Crawley Town opinion: When this young side are on song, they really do take my breath away

Crawley Town boss Scott Lindsey has a great young squad at his disposal. Picture: Eva Gilbert

However, we are still nearer the play offs than the bottom of the table, so at the moment I see no reason for any negativity. Our team is a young one, and when they are on song, they really do take the breath away. Alongside those performances there will be some where mistakes are made, and we don’t get the results we all want.

I watched a bit of a game today between Eastleigh and Reading where the non-league team had more Football League experience in their ranks than the League 1 side. On this occasion the more experienced side won the day, albeit with a last-minute winner, whereas on another day Reading might well have made the most of their territorial advantage and progressed through to the 3rd round.

That, Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, is what football is all about. Mind you, Eastleigh, did feature Ludwig Francilette and Enzio Boldewijn in their side, so well done to them.

As I write this, Nativity is on in the background and Crawley Town are due to play Bristol Rovers in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy the night before this article comes out on paper. Hopefully we will have progressed through to the next round, and we will only be three games from Wembley, and the dreams and bucket lists might just get ticked off. Now, though, is the time to field our strongest side, come on Scott, you know it makes sense.

Away from the playing side, Mick Fox and I have concluded that we never want to see another piece of Velcro again as we come towards the end of the preparation for the, soon to be opened, Crawley (Town) FC from 1890 to 2023 exhibition. The exhibition is open to the public from 1030am on Thursday 7th of December and will be opened officially at 7pm that night for invited guests only.

The exhibition will take you through all the different aspects of what it takes to make a football club, from the grassroots of the West Sussex Junior League through two World Wars, the Metropolitan and Southern Leagues and the Conference to finally reach the promised land of League Football. Yes, it has taken over 100 years to do it and that is why we cannot allow it to slip away, as we almost did last season.

In the past we would have been pleased to beat the likes of Shephsed Charterhouse, Worcester City and others of a similar standard but now our list of conquests features such illustrious names as Bolton Wanderers, Norwich City, Wolves, Sheffield United, Leeds United and many more. Come along to the exhibition throughout December and January and relive the ups and downs associated with our wonderful club, and make a special note in your diary of the Family Fun Day on Sunday December 17th where there will be museum trails, competitions with prizes donated by the Club and Brick Borrow, a club commercial partner, craft activities, chats with players, past and present, and visits from “GFH Banks” Father Christmas and hopefully, Reggie the Red.

See you soon, COYR.