Crawley Town vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread - Papa John's Trophy
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2020 1:22 am
Crawley Town v Ipswich Town
Tuesday 10th November 2020 – 19:00
Broadfield Stadium
ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE TROPHY
Opening Thought - Mike
Our Cup Woes Continue.......
Town's miserable run of FA Cup results continued on Saturday as we crashed out at the first hurdle once more, it has to be said that over the 120 Minutes Portsmouth merited the victory but yet again they had a massive helping hand along the way, with red card decisions, Penalty decisions and Offside decisions all going against Paul Lambert's men once more, you really have to ask yourself when this run of diabolical decisions will stop because right now it is becoming farcical.
Our first half showing was really poor, slow, laboured, clueless and lacking any kind of pattern or belief were just a few of the issues that described that opening half of Football and it was no surprise that Pompey found themselves two up within little more that 12 minutes, one piece of poor goalkeeping from David Cornell gifted them the opener before a cruel deflection sent the ball past the stranded keeper once more to double the lead and even at that early stage it looked game over.
Despite being second best for most of the half Town did fashion a decent goal to get us right back into the contest and it was to turn the second half on it's head as Town came out a different team and bossed the second period although it has to be said our visitors still looked dangerous on the break. The equalising goal when it did come was a peach, the superb assist from Freddie sears laid it on a plate for the returning James Norwood to cooly finish with aplomb and at that stage there looked to be only One winner. Brett McGavin was becoming more and influential in Midfield while Gwion Edwards gave us much more attacking threat after coming on, Jon Nolan had returned from his ban and was looking very lively to and suddenly Town were moving the ball around much quicker and finding their passes, pushing Pompey back and generally we were looking much more of a threat. I think it is fair to say that on the evidence of this game alone young McGavin is the best dead ball taker at the club, his corners caused panic in the Portsmouth and but for the leg of their keeper he would have scored direct from one.
Sadly Town could not find that elusive Third goal and the 30 minute extra time period saw Portsmouth assume their superiority once more, with penalties looming the winning goal when it did come was yet another howler by another incompetent Referee who had already failed to award us a penalty and who had allowed an awful challenge by one of their players to go unpunished when Red looked the realistic colour. When you hear the goalscorer saying after the game that the goal should not have stood you just know you have been the unfortunate victim of another injustice but we can't change it and we have to move on, Wembley waits for another year as we go looking for the main prize, however that still didn't stop me feeling annoyed, disenchanted and thoroughly fed up for an hour or Two after the game. Having changed virtually our entire team for this game I think for Forty Five minutes we did ok and showed even against their strongest team we could hold our own.
More Cup Action........
If the FA Cup fails to excite many fans these days then Tuesday's encounter with Crawley Town in the Papa John's Trophy (I know, I know) will hardly get the juices flowing, however I quite enjoyed the kids performance against Gillingham a few weeks back, I am certain a similar looking line up will be the order of the day here and a win will see Town progress through to the next stage of this amazing competition.
We can expect to see the likes of Ndaba, Dobra, Baggott etc in action game and for that reason alone I will tune in, these boys will know they have been selected because the result is not viewed as important so for that reason alone they will be going out looking for the win, Crawley are not at the same level as Gillingham and for that reason I see us getting the result which sends us through. With no game this coming weekend it will hopefully see Town's recognised first Eleven returning fresh and raring to go for the league Game at home to Shrewsbury Town which is why there will be few, if any, familiar starters in this one. prediction from me is 2-1 Town win. COYB'S
The Opposition – Crawley Town
Crawley Town were formed in 1896, and became founding members of the West Sussex Football League 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, which was a competition for both professional and amateur sides. In 1958, Crawley changed their name to Crawley Town. Town 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 season they were relegated back to the first division where they remained until the 1983–84 season when they were promoted as runners-up.
In 1999, the club entered administration with debts estimated to be around £400,000. In October 1999, the club was bought by John Duly after a period of 2 months in administration, with Billy Smith appointed as manager.
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. Crawley would now be playing 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 considered an impressive achievement for the club who finished as the highest ranked part-time team in the country.
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 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 owner brother Azwar Majeed from the club, with fans waving red cards at the Majeeds and forming a supporters' trust.
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 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.
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 assistant. Crawley finished the season in a respectable 15th place.
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 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.
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 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 run reaching the 5th round.
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 and reaching the Football League for the first time in the club's history.
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.
On 9 April, it was announced that Steve Evans had parted company with Crawley to take up a post at Rotherham United, with coach Craig Brewster 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 promotion, courtesy of a 67th minute Scott Neilson strike against Accrington Stanley.
It was announced on 12 May, that Crawley were in talks to appoint Sean O'Driscoll as their new manager. Under a tight budget at Doncaster Rovers he achieved promotion to the Football League Championship 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, 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 Barker's management the club had a successful debut season in League One, finishing comfortably in tenth place. Barker was sacked early in the following season for speaking to League Two side Portsmouth 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 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. Saunders' short-term deal was not renewed after the season ended, and he was replaced by Mark Yates.
While Crawley were among the pre-season promotion favourites, a run of just one win in their first ten games quickly put paid to any such hopes.
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 within 8–10 years. Following a run of 6 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 the new manager Dermot Drummy. However, Dermot Drummy and his assistant Matt Gray were both to see the door after a year in charge after a very worrying dip in from which would see Crawley fight the relegation zone. After drawing at home to Carlisle United 3–3 after captain Jimmy Smith's late goal, Crawley would be kept in the EFL League Two at least another season. On Thursday 4 May, the Club parted company with Assistant Matt Gray and Head coach Dermot Drummy.
On 23 May 2017, former Leeds United winger Harry Kewell was appointed head coach of League Two club Crawley Town, becoming the first Australian to coach a professional English side. Kewell managed Crawley to a 14th-placed finish, which was their best since their relegation from League One. Kewell left the club shortly into the 2018–19 season, to manage fellow League Two club Notts County. Gabriele Cioffi was appointed as his successor a week later and led the club to finish 19th that season.
Crawley Town started the 2019-20 season brightly, with wins over Premier League Norwich and Championship Stoke in an EFL Cup that would take them to the fourth round of the competition. However, by December the club's fortunes had changed dramatically, with coach Gabriele Cioffi departing by mutual consent on 2 December 2019 following a run of just one win in 11 League Two games. He was replaced by John Yems on a temporary deal until the end of the season. On 10 December 2019, the club announced the sacking of popular, longstanding operations director Kelly Derham citing 'financial difficulties'. The move prompted an angry response from fans and financial backers, with the repercussions putting plans to purchase a new permanent training ground in doubt.
The Manager – John Yems
Match Referee – Sam Purkiss
CRAWLEY TOWN 1 IPSWICH TOWN 2