I am not at all surprised by Rob Elliot's departure from Crawley Town, but the timing seems strange

Rob Elliot has parted company with Crawley Town | Picture: Grant Mansfieldplaceholder image
Rob Elliot has parted company with Crawley Town | Picture: Grant Mansfield
The news Rob Elliot has left Crawley Town this evening has, unfortunately, come as no surprise.

But the fact it came three days before their next match and four days after their previous game did. I am sure owners WAGMI will give their reasons, but it does seem odd timing. After the result and, more importantly, the performance, at Huddersfield, I think anyone who has an interest in Crawley Town thought the writing was on the wall for the 38-year-old and were expecting that famous ‘corner flag’ image on the club’s socials on Saturday evening or Sunday.

Obviously, the ink was well and truly on that wall, it just took a little longer to dry than expected.

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As I said at the start, today’s news was no surprise. Just six wins in 31 matches is not a great record and gives Kevin Betsy a run for his money.

It’s fair to say Elliot’s job was in tougher circumstances than Betsy - but the common thread which ultimately led to their downfall was the style of play and the resistance to err from that.

We know owners WAGMI want Crawley Town to play a certain way - and at times it can be brilliant to watch. But when it goes wrong - as it did at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday - it looks awful. From the outside looking in, Elliot was always on to a loser.

A young inexperienced manager leaping from National League to League One with a squad of young and inexperienced players who had been thrown together in the summer always seemed like it was going to be a huge task to stay in the division.

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Throw into the mix the calibre and budget of clubs in League One - the likes of Birmingham, Bolton, Blackpool, Wrexham, Wigan and the aforementioned Huddersfield, to mention just a few - and it was almost mission impossible.

Then add heavy helping of injuries with the impressive Josh Flint, who started the season so well, Armando Quitirna, Toby Mullarkey, Jeremy Kelly and Harry Forster all missing large chunks, Elliot did not have a lot of options.

That sounds like I am making excuses for Elliot. I am not, I am just laying out the facts on what has happened since the former Newcastle United keeper joined. But where Elliot didn’t help himself was a resistance to change tactics and styles and his substitutions.

There was a phase at the start of his reign where every substitute he made seemed to result in a goal going against the Reds. Is that just bad luck or bad decision-making? And when Crawley Town just needed to shut up shop - prime examples Exeter and Bolton away - it never seemed to be an option. When you are fighting for your lives in League One, there has to be a pragmatic approach.

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From a journalist’s point of view, Elliot was great to deal with - always gracious, always thankful and always willing to talk. But being good with the press doesn’t give you good results and that is ultimately was caused Elliot’s downfall.

Not many people were expecting Crawley to win a lot of games and stay up this year, but it was the manner in which they lost games which was alarming. Bolton and Huddersfield are again big examples. There was some bad luck in there - Wrexham’s winner at the Broadfield Stadium comes to mind - but you make your own luck, and Elliot couldn’t find any.

But WAGMI need to take a lot of responsibility. If they made a decision earlier, would they still stand a fighting chance of staying up? The Cambridge defeat was when most fans, according to social media, realised Elliot was not the man for the job.

Had the owners not changed almost the entire squad in the summer, would last year’s history-making team been able to put up more of a fight? It’s obviously impossible to predict that. But, assuming Crawley do get relegated - and we are all hoping they don’t - the next appointment as manager is crucial.

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We all saw what happened with WAGMI’s first appointment and it nearly led to relegation out of the Football League. Let’s hope their ninth appointment (if you include Lewis Young, twice, Darren Byfield and Louis Storey) is the right one to make sure they get it right next season.

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