By Q&A: An insight into the Mariners’ next opponent Crawley Town
Grimsby Town welcome Crawley Town to Blundell Park for their next League Two fixture on Saturday afternoon.
Town come into the game on the back of a well-earned point at Salford City last weekend, following a run of two defeats on the bounce.
Meanwhile, Crawley have lost their last four games in all competitions and find themselves languishing near the bottom of the table.
Many believe they are in a false position, though, given the squad at manager Kevin Betsy’s disposal and the firepower the Reds have up top.
We spoke with Mark Dunford, editor of the Crawley Observer and head of Sport Sussex, about Crawley’s season so far and his expectations for Saturday’s game.
Insight into Crawley Town
How has the season started for the club?
Really not what the owners, Kevin Betsy or the fans wanted to be honest. There was so much expectation before the season with WAGMI United, an exciting new, young manager and Dom Telford coming in but one win in the first 11 league games has been a huge disappointment.
There have been good performances in those defeats and they have beaten higher opposition in Bristol Rovers and Fulham in the League Cup but that needs to translate to wins in the league.
Are there any particular reasons behind Crawley’s early-season results?
It depends on who you listen to! The fans will tell you it’s because of the type of football Betsy and co are trying to play.
But they have not created or scored enough goals and that is the biggest concern. They need to find a way to get Dom Telford scoring.
They have had injuries to key players such as Dion Conory, George Francomb and Joel Lynch to name a few and impressive Liverpool loanee James Balagizi has missed the last couple of games after an international call-up.
There have been fine margins in games as well – prime example was on Saturday against Stevenage – a Crawley penalty appeal was turned down before Stevenage were awarded a spot kick for a near identical offence – that penalty proved to be the winner. The luck has not gone their way.
Was it a tricky job for Kevin Betsy to come into, on the back of John Yems’s relative success?
From the fans’ point of view, yes, especially with the way Yems left the club. With the new owners coming in as well there were a lot of changes and Betsy said last week that he has had to change things no League Two manager should have to.
But he has been given a bigger budget and has got some talented players at his disposal. As Joel Lynch said after the Stevenage defeat, they just haven’t clicked yet.
Is there enough quality in the squad to avoid relegation and what would represent a good season for the club now?
Yes, there is enough quality, they just need to click together.
From the fans’ perspective, anything other than a relegation battle will represent a good season but there is still a belief they will finish mid-table or above and that will be a very good return after the start they have had.
What kind of game do you expect against Grimsby?
A cagey affair. Crawley need a solid performance and anything other than a defeat will do.
Betsy has a style and I believe he will continue with that. It’s a game Crawley probably believe they can get something from but they will not give anything away. I predict a 0-0 or a 1-1 – one for the purists!
Which player should Grimsby watch out for?
Tom Fellows has impressed after joining on loan from West Brom. He is skilful and has a great turn of pace.
Another loanee, James Balagizi, has shown why he is so highly rated at Liverpool. Watch out for him driving forward from midfield.
But Tom Nichols is Crawley’s talisman and he is the most likely to be able to single-handedly turn a game in their favour.
