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Crawley players baffled and fans voice anger over growing chaos at the club as statement emerges

Crawley Town players are baffled and fans voice their anger over growing chaos at the club as a statement emerges this week.

Supporters sang a number of chants directed at the ongoing madness and handling of the League Two side, made worse due to their form.

It started if you like with Tom Nichols sold to League Two rivals Gillingham and manager Matt Etherington – WAGMI’s fourth since taking over the club in April – leaving.

There were rumours of players being left out of the squad for the match at Stevenage, which ended in the hosts winning 3-1, and other departures of the senior squad potentially imminent say Sussex Express.

Supporters want answers from director of football Chris Galley and co-owner and co-chairman Preston Johnson. A statement had since come out…

PRESTON JOHNSON’S STATEMENT

Crawley Town Football Club can confirm that assistant coach Darren Byfield will take charge of the team for today’s match against Stevenage and Monday’s game with Newport County. Club co-chairman Preston Johnson will also be in the dugout to show his support to Darren, the staff and the players.

Ahead of the match, club co-chairman Preston Johnson issued the following statement:

“It’s no secret that this season hasn’t gone the way any of us who care about the club had hoped or expected. After a half season of consistently unacceptable results, it has become clear that significant changes are required to set things right, both on and off the pitch. We now have two big opportunities to begin the necessary transformation by appointing a new permanent manager and reshaping our squad in the impending January transfer window. And while achieving the type of reset that our football performance and culture needs is unlikely to occur overnight, the importance of this moment cannot be overstated.

That is why I have opted to fly back to the UK and take a more direct, hands-on role during this crucial period, especially as we remain actively engaged in the recruitment of an experienced and proven manager to guide the club forward. It is imperative that we use these next two games to gather as much information about our current squad as possible to inform our actions in the transfer window. That includes selecting players who have received fewer opportunities in league contests to date, to ensure that our football operations team can properly evaluate them in this setting. I look forward to working collaboratively with Darren and the staff to ensure that we are utilizing this interim period as effectively as possible to set the club up for a productive January and, most importantly, for greater success in the long-term.

I know that many supporters are disappointed and angry about the current state of the club. I hear you, and I share your frustration and take responsibility for that. Crawley fans deserve a team and a club that makes them proud on the pitch and in the community — and I remain deeply committed to ensuring we live up to that responsibility.”

CO-OWNER EBEN SMITH’S TWITTER THREAD:

“Hi @crawleytown fans- A brief statement on where we’re at and what happens next.

Can you imagine being Gillingham or Rochdale or Colchester right now? Like you guys love chanting at games, “You must be sh*t to be behind us.

“Matthew Etherington walked into this situation with eyes wide open. He signed a contract that explicitly laid out how we were going to do things at Crawley Town.

“Unfortunately, like everything with this project, he experienced a remarkable spell of bad luck, and while I don’t believe one moment defines a man, in this case, he chose to leave us without a manger the day before we have two games in four days.

“Some veterans on the team are no longer a part of Crawley Town’s future.

“During our investigation into the claims against John Yems, certain things have come to light, trust has been broken and we cannot repair the rotten culture that preceded us without turning the page.

“Moving on from Lewis Young was a tough decision and I take responsibility for that. Lewis had stabilized the team. I went to meet with him after the Bradford game and he expected he was going to be named the full-time manager.

“In that meeting, I explained that we weren’t ready to pull the long-term trigger because we had certain concerns. I explained to Lewis how he would be evaluated the rest of the month and what the organization’s goals were.

“We got outshot 87-28 over his five remaining games. He expected a decision by the end of November and given the evidence, we thought there was a better chance we’d be relegated with him than without him.

“We might have been wrong.

“We were definitely wrong to put our trust in Matthew.

“Tonight, according to bookmakers, we have an expected value of .56 points as 8-1 underdogs. What a great situation to be in. Nothing to lose, everything to gain. And freed from the shackles of the past.”

– THREAD ENDS –

Crawley Town co-chairman Preston Johnson was in the dugout for Friday’s match against Stevenage, following the departure of manager Etherington on Thursday.

Johnson’s decision to take on a “more direct, hands-on role” didn’t pay off as Crawley were beaten 3-1 by their promotion-chasing hosts, with Crawley staying 20th.

Interim manager Darren Byfield: “I don’t know too much about everything. I said the same to the players: don’t let anything outside of the game interfere with what we’re doing out there.

“Preston has flown in … and shown he is dedicated to the football club. I know the fans are upset but whatever I’m told to do here with the players, I’ll do to the best of my ability. The fans pay their money, we clap them, we listen to what’s going on and we just try and implement what we want from the boys.”

Stevenage manager, Steve Evans, who guided Crawley into the EFL in 2011, expressed concern at the chaos affecting his former club.

“I leave here with real genuine thoughts that Crawley Town sort themselves out because it’s a club that’s deep in my heart,” Evans said.

“We can’t stop our players reading what’s been online for a couple of days about the situation with Crawley. I asked our players to ignore it, but sometimes you can’t get it out of their heads. I thought we played really well in patches, not so good in others. Our quality was a little bit missing at certain times tonight.

Crawley Town defender Harry Ransom said after the game against Stevenage, as per Sussex Express:

“No one really knows what’s going on,” said Ransom.

