The EXILE 18 - Newport County AFC v Crawley Town

Chairman: Gavin Foxall

Directors: Bob Herrin, Joe Crocker, Kevin Ward, Mark Crook, Mike Everett, Paul Marks, Peter Madigan, Shaun Johnson.

Sporting Director: Darren Kelly

Honorary Club President: David Hando

Manager: Graham Coughlan Assistant Manager: Joe Dunne

First Team Coach: Jarred Harvey

Goalkeeping Coach: James Hollman

Senior Physiotherapist: Ryan Harrison Analyst: Conor McGaharan Kit Man: Neil Leek

General Manager: Nigel Stephenson

Club Secretary: Matthew Higgins Academy Manager: Luke Hussey

Media Manager: Ben Wills

Media Assistant: Louis Cartwright-Walls

Commercial Manager: Matthew Owen Supporter Liaison Officer: Donna Linton Community Development Officer: Norman Parselle Club Chaplain: Keith Beardmore

GRAHAM COUGHLAN

Firstly, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and hope that this year is a good one for you and your families. We are looking forward to carrying on with our development and improvement as a team and are excited for what I think is to come from the months ahead.

We’ve had a tough few games over the Christmas period but I am pleased with a number of things that I’ve seen.

Today will prove to be another competitive game, against a team who have suffered some similar issues to ourselves in the first half of this season. We will have to make sure we are right on our game from the first whistle today if we want to get the result we are looking for. I want to welcome Matthew Etherington, the technical staff, directors, players and supporters from Crawley Town and hope they have a safe journey to and from Rodney Parade.

I want to thank all of the fans that made the trip to AFC Wimbledon on Boxing Day. The support you gave us was fantastic and it was great to feel you behind us continuing with your fantastic support.

It’s great to be back at Rodney Parade for todays game and we are looking forward to being back playing in front of what I hope will be a cracking atmosphere festive atmosphere. We want to put on a performance to give you more to cheer about and hopefully, together, we can work towards that this afternoon with you all right behind us driving us on, which helps us so so much.

Enjoy the game and get behind the lads.

Graham

AMBER FROM THE ATTIC

Not too much dust then to blow off this bumper 64-page programme which saw Joe Day on its cover and issued on 19th of January; first up was Michael Flynn’s ‘In Charge’ column where he opens by welcoming Crawley and their boss, Harry Kewell.

A happy Flynnie was upbeat after our start to the new-year that included a trio of 2-1 wins over Exeter City at home, away at Grimsby Town, plus an identical score-line to knock Leeds United out of the FA Cup! Mike also confirms Josh Sheehan, who won two full Welsh caps under Ryan Giggs in his time with us, was returning to Rodney Parade from Swansea City along with other loanees Tyler Reid (also from Swans), and Aaron Collins (Wolves). Striker Paul Hayes and Shawn McCoulsky, who bagged the winner in that Leeds tie with a tremendous header, were also staying with us until May.

A few shuffles onwards and we have a three-page feature on Reid, then 20, who now plays in Finland with VPS. The Luton-born defender who had spells as a schoolboy at Arsenal and Manchester United had made his Football League debut in that Grimsby match, coming

on as a substitute for Joss Labadie. Tyler tells Ben Catton that captain David Pipe had been great to him since he arrived in Newport and described the Leeds result as“Crazy,” saying that everyone was “Buzzing” since we’d drawn Tottenham Hotspur in Round Four!

In ‘A Game of Two Halves’ Colin Everett is looking at the very early days of VAR, which at the time had only been used as an experiment in a few cup games. In fact, our Wembley Stadium replay against Spurs was indeed another time it was trialled. Colin looks at both sides of the argument and reports that the few games so far had “Gone largely without incident.” Oh dear, if only that was the case now!

This very column trundles along next and I was looking back at the Reds’ visit to Spytty Park on April 25thin 2011, for a National Conference fixture when the Steve Evans juggernaut beat us 1-0 to set a new points record that day, thanks to defender Dean Howell’s first goal of the season. Crawley were runaway leaders and subsequent champions, obviously.

We only travel back five years today to 2018, to look at Crawley’s visit to Rodney Parade that ended in a 2-1 home win courtesy of goals from Padraig Amond and a Mickey Demetriou penalty. A repeat this afternoon will be very welcome I’m sure, as we kick start 2023….

Next up was Phil Tanner with his ‘Today’s the Day’ feature where he was looking at a match in our history from this very date; he had landed in 2013, where Barrow where in town and had the audacity to beat us 2-0 after 120 of our supporters had tirelessly cleared tonnes of snow off the playing surface on the morning of the match!

