2,3,4 come on u reds

[mzawf]

As the red devils begin another action packed season of 1st division football and while being placed at a very respectable seventh on the table.
It couldn’t have started any better on the pitch. A pre season friendly against Premier league side Crystal Palace resulted a 3 – 0 victory for barkers boys.

The team officially kicks off this seasons’ footy on august 03 against Coventry. The sky blues lost to the devils 2 goals to nil, the last time the teams clashed back in 2013 on that auspicious day of April 13


Back In the backroom there has been, some other action
with a new player being signed up on a one year deal. James Hurst 21 years of age both a talented defender and a player who likes to mix it up front to boot

Crawley manager Richie Barker said he was delighted to secure Hurst's signature who goes on to say "He's a terrific defender but he loves to get forward and fits the template of player I want in our squad - someone who is young, athletic with a willingness to learn and improve and has a terrific attitude."

And so say all of us

After the departure of Richard Low as the CEO for the devils
Crawley Town have appointed Michael Dunford as their new chief executive
Let’s all hope that he brings with him a sense of sensibility back to the club
vis a vie
The recent attack of a supporter, for verbally / barracking another.
Who received a four match ban for their over exuberance; which as we now know the ban has been nullified.
Remember now way back in the 2013 football season when a an avid, full on devils supporter was dished out a ban of such disproportionate excess, for calling a visiting linesman a monkey, what and? .
Which I believe, this is a ban still in force.
A point in dire need for correction.
Wake up to the fact only a few overpaid kers give a toss about this verbal barracking.
Most supporters I have spoken with, see this colourful use of language as part of a fun day out

who said if the same was in boxing we wouldn’t get past the weigh ins and less the fight interviews “I’m going to punch your lights out white boy and kiss my arse and see you at the post fight celebrations

Get a life and live in the 21st century

[mzawf]

Hi footy fansThe fortunes of Crawley Town FC for August have been more up and down than a fiddlers elbow.
Following the pre season friendly when Barker guided his side to a 3-0 win over Premier League side Crystal Palace.
Then, on aug 06 the RED Devils saw its initial 1st round foray for a league cup title Go billy-o after an exciting start to this match, we saw Crawley ahead
Only for the Robins to execute a tactical fight back from a position of three one down and finishing at the final whistle one goal up. The Robins 4 The Devils 03
Next up resulted a 3 all draw against Tranmere Rovers
More recently on Aug 24 Tranmere Rovers experienced a trouncing from Peterborough by losing by 5 goals to nil

mzawf quotesTranmere Rovers manager Ronnie Moore who told BBC Radio Merseyside:
"I said on Friday that it wasn't going to be 0-0. I just knew, and we conceded two more from set-pieces.
"We played well in the first half, got at them and passed it well. We just needed that third goal.
"The tempo to the game wasn't there in the second half. We were too deep as a back four and it's causing us problems in our general play.
"I think we've got better players than we had last year, but at this present time, we haven't got a better team. That's the difference at the moment."

mzawf quotes Crawley Town manager Richie Barker who told BBC Sussex:
"We'd probably have taken a point before the game but in terms of the performance I thought the players were fantastic.
"If we'd have seen that through, we go and win the game and it's said and done. But the higher you go, there's people more aggressive and you don't see those finishes in Conference or League Two football.
"So that's why Ryan Lowe does what he does and that's why he is so good at what he does. But from our point of view it was a fantastic response from the players."

