Seven reasons for Crawley Town fans to be positive for the rest of the 2022/23 campaign

After John Yems’ departure and the appointment of Kevin Betsy and Dan Micciche, there have been plenty of additions to the squad with 17 new signings up to this week’s Transfer Deadline Day.

And we have seen WAGMI United introduce new revenue streams and innovative ways for the fans and community to be more involved with the club.

But the results in the league have been the issue - they have not won any of the first six League Two games. But it’s not all doom and gloom and Crawley Town fans should be positive about the rest of this season - and here are seven reasons why.

Time

Teams are not promoted or relegated in the first month of the season. There are still 40 games remaining.

Last season Arsenal lost their first three games of the season, look at them this season so far. Co-chairmen Preston Johnson and Eben Smith said they are looking for promotion in the first two seasons, that’s plenty of time for the ambition to be fulfilled.

Kevin Betsy said recently: “Successful clubs give their managers time. If people want to make snapshot decisions and constant change, you’re never going to be successful. Give us a chance to get these players up to speed and things will improve.” So why not trust the process?

And there are 17 new signings, they have got to be given time to gel. There is always immediacy with fans, but if you have a bit of patience the rewards will surely come.

Cup form

Crawley have already enjoyed three successes in cups with some fantastic performances. In the League Cup they have beaten League One Bristol Rovers and Premier League Fulham - and it wasn’t by luck. Anyone who was at the Fulham game would have seen a Crawley side dominate from start to finish and play some fantastic football. And in the EFL Trophy they drew 2-2 with a decent Portsmouth side before gaining a bonus point on penalties. This showed they have resilience and are cool under pressure - qualities shown by the Reds manager Betsy.

Fine margins

Yes, they have lost four and drawn two of their first six league games, but who can honestly say they haven’t deserved more from most of those games?

With the exception of the AFC Wimbledon game, where Betsy admitted the first half performance was unacceptable, there should have been a couple of wins. If James Tilley takes that chance against Leyton Orient, if Ashley Nadesan scores one of his one-on-ones against Northampton Town, there are many fine margins and at some point they will turn in Reds’ favour.

Kevin Betsy and Dan Micciche

Anyone who has spent any time in the company of these two will know their passion for football and the passion for the club.

Yes it is Betsy’s first management role in senior football and Reds fans always say ‘we need someone who knows League Two’.

They have got knowledge in first team coach Lewis Young - he has been around League Two for a long time - he knows the players and opposition - Betsy and Micciche are not going to ignore that knowhow.

But just look at their pedigree, they have managed at the top in youth football - you don’t get there by luck. And that experience has helped them attract some top talent to the club and has built relationships with Premier League clubs that were not there before. James Balagizi has been one of the standouts and a player of his calibre would not come to Crawley Town without Betsy.

It bodes very well for the future of the club.

The signings

We have already mentioned Balagizi, but look at the other players who have joined on loan. Teddy Jenks got rave reviews on loan at Aberdeen last year and showed what he can do in the EFL Trophy game against Portsmouth. Dom Telford hasn’t fired yet because of injury, but he was League Two’s top scorer last season. We have yet to see Tom Fellows and Caleb Chkwuemeka in action yet, but from what I understand they could provide the x-factor Reds have been missing in front of goal so far. And then you have Dion Conroy, a player who is proven at this level and Jayden Davis, who was exceptional against Fulham on his senior debut.

There are more we could mention but these are some that should get fans excited. And add these to the players they inherited such as Jack Powell, the talismanic Tom Nichols, Tony Craig, George Francomb, Nick Tsaroulla. These guys will gel at some point, but it comes back to time. Crawley has never had a squad full of so much potential, it just needs to click and when it does, some is going to be on the end of one helluva a beating.

The fans

When the Broadfield Stadium is full and rocking like it was on the night they beat Fulham, it’s a great place to be. Last season, Crawley’s average attendance was 2,277 this season so far it is 3,404 and when they start winning, it’s only going to get bigger and the players will feed off this.

WAGMI United are slowly improving the fan experience of the ground and they have plans on expanding the stadium going forward to. This will increase attendances, that will increase revenue and that can only improve the club on and off the pitch. There are always going to be dissenting voices in the stands and on social media when the chips are down but players need positivity to feed off and the Crawley Town fans can do that. Just stay off the pitch next time please!

The owners

There was a lot of scepticism when WAGMI United took over. They quickly allayed a lot of fears about how they bought the club (with hard cash, not NFts).

Make no bones about it, for all of what you see on social media - and yes they have made mistakes - these guys are serious and want to make this a success. These are not fly-by-night moneymen who wanted a new toy to play with.

So far they have done a lot of things which fans would not have seen to improve to improve the sustainability and infrastructure at the club. That can only be a good thing.

But again it needs time. They will make mistakes, and when they do they will tell you all about it. They are the most transparent owners we have seen at the club and there will not be a lot that happens that you don’t know about.

These guys are here to stay and are determined to make this project a success. But again it goes back to giving them time. With the likes of Preston Johnson, Eben Smith, Kevin Betsy, Dan Micciche, Chris Galley and the unsung heroes such as Tom Allman, Clare James, Sam Gadsdon, Ken Blackmore and many others, they are are going to make it.

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