A few pages on and there is tribute to well-known, lifelong fan Mike Cheadle, who had recently passed away together with a photo of him with the Conference South trophy. Mike over the years had been an agent for just about every lottery or draw scheme we ever ran and had helped raise thousands of pounds for our club.

In ‘Club News’ there were details of how Newport Council and Newport Now were joining forces to show support for the club in its upcoming cup clash with the mighty Spurs, these included good luck banners (I have one in my attic –yeah, don’t ask!) and posters, as well as rallying calls for residentsto decorate their houses in black and amber colours. The club had also produced their own eye-catching poster that was printed in this very issue.

After a few well out of date match reports, we then arrive at our excellent Crawley coverage where Messrs. Tanner and Richard Taylor deliver a comprehensive review of everything anyone ever needed to know about the men from West Sussex. There’s a look at Matt Tubbs in ‘Red Devil Legend’ and also a gander at Jefferson Louis in ‘County Connections.’Actually, speaking of the perpetually itchy-footed Jefferson, I’m sure I read recently he’s just joined his 300th club! Yes, he’s still going folks!

Former Liverpool, Leeds and Australian international Kewell had appointed our former gaffer Warren Feeney on the same day he took over at the Broadfield Stadium, as his assistant, and Town were in 14th spot at kick-off time which incidentally was a Friday fixture to avoid the Dragons’ European match with Bordeaux the following day.

At Kewell’s disposal was Mark Randall, a player signed by Feeney when the Ulsterman was in charge of the Exiles and had joined Crawley in the summer of 2017. Randall, who made 25 appearances for us now ply’s his trade for Larne in Northern Ireland and was once a highly rated youngster at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger.

As mentioned, we won this one 2-1 to move us up into 5th spot in the table, taking a deserved lead, after hitting the bar twice in the opening half though Robbie Willmott and Amond. However, Podge wasn’t to be denied and he stooped to head home on 40 minutes with Mickey slotting home a spot kick four minutes later to send the boys for their half-time cuppa to rapturous applause from the vast majority of the 5,741 crowd, many of whom were tightly clutching their match ticket stubs to ensure they had

guarantee of a space in the ground for that Spurs game. Three minutes after the break, Jimmy Smith pulled goal back for the visitors, but the County defence stood firm to see the win out and chalk up another three points.

Teams:

County: Joe Day, David Pipe, Dan Butler, Ben White, Mickey Demetriou, Scot Bennett, Robbie Willmott, Ben Tozer, Padraig Amond, Frank Nouble, Josh Sheehan. Subs:James Bittner (GK), Shawn McCoulsky, Tyler Reid, Mark O’Brien, CalaumJahraldo, Paul Hayes, Aaron Collins.

Crawley: Glenn Morris, Lewis Young, Joe McNerney, Mark Connolly, Enzio Boldewijn, Jimmy Smith, Jordan Roberts, Josh Yorwerth, Cedric Evina, Josh Lelan, Moussa Sanoh.

Subs: Yusef Mersin (GK), Josh Doherty, KabyDjalo, Billy Clifford, Aryan Tajbakhsh, Thomas Verheydt, Panutche Camara.

View From The Boardroom

A warm welcome to all the Directors, Players, and Officials of Crawley Town for this afternoon’s EFL league two fixture.

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you all enjoyed your New Year’s Eve celebrations and looking forward to the year ahead.

The matches have been coming thick and fast over the festive period and January looks a tough one on the road. As always, the support is much appreciated especially in the current climate.

Please join the club in welcoming Riverside Rovers Junior Football club as our community club of the day today. RRJFC are based in the St Julian’s area of Newport and have over 100 registered players in teams ranging from under 7s to under 16s. At today’s fixture RRFC are represented by their under 7s and under 10s team – please give them a warm Rodney Parade welcome. You can find out more about the club via their Facebook page.

Our Charity of the Day to day is Cancer Research UK.

CRUK, through your donations, fund scientists, doctors, and nurses to help beat cancer sooner as well as providing cancer information to the public. Every step they make towards beating cancer relies on every pound donated. You can help out by raising money, pledging a gift in your Will, volunteering or donating items to the shops – the easiest way today is to put a few pennies and pounds in their bucket collections at each main entrance to the stadium. For more information on the great work they do please visit www.cancerresearchuk.org.

Supporters would have read that a few of our loan players have returned to their parent clubs. Our thanks to Hayden Lindley, Thierry Nevers and Chanka Zimba for their efforts and we wish them all the best for the future.

Good luck to Graham and lads this afternoon.

Gavin

APPEARANCES & GOALSCORERS 2022-23 SEASON

No Name

1 Joe DAY

Statistics supplied by Gareth

* OUT ON LOAN. ** NO LONGER AT THE CLUB.

