[Football] Crawley Town FC ............. Concerned?

[midnight_rendezvous]

Never understood why we haven’t tried to build a mutually beneficial relationship with the only other Sussex based football league team. Many of our U23s would benefit from regular competitive game time and Crawley have struggled in L2 with squad depth in recent seasons. Season long loan deals for players like Tilley, Sanchez, Cox etc would benefit both parties IMO.

 

[GT49er]

Easbourne Borough survived a couple of years in The Conference Premier too. Same potential with Hastings - population of over 90,000 with another 90,000+ population in the surrounding area in Rother.

Wikipedia suggests it's about 99,000 in Eastbourne and about 90,000 in Hastings/ St Leonards.

The buzz in Hastings during The FA Cup run 5 years ago shows the potential in regards to support.

Bring the two together then - come on the mighty Norman's Bay United! Or they could follow the Scottish example of East Stirlingshire and go out as East Sussex FC. It would be good to have a friendly Sussex club in League 1 or 2 that we could lend out youngsters to to get a bit of experience, and for whatever reason (and I've got no idea why) Crawley don't seem to be it.

 

[BensGrandad]

Never understood why we haven’t tried to build a mutually beneficial relationship with the only other Sussex based football league team. Many of our U23s would benefit from regular competitive game time and Crawley have struggled in L2 with squad depth in recent seasons. Season long loan deals for players like Tilley, Sanchez, Cox etc QUOTE

We have many players out on loan and I am sure some of those are better than Crawley have. One that springs to mind is Ritchie Towell at Rotherham, surely he would have preferred to stay local.

 

[Creaky]

Either that, or you're biased and can't see that it's a bit shit.

Maybe I am biased but whilst, like most places, it has areas that are a “bit shit” it also has areas that are forward looking and are far from being “shit”.

The technology being developed in the industrial areas of the town is the stuff of dreams - the schools compare favourably with other areas in West Sussex - the job opportunities are good and unemployment is lower than for Brighton.

The major retail sites are fairly generic in the town centre as are the entertainment centres - certainly can’t compete with Brighton but there is a theatre, football club and parks with a racecourse just a few minutes drive away. Transport links are as good as, if not better, than anywhere else in the South East.

When it comes to housing then the range is as wide as anywhere in the UK.

Despite living in Surrey I probably am biased because I use the shops, restaurants and theatre in Crawley and the surrounding area on a regular basis. Few people would I surmise describe a town like Reigate as shit but it has very little to offer in comparison with Crawley.

Hopefully CTFC won’t drop out of the League. Strangely it’s their home form that seems to be the problem.

 

[Don Tmatter]

Never understood why we haven’t tried to build a mutually beneficial relationship with the only other Sussex based football league team. Many of our U23s would benefit from regular competitive game time and Crawley have struggled in L2 with squad depth in recent seasons. Season long loan deals for players like Tilley, Sanchez, Cox etc would benefit both parties IMO.

Yes seeing as they let us use the Check-a-Trade for U23 games, you'd think we'd repay them by loaning out some of the DS, only one I can recall going there was Tom Dallison and his was cut short by injury.

 

[Lindfield by the Pond]

I remember the 5-0 at the Goldstone but they then seem to get too close in the league, happier they have fallen away. No fist bumping!

Did enjoy one of my favourite chants of all times from the North Stand that day " You dirty northern bast***s".

 

[Lady Whistledown]

We have many players out on loan and I am sure some of those are better than Crawley have. One that springs to mind is Ritchie Towell at Rotherham, surely he would have preferred to stay local.

If the club can loan a player out to a League One side as opposed to a League Two side, then of course they're going to accept the offer. Why would Towell undersell himself if he thinks he can do the business in League One?

Also, it may well be that his wages are out of Crawley's league. Sometimes the club loaning out a player contributes some of their wages while they're away, but if they don't need to (because the club wishing to borrow the player can afford his salary) then they'd be daft to do so.

 

[AZ Gull]

Yes seeing as they let us use the Check-a-Trade for U23 games, you'd think we'd repay them by loaning out some of the DS, only one I can recall going there was Tom Dallison and his was cut short by injury.

Jeffrey Monakana joined them on loan in March 2014 and within two weeks John Gregory had stated his fitness levels were "appalling" and that he would struggle to play for 45 minutes - John Gregory having a pop at the Albion or telling it like it is?

 

[Return of the Rev]

Maybe I am biased but whilst, like most places, it has areas that are a “bit shit” it also has areas that are forward looking and are far from being “shit”.

The technology being developed in the industrial areas of the town is the stuff of dreams - the schools compare favourably with other areas in West Sussex - the job opportunities are good and unemployment is lower than for Brighton.

