crawley when others decided to leave and they had managed to lift the club off the bottom despite a 10-point deduction. They were replaced by players Ben Judge and David Woozley with the help of

John Yems John Yems (born 28 August 1959) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently manager of Crawley Town F.C., Crawley Town. Playing career As a player, Yems was a member of the reserve teams of Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal P ...

, the former

Fulham FC Fulham Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, London, which compete in the . They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spent at Loftus Road whilst Craven Cottage unde ...

and

Millwall FC Millwall Football Club () is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name ...

coach. Life started well for the trio who picked up 10 points from a possible 12. Crawley finished 18th in the division and managed to beat the drop after securing the point they needed on the final day of the season. In May 2007, it was confirmed that all of Crawley Town's debts had been cleared. However, complications arose and as a result Crawley were given a six-point penalty for the new season and a transfer embargo was put in place because of financial irregularities. It is believed that Crawley failed to confirm to the league that the debts had been paid. For the start of the 2007–08 season, a new regime was put into place which included Victor Marley as club Chairman and Steve Evans as manager, with Paul Raynor as an assistant. Crawley finished the season in a respectable 15th place, and were runners-up in the Sussex Senior Cup, despite the club's financial position and points deduction. In April 2008 Prospect Estate Holdings Limited took control of Crawley after buying it from the SA Group in conjunction with former owner John Duly. The club's financial worries were over and the club could look to build again and start the 2008–09 season on a level playing field. After a short period of stability, Crawley Town ended up in the High Court in London to face a winding-up order on 17 February 2010; again this was because of money being owed to HMRC. The hearing was adjourned until 17 March 2010. The latest setback appeared to be the end of Crawley Town, as the club had very few assets to sell in order to satisfy the debt. However, the case was later dismissed by the High Court as the club proved the debt had been paid. In a move that showed confidence in the new management, on 29 March 2010 Crawley Borough Council agreed to lease the Broadfield Stadium to Crawley Town F.C. and to help secure the long-term sustainability of the club.

FA Cup run & Football League

In 2010, Bruce Winfield announced that he and Susan Carter had become majority shareholders and had attracted new investment for the club, some of which came from overseas. The investment allowed manager Steve Evans to start rebuilding the squad, which saw 23 players signed over a six-month period including

Matt Tubbs Matthew Stephen Tubbs (born 15 July 1984) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bashley. Having started his football career, Tubbs joined Salisbury City and quickly made an impact throughout his time at the club, h ...

, for £70,000, Sergio Torres for a record £100,000, and Richard Brodie for an undisclosed fee, which was estimated to be a new Conference record of £275,000. The investment paid off as Crawley were challenging for promotion to the Football League and embarked on a remarkable

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

run. Victories over Newport County,

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in th ...

and

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

saw the club progress to a third round tie at home to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. They won 2–1, and followed it up with a 1–0 win at

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

in the fourth round. The fifth round draw saw Crawley face away tie with then

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

leaders

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, with manager Steve Evans admitting it was 'the tie of his dreams'. Crawley lost the fifth round tie 1–0 in front of 9,000 Crawley fans, though were denied a draw when Richard Brodie's header hit the bar in the 93rd minute. In March 2011, club owner Bruce Winfield died from cancer, aged 61. Despite their cup run and the death of owner Bruce Winfield, Crawley didn't halt their progress in the league as just 19 days after Winfield's death, Crawley secured the 2010–11 Football Conference title by beating Tamworth 3–0 and reaching the Football League for the first time in the club's history. In the 2011–12 season, they once again enjoyed success in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, beating

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

clubs

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

both 1–0 home and away respectively. They suffered a 2–0 defeat against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

in the fifth round. This was Crawley's first match against Premier League opposition at the

Broadfield Stadium The Broadfield Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Crawley, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Crawley Town F.C. The stadium has a capacity of 6,134 people, and is owned by Crawley Borough Counc ...

