After they stumbled over the line in 2011/12, ensuring promotion on the final day, few clubs endured a more eventful summer than Crawley Town, as Steve Coppell was given the post of Director of Football, before the vacant manager's job went to the experienced Sean O'Driscoll. However, the lure of Forest under new owners meant O'Driscoll left without even taking charge of a competitive match, making the process of finding another new manager a very hurried one as the new season approached. Bury's Richie Barker was the man who Crawley identified, and they were successful in securing his services without any significant problems. This was one of the reasons why I personally did not give Crawley much chance of staying up. The other factors behind that eventually misguided prediction were the poor run towards the end of 2011/12, where a seemingly inevitable promotion had turned into a bit of a struggle. Matt Tubbs and Tyrone Barnett, two very prolific strikers, had both left the club, making the team look a little thin in forward areas. I did not believe that Crawley had the resilience Stevenage had in their first season in League One, but victory on penalties over Millwall in the Capital One Cup and a comprehensive win over Scunthorpe on the opening day of the league season showed that I was about to be proved wrong. Crawley ended up hardly moving out of the top half all season, above all expectations (certainly mine anyway), and often achieved some impressive results. Nicky Ajose was an important man on loan, and Nicky Adams made an impact on the wing, and that Capital One Cup run continued with more scalps including that of Bolton Wanderers, before going out to Swansea, not without a battle. The form of some of the players attracted interest, and combative central midfielder Hope Akpan was signed by Reading in January. 2012/13 represented great progress for Crawley Town and Richie Barker can look back on a successful first season in charge. The aim next season will be further progress up a league ladder which has been gatecrashed royally by Crawley since they came up in 2011, partly thanks to their newfound riches. But fair play, the points are won on the pitch.