League Cup Total

Apps Goals YC RC Apps Goals YC RC Apps Goals YC RC

10 (0) 0 0 0 6 (0) 0 0 0 16 (0) 0 0 0

2 Cameron NORMAN 21 (1) 1 3 0 6 (1) 0 0 0 27 (2) 1 3 0

3 Declan DRYSDALE 12 (2) 0 3 1 6 (1) 0 3 0 18 (3) 0 6 1

4 Sam BOWEN 3 (2) 0 1 0 5 (2) 0 1 0 8 (4) 0 2 0

5 James CLARKE 13 (0) 0 2 0 2 (1) 0 0 0 15 (1) 0 2 0

6 Priestley FARQUHARSON 11 (0) 2 0 0 7 (0) 1 1 0 18 (0) 3 1 0

7 Robbie WILLMOTT 4 (7) 0 0 0 4 (1) 0 2 0 8 (8) 0 2 0

8 Matty DOLAN 5 (4) 0 0 0 4 (1) 0 0 0 9 (5) 0 0 0

9 Omar BOGLE 21 (1) 7 1 0 5 (3) 2 0 0 26 (4) 9 1 0

10 Offrande ZANZALA 3 (2) 2 1 0 0 (2) 0 0 0 3 (4) 2 1 0

11 James WAITE 14 (5) 0 3 0 5 (2) 3 1 0 19 (7) 3 4 0

14 Aaron LEWIS 14 (2) 1 2 0 6 (2) 1 0 0 20 (4) 2 2 0

17 Scot BENNETT 19 (0) 1 6 0 3 (2) 0 0 0 22 (2) 1 6 0

18 Chanka ZIMBA 0 (13) 0 0 0 4 (3) 2 0 0 4 (16) 2 0 0

19 Thierry NEVERS 5 (7) 1 1 0 2 (3) 1 0 0 7 (9) 2 1 0

20 Hayden LINDLEY 3 (2) 0 0 0 0 (0) 0 0 0 3 (2) 0 0 0

21 Lewis COLLINS 2 (12) 0 0 0 5 (4) 1 1 0 7 (16) 1 1 0

22 Nathan MORIAH-WELSH 16 (3) 3 5 0 5 (3) 0 1 0 21 (6) 3 6 0

23 Harrison BRIGHT 0 (0) 0 0 0 0 (2) 0 0 0 0 (2) 0 0 0 24 Aaron WILDIG 7 (6) 0 0 0 2 (1) 1 1 0 9 (7) 1 1 0 27 Adam LEWIS 10 (3) 0 2 0 7 (0) 0 2 0 17 (3) 0 4 0 28 Mickey DEMETRIOU 21 (0) 0 4 0 6 (1) 0 1 0 27 (1) 0 5 0 29 Will EVANS 16 (5) 2 3 0 5 (2) 2 1 0 21 (7) 4 4 0 30 Nick TOWNSEND 12 (0) 0 0 0 3 (0) 0 0 0 15 (0) 0 0 0 Up to & Including 26.12.2022 Pos

Swattridge

CRUK are the only charity funding research into all 200 different types of cancer. We have over 4000 researchers, doctors and nurses across the country and collaborate with a diverse network of universities, NHS hospital and other organisations.

We fund over 220 clinical trials across the country and have provided funding to 7 Nobel prize winning scientists. Cancer Research UK was formed in 2002 and this year we are celebrating our 20TH Anniversary of the charity forming.

The top highlights from our history of life-saving research and campaigning:

✓ Over the last 40 years, Cancer Research UK's work has helped double breast cancer survival in the UK

✓ Cancer Research UK was a key player in the development of radiotherapy, which now benefits more than 130,000 patients every year in the UK

✓ Cancer Research UK helped prove the value of cervical screening, which now prevents thousands of deaths every year

✓ Drugs linked to Cancer Research UK’s research are used to treat more than 125,000 patients every year in the UK – that’s 3 in 4 patients who receive cancer drugs on the NHS

Money raised in Wales stays in Wales.

If you’d like to raise funds and get involved search Pontypool Relay for Life. Get a team of friends, family or colleagues together and get fundraising. Alternatively speak to one of the charity volunteers at today’s match.

Mascots

William Moore (9)

School: Eveswell Primary School

Plays for Newport Civil Service

Position .................................................................. GK or MF

Favourite Newport County AFC Player? ...... Lewis Collins

Best Memory from Watching County? ......... Penalty scored by Matt Dolan against Leyton Orient (Sept 21) at the end of the first half in 2-2 draw.

What made you become a county fan?....... Support my local team

Finn River Pearce (9)

School: St Joseph’s RC Primary School Plays for Wants to join a club for next season. Position Striker.

Favourite Newport County AFC Player? Will Evans.

