Founded in 1896,Crawley Town joined the West Sussex Footballing League and became a part of the Junior Division.They moved to the Mid-Sussex League and won the title in 1892.Crawley stayed in this league until 1951.
In the 1950s,Crawley joined the Sussex County League and then the Metropolitan League,with the club winning the Metropolitan League Cup in 1959.They turned semi-professional in 1963 and stayed between the Southern Leagues for all of the 1970s and 1980s.The club were successful in this period;they won the Sussex Cup in 1986 and the Sussex Senior Cup in 1988.They repeated this feat in 1991 after winning the Floodlight Cup.
The club won a historic promotion to the Conference in 2004 for the first time in their history.In 2005,Crawley became a full-time club under new owners but some players had to leave due to other important work commitments.They faced liquidation in 2006 with an hour to go until the club was to go broke but a deal was made at the last minute to save them.They had ten points deducted and went into administration despite staying up in the league.
Any financial worries were eased at last in 2008 and Steve Evans was named manager,with the Scot going on to be the club's most successful.He made record signings in Matt Tubbs and Richard Brodie in 2010.In the 2010/11 season,they reached the sixth round of the FA Cup only to lose to Manchester United,and won the Conference title and subsequent promotion to the Football League.The following season,despite the departure of Evans to Rotherham,Crawley were promoted to League One via the playoffs.
THE GAFFER JOHN GREGORY
Gregory has gained a reputation as a coach mainly outside of Europe in the last few years and has managed in the top flight before on a successful basis.
Born in Scunthorpe in 1954,Gregory started at Northampton Town where he made 177 appearances before signing for Aston Villa in 1977.He settled into the side quickly and had a good influence on the team's playing style.His time in Birmingham ended when he moved to Brighton in 1979 and then to QPR in 1981,where he was a FA Cup finalist in 1982.
Gregory later had spells at Derby County,Plymouth Argyle and Bolton Wanderers before retiring in 1990.
He began his managerial career with brief spells at Portsmouth and Plymouth as a coach in 1990.He then worked at Leicester City before becoming the new manager of Wycombe Wanderers in 1996,and remained there for two years.
His big breakthrough was returning to Birmingham,this time he would be managing Premier League Aston Villa after getting the job in 1998.He helped them qualify for the UEFA Cup and went on an unbeaten run in the 1998/99 season.Villa reached the FA Cup final in 2000 but lost to Chelsea,and he resigned in January 2002.
His next spell was at Derby County but it was one to forget.He wasn't able to sign players due to administration and got them relegated to Division One.He was sacked in March 2003.He spent three years as a commentator for Sky Sports and then managed QPR for eighteen months.
Gregory's next role came in Israel at Maccabi Nazreth in 2009 and later followed by fellow Israeli side FC Ashdod in March 2010.He left them in May 2011 for FC Kairat in Kazakhstan,but despite saving them from the drop he was sacked in January 2012.
He returned to management with Crawley in November 2013.
HE PLAYED FOR BOTH EMILE SINCLAIR
Sinclair joined Rovers from Peterborough in January 2013 on a loan deal until the end of the season.He wasn't good enough for the team and spent a lot of time on the bench.After Peterborough transfer-listed him,he joined Crawley in 2013.
He now plays for Northampton Town in League Two.
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