Moving forward to the 17th of August when the Red Devils lost by two goals when Rotherham United visited the Broadfield Stadium. This clash was a closely contested match when;- Crawley lost to the former Championship side, The Wolves with a one goal difference
Next up Crawley are away at Peterborough (31st August) a former Championship team relegated last season to first division and by coincidence, it was Crystal Palace who last season sounded the death knell for that fall

[mzawf]

Oh life as a Crawley Town FC supporter can't get any better
A new name for the home of the Red Devils

Man Utd have Old Trafford, sounds cool

Arsenal the Emirates Stadium, A very prestigious sounding name

The Stadium of Light, a power name for the home of Sunderland

Kassam Stadium Oxford United The Liberty Stadium for Swansea all which have a good sounding name
The CheckaTrade. com Stadium it dosn't quite have the same feel about it
And does absolutely nought to reflect the prestige of the Club and players what a lousy name
While attempting to stay upbeat about the new name, we decided that, luckily the new sponsor didn't turn out to be, the nonreactive rectal suppositories company
"This weeks match sees The Blues visit the non-reactive rectal suppositories stadium in Crawley"

[mzawf]

Hi mzafers and footy fiends, since our last posting on the fortunes of Crawley Town F.C.
says that a positive 5 weeks has been had ! For Barkers Boys .

Peterborough aka The Posh visited Broadfield stadium back on the 31st of August.
Typo alert correction The Check a Trade Stadium.com…it has a sort of dry mouthful of crackers feel about it.
“Oh we will get over it, but for convenience sake we here at mzawf HQ have decided to label the checkatrade com stadium, the Cat stadium”

Back to the footy the devils won against the Posh by two goals to nil (rock on)
Taking into consideration that Peterborough is currently placed, second on the table, a good start for CTFC

Next up at the CAT stadium we had a 3-2 win over Gillingham on the (07/09)
Notably, Gillingham, have only just managed a scalp, a win against Crewe (28/08), this, following a ten match dearth of success.

On the 14th & then respectively on the 21st of Sept we saw CTFC draw one all against the Shrews, and with the same result away at Colchester.

Then !

Bouncing back on the 28 Sept the Devils won the points with a win over Oldham F.C. (The Latics).
Next up, we see the Barkers boys are away at the Bramall Lane stadium (the oldest major stadium in the world still hosting football matches today).
Bramall lane it rolls off the tongue.
The Blades placed at the bottom of the table and who haven’t won a match in the past 10, no doubt will be aiming to turn a run of bad luck around.

[mzawf]

Hi footy fans and Crawley Town Supporters it has been some time since we last checked out the fortune of
As always while catching up on the current news surrounding Barkers Boys, we have an air of optimism about what awaits us.

Starting out with the one all draw away at Sheffield, not the result we had anticipated and hoped for, but a ok start

and was quoted on BBC Surrey: saying that:
"It was a good point and on a positive note, six games unbeaten.
"I've just said to the players the longer this run goes on and obviously that should motivate us more.
"But the lads are devastated in there and it comes to something when Crawley Town go to Bramall Lane and draw and the players are devastated, so I think that's a measure of how far we've come."

Next up, the lost to Newport a second division team .
In the Football League Trophy - Northern Section Second Round
At the final whistle Crawley 2-3 No comment from the back room.

Probably picked up the negative vibe/ mojo, when we visited Bramall Lane. the Blades having experienced a 10 match dearth of wins prior to this visit.
I noticed that Sheffield Utd fortunes haven’t really improved any, only winning once in the past five matches.

Next up, we have the Bradford utd losing at the hands (feet ) of Barkers Boys
Crawley 1 Bradford 0.

As an all-round performance, that was one of our best this season. [Goalkeeper] Paul Jones didn't have a lot to do, but what he did do was excellent.
"To be fair to Bradford, they probably caught us a bit cold. It was a surprise considering we knew what was coming at us, but for some reason we didn't look quite at it.
"We rode the storm a bit and I have to say our defending in the last 15 minutes was absolutely fantastic. It's a fantastic win and I can't speak highly enough of the players

In reverse of fortune Stevenage beat Crawley by two goals to zero.
As at the last meeting, Crawley beat Stevenage 2 – 1, all be it that was nearly a year passed (Dec 2012).