Best Memory from Watching County? Watching Newport County play Man City in the 5th Rd of the FA Cup. What made you become a county fan? My Dad

Other info: Finn has won a silver medal at the World Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Championships and competes in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bouts across the UK. Finn’s great uncle is David ‘Bomber’ Pearce who used to train at Somerton Park and is fondly known as Newport’s Rocky.

Caden Luton (10)

School: Magor CIW Primary School

Plays for Undy AFC and Newport County What position does he play? Striker

Favourite Newport County AFC Player? Mickey Demetriou

Best Memory from Watching County? Promotion final at Wembley What made you become a county fan? My local team and I play for them

Newport have lost both their previous 2 league games against Crawley, the Exiles have not lost 3 successive league games to them since their first 3 Football League meetings (Sep’15 - Dec’16).

Crawley won this exact fixture last season 2-1, having failed to win on any of their prior five league visits to Newport (D2 L3).

ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE - LEAGUE TWO TOP FIVES

ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE - LEAGUE TWO SPOTLIGHT

Bradford have won each of their last four Football League games on New Year’s Day, and haven’t lost at home on this day since a 2-1 defeat to Rochdale in 1980.

Day (L1),

SUPPORTERS' TRUST

WHAT IS THE SUPPORTERS' TRUST?

The Newport County AFC Supporters' Trust is one of more than 140 Supporters' Trusts that exist under the umbrella of Supporters' Direct, a national body that provides assistance to supporters "who wish to play a responsible part i n the life of the football club they support".

The Trust was originally formed in 2001 and took a controlling stake in the foot ball club in October 2015 following a communi ty share issue which saw County supporters raise a magnificent £236,000 in just a month.

Since then, Newport County AFC has been a supporter-owned, communi ty-based club.

The primary purpose of the Trust is to provide funding to the club. Our aim is to donate at least £100,000 a se ason to the club.

As well as being owners of an EFL club, Trust members receive a range of benefits depending on their membership tier. All members have guaranteed priority tickets for cup matches.

More details about the Trust can be found on our website: www.ncafctrust.org

WHO IS ON THE TRUST BOARD?

The Board of the Supporters' Trust cur rently consists of seven elected directors and two co­opted directors. As the Trust is the majority shareholder i n the club, all Trust directors ore also registered with the Football League as directors of the club having passed the EFL's Owners and Directors Test.

Your Trust/Club elected directors are: Paul Marks (Trust chairman), Gavin Foxall, Shaun Johnson, Mike Everett, Joe Crocker, Bob Herrin and Kevin Ward. The two co-opted directors are Mark Crook and Peter Madigan.

HOW CAN YOU HELP THE TRUST?

There are a variety of ways in which County supporters can help the Trust.

BECOME A MEMBER: Becoming a Trust member guarantees you a range of benefits and helps the Trust donate more money to the club. Our aim is to donate £100,000 a season to help the manager.

The membership packa ges are as follows Bronze: £5 a month; Silver: £10 a month; Gold: £20 a month; Plat inum: £50+ a month.

Corporate membership is available at £1,000 a year or £600 for six months. More details here: www.ncafctrust.org/joi n

EASYFUNDRAISING: Join eosyfundroising and you can collect free donations for theTrust (and therefore the Club) every time you buy something online. It won't cost you a penny extra. Just start your online shopping first at www.eosyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ncafctrus t/, then shop as normal. Retailers will then make a small donation to say 'thank you'. T here are more than 3,200 retailers to choose from and so far this scheme hos raised almost £18,500 for the Trust.

VOLUNTEER: T he Trust and t he Club appreciates the many outstanding volunteers who give up their time to help in a variety of ways. If you have the time and skills you think could benefit the club, then please email info@ncafctrust.org

CONTACT THE TRUST

If you have any queries, suggestions, questions or proposals for the Trust, you can contact us via email info@ncafctrust.org or our website www.ncafctrust.org/contact-us

Barnardo’s Cymru believes that every child deserves a happy and healthy childhood, no matter who they are or what they have been through. We work with vulnerable children, young people, families, and communities across Wales, helping them to build a better future.

Around 1 in 3 children in the UK are now living in poverty and we continue to support families across Wales with advice and support such as food vouchers and specialist support through our partnership with Citizen’s Advice. We have launched new helplines including one for Ukrainian refugees, and online advice to support parents through our virtual Barnardo’s Family Space and teachers through the Barnardo’s Education Community.

We are very proud to provide a range of support across Newport including family support, mental health and wellbeing, disability support, young carers, care leavers, domestic abuse, child sexual exploitation victims and Fostering.

