Skipper admits Crawley Town’s FA Cup effort at Wimborne wasn’t good enough on any level
Crawley Town captain Jude Arthurs was lost for words after seeing the Reds crash out of the FA Cup at the first-round stage, losing 2-0 to Southern League Premier Division South side Wimborne Town.
Speaking with club media after the game, he said the performance was “not good enough at all’, adding: “Simple as that really. I haven’t really got any other words. It’s not good enough from top to bottom.
“It lands on me because I’m the captain and I’ll take that full responsibility. Not good enough at all. But I’m in that changing room. I’m going to make sure that we try to put that right.”
The Reds’ display was the opposite of their battling win over Oldham a week earlier.
Arthurs said: “I think from the first minute, we looked nervous, to be honest. I think we needed to just settle the game down a little bit, play a bit more football instead of kind of playing into their hands a little bit.
“But that’s all words. That (performance) is just simply not good enough on any level. You can’t turn up whether you’re playing Man United, or you’re playing down there. It does not matter if you don’t want to turn up and do the basics.”
Asked if the performance and the result was a wake-up call for the Reds, he said: “It’s a massive wake-up call. We can’t go into any game, the league, cup, whatever it is, you can’t go into any game like that. I’ve have got any words, to be honest. It’s just not good enough on any level.”
Arthurs did have this message for the travelling fans after a performance left those who travelled angry and frustrated.
He said “They turned out in their numbers. And we’re trying. We are trying and it’s not for a want of not wanting to do it. I understand the fans’ frustrations, 100 per cent I do.
“But stick with us because we’re going to need you. That’s all I’m going to say. We’re going to need them at home and away. It’s our 12th man, and they’re going to get us through certain games and certain points in games. So keep sticking with us. We’re going to keep grinding, keep going, but we need to be as one.”