Crawley Town F.C.

Crawley Town

Full name	Crawley Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	Red Devils, The Reds
Founded	1896
Ground	Broadfield Stadium, Crawley (Capacity: 4,996 (1,150 seated))
Chairman	Victor Marley
Manager	Steve Evans
League	League Two
2010–11	Conference National, 1st (champions)
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Crawley Town Football Club is an English football club based in Crawley, West Sussex. The club participates in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football.

History

Formed in 1896, Crawley Town began life in the West Sussex League where they remained for five years before transferring to the Mid-Sussex League, winning the League in only their second season

They stayed at this level until they entered the Sussex County League in 1951 before switching again 5 years later to the Metropolitan League. The league was a competition for both professional and amateur sides. Crawley retained their amateur status and went on to win the Metropolitan League Challenge Cup in 1959.

Crawley turned semi-professional in 1962 and the following year they joined Division One of the Southern League. In 1969 they were promoted to Premier Division of the Southern League but the joy was short lived as the following they were relegated back to the first division where they remained until the 1983–84 season when they were promoted as runners-up.

The club have enjoyed many cup successes, winning the Sussex Professional Cup in 1970, the Gilbert Rice Floodlight Cup in 1980 and 1984, the Southern Counties Combination Floodight Cup in 1986, and the Sussex Senior Cup in 1990 and 1991. The Sussex Floodlight Cup was won in three consecutive years from 1991 to 1993 and also again in 1998–99.

Despite several cup successes, Crawley's most successful cup run at the time was in the 1991–92 season when they reached the The FA Cup third round proper and played local rivals Brighton, losing 5–0 in front of 18,301 at the Goldstone Ground.

In 2004 The Red Devils signed off their 20-season stay in the Premier Division of the Southern League by wrapping up the championship in convincing style, ending up 12 points clear of the field and adding their second successive League Cup success and the league’s Championship Match trophy. The title was wrapped up with four matches remaining, as a 3–0 victory at Welling sparked emotional celebrations from a large travelling contingent. Crawley would now be plying in the Football Conference, the highest level of non-League football, for the first time in their history.

A final position of 12th in their first season in the National Division was an amazing 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 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 3rd from bottom and out of the FA Cup after a shock defeat to Braintree Town. Francis Vines was subsequently sacked and replace by former Chelsea FC manager and player John Hollins and his assistant Alan Lewer. Things got worse for Crawley and as attendances dropped 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, Simon Wormull and record signing Daryl Clare; 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 remarkably beat the drop by 10 points. The club were deducted 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 but they later went into administration.

In August 2006 it was announced that the club would fold due to their debts, and they came within an hour of the liquidation deadline. However, a last-minute rescue package saved the club and allowed them to carry on playing, albeit with a 10 point deduction for entering administration.

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, the former Fulham FC and Millwall FC 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.

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 assistant. The season didn't get off to the best of starts as the club was deducted six points due to their financial standing. 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.

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 over a six month period including Matt Tubbs, for £70,000 Sergio Torres for a record £100,000, and Richard Brodie for an undisclosed fee, the fee paid is estimated at 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 run having beaten Championship Derby County 2–1 in the 3rd round, followed by a 1–0 win at League Two Torquay United in the 4th round and setting up a dream tie at Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the 5th round. Crawley lost the game 1–0 in front of 9,000 Crawley fans and were denied a remarkable draw in the 93rd minute when Richard Brodie's header hit the bar.

Crawley's cup run and the death of owner Bruce Winfield, didn't halt their progress in the league as just 19 days after Winfields death Crawley secured the conference title by beating Tamworth 3–0 and reaching The Football League for the first time in the club's history..

Crawley are currently enjoying life in League Two and are among the title chasers as well as embarking on another amazing FA Cup run which has seen them beat Championship teams Bristol City at home and Hull City away both 1-0. They are due to face Premier League side Stoke City in the 5th round at the Broadfield Stadium with a big crowd expected.

Financial problems

Although Crawley Town FC 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 on in some capacity.

The Reds' fans started a "Red Card" campaign in order to remove Chas Majeed and his owner brother Azwar Majeed from the club. It was revealed that the club was around £1.1million in debt with nearly £400,000 due to HM Revenue and Customs, 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 HM Revenue and Customs unwilling to move on their 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 were able to continue playing for now, though this didn't stop HM Revenue and Customs 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.

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.

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.

Ground

Broadfield 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, about two miles across town. The stadium has a capacity of 4,996 people, and is owned by Crawley Borough Council. The home league game against Weymouth in Crawley's 2003–04 title winning season saw a new record crowd of 4,522, who watched a 2–1 Crawley victory against the eventual runners-up.

In January 2012 the application for the new 2000 seater East Stand (and facilities including new turnstiles and premier league standard flood lights) was accepted by Crawley Council. The new stand is due to open on March 17th when Crawley meet Port Vale. The upgrade is required to meet the League rules which require a minimum 5000 capacity stadium.

Players

As of 1 January 2012.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Michel Kuipers 2 MF Scott Davies 3 DF Dean Howell 4 DF Pablo Mills (club captain) 5 DF Kyle McFadzean 6 MF Hope Akpan 7 FW Billy Clarke 8 MF Sergio Torres 10 MF Sanchez Watt (on loan from Arsenal) 11 MF Josh Simpson 13 MF David Hunt 14 MF Jamie Day

No. Position Player 15 MF Dannie Bulman 16 DF Glenn Wilson 17 FW John Akinde 19 FW Karl Hawley (on loan from Notts County) 20 DF Charlie Wassmer 21 FW Shaun Batt (on loan from Millwall) 22 MF Scott Neilson 24 MF Byron Napper 25 GK Scott Shearer 26 GK Rene Gilmartin (on loan from Watford) 27 FW Aaron Wickham 28 DF Claude Davis

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 12 MF Ben Smith (at Aldershot Town until the end of the 2011–12 season) 18 DF John Dempster (at Mansfield Town until 22 February 2012) 23 FW Tyrone Barnett (at Peterborough United until the end of the 2011-12 season) — FW Richard Brodie (at Fleetwood Town until the end of the 2011–12 season)

Honours (first team)

• Mid Sussex Senior League 1902–03
• Montgomery Cup 1925–26
• Sussex Intermediate Cup 1927–28
• Metropolitan League Challenge Cup 1958–59
• Highest Placed Amateurs Award 1961–62
• Sussex Professional Cup 1969–70
• Southern League Merit Cup 1970–71
• Gilbert Rice Floodlight Cup 1979–80, 1983–84
• Southern Counties Combination Floodlight League 1985–86
• Sussex Senior Cup 1989–90, 1990–91, 2002–03, 2004–05
• Sussex Floodlight Cup 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1998–99
• Roy Hayden Trophy 1990–91, 1991–92
• William Hill Senior Cup 1992–93
• Southern League Cup Winners 2002–03, 2003–04
• Southern League Championship Trophy 2003–04, 2004–05
• Southern League Champions 2003–04
• Conference National Champions 2010–11

External links

• Official Site
• CTFC.net
• BBC Sport Crawley Town page
• Supporters Club
• The Devils Trust