It is fantastic to have the support of Newport County AFC who have helped us provide opportunities for young people and families to attend matches, get involved more in their communities as well as supporting us directly in our services. Thank you, Newport County!

barnardos.org.uk/wales

INTRODUCING CRAWLEY TOWN

Welcome …

We welcome CRAWLEY TOWN to Rodney Parade for our first home match of 2023. Like County, ‘The Red Devils’ have struggled at the wrong end of the table this term, but will be hoping for better form under recently appointed manager Matthew Etherington, with the former West Ham United and Stoke City winger getting off to a winning start in his first game in charge, against Swindon Town last month.

FACT FILE…

Formed: 1896

Ground: Broadfield Stadium,Winfield Way, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 9RX Capacity: 6,134 (3,295 seated)

Previous Grounds: Local grounds/parks (1896-1949), Town Mead (1949-97).

Previous Name: Crawley FC (1896-1958).

Best League Position: 10th, League One 2012-13.

Best in FA Cup: Round 5, 2010-11, lost at Manchester United 0-1 and 2011-12, lost home to Stoke City 0-2.

Best in League Cup: Round 4, 2019-20, lost to Colchester United1-3.

Best in FA Trophy: Quarter-Finalists 2007-08, lost to Torquay United 1-4.

Best in EFL Trophy: Quarter-Finalists (South) 2014-15, lost to Gillingham 1-2.

Record Win: 8-0 v Droylsden, FA Trophy, February 2006.

Record Defeat: 0-7 v Bath City, Southern League Premier Division, January 2000.

Record Attendance: 5,880 v Reading, FA Cup Round 3, January 2013.

Record Signing: Richard Brodie, £200,000 from York City, August 2010.

Record Departure: Tyrone Barnett, £1.1m to Peterborough United, July 2012.

Record Appearances: Cliff Cant, 450 (1982-92).

Record Scorer: Terry Robbins, 89 (1984-86). Most Capped Player: Ricky German, 2 (3), Grenada.

1896-2023 …

1896-1901 West Sussex League; 1901-1940 Mid-Sussex League; 1945-56 Sussex County League; 1956-63 Metropolitan & District League; 1963-69 Southern League First Division; 1969-70 Southern League Premier Division; 1970-71 Southern League First Division; 1971-79 Southern League First Division (S); 1979-84 Southern League Southern Division; 1984-2004 Southern League Premier; 2004-11 Conference Premier; 2011-15 League One; 2015- League Two.

LAST 10 SEASONS …

Season League

Position Av. Att:

2012-13 League One 10 3395

2013-14 League One 14 3486 2014-15 League One 22 (rel.) 2709 2015-16 League Two 20 2405 2016-17 League Two 19 2457 2017-18 League Two 14 2268 2018-19 League Two 19 2102 2019-20 League Two 13 2232 2020-21 League Two 12 BCD 2021-22 League Two 12 2326

BACK STORY … Beginning

Though the official date of their formation remains 1896, more recent research suggests that this afternoon’s visitors may have played a series of friendlies prior to that, with a Sunday Mirror article of 29 November 1890 reporting that ‘the first match played by Crawley since its formation came on Saturday, ending in a win for the home team (against Lingfield) by four goals to two.’ Crawley were definitely elected into the West Sussex League in 1896, though minutes from a Sussex County FA meeting of that time give further credence to the theory that they were already active as they were given permission to change colours: ’A discussion arose as to the club colours, the Secretary pointing out that in league contests the club must play in distinctive colours and ultimately the old navy blue shirts were thrown over in favour of scarlet.’

Southern League years

Town remained amateur until 61 years ago when they finally became semi-professional, joining the Southern League First Division a year later. They remained Southern League members until 2004, spending 21 seasons in the Premier Division as a quintessential midtable outfit. However, Reds had their moment of fame in the 1991-92 campaign, with appearances on ‘Football Focus’ and ‘Match of the Day’ as they earned a plum FA Cup Third Round tie at Sussex neighbours Brighton & Hove Albion. Barry Lloyd’s Seagulls, then struggling in Division 2, breezed past Town 5-0, with an Ian Chapman brace, and goals from Mark Gall, Raphael Meade and the evergreen Clive Walker. However, gate receipts from an attendance of 18,031, coupled with television money, provided a much-needed financial boost for this afternoon’s visitors, who were eventually promoted to the Conference as Southern League champions in 2004.

Heady days

This season is Red Devils’ 12th campaign in the Football League following their promotion as Conference champions under current Stevenage boss Steve Evans in 2010-11 with a record total of 105 points. Crawley came to national attention that term with their run

to the Fifth Round of the FA Cup, losing 1-0 to nickname namesakes Manchester United at Old Trafford. With considerable investment behind them, Town took the Football League by storm, achieving automatic promotion in their first season and again reaching the last 16 of the FA Cup. Our visitors remained in League One for three seasons, with a best-ever finish of 10th in 2012-13 under Richie Barker, just six points off the promotion play-offs. Future County strikers Jamie Proctor and Paul Hayes were part of the Crawley squad, while Barker was at Rodney Parade recently as assistant head coach at Derby County in our FA Cup tie.