We've played worst than that this season and won games and we certainly played worst than that and drawn games as well. It's tough because we've come away and you say to the players there are obvious things to improve on but I can't fault them on their effort.
"The first goal is very disappointing and we knew what we were going to get when we got here and set pieces are a big thing.
"I thought we dominated the game for probably 80% of the game. We had the most shots, the most crosses, the most corners and the most possession by a mile and we've come away with nothing."

Next Brentford FC visited Crawley, resulting a bad day!...
Then the Red devils got stung by the Bees and lost by one goal to nil.
In response to that Barker was quoted to say ..

“Did we deserve to win the game? Probably not, but I thought we did enough to deserve something out of the game.
"Without a piece of poor defending we probably would have come away with a nil-nil, which would not have been ideal.
"I have to say one or two people need to have a look at their mindset, in terms of what we are trying to do. They are a fantastic bunch of players who work extremely hard.
"I said before all my players have flaws. That's why they play for Crawley.
"If they didn't have a flaw they're all good players and then they would go and play for somebody else."

So without a win in the last four matches, and this including the Port Vale game, who trounced the Devils 3 goals to nil back on the 22/10. Then losing to Bristol City 2 -0 more recently.
This appears to have ended the 5 match winning streak of wins for the Red Devils !
Barkers boys face Hednesford Town (Away) Sat 9 November 2013 in a FA Cup match.
Hednesford Town Football Club is an association football team based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They play at Keys Park. The club plays in the Conference North and who are comfortably placed at the top of the table.
The Only way is Up!

[mzawf]

Hednesford 1 Crawley 2 09/11
Crawley Town former manager Richie Barker told BBC Surrey:

"It wasn't the most attractive game to watch but we came here to do a job and we've done that.
"We are where we want to be which is in front of the TV tomorrow afternoon watching the second-round draw.

It has been said that a week is a long time in a football managers career. and since our last posting 14 days ago the devils say goodbye to Ritchie Barker following a 15 month spell at the helm.
Hats off to Ritchie says Ritchie Barker clearly had the highest aspiration for Barkers Boys and worked too that end.
But after a recent goal dearth and not winning any of the past seven league matches, plus scoring only once in this period.
The Barker era came to its end (27/11) Terminated with immediate effect ( well there are the thanks for the effort hard work and vision) even after holding up and The Reds being unbeaten in the last four games across all competitions . It’s Tough when you’re at the top!
Nb: It’s not what happens in the board room or the back room, and as we all know it’s about what happens on the pitch.
A good move? Only time will tell. It’s in the lap of the gods!

Good Luck to Ritchie in all you do
Moving on

Come on down John Gregory
Crawley are away and visiting the Memorial Stadium for the FA second round clash against Bristol Rovers (The Gas Heads) 07/11

Crawley Town manager John Gregory told BBC Sussex:
"We have got a very talented squad here, but we are not performing as well as we should be or winning enough matches.
"The players have got a point to prove and want to pick themselves up. We know from our history that if you get to the third round you can pull the big ones.
Bristol Rovers 0 Crawley 0 The gas heads are currently languishing at the bottom of the second division.

Struggling Bristol Rovers hang on to earn an FA Cup reply against League One side Crawley Town.

A new beginning is beckoning at the checkatrade stadium let’s hope the new honcho has some serious tricks up his sleeve.

The checkatrade stadium oh please oh please don’t let us be get labelled Greg’s guys!
Next up we see The Invincibles visit Crawley on the 14th placed PNE 3rd on the table and riding high at this time.
A tough match ahead for

[mzawf]

Howza footie fans! Since we last checked on the fortunes of way back on Dec 14th, since that point, loads of stuff has been occurring particularly off the pitch.
Firstly with a festive arrival John Gregory as the new honcho ho ho ho and then, more recently with the appointment of Guy Whittingham as first-team coach.
“Would you adam and eve it” Guy Whittingham was sacked by Pompey only last month and replaced by Richie Barker, who was dismissed by Crawley two days after.
Whittingham's departure
“It has smidgens of fine dining wheeling and dealing in the back room”
Putting that aside,
it seems that as the start 2014, and a fresh wave of optimism is blowing over the Cat Stadium.
Taking note that John and Guy have some history at working together as

affiliations being the making of good foundations for success

An impressive start by the devils under Gregories guise, by winning against Leyton Orient back on the 21/12/13/ and, who at that time, were the league leaders.