. Crawley finished 2011 at the top of League Two; a positive start to their first campaign in league football. However, despite continued success in the FA Cup, form slipped. Between 17 December 2011, and 13 March 2012, Crawley won just two league games out of a possible 14. Many argued the sales of

Matt Tubbs Matthew Stephen Tubbs (born 15 July 1984) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bashley. Having started his football career, Tubbs joined Salisbury City and quickly made an impact throughout his time at the club, h ...

and

Tyrone Barnett Tyrone Barnett (born 28 October 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays for club Leamington. A former West Bromwich Albion youth team player, the self-described 'athletic target man' dropped into non-League football with Rushal ...

for £800,000 and £1,100,000 respectively, as well as failing to reach a deal over

Andy Drury Andrew Mark Drury (born 28 November 1983) is an English footballer and football manager, who currently plays for Isthmian League South East Division club Chatham Town. He started his career in non-League football for Sittingbourne in 2001, mo ...

contributed to their dip in form. Three Crawley players were involved in a post-match brawl against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

, including former club captain

Pablo Mills Pablo Simeon Ishmael Mills (born 27 May 1984) is an English footballer. He predominantly plays as a midfielder or defender who plays for Mickleover Sports. Club career Mills joined Derby County as a 14-year-old, turning professional at 18. In ...

(suspended for six matches) and fellow defender

Claude Davis Claude Davis (born 6 March 1979) is a Jamaican former footballer who played as a defender. He previously played for Portmore United (Jamaica), Preston North End, Sheffield United, Derby County, Crystal Palace, Crawley Town and Rotherham Unite ...

(suspended for four matches). Five players from both clubs were suspended in total equalling the record for the most dismissals in an English game. Consequently, Crawley were fined £18,000. Following an FA inquiry into the events that took place,

Kyle McFadzean Kyle John McFadzean (born 28 February 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club Coventry City. Club career Sheffield United Born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, McFadzean was a member of Sheffield United' ...

was handed a four-game suspension after being found guilty of violent conduct. All three players released apology statements, and were all fined two weeks' wages. Despite apologising, Mills was stripped of his captaincy for behaviour not befitting the role of a club captain. He was released by the club at the conclusion of the 2011/12 season. On 9 April, it was announced that Steve Evans had left Crawley to take up a post at

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

. Evans revealed "In my opinion, how far can I take Crawley Town? League One certainly, but beyond that I was not so sure". Evans had previously admitted frustration over the departures of Matt Tubbs and Tyrone Barnett. Assistant manager

Paul Raynor Paul James Raynor (born 29 April 1966) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has worked as assistant manager under Steve Evans at Rotherham United, Leeds United, Mansfield Town, Peterborough United and Gi ...

also left the club with immediate effect, with coach

Craig Brewster Craig James Brown Brewster (born 13 December 1966) is a Scottish former professional footballer, turned coach. He made his name in a long playing career as a striker for numerous clubs in Scotland, particularly Forfar Athletic, Raith Rovers, Du ...

taking over as manager for the remainder of the season. Steve Coppell was appointed as director of football with immediate effect. On Saturday 5 May Crawley secured

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

promotion, courtesy of a 67th minute Scott Neilson strike against

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

. It was announced on 12 May, that Crawley were in talks to appoint

Sean O'Driscoll Sean Michael O'Driscoll (born 1 July 1957) is a former professional footballer and manager. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers, Crawley Town, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Walsall. He was known by the nickname "N ...

as their new manager. Under a tight budget at

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

he achieved promotion to the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

in his first full season. He was appointed as manager four days later. Despite Crawley chief executive Alan Williams being convinced they had made 'the perfect appointment', he left on 12 July, to become the new manager of

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, meaning that he did not take charge of Crawley for a single game. On 7 August 2012, Crawley appointed Bury F.C. manager Richie Barker as their new manager. Under him, the club had a successful debut season in League One, challenging for the play-offs for much of the campaign and finishing comfortably in tenth place. The club caused controversy, however, by banning a reporter from ''Crawley News'' because the club's management disliked two of his paper's headlines. The club were condemned for this in a motion signed by 23 MPs on 10 December 2013. Barker was sacked early in the following season for speaking to League Two side

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

about their manager's job. He was replaced by John Gregory, who steered the club to another mid-table finish despite a poor late run. The 2014–15 season saw Crawley struggle for form, and Gregory resigned for health reasons near the end of 2014, with the club in the relegation zone.

Dean Saunders Dean Nicholas Saunders (born 21 June 1964) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a striker in a career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in the 1990s, and s ...

was appointed to replace him on an interim basis, and despite an upturn in form, was unable to get the club out of trouble. On Sunday 3 May 2015, Crawley were relegated to League Two, following a 1–2 defeat at home to Coventry City. Saunders' short-term deal was not renewed after the season ended, and he was replaced by Mark Yates.