Difficult times

While Red Devils benefited from significant investment in their early EFL days, there have also been tough times at Broadfield Stadium, with the club entering administration in the late 1990s and again in 2006, with staff and players forced to take a 50% pay cut as the entire first team squad was placed up for sale. As is so often the case, supporters came to the rescue, starting a ‘Red Card’ campaign to remove the club chairman and forming a Supporters’ Trust. With reports that the club’s debt was hovering around the £1.4m mark, with around £400,000 owed to HMRC, the future looked bleak for several years before the arrival of majority shareholders Bruce Winfield and Susan Carter, who attracted overseas’ investment and propelled the club towards the Football League.

Nine months ago, the club was acquired by WAGMI United LLC, a group of US cryptocurrency investors who have pledged to invest in infrastructure and the playing squad at Broadfield Stadium.

PAST MANAGER …

It certainly was not without its controversy, but STEVE EVANS’ time as Crawley gaffer between 2007 and 2012 was definitely memorable! The Glasgow-born manager had previously guided Boston United to the Football League, making friends and enemies along the way, and was the Lincolnshire club’s second longest serving manager when he resigned in May 2007, arriving at Broadfield Stadium two days later. He received a 10-match dug-out ban during the 2008-09 season, but subsequently earned around £1m for the club following their run to the FA Cup Fifth Round in 2011 and away tie with Manchester United. commenting: ‘I think we have done our club proud and we could not have wanted our Cup run to finish anywhere else.’

His spell in charge at Town saw him visit Spytty Park twice during the 2010-11 season, though few present at Newport Stadium for Crawley’s 1-0 FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round victory in October 2010 could have envisaged the riches that lay ahead. He left Broadfield Stadium in April 2012, leaving Sean O’Driscoll to steer the club across the final furlong towards League One promotion, to take over the managerial reins at Rotherham United, though he was subsequently issued with a six-match stadium ban and a £3,000 FA fine for abusive behaviour towards a member of opposition staff during his time at Crawley.

2015-16 League Two 0-3 (2137) 0-2 (2003)

2016-17 League Two 1-0 (2946) 1-3 (2022) 2017-18 League Two 2-1 (5741) 2-1 (1455) 2018-19 League Two 0-0 (3166) 1-4 (2157) 2019-20 League Two 1-1 (3119) 2020-21 League Two 2-0 (BCD) 1-1 (BCD) 2021-22 League Two 1-2 (5137) 1-1 (1483) 2022-23 League Two 1-2 (2839)

RED DEVILS TODAY

Checking in Crawley added to their background team shortly before Christmas with the arrival of experienced goalkeeping coach John Keeley. Now 61, the Plaistow-born former shot stopper made 138 appearances in four seasons for neighbours Brighton & Hove Albion, as well as spells with Stockport County, Southend United and Colchester United. He has since been goalkeeper coach for Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers, Brighton and Ipswich Town and is clearly delighted to take up his new position, telling the club website: ‘I would like to thank Crawley Town FC for this opportunity to return to professional football. I can’t wait to get started.’

Checking out Striker Mark Marshall ended his time at Crawley a few days ago, with the club announcing that he would leave the club upon the expiry of his contract at the end of December. The winger made 25 first team appearances for Red Devils after signing from Northampton Town in 2021 and scored the fourth goal in this season’s 5-2 EFL Trophy victory over Aston Villa.

HEAD COACH’S VIEW …

Matthew Etheringtonupon taking the Crawley head coach’s post: ‘Everyone has to start somewhere, right?Yes, I have the same background as (previous head coach) Kevin Betsy and yes there’s a hundred other managers who are the same.Some have gone on to be very good managers and some haven’t. I’m not guaranteeing you that this is going to work out but I’m pretty confident in the way I work.’

FAN’S VIEW …

Poster ‘crawley57away’ daring to dream on ‘CTFC Fans’ Forum’. ‘This team is far too good not to make top 10 minimum. Lynch is Championship standard, Balagizi, Tsaroulla, Balcombe are League One standard; Francomb, Ludwig, Tilley, Nadesan, Telford are all top half League Two standard. Like I have said before, my mother could manage this team to top seven, so why can’t Etherington/Davies?’