"No one gave us a cat in hell's chance today. We had nothing to lose and I think the approach that we had in dressing room with the players was 'you come here and you're expected to lose, but you've got every chance'. "We felt that we were in charge for the first 15 minutes and then they scored against the run of play with their first opportunity. We had to fight to get back into the game, which we did, and once we got back to 1-1 we took over.
"There were lots of good individual performances but also collectively as a group of players. I left all 11 players on that started the game because they were so fired up and we come away having beaten the league leaders."

Next we saw Crawley lose to the MK Dons on the 24th Dec by two goals to nil

Crawley Town manager John Gregory told BBC Surrey:"It was hard on us really. They had one shot in the first half and two in the second but the goals were both clinical. "The first one's flown in from a long distance and 2-0 flattered them.
(Crawley's Billy Clarke was sent off for a late challenge on Lee Hodson)
John Gregory told BBC Surrey"It looked a red card to me. Billy had left the ground and it looked like a two-footed challenge from where I was. I might be wrong but it looked as if it was a straight red."

Then on the 29th Dec Crawley bounce back with a win against Notts County by one goal to nil. The Magpies are currently languishing at the bottom of the table at 23rd place.
Next up we have a FA cup match against league two Bristol Rovers who will visit the CAT stadium on the 08/01 noting with this current deluge of wet weather it’s in the lap of the gods.
Ricthie’s got a mountain to climb watching over the fortunes of Pompey.
Back home, John Gregory appears to have everybody onside
2014. bring it on!

[steveizy]

That was a good account of recent events

Football is a good example of the saying "What goes round, comes round"

John Gregory is a breath of fresh air for the long suffering fans of Crawley Town and he does, indeed, seem to have the fans behind him

I won't dwell on Barker nor Coppell. Suffice it to say that I don't think either of them will be missed and heaven help Pompey with that dynamic dull duo.

For the first time this season, I feel sufficiently motivated to go to a match. Crawley vs Bristol Rovers on Weds. 6 Jan if the originally abandoned, then postponed match does indeed take place Weather isn't looking good though.

If it, hopefully, goes ahead then I'll report COYR

[mzawf]

wettest.png (202 KiB) Viewed 13446 times

Hi footie fans since we last checked up on the fortunes of Crawley Town F.C the club bombed in the FA Cup second round replay against the Gasheads. 08/01 Whilst all was looking promising as the match progressed, and the reds were leading and stomping ahead towards a winning end game, when Two late goals saw Bristol Rovers come from behind to beat Crawley 2-1 in their FA Cup bid. Since that time the devils have been treading water although not on the pitch after several matches were postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. On the 12/01 the reds pulled a two all draw when Crawley played away at the Sixfields Stadium against Coventry City.

and who told BBC Surrey: A point is no more than we deserved.
"I think in the second half we were certainly the better side - their goal was against the run of play.
"But to pick ourselves, and for the substitutes to come on and work hard and get back into the game was really pleasing.
"We've seen that the players aren't willing to give up and there's a prove of good team spirit here."

