Crawley Town appoint ex-Tottenham, West Ham, Stoke, Bradford, Peterborough player Matthew Etherington as their new manager.
The League Two strugglers made the decision after confirming that Lewis Young left the club with immediate effect, spending eight years of impeccable service as both a player and a coach and most recently, Young served his second stint as the club’s interim manager.
Young joined the Red Devils in 2014 under then-manager John Gregory and the former full-back went on to make over 200 appearances for the club before joining the coaching team at the Broadfield Stadium in 2021.
✨ Thanks for everything, Lewis.#TownTeamTogether🔴 pic.twitter.com/2MWgNZv1Kx
— Crawley Town FC (@crawleytown) November 27, 2022
Director of Football Chris Galley said: “I’d like to thank Lewis for his service to the club over the past eight years. He has served us incredibly well, and I wish him all the best for the future.”
The statement continued: “Everyone at the club would like to extend their thanks to Lewis Young for his constant hard work and dedication to the club in every role that he has served. We wish Lewis all the best for the future, and he will always be welcome at the Broadfield Stadium.”
Then later on Sunday evening, Etherington was appointed having been under-21 manager at boyhood club Peterborough.
He signs a 18-month contract and will be assisted by his former Posh and Spurs team-mate Simon Davies.
📰 MATTHEW ETHERINGTON APPOINTED AS MANAGER
Crawley Town Football Club is delighted to announce that Matthew Etherington has been appointed as the new First-Team Manager.#TownTeamTogether🔴
— Crawley Town FC (@crawleytown) November 27, 2022
CLUB STATEMENT:
Crawley Town Football Club is delighted to announce that Matthew Etherington has been appointed as the new First-Team Manager. Etherington joins the club from Peterborough, where he was serving as the Posh’s U23 manager. The former West Ham United winger joins on an initial 18-month contract.
Matthew will be joined by Simon Davies, who joins the club as Assistant Manager. The pair have a long history together, having known each other since the age of 11. The pair began their playing careers at the Posh before both signing for Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur. Davies also joins from Peterborough, where he was serving as Etherington’s assistant in the U23 setup at the Weston Homes Stadium.
Etherington had a prosperous playing career, which spanned over 17 years and included spells with Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Stoke in the top flight of English football. Matthew, who is commonly known as Matty, featured regularly for England youth teams from U16 to U21 level.
The former winger began his coaching career at the Posh, where he initially joined as U18’s manager. Etherington stepped up to be Assistant Manager in 2021 before taking control of the Posh as interim manager in the February of this year. After his spell as interim manager, Matty assumed control of the U23’s, where he was joined by Davies.
Upon joining the Reds, Matthew Etherington said: I am extremely excited. This is a great opportunity for both myself and Simon, and we are raring to go. I have had really positive discussions with the owners over a period of time. I met Chris a few days ago, and it is clear to see that this club is set up to be successful. I have known Simon since we were 11. He is a very important person to me and is an excellent coach so I am delighted that he is joining me here. The biggest thing for me is attacking and scoring goals. If you can get that right, along with a lot of other things, you have always got a chance. I am really looking forward to meeting the lads and getting started at Southwater tomorrow.”
Director of Football Chris Galley said: “I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Matthew and Simon to the club. They both impressed me during the recruitment process, and it was clear to see that their ambitions match those of the club. We are well into the season now and are naturally wanting to push our way up the table as much as possible. I am confident that Matthew and Simon are the right people to ensure that happens. I would also like to thank Peterborough for their help in this process and for allowing us to take two valuable members of their coaching staff. This is a great opportunity for the pair of them, and I can’t wait to start working with them.”
Speaking on Matthew’s appointment, Co-Chairman Preston Johnson said: “Lewis Young served the club excellently and steadied the ship in what was a difficult time after we had to let go of Kevin Betsy and Dan Micciche, and I would personally like to thank him for his service. We are looking forward to building our relationship with both Matthew and Simon. We are very confident that they are the right candidates for the job. It was clear to us that the pair of them are data-driven in their approach, which is paramount for us and will be an even bigger focus for CTFC going forward. Matthew is somebody who is willing to take risks and play aggressively, and we are looking forward to watching him in action next Saturday against Swindon.”