Return to League Two

While Crawley were among the pre-season promotion favourites, one win in their first ten games quickly put paid to any such hopes. Their form improved as the season progressed, with the West Sussex outfit 12th by 26 December. In March 2016, the club was purchased by Turkish businessman Ziya Eren, who set a target for the club to be playing in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

within 8–10 years. Following a run of six consecutive defeats, Yates was sacked just before the season ended, with Dermot Drummy appointed as his successor. The 2016–17 season started strongly for the Reds and fans liked the new strategy put in place by Drummy. However, after drawing 3–3 at home to Carlisle United thanks to captain Jimmy Smith's late goal, Crawley only narrowly survived in League Two. On 4 May, the club sacked Drummy and assistant Matt Gray after under a year in charge. Just over a year later, on 27 November 2017, Drummy was found dead near the A414 in

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon is ...

, with the cause of death later confirmed to be suicide. On 23 May 2017, former

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

winger

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. His most recent role as a club manager was at English National League side Barnet, and he is currently a first team coach at Celtic F ...

was appointed as head coach, becoming the first Australian to coach a professional English side, with

Warren Feeney Warren James Feeney (born 17 January 1981) is a football manager and former Northern Ireland international footballer, who is currently manager of Welling United. In making his debut for the Northern Ireland national team, he became the third ...

appointed assistant manager to Kewell. Kewell managed Crawley to a 14th-placed finish - their best since relegation from League One. Kewell left the club shortly into the 2018–19 season, to manage fellow

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

club

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

.

Gabriele Cioffi Gabriele Cioffi (born 7 September 1975) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is the head coach of Serie A club Udinese. Playing career As a player, Cioffi was a defender. He started his care ...

was appointed as his successor a week later and led the club to finish 19th that season. The 2019–20 season saw Crawley Town compete in

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

for the fifth consecutive season. Despite the club reaching the Fourth round of the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

, their best performance in the competition, manager

Gabriele Cioffi Gabriele Cioffi (born 7 September 1975) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is the head coach of Serie A club Udinese. Playing career As a player, Cioffi was a defender. He started his care ...

left the club by mutual consent on 2 December 2019, with the club having won just once in 11 matches leaving the club 17th in League Two. Cioffi was replaced by former manager

John Yems John Yems (born 28 August 1959) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently manager of Crawley Town F.C., Crawley Town. Playing career As a player, Yems was a member of the reserve teams of Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal P ...

three days later on a deal until the end of the season. Following an upturn in the club's form, with Crawley losing just two of 11 matches, Yems' contract was extended until the end of the 2022–23 season in late January 2020. However, in March 2020, the League Two season was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, with Crawley still to play a further nine games. The season was later terminated, with Crawley finishing 13th after clubs agreed to base the final table on

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by nu ...

. The following season, Crawley improved one place to 12th. On 7 April 2022, it was announced that the club had been acquired by Wagmi United LLC, a group of US

cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It i ...

investors. The "crypto bro" new owners promised a new approach to football club ownership, talking of building a “tight-knit community” of fans “stretching from West Sussex to anywhere in the world with an internet connection”, but they quickly encountered controversy. Manager John Yems left the club in May 2022 after allegations of racist behaviour (he was later banned from football for 18 months after being found guilty of 12 charges of racist abuse towards his players) and was subsequently replaced by

Kevin Betsy Kevin Eddie Lewis Betsy (born 20 March 1978) is a football coach and former professional footballer. He started his career with Woking but went on to make a name for himself with Fulham where he became part of the squad that earned promotions ...

. After a disastrous start to the 2022–23 league season, Betsy left the club on 9 October 2022 following a 3-0 defeat to

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

which left the club bottom of the league. The reign of the next manager was even shorter;

Matthew Etherington Matthew Etherington (born 14 August 1981) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Crawley Town. As a player, Etherington played as a winger, most notably in the Premier League for ...

resigned in December 2022 after just 34 days in charge. Amid what ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called "reckless leadership" and a "shambles", caretaker manager

Darren Byfield Darren Asherton Byfield (born 29 September 1976) is a former professional footballer. He is currently a coach of Crawley Town. Byfield won six caps for Jamaica in 2003, and has scored 110 goals in 484 appearances across all domestic competitions ...

was joined in the dugout at the 3–1 defeat by

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

by co-chairman Preston Johnson, who was ridiculed online by Stevenage staff for his lack of understanding of substitution rules. After Crawley fans requested a meeting with the owners, Johnson delayed, saying the club needed to get to "the bottom of sensitive legal issues".