On the 25/01 playing away at Rotherham Crawley came away with a 2 all draw

Crawley Town manager John Gregory told BBC Surrey:
"We're looking at our clocks and those five minutes [of extra time] have gone, and in that extra fifty seconds they go and equalise. It seemed like a lifetime for us and I was anticipating the referee to blow his whistle before [the goal].
"Rotherham are very direct but we dealt with everything they threw at us. We had opportunities to have gone 3-1 up and the game would've been over but they're things we are slowly learning and improving on.
"I look back at the 90 minutes and there were so many good things that we will build upon and slowly as a team we will improve week after week. There's a great resilience that runs through the team

Crawley took its first scalp since back ain December last, when the The Red Devils beat The Magpies by one goal to nil.
Away to Walsall at the Bescot Stadium Crawley won 2 goals to one

Crawley Town manager Richie Barker told BBC Sussex:
"It is disappointing that we let them back into the game - we should be shutting up shop and making sure it doesn't happen.
"That's probably five we've had cleared off the line in the last two weeks, and five or six off the woodwork, so we're not a million miles away.
"But there's no way we should be talking about this having been 2-0 up in the 88th minute."

Then Crawley played at Swindon on the 25/02 bagging 1-1 draw

Crawley manager John Gregory told BBC Surrey:
"Swindon Town have got second best home record in our league and we've come here and, in my opinion, more than matched them all over the field.
"There's a lot of disappointed faces in the dressing room, so that tells you the kind of standards the boys have set themselves and when they come to a place like Swindon and get a point.
"All in all, it's been a good couple of away performances against top-quality opposition and we are delighted that we've got something out of this game. My players showed great passion tonight."

Crawley beat Peterborough by one goal to nil

Crawley head coach Guy Whittingham told BBC Sussex:
"I thought we started the game really well and we had three chances in the first half and then we let them back into the game.
"Peterborough are always going to cause you problems.
"We maybe got that luck at the end when the ball was put into the box and it was a penalty. Matt Tubbs has been practising his penalties but not those ones."
"the pressure was on him from last week when you scored one and we felt he was going to bury it into the corner but he calmly chipped it over the keeper."

Overall The Devils have both improved on, and are comfortably positioned at 14 on the table.
Post, the pre Christmas shake-up, and with the new governor experiencing a marked improvement in the clubs fortunes, losing only two of the last 10 games,
This places the team roughly where they were positioned mid-season in 2013.
The only way is up
Tonight’s match against Stevenage 04/03
The last time we clashed with the Boro boy,s the devils lost by 2 goals 2 to nil!
Placed in the relegation zone.and coupled with past performances says Stevenage is up for the taking
Boro boys

[mzawf]

Hi mzawfers

Post our last update re the fortune of
Moving forward little comfort can be taken from the 1-1 scoredraw against, bottom of the table Stevenage, back on March 04th.
Now and with the benefit of hindsight , it turns out to be one of the few successes over the month of March.
It’s been a busy time for Gregory’s boys playing eight matches over this past month.
The highpoint was likely the win against league leaders, Wolves (2 -1 on 18/03).
Bomb to the bottom team and then beat the league leaders, two extremes by far!
So apart from another draw against the Shrews, there doesn't appear to be a great deal to be excited about.
The remainder of the month’s games having resulted nothing much, losing to ; Gillingham, Colchester, Oldham, and Sheffield Utd and Preston N End to boot!
Following the recent back room shake up and stuff, in reality not a great deal has changed since Ritchie bailed out!
Note: Ritchie Barker has more recently, been given the boot from Portsmouth, and after only a short time, at the club’s helm.
Will lightening strike twice and the revamp back-room stuff turns out to be just ome more ? ‘white elephant’.
Over these past few years the club has been through several back room shake ups ‘slamming the car into reverse at full speed mentality’ approach “just don’t get it”!

Ultimately the game is decided on the pitch and the have the potential to hold on in leageue one
Hopefully with Gregory at the helm fortunes will improve, all be it, slow in materialising!
Is only delaying the inevitable and are playing in a league above their weight?
Or is that just a load of waffle?
Regardless of that
Post all the reshuffling and admin stuff the devils are holding on in league one
With the next match to be away at Port Vale on April Fool Day, PV kicked our arse back in Oct 2013 three goals to zilch! regardless I smell a scalp
0 -2 mzawf predicts