Crawley Town’s released and retained list throws up a few surprises as ex-Salford defender among those to depart

The highly anticipated retained and released was released on Wednesday (May 13), which serves as the first clue into how a Colin Kazim-Richards' side might take shape next season following the announcement that he will be the Reds new permanent Head Coach.

Let's run through Crawley's released players as I give my verdict on the decision to release those players with those at the top of the list the ones who I am most surprised have been released by the club:

Crawley Town's Released Players

Theo Vassell

The former Barrow and Salford City defender was by far the biggest shock on the list. Despite his long-term injury picked up in February which put him out for the rest of the season, and having played just seven games in a Crawley shirt I thought he showed his worth.

He is someone that knows how to defend the box, picking up three clean sheets as part of that defensive unit, and believe he could have been a real asset when he returned from injury providing a real aerial threat in both boxes.

However it is understandable that with his injury, that will likely see him miss the start of next season, was a factor that contributed significantly to the decision to release him, as well as the fact that Kazim-Richards has no evidence of his talent or a chance to build a real connection with Vassell with the defender spending the majority of his time rehabilitating from his injury.

Max Anderson

Despite his struggles with injuries this season which saw him make just 20 appearances and only ten of those being starts, it was a decision that amazed me.

The Scotsman has the best pass completion rate from open play out of all of Crawley's midfielders this season, successfully completing 84.8% of his passes in open play.

He serves as an alternative choice bringing a different dynamic to the middle of the park operating as more of a box-to-box midfielder as I mentioned in one of my previous articles.

The 24 year old may want to return back to his homeland, Scotland, which would be a logical explanation for his departure.

Harry McKirdy

From what I can gauge this has had mixed receptions from Crawley fans and I understand both ends of the spectrum.

This was not a surprise in the respect that he practically announced his departure yesterday evening with a McKirdy style tweet saying "Thought I deserved more than a 37 second phone call but again that's football."

While he was the Reds top goal scorer with eight goals the bar was not set high by his fellow teammates and ultimately hasn't been consistent enough to warrant a new deal.

He is also an injury prone player who has particularly struggled with setbacks in recent seasons.

The former Swindon Town man's temperament, attitude and antics on the pitch were potentially carried into the dressing room and that did not suit the type of culture that Kazim-Richards is looking to try and build at the club.

Louis Flower

The Brighton & Hove Albion academy product struggled to get into the starting side before finding some form and then unfortunately ran into his own injury problems.

Flower looked like a bright prospect in his 12 league appearances but for whatever did not quite work out for him in a Crawley shirt.

He went on loan to National League side Woking where he played just four times before picking up another injury.

I don't believe he was currently in a position where he could lead the line for Crawley week in week out and score a sufficient amount of goals over the course of the season.

Will Heater

The teenage goalkeeper made the bench on a few occasions for the Reds but did not feature. Heater went on loan to Sheppey United on a short-term deal at the back end of last season.

He is a surprise in terms of the fact that he could have been one for the future where he could have been sent out on loan to gain some minutes and experience but the club has decided that the best decision is to part ways with the 19 year old.

Antony Papadopoulos

I believe that is the right decision for both the player and the club with the 23 year old getting to a stage in his career where he wants to find a club in which to settle down in and play regular minutes.

Despite positive loan spells with Maidstone United and most recently Chelmsford he was never able to break into the Crawley side to make an impact featuring just ten times in Crawley colours.

Reece Brown

I think this is the least unexpected one out of all the players to be released. He joined the Reds in the summer having been without a club for a whole season.

The former Peterborough United loanee grappled with getting used to the pace and physicality of League Two and therefore struggled during his time with the club.

He was removed from the EFL list of registered players for Crawley in February with his last appearance coming against Cheltenham Town on January 4th.