TASTE OF THE TERRACE: Transparency is key with new owner

Those thoughts should really be viewed as admiration for Plymouth Argyle rather than disappointment in the Reds’ performance but we did seem to have taken the phrase “on the back foot” to a new level.

A lot of the time this match was uncomfortable to watch. Plymouth played some great football but in the event lacked that essential cutting edge. They out-played us, out supported us and I feared probably outnumbered us as well.

They did not, however, win the battle and the determination Crawley showed deserved its own reward.

If it had been a boxing match the visitors would have been way ahead on points when the fight was stopped but that can’t happen and the home side simply refused to keel over.

There were several plus signs. Gwion Edwards was again excellent and new boys Tom Dallison and Andy Bond scarcely put a foot wrong.

Everybody put in a shift although Gavin Tomlin and Lee Barnard looked short of fitness.

If we can get a full squad available we should be able to punch our weight and finish the season comfortably in midtable.

With another couple of wins under our belt we could relax and be able to concentrate on preparing for next season.

It would be good for the fans if they could put the off-field activities to the back of their minds but there are a number of questions awaiting answers about the takeover.

Firstly we need to know the purchase price. The rumours stretch from £1 to four million Euros, a figure that has been laughed at.

The lower amount has been paid in the past where a purchaser has cleared outstanding debts but we have all been told many times that Crawley Town is debt-free.

Now Michael Dunford has announced “normal” debts of £170,000 which seems fine when compared to the rumoured two and a half million. Transparency is all that is required.

Ziya Eren’s intentions might be more difficult to ascertain and accept. I hope he does not want to get rid of the entire board of directors and administration.

Their experience and expertise might have been all that the club needed had they been able to invest to an adequate level.

Similarly team management and the playing staff should remain essentially home grown if only to retain the hard core Reds’ support. Everything in its measure.

It may have been the euphoria brought by Shamir Fenelon’s late equaliser but I did make my journey home with a feeling that was, for once, a tad above cautiously optimistic.

Time will tell.

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