A fan's view: Hero Evans worked his magic against us

With the game finely balanced 0-0 at half-time you can just imagine Steve Evans and assistant Paul Raynor ripping into their new players at the break and telling them their days are numbered at Mansfield unless they pull their fingers out second half.

Well, it certainly had the desired effect as the Stags players came out like a team possessed chasing down every ball and not giving Crawley an inch to play in.

To be fair we certainly helped them with our own defensive howlers yet again.

But the damage would have been done during that half-time team talk from Mr Evans.

Now love him or loathe him, you cannot deny that Evans was the manager that put Crawley Town on the footballing map.

Back-to-back promotions (yes it was still his team that got us promoted to League One) and consecutive runs to the FA Cup fifth round in the same seasons projected the club and the town into people’s living rooms all over the country and beyond.

It was the start of the most successful time in the club’s 120-year history.

Those fortunate enough to be following the club back then will have fond memories of going to places like Preston North End, Sheffield United, Hull City and playing these teams off the park!

And this is where the current problems lie, certain supporters of this football club expect too much. (and I use the term supporters loosely)

The club have almost become victims of their own success.

As a football league club we have actually spent more time in League One than we have in League Two, although by the end of this season that statistic will be all-square.

To the majority of us Reds fans just to be competing in the football league is amazing enough. After all it took us 113 years to get here!

That team of 2011 who played Manchester United off the park in the second half at Old Trafford in front of 75,000 spectators was something very special and I honestly believe that too many Crawley folk at the time took that side for granted.

Fast forward six years and we have a team that I believe the town can be proud of once again. It’s just going to take time. No-one’s pressing the panic button just yet, Dermot Drummy, Matt Gray and the players deserve your support. What makes a football club special is when the supporters stay with a team even when results aren’t going your way. What is evident over recent weeks is that the strength in depth isn’t quite good enough and that is something which the management and board will be aware of. It’s fair to say though that no club can afford the amount of injuries we have had to endure.

It was a real shame to go out of the FA Cup at Bristol Rovers last week, but I have to say those of us that were there witnessed a fantastic performance and to come back twice to 2-2 and oh so nearly pinch it at the end of 90 minutes was a credit to the team.

By the end of extra-time the players looked like extras out of a scene from the Walking Dead! The boys gave everything that night and so too did the travelling Reds fans who sung throughout.

The last three home games have seen attendances rise, Accrington (2,100), Bristol Rovers (2,300), Cambridge Utd (2,400) and with Grimsby and their impressive away following coming to town this week there is no reason to doubt we won’t break the 2,500 barrier this Saturday.

It’s up to the people of Crawley to come out in force and get behind West Sussex’s only professional football league club.

Together we can bring the good times back again!

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