Crawley Town - a fan's view: ‘Waterloo’d of rubbish - changes needed for further progress to be made

Back in 1982 Harrogate hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and in keeping with that theme Crawley were left with an embarrassing “Nul Points” on Saturday against their opponents from Yorkshire, writes Matt Putland.
Harrogate Town celebrate Simon Weaver's goal. Picture by UK Sports Images LtdHarrogate Town celebrate Simon Weaver's goal. Picture by UK Sports Images Ltd
Harrogate Town celebrate Simon Weaver's goal. Picture by UK Sports Images Ltd

It was a sorry performance from the reds with very few positives to be taken.

Crawley have shown on occasion this season they are capable of some excellent football and have picked up some outstanding results with the FA Cup win against Leeds being the peak of those results. Since that Leeds game though there has been three defeats and a draw. It has been very much after the Lord Mayor's show.

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The club sold Max Watters for a significant amount of money in January and it was the sort of business the club should be doing. Bringing in young players on free transfers who can be moulded and turned to valuable gems to be sold on for significant profit is how clubs the size of Crawley should operate in order to cut its coat to suit its cloth.

Having sold Watters, the club embarked on a signing spree like a kid in a sweet shop bringing in the younger Wright brother Josh, James Tilley, Jordan Maguire-Drew, Davide Rodari and Mustafa Hussein. They all of course need time to settle in and be able to prove themselves.

However none of them so far appear to address any of the key issues in the squad. The midfield is seriously lacking in creativity and the defence is about as sturdy as a chocolate teapot.

The club no longer operates with a recognised centre forward, that’s not necessarily a bad thing as Nadesan and Nichols are having good seasons.

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However they need a good service to be provided to them. Sam Matthews, Tyler Frost and Tarryn Allarakhia all have their moments but the side could do with a bit of ingenuity in the middle of the park to be able to unlock an opposition defence. Even with 10 men Harrogate held on relatively comfortably to their 3-1 score line.

There is no pace in the centre of defence. Joe McNerney missed a header leading to the first Harrogate goal and Tony Craig turned his back on the shot for the third. I don’t believe either are good enough for League 2 football. In Tom Dallison and George Francomb the club are using a converted centre back and a converted midfielder in the full back positions.

As a result, neither offer enough moving forward down the flanks. Both should be returned to their natural positions and allow Archie Davies, David Sesay, Nick Tsaroulla and Mark Wright to fill those positions.

Back to 1982 and in that year, Harrogate became founder members of the Northern Counties East League, meanwhile Crawley Town were competing in the Southern League. Today both are mid0table in League 2. It shouldn’t be forgotten what a remarkable rise it has been and what a creditable position Crawley are in given the budget available. There are a few changes needed though for further progress to be made.