The major retail sites are fairly generic in the town centre as are the entertainment centres - certainly can’t compete with Brighton but there is a theatre, football club and parks with a racecourse just a few minutes drive away. Transport links are as good as, if not better, than anywhere else in the South East.

When it comes to housing then the range is as wide as anywhere in the UK.

Despite living in Surrey I probably am biased because I use the shops, restaurants and theatre in Crawley and the surrounding area on a regular basis. Few people would I surmise describe a town like Reigate as shit but it has very little to offer in comparison with Crawley.

Hopefully CTFC won’t drop out of the League. Strangely it’s their home form that seems to be the problem.

Always use the hawth easier than getting into Brighton and coming out of the theatre royal can be quite depressing at the weekend.

 

[BensGrandad]

If the club can loan a player out to a League One side as opposed to a League Two side, then of course they're going to accept the offer. Why would Towell undersell himself if he thinks he can do the business in League One?

Also, it may well be that his wages are out of Crawley's league. Sometimes the club loaning out a player contributes some of their wages while they're away, but if they don't need to (because the club wishing to borrow the player can afford his salary) then they'd be daft to do so.

I understand what you are saying and wouldnt argue but the loan negotiations have to start somewhere and as they say if you dont ask you dont get.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Poor Crawley, currently 21st in League 2 & 2-0 down. Not scoring goals, not winning matches & they don’t even have a fans forum. One of the lowest supporting clubs in the league as well.

So what’s going wrong for them? Anybody seen them this season?

Would be disappointed if Sussex second team went down to the oblivion league

The oblivion league - you mean the level and below that was theirs for 115 years out of 121? They were in the Southern League only 13 years ago...

 

[Sussex Nomad]

The oblivion league - you mean the level and below that was theirs for 115 years out of 121? They were in the Southern League only 13 years ago...

Wasn't that because the Southern League was re-structured and they went Ryman Prem?

 

[Bold Seagull]

Wasn't that because the Southern League was re-structured and they went Ryman Prem?

I think they were the last side to be promoted as champions from the Southern League Premier into the then Conference before the restructuring into National League, and National North and South leagues. I think they generally played in the Southern Leagues and were in the Southern League Premier for 20 seasons until they won it in 2004.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

I think they were the last side to be promoted as champions from the Southern League Premier into the then Conference before the restructuring into National League, and National North and South leagues. I think they generally played in the Southern Leagues and were in the Southern League Premier for 20 seasons until they won it in 2004.

Yeah I touched on this earlier, I think 12 teams were promoted from the Southern League when the Conference South was in its inception, I believe Crawley pipped Weymouth to champions who had Steve Claridge as player/manager. Then the Southern League stopped taking in South Eastern clubs, and the Ryman became the South Eastern league.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Yeah I touched on this earlier, I think 12 teams were promoted from the Southern League when the Conference South was in its inception, I believe Crawley pipped Weymouth to champions who had Steve Claridge as player/manager. Then the Southern League stopped taking in South Eastern clubs, and the Ryman became the South Eastern league.

My local side growing up (Waterlooville FC before the merger) Havant & Waterlooville scrapped into the new Conference South by finishing 12th by a solitary point that season.

I'll be honest, I've never liked Crawley Town FC. Their cheesy Man Utd badge rip off, the whole red devils thing, Steve Evans, the arrogance they had once they went up...

 

[Normal Rob]

Tin-pot team. Lousy support. Dump of a town. Sooner they're out of the league the better.

Love this. Could be so many clubs. I'll see your Crawley and raise you...

Mansfield.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

My local side growing up (Waterlooville FC before the merger) Havant & Waterlooville scrapped into the new Conference South by finishing 12th by a solitary point that season.

I'll be honest, I've never liked Crawley Town FC. Their cheesy Man Utd badge rip off, the whole red devils thing, Steve Evans, the arrogance they had once they went up...

I'm pretty ambivalent regarding Crawley, what with living here and all that, but they were the Red Devils before Man Utd.

 

[Braggfan]

Don't have any negative feelings towarsd Crawley as a place, but don't like the football team at all. I still harbour a grudge that we weren't allowed to ground share there. Considering they wanted to get in the league and what we would have paid them to play there, I always felt the refusal was based on the idea that we'd go out of business at Gillingham and they would then become the biggest club in Sussex. They can rot as far I'm concerned.

 

[FamilyGuy]

Don't have any negative feelings towarsd Crawley as a place, but don't like the football team at all. I still harbour a grudge that we weren't allowed to ground share there. Considering they wanted to get in the league and what we would have paid them to play there, I always felt the refusal was based on the idea that we'd go out of business at Gillingham and they would then become the biggest club in Sussex. They can rot as far I'm concerned.

Agreed! - and I do live there!

 

[getreal1]

Don't like the club or the place. My goodness what they were going to do to us in the early 90s in that FAC game....and then it was 5-0.

Poxy chavs, poxy town.