RECENT RESULTS …

29 Oct: Bradford City A 1-1 16510

05 Nov: Accrington Stanley (FA Cup R 1) H 1-4 2770

08 Nov: Burnley (League Cup R3) A 1-3 6329

12 Nov: Barrow H 1-0 2586

§19 Nov: Walsall A 1-2 6201

22 Nov: Gillingham H 0-0 3284

03 Dec: Swindon Town H 2-0 3230

09 Dec: Hartlepool United H 0-2 1955

26 Dec: Sutton United H 1-2 2926

30 Dec: Stevenage A

COUNTY v RED DEVILS Season Competition

Home Away

2010-11 FA Cup 4QR 0-1 (2247)

2013-14 EFL Trophy Round 2 3-2 (1350)

Scorers: Nadesan 6, Telford 5 (2 pens), Tilley 5, Nichols 4, Balagazi 3, Powell 3, Oteh 3, Tsaroulla 2, Bremang 1 (pen.), Davis 1, Francillette 1, Hessenthaler 1, Marshall (no longer at club) 1. One own goal.

RICHARD TAYLOR

MEET THE PLAYERS & MANAGEMENT OF CRAWLEY TOWN GOALKEEPERS

…

Brentford Academy product ELLERY BALCOMBE (squad no 37) has been regular keeper at Broadfield Stadium this term when fit, with the 23-year-old on a season-long loan from Bees. He has had previous loan spells with Boreham Wood, Doncaster Rovers, Bromley and Burton Albion, as well as with Viborg FF in Denmark and returned to the starting line-up in late October after picking up an injury during the opening day defeat to Carlisle United. His place between the sticks was initially

DEFENCE …

Red Devils have favoured an orthodox flat back four this season, usually opting for a central defensive partnership of LUDWIG FRANCILLETTE (15) and JOEL LYNCH (6), Guadeloupe-born Francillette, 23, spent two seasons with Newcastle United U23 squad after spells in France with Dijon FCO and sixth-tier AS Quetigny. He signed a two-year contract for this afternoon’s visitors at the start of last term and bagged his first senior goal in Red Devils’ 2-1 victory over County here last season and was also

taken by former Coventry City and Barnsley keeper COREY ADDAI (34), who arrived from Danish third tier outfit Esbjerg six months ago, though he was replaced by Wales U21 international and Hull City loanee DAVID ROBSON (41), 20, for our visit to Crawley in October. Since Balcombe’s return from injury, Addai and Robson have largely alternated on the Crawley bench, with Addai recently called up to the Jamaica national squad for their unofficial friendly with Catalonia.

on target in Crawley’s victory over us in West Sussex in October, though will have less happy memories of his first red card in the 2-1 defeat at Walsall a month later. Veteran Lynch, 35, has a solitary Wales cap after appearing as a 78th minute substitute in an August 2012 friendly with Bosnia & Herzegovina and he has an abundance of EFL experience with Brighton & Hove Albion, Huddersfield Town, Nottingham Forest, Queen’s Park Rangers and Sunderland.

Thirty-seven-year-old TONY CRAIG |5) is another vastly experienced central defensive option, with four spells at Millwall and stints with Crystal Palace, Brentford and Bristol Rovers before signing for Crawley in 2020. A UEFA ‘A’ licence holder, he still has playing aspirations, signing a new two-year deal with Town in April and he started the 2-0 home defeat to Hartlepool United just over three weeks ago. Locally-born HARRY RANSOM (12) was a substitute in the Hartlepool game, though he has started a few games this season, most recently the 3-1 League Cup defeat at Burnley. Now 23, he spent much of last term on loan at Dover Athletic – his second such stint in Kent – and he started his career in National League South with Eastbourne Borough, predominantly as a striker.

Town usually favour a full back pairing of GEORGE FRANCOMB (4) and NICK TSAROULLA (25). Captain Francomb, 31, can also feature in midfield and he moved to West Sussex from AFC Wimbledon in 2018, though he has had previous spells with Norwich City, Barnet (loan) and Hibernian (loan). He spent part of his childhood on Academy forms with Tottenham Hotspur, as did Cyprus U21 international Tsaroulla, who spent seven years with Spurs after arriving at the age of 12. Now 23, he joined Crawley just over two years ago after making

31 appearances for the Brentford B team. TRAVIS JOHNSON (23), 22, is an option on either flank, featuring at left-back in the FA Cup defeat to Accrington Stanley and at right-back against Hartlepool last month. He spent four years with Crewe Alexandra after progressing through their Academy structure, but left Alex following their relegation last term to pen a two-year deal at Broadfield Stadium. Republic of Ireland U19 international MAZEED OGUNGBO (44) affords another left back option and the Arsenal loanee, 20, who also qualifies for Nigeria, has been a recent substitute after finding it difficult to break into the starting line-up.

