Kevin Betsy: All you need to know about Crawley Town's new manager - including the Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham stars he helped nurture

The 44-year-old, who replaces former Reds boss John Yems, has signed a two-year contract at the club.

Here is everything you need to know about the new Crawley manager – including his playing career and coaching history.

Playing career

Betsy made just shy of 600 appearances in an illustrious playing career which started at Woking in 1997. He made over 50 appearances for the Cardinals and was named as the 1998 Conference Player of the Year.

The former midfielder made the switch to Craven Cottage in the 1998-99 season and made his debut at Anfield against Liverpool in the League Cup.

He had loan spells at AFC Bournemouth and Hull City before moving to Barnsley in 2002.

Betsy made 94 league appearances for the Tykes, scoring 17 goals. He was the Yorkshire club’s top goalscorer in 2002-03 with 11 goals.

The midfielder then moved to Oldham Athletic in 2004 after a brief loan stint at Hartlepool United.

He made the switch to Wycombe Wanderers in 2005, after turning down a new contract at the Latics.

Betsy netted 13 league goals in 71 appearances for the Chairboys and was named in the PFA League Two Team of the Year for his performances during the 2005-06 campaign.

After helping Wycombe reach the semi-finals of the League Cup in 2006-07, Betsy moved to Bristol City in January.

The midfielder helped the Robins gain promotion to Championship during the 2006-07 season but he soon departed on loan to Yeovil Town.

A further loan spell at Walsall followed before Betsy made the switch to Southend United in 2008.

He moved to former club Wycombe on loan in 2010 and, after a successful spell back in Buckinghamshire, he rejoined the club on a permanent basis until the end of the campaign.

Betsy was voted the Wycombe Supporters Player of the Year for the 2009-10 season and subsequently signed a new two-year deal at the Chairboys.

The midfielder was ever-present in the Wycombe squad that sealed promotion to League One in 2010-11 but he left the club in December 2011 due to limited first team opportunities.

Betsy ended his career where he began it – at Woking. He moved back to the Cardinals in 2012 and helped the club win the Conference South title in his first season.

He remained at the Kingfield Stadium until the conclusion of the 2014-15 campaign before retiring to begin his coaching career.

Betsy played international football for Seychelles. The midfielder earned seven caps for the Pirates, scoring once in the 2011 Indian Ocean Games clash with Mauritius.

Coaching career

The 44-year-old began his coaching career at Fulham, a club that Betsy spent three years at as a player. He worked with the Cottagers for six years as a lead coach in the youth setup.

The highly-rated coach spent five successful years in the England youth setup before joining the Gunners in the summer of 2021.

Betsy took charge of the Three Lions’ under-15’s, 16’s, 17’s and 18’s before making the switch to the Emirates Stadium.

During his coaching career, Betsy has worked with and helped nurture some of the most promising talents in English football with names that include Fabio Carvalho, Jude Bellingham, Ryan Sessegnon, Harvey Elliott and Eberechi Eze.

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