'Some sensitive legal issues' - Crawley Town co-owner 'currently unable' to meet club's Supporters' Alliance but hopes to share more 'in the next week'

A week of turmoil for the fans and the club which has seen Tom Nichols sold to Gillingham and Matty Etherington leave the manager’s role after just 34 days in charge saw the CTSA demand meetings with director of football Chris Galley and co-owner and co-chairman Preston Johnson, who flew back to the UK on Thursday.

They had met with Galley before Christmas to discuss the Tom Nichols situation and the whole squad being ‘transferred listed’.

But since the other developments, the CTSA wanted to discuss what was going on at the club and to find out why there was an apparent lack of transparency – something WAGMI had promised from the beginning.

After repeated appeals, including one where they wanted to bypass Chris Galley, they wrote an open letter saying: “ Latest appeal from CTSA. Dear Preston and Eben,

“Further to yesterday’s events, we are concerned about the impact that certain decisions and owner’s statements are having on our Club and therefore would urge you again to meet with us as soon as possible.

It’s pretty obvious that the frustration of the past few weeks intensified last night, with the majority of the 300 travelling Crawley fans voicing their displeasure and fans gathering outside the ground to speak to you to get some answers.

“Over 350 Crawley fans have joined the CTSA in the last 48 hours, which leaves us in a unique position to be able to help you get your message across to the fan base, and also us to get their message across to you in a constructive manner.

“We’re keen to have a constructive meeting as soon as possible, so if you could give us a suitable time and date to meet with you, ideally before the Newport game on Monday, we’d appreciate it.

“Reuben Watt Interim Chair, CTSA”

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And tonight (Sunday, January 1) they have received contact. The CTSA’s latest statement said: “We would like to confirm that Preston Johnson has got in touch with the Crawley Town Supporters’ Alliance but is currently unable to meet due ‘to some sensitive legal issues’. Preston added he will ‘meet at the earliest opportunity’.”

Chair Watt told the Crawley Observer: “I am pleased that Preston Johnson has contacted us to arrange a meeting. However, it is disappointing that he is not able to meet with us any sooner. The CTSA will continue to push for answers and transparency from the owners.”

Johnson released a further statement: “

Preston Johnson has issued the following statement: “I’m looking forward to meeting with the CTSA and finally providing clarity to the fans, but I will not be able to do so on the timeline they were requesting. We are currently in the process of getting to the bottom of some sensitive legal issues within the club that I cannot comment on at this moment. I want to be able to give the fans a thorough accounting of what has happened and where we go from here. That’s what the fans want and deserve, but I can’t do that until I am able to shed more light on these legal items and provide the full picture. I hope to be able to share more in the next week and will certainly keep you all apprised of our progress so that we can meet at the earliest opportunity.”