Vital Statistics
Founded: 1896
Chairman: Ziya Eren
Last Season: League Two - 20th
Nickname: The Red Devils
Rivals: Aldershot Town, Woking
Major Honours
None
Scheduled Matches
Portsmouth vs Crawley: Saturday, September 3rd (3pm)
Crawley vs Portsmouth: Saturday, January 21st (3pm)
Crawley Town: A brief history
Formed in 1896, Crawley didn't turn semi-professional until 1962 having spent all their years playing in local leagues before becoming mainstays of the Southern Premier League in 1984.
Twenty years later they were promoted to the Conference and became a fully professional club in 2005. However, the club faced financial difficulties, winding-up orders from HMRC and administration but managed to survive in the division until the club was taken over by Prospect Estate Holdings and Crawley began to spend big to achieve promotion to the Football League in 2011.
The investment paid off as Crawley earned another straight promotion to League One and stayed there for three seasons as the investment dried up and the club was relegated back to League Two under Dean Saunders two seasons ago.
The Manager: Dermot Drummy
The Crawley head coach role is Drummy's first in first-team management having coached Chelsea reserves and academy in the past. As a player, the 55-year-old spent the vast majority of his playing career in non-league having never made it at Arsenal.
The Ground: Broadfield Stadium (Capacity: 6,000 - Away: 1,600)
Crawley were a non-league team for many years and Broadfield Stadium highlights that fact as it wouldn't look out of place in the Conference.
The main stand is the only one that is modern and looks out-of-place with the rest of the ground.
Pompey fans are situated in the KR-L Away Terrace which reminded me a lot of the terraces at Westleigh Park. The Bruce Winfield Stand opposite is virtually the same but the Redz Bar behind it welcomes away fans and isn't a bad place to drink.
To the left of the away terrace is the covered and all-seated East Stand where a number of away fans can be placed if they don't wish to stand up and are happy to pay an extra £4 for the privilege.
Overall, there's nothing bad to say about the Broadfield Stadium as long as you arrive knowing that you're in for essentially a non-league experience. Crawley fans are a decent and welcoming bunch, too.