Could Crawley Town turn it around and do a Bolton Wanderers this season? - Opinion

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What have Gareth Southgate and Kevin Betsy have in common?

Well, they both have their supporters and they both have their denigrators, which, I suppose, makes football the game it is.

Where everyone has an opinion on how games should be played, which seems to vary depending on what results are achieved.

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The thing they don’t have in common, apart from the length of service, is how much time they have with their charges. To want to ditch GS with the World Cup barely two months away seems wrong to me, especially when we all know how England can play, as they showed in the second half against Germany last Monday.

Steve LeakeSteve Leake
Steve Leake

Writing this now, three hours before Crawley Town kick off in the New Town Derby, I want Kevin and our lads to show us what they can do against a team who are doing well this season under the tutelage of the man who was provided with the ammunition to get us into the league, Steve Evans. Read on for how I felt after the event.

Sunday Morning

Devastated, downhearted and absolutely confused about what should happen.

In my opinion, you couldn’t blame Saturday’s defeat on the way we set up or how we played. In my opinion, we matched Steve’s streetwise Stevenage all game and should have at least got a point.

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Kevin Betsy makes substitutions on SaturdayKevin Betsy makes substitutions on Saturday
Kevin Betsy makes substitutions on Saturday

With Preston Johnson in attendance there will be a lot for him and WAGMI to ponder in the next month, but I am sure he will be gladdened by the imminent return to the matchday squad of George Francomb and Dion Conroy. Hopefully James Balagizi will also be available after his international sojourn and Joel Lynch will continue in the side.

I listened to rumours yesterday about how Kevin and Dan were not “liked” by the “changing room” and then I listened to Joel Lynch and Kevin Betsy appear to contradict that. I would appeal here for fans not to get involved in third party Chinese whispers and remember, that in football, patience is the most important thing. (Credit to some big bloke who plays for Manchester City).

As previously stated, I am confused about how we get out of the situation we are in, but with returning experienced players I am hopeful for an upturn in our form sooner rather than later.

In 2020/2021 there was a team that made a slightly better start than us, picking up 10 points after eleven games, but had been knocked out of the EFL Cup and were halfway to exiting the Trophy as well. By halfway through the season, they had picked up a little but had still only achieved 30 points in 23 games.

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In the second half of the season, they won 49 points from 69 available and were promoted at the People’s Pension Stadium. They are of course Bolton Wanderers.

Now, in order to match their achievement, we must first of all win eight out of the next twelve games to achieve 30 points which would take us to the next transfer window. Dreaming? Probably, but I would rather that than hurl real venomous abuse at people who they object to.

PS: 174 people unable to return home after a football match in Indonesia. Perspective everyone.

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