Former Sheffield United scholar EMMANUEL ADEBOWAL (17) last featured in the EFL Trophy victory over Aston Villa in October and the 25-year-old has struggled to establish himself in the first team squad after signing a two-and-a- half-year contract in January 2020, spending part of last season on loan at Havant & Waterlooville. He has played for a variety of non-league outfits, including Hayes & Yeading United, Bishop’s Stortford and Dover Athletic, as has 22-year-old BEN WELLS(22), formerly with Concord Rangers and Welling United, who has also been used sparingly this term.

DOM TELFORD

ASHLEY NEDASEN

MIDFIELD …

Red Devils have recently opted for a holding midfielder, with JAKE HESSENTHALLER (39) sitting just in front of the back four. The son of former Gillingham and Dover Athletic manager Andy, 28-year-old Jake arrived from Grimsby Town in the summer of 2020, having previously played over 150 games for Gillingham. He had previously operated alongside JACK POWELL (8) in the centre of midfield, though Town have also played with three across the middle, with TEDDY JENKS (28) joining Hessenthaler and Powell in a midfield trio. Former Millwall, Ebbsfleet United and Millwall midfielder Powell, 28, nicknamed the Peckham Pirlo, is the brother of Burton Albion player Joe, while Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Jenks, 20, is gaining further valuable experience having played 18 games in the Scottish Premiership for Aberdeen last term. Another temporary signing, JAMES BALAGIZI (20) played alongside our former loanee Jake Cain in the Liverpool Development squad and was on the bench for Reds’ EFL Cup victory over Norwich City last term. The 19-year-old had appeared in nine first team games for Crawley prior to the holiday programme and made his England U20 debut against Chile four months ago.

Right-sided JAMES TILLEY (7) netted Crawley’s opener against County in October and the 2021 capture from Grimsby Town has recently returned to the starting lineup as Town have played four across midfield. Originally at neighbours Brighton & Hove Albion, the 24-year-old has had loan spells with Cork City and Yeovil Town and his father is the chairman of Sussex County League side Billingshurst. Left-sided players ARAMIDE OTEH (24) and TOM FELLOWS (38) have featured predominantly as substitutes of late. The former played 10 games for Salford City last term after signing from Queen’s Park Rangers, though he also has loan experience in League Two with Colchester United and in League One with Bradford City and Walsall. Fellows meanwhile is gaining his own loan experience after arriving on a temporary basis from West Bromwich Albion, for whom he has made four first team appearances, in September. JAYDEN DAVIS (18) is another recent substitute, having signed from Millwall in the summer after impressing in pre-season. The 21-yearold played four games for King’s Lynn Town in the National League last term.

ELLERY BALCOMBE

ATTACK …

Our top scorer last season DOM TELFORD (19) has found goals harder to come by since moving to West Sussex in the summer and he had last scored in the 2-1 defeat at Walsall ahead of the holiday fixtures with Sutton United and Stevenage. The former Stoke City, Blackpool, Bristol Rovers (loan), Bury and Plymouth Argyle striker, 26, who became the first County player since John Aldridge in 1983-84 to break the 20-goal barrier, usually features alongside top scorer ASHLEY NADESAN (10), who netted Crawley’s second in our defeat at the Broadfield Stadium this season, and is in his fourth season with our visitors. Nadesan, 28, has had two loan spells with Carlisle United, and also played in League One for Fleetwood Town.

TOM NICHOLS (9), is another experienced attacking

MANAGEMENT …

Ex-Peterborough United, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City left winger MATTHEW ETHERINGTON, 41, was appointed to the Crawley Town hot-seat in succession to caretaker boss Lewis Young, who had replaced Kevin Betsy just over six weeks earlier and led his side to victory over County in his first game as temporary boss. A three-times-capped

option for Red Devils, having scored 32 goals in 96 gamesfor Exeter City between 2011 and 2016. The 29-yearold found goals harder to come by in subsequent spells with Peterborough United and Bristol Rovers before his Crawley rebirth, though had only bagged four this season prior to Boxing Day. Aston Villa loanee CALEB CHUKWUEMEKA (50), who spent the 2020-21 campaign with Northampton Town,is yet to open his Town account, with Crawley reportedly having the option to make the 20-year-old Austrian born player’s transfer permanent in the summer. Red Devils’ attacking options are completed by DAVID BREMANG (42), 22, who has had loan spells with Nuneaton Borough, Leamington and Guiseley, and made one EFL appearance for Barnsley.

England U21 international, Etherington was U18 manager and assistant manager at Peterborough under Darren Ferguson and had a brief spell as interim boss at London Road following Ferguson’s departure in February last year. He is assisted by his former Peterborough and Tottenham team mate SIMON DAVIES, 43, the 58-times-capped Wales midfielder, who also played for Everton and Fulham.

JACK POWELL

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