You might have sensed that I was not happy with the result from League 2’s showpiece game, but, when all is said and done, AFC Wimbledon deserved their win against Walsall in a game that did not come anywhere near the standard of last year’s game.

There were just over 50,000 spectators there with apparently 33,000 of them supporting the Kingston team which makes me wonder why they didn’t support them in those numbers pre the AFC being inserted in front of their name. AFC deserved their victory and thus the rivalry between them and us and MK Dons has temporarily, I'm sure, come to an end.

The thing that really got to me was the continual references to the 1988 FA Cup victory over Liverpool accompanied by shots of Dave Beasant and Dave Bassett watching from the stands. That was a different club, a different time and whilst the move and renaming of the original club to MK Dons should never have been allowed to happen, or even be sanctioned by the Football League, it is now history and surely AFC would be better playing on the “we’ve come from nowhere” ticket.

Am I being unfair? Crawley FC folded before the Second World War in 1935, only to reform three year later by merging with two other clubs, namely Crawley Athletic and Crawley Rangers. The name of Crawley FC lived on, mainly because the officials of the new club were largely from the original Crawley FC. Something to think about perhaps?

Reece Brown played worked with Scott Lindsey at Forest Green Rovers. (Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)

placeholder image — Reece Brown played worked with Scott Lindsey at Forest Green Rovers. (Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)

Since the League 2 play off final decided there would be no league trip to Plough Lane this year, the National League Play off final took place and once again the result was not to my liking. Southend, despite being two one up after just one minute of extra time, sadly surrendered the lead in the 100th minute before losing the game to a third Oldham Athletic goal in the 112th minute.

This means that the make-up of League 2 is as follows

Accrington Stanley. Barnet, Barrow, Bristol Rovers, Bromley, Cambridge United, Cheltenham Town, Chesterfield, Colchester United, Crawley Town, Crewe Alexandra, Fleetwood Town, Gillingham, Grimsby Town, Harrogate Town, Milton Keynes Dons, Newport County, Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Salford City, Shrewsbury Town, Swindon Town, Tranmere Rovers and Walsall.

Alphabetically 10th in the table, 12th according to one bookmaker and not the smallest club in the division. There are in fact five clubs with smaller capacities than us and ten that claim bigger capacities than 10,000. I think, and it is only my opinion I know, that there are no real favourites for the upcoming season and I am confident that, provided we keep certain players and sign some good level replacements for those who might leave, we have every right to believe that the coming season will be a good one.

We have already signed midfielder, Reece Brown, and forward Harry McKirdy, both of whom who speak highly of Scott Lindsey, having played for him at Forest Green Rovers and Swindon Town respectively.

Perhaps the next week will see more players being signed or renewing existing contracts as it is only a matter of just over three weeks before the team jet off to Spain where they will train and play a July 4 friendly against Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian at the Pinatar Arena. This is not the first time that Crawley have faced Hearts, as Crawley made the long trip to the Tynecastle Stadium in July 2022 for a friendly fixture which ended in a 2-2 draw courtesy of two second-half goals from Dom Telford, who, incidentally, did not sign until June 24 that year.

I am hoping that Crawley Town will be able to organise some travel packages for fans and sponsors to watch the Red Devils play in Europe as some of us need to enjoy that experience before it is too late.

Next week I will be looking at next season’s opposition in more detail but to close this article I want to share with you a family anecdote that truly shows how small our world is.

I have just got back from a visit to the Mumbles near Swansea in South Wales, and whilst there I and my travelling companion met up with my cousin and his wife. They have lived in another part of Swansea called Cockett for about 40 years, whilst my partner owns a holiday home in Limeslade bay about six miles away from their house in a street called Lon Coedbran.

I knew Lon was Welsh for Lane and asked my cousin if he knew what Coedbran meant in English. To my astonishment he said that “Coed” was wood and that “bran” was crows, or as google confirmed with it its Welsh to English translation app, “CRAWLEY”