Twitter users reacted as Crawley appoint the ex-Tottenham, West Ham, Stoke, Bradford, Peterborough player as new manager…
@EllisBarton: No. Why? Why are you ‘delighted’? We sacked Betsy to bring in a bald Betsy…
@ExWHUEmployee: A brilliant appointment! Matt has a wealth of football and tactical knowledge and is very well connected in the game. A great up and coming manager who i really think will succeed in his new role 👏🏻⚒
@jfgpufc: i can see this working out for you lot tbh
@SteveHerb77: Never be scared of change… Betsy he isn’t. Proven as caretaker and assistant manager at Posh. I’ll embrace anyone and give them a chance! #TownTeamTogether 🔴🙌🏻
@AdamSimmo73: U23s is nothing like League 2 and playing in the Prem is even further away. Dangerous appointment given the current situation there but clubs don’t appoint the right advisors and that’s how this happens. Enjoyed my time there with SE & PR 2011 and hope it works out for you all
@AdamPAstley: This is such a Championship Manager 00/01 thing to happen, Etherington and Davies’ signings as players from Peterborough propelled me to Champions league glory (and also caused me to fail my A-levels)
@fish01551: Another u23 coach, worked so well last time
@mjfjo: Good luck Mathew, wishing you much success with us and hopefully quickly to shut up some of the haters (not that it will, suspect some will be more pleased if relegated?!).
@jammygeez: This was @WAGMIUnited chance to get the fans back on board and convince them they know what they are doing, yet once again the messed it up. Shocking. So many ACTUAL managers out there with experience who would have been better.
@RyanBuss700: Interesting appointment. Know nothing about his managerial experience but played at a very high level. Well let’s get behind him and hope he thrives with us
@JonesFobar: He has zero managerial experience and less coaching credentials than Betsy. It’s a disgrace
@mtgallimore: Congratulations Matty. Very pleased for you. From an ever-appreciative Stokie.
@callum_oliveira: The fourth manager we have had since 2014 with no league experience. Are you taking the piss? Hope I’m proved wrong.
@simonk76: Hmmmm. Another U23 manager with no League Two managerial experience. Another extremely risky appointment IMO. He’ll have my support though, got to get behind him
@Tidy_Yid: Yeah coz under 23 manager worked so well b4 didn’t it?! Crying out for an experienced manager at league 2 level. What are @WAGMIUnited playing at?
@Bowlesy92: Good luck Matt, you’ll be missed at Posh!
@FalknerJosh: No football league managerial experience yet again! We’re still in a relegation battle ffs, why aren’t we appointing an experienced manager who knows and understands managing in league 2. You will never learn @WAGMIUnited 🤦♂️ I’m back to feeling concerned yet again
@joetsharp: Another U23 manager, just fuck off.
@gmcneill57: National League is a better league than L2 anyway 😂😂😂😂
@samdruiff: Suddenly I have an interest in Crawley. Good luck Matthew!
@marowe1988: Got a feeling this will be a good appointment actually. Highly rated young coach. Test will be his recruitment, suspect peterborough will send quite a few his way.
@SussexIsRed: At least he will have some clue about the lower leagues tbf, posh are a well run club as well so that’s always a plus
@ArchieCross18: What are they smoking up there at WAGMI 😂😂
@stephen_dimmock: I do worry that he could be another Betsy but am willing to give him time to see what he can do. Hopefully will have much more tactical nous and be able to use players in the correct positions
@TealeJM: This is bizarre in so many ways. Lewis deserved the job.
@WFCJamie2: weird appointment, weird owners, weird club, this relegation is going to be stained all across this fellas CV
@Freddie_CFCCTFC: NO EFL EXPERIENCE @WAGMIUnited WHAT ARE YOU DOING
@harry_qpr: Shocking owners btw, trying to make the club an internet club like Hashtag United with no regard to the actual progression as a footballing club
@Joshctfc: Good to see we learnt from our last mistake of appointing a youth team manager with no experience.
@Deanog13: Best u23 coach in the country didn’t work out so let’s try again with a worse one what could possibly go wrong 😭
@ctfc_b: I’d say I’m underwhelmed but I expected something like this. Can’t write the bloke off but I’m so tired of hiring managers with 0 experience and watching them fail repeatedly. Please let this be different.
@Pfinch215: Fantastic appointment, but a big job on his hands!
@KDGAMING1996: Good luck Matthew 👍⚒
— ✌Bruce Wells⚽ (@bruceywells) November 27, 2022
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