“We’ve come into training, and we found out that the gaffers gone. Byfield didn’t know if he was in charge properly, so it has been a little bit of a mess and it has been tough for the lads.

“A lot of us are young so it’s the first time we’ve ever experienced it and even some of the experienced lads, they’ve never seen anything like this.”

 

The Crawley Town Supporters Alliance said: “After 4 requests for a meeting with the clubs owners, since the morning of 29th December, that have all been unsuccessful, we have no choice but to pursue our concerns with the FSA. We will also now agree to the requests from members of the press for comments.

“We have given the owners ample opportunities to engage with us but unfortunately these haven’t been taken up. We will continue to support the players on the pitch to win as many points as possible to preserve our Football League status. However, the lack of engagement and some of the recent decision making from our owners is not acceptable. We will continue to seek a meeting to discuss our concerns.

“Our door will always remain open to our owners for a meeting either virtually or face to face to enable us all to work together to resolve what is clearly an unacceptable position for all parties.”

This is what was being said on Twitter with Crawley players baffled and fans voice anger over the growing chaos at the club…

@JamieMcWaters: Using fringe players because alot of the senior pros have challenged you is more like the reason. Pathetic statement. You should be no where near that dugout @SportsCheetah

@FULLERK88: Not sure what the fuss is about as this seems normal behaviour. Also there can’t be any bad owners in English football cos the EFL’s Fit and Proper test is tried and tested 😉 In all seruousness, good luck to anyone who cares about Crawley. Ridiculous statement

@VincentMonedero: An owner in the dugout. Using reserve / B team players. What the hell we are in relegation battle and if your little experiment fails we loose more ground from safety. I will support my team till I die but this is a very uncomfortable situation we are in

@MontyCtfc: With their definition of ‘experienced manager’ I will throw my name in the hat. I have experience coaching U8s up to U13s. There you are. Experience according to Wagmi.

@cockney_bantam: ANY real football fan, regardless of their team knows where this type of club management leads. You are on a well-trodden path, and @crawleytown fans don’t deserve it. Fair enough that you hear them. Try listening though.

@JohnBarnett18: Time to meet the fans face to face @SportsCheetah fans forum long overdue – Detailed explanation of your statement needed along with full disclosure how you managed to get us to this point

@LiamCrookGB: I can see this going well, so evaluating players = money, if he values them too high, no one will have them, players will then try to cancel contracts as they’ll feel undervalued. Allowing them to go for free, to the point of no club left. So the kids will have to fill spots.

@LukeCTFC2022: So the players need to be evaluated over the next 2 games because no one left at the club has any idea if they are the right fit for us?

@Dannyboy6481: You say you hear the fans well try listening 👂 you’re not just ruining a football club you’re ruining a part of a community you are a custodian of that club it’s your responsibility to look after it so treat it with respect! Always the fans who suffer

@CrawleyfcVlogs: From a crawley fan, I support the players, staff and fans. But @WAGMIUnited you can do one and get proper owners who can manage and own a club without selling our main players.

@AlexBarron1988: Got no right to be in that dug out. leave it for the people that have actually undertaken an education to be there. Keep digging that hole.

@ctfc_fan: Club statement stating we are going to breach an EFL law deliberately, that’s a new one

@ahbr1978: Are we supposed to be impressed that you’re going to be in the UK to do the job you’ve somehow ended up being entrusted to do? I’ll try that in my work in the NY. See if a commitment to being in the same country as my company impresses the boss. Bring back Lewis Young or an experienced manager from this level who know, understand and are experienced at this game. Watch and learn about the league and the business you’re in, and then look at how you guys can complement the club as it is. What you’re doing looks almost aimless and chaotic. Not enough respect for the game, the league and of course CTFC. Watch, listen and learn. Stop charging into this like an over enthusiastic bunch of toddlers.

@keepingtrackDW: Feel for the Crawley fans. This is one of the most embarrassing ownerships in recent football history. When will the FA actually do something about “fit and proper” testing?

@MFagmi: Embarrassing, owner on the bench, another groundbreaking @WAGMIUnited strategic master stroke 😭 sounds like the players have had enough too and can’t blame them. Wholesale changes in Jan after buying 20 players in the summer is madness. Relegation beckons if @WAGMIUnited stay

@TallPaul_H: There’s a game called Football Manager that’s incredibly cheaper than buying an actual football club. Should buy it instead of playing fantasy land

@Pflatts: In what way is this perceived to be a good idea?!?!? I feel for you Crawley fans, I really do. This is laughable and makes Crawley an absolute laughing stock of professional football. RIP Crawley.

@trequartbeasta: This has gone exactly how everyone thought it would. Absolute clowns.

@Stevefootball1: Finally a statement from the club. Took way too long. But I don’t like our fans going in on a person who was just ill with a deadly illness, he has only just recovered & is making his way down to Crawley already that to me shows dedication out of everyone Preston is a good guy.

@fish_blues: What’s the point in evaluating the squad in a competitive league game when you’re getting a new proven experienced manager who would just want to do things there way. I really feel for you Crawley fans. You could see this coming a mile off.

@Brax12George: “actively engaged in the recruitment of an experienced and proven manager to guide the club forward.” Wow it’s almost like we’ve been saying this since the start?

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