Scott Lindsey Scott Lindsey (born 4 May 1972) is an English former footballer. He played as a midfielder in the Football League for Gillingham and is currently the head coach of Swindon Town. Playing career Lindsey started his career with Goole Town befo ...

was appointed as the club's new manager on 11 January 2023.

Stadium

Crawley Town FC spent 48 years at their Town Mead home until the land was sold to developers in 1997. The club then moved to the

Broadfield Stadium The Broadfield Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Crawley, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Crawley Town F.C. The stadium has a capacity of 6,134 people, and is owned by Crawley Borough Counc ...

, about two miles across town. The stadium has a capacity of 5,996 people, and is owned by

Crawley Borough Council Crawley Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Crawley, in the county of West Sussex, England. The council consists of 35 councillors, either two or three for each of the 13 wards in the district. It is currently controlled by t ...

. In January 2012 the application for the new 2,000-seater East Stand (and facilities including new turnstiles and

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

standard flood lights) was accepted by

Crawley Borough Council Crawley Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Crawley, in the county of West Sussex, England. The council consists of 35 councillors, either two or three for each of the 13 wards in the district. It is currently controlled by t ...

. The upgrade is required to meet the league rules which require a minimum 5,000 capacity stadium. After just one week of construction, the new East Stand was completed on 2 April 2012, bringing the total capacity of the Broadfield Stadium to 5,500. Upon completion, Crawley's first game with the new stand was against League Two side Crewe Alexandra on 6 April. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with a new record crowd of 4,723, the previous best being 4,522. The record attendance reached 5,880 on Saturday 5 January 2013 when Crawley Town hosted Reading in the FA Cup. Between 2013 and 2018, the stadium was called The Checkatrade.com Stadium as part of a sponsorship deal with the online trades comparison company Checkatrade. Since December 2018 the stadium has been named The People’s Pension Stadium.

Rivalries

Crawley Town supporters view

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

as their biggest rivals in a 2012 survey. This is partly due to their relatively close proximity, and partly due to their frequent meetings since 2009. The two sides did not play each other between 2012 and 2015 due to Crawley's promotion to League One. However Crawley's relegation during the

2014–15 Football League One The 2014–15 Football League One (referred to as the Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of the Football League One under its current title and the twenty-second season under its current league division format. Th ...

season means the two sides played each other on 15 August 2015, which Wimbledon won 2–1 after going a goal down. Wimbledon’s relegation in the

2021-2022 League One season Increment or incremental may refer to: *Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism) *Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming *Incremental computing *Incremental backup, wh ...

season meant they would face Crawley again winning 0-2 at the Broadfield Stadium on 20 September 2022. The survey also indicates that Town fans view

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

and Swindon Town as their second and third largest rivals respectively.

Players

First team squad

Out on loan

Club management

Backroom staff

Honours

*

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

(4th tier) **3rd place promotion: 2011–12 *

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

(5th tier) **Champions: 2010–11 * Southern League Premier Division **Champions: 2003–04 * Southern League Division One / Southern Section **2nd place promotion: 1983–84 **4th place promotion: 1968–69 * Southern League Cup **Winners:

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

*

Metropolitan League The Metropolitan League was a football league in the south-east of England between 1949 and 1971.Sussex Senior Challenge Cup The Sussex Senior Cup is an annual association football knock-out cup competition for men's football clubs in the English county of Sussex and is the county senior cup of the Sussex FA. Its official name is the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup. F ...

**Winners: 1990, 1991, 2003, 2005 **Runners-up: 1959, 1996, 2008, 2017, 2018

References

External links

Official websiteCrawley Town F.C.
at CTFC.net
Crawley Town page
on BBC Sport {{Crawley Football clubs in West Sussex Crawley Association football clubs established in 1896 1896 establishments in England Football clubs in England Organisations based in Crawley West Sussex Football League Mid-Sussex Football League Brighton, Hove & District Football League Southern Combination Football League Metropolitan League Southern Football League clubs National League (English football) clubs English Football League clubs Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom Sport in Crawley