Fulham at Crawley Town

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/july/18/inside-broadfield

Inside Broadfield

Friday 18 July 2014 16:00

Crawley Town supporter Warren Lucy provides some inside knowledge ahead of the Reds’ friendly meeting with Fulham on Saturday.


Crawley finished a respectable 14th in Sky Bet League One last term – what was your assessment of the season?

It was a solid, if not spectacular, season for the Reds with plenty of ups and downs along the way. At the beginning of the campaign we couldn’t stop scoring but all of a sudden the goals dried up and the early victories did too. Richie Barker departed after a spell of poor form, and John Gregory’s arrival gave the players a new lease of life for a while. Eventually, the Reds steered themselves clear from the relegation places to finish in a very creditable 14th place - not too shabby considering it was only our second ever season as a League One outfit.

With the 2014/15 season on the horizon, what is the mood like amongst Crawley fans – are you hopeful for the coming campaign?

I think most are optimistic as to what the new squad can do. There were a lot of changes over the summer with only a handful of players remaining at the club, but I have a feeling we could surprise a few this season after a number of shrewd signings. Bringing Gwion Edwards back to the club could be a masterstroke from John Gregory and I think a top-10 finish is achievable. After the seasons that Yeovil had in 2012/13 and Leyton Orient had last season, why can’t Crawley Town be the dark horses in the division this year?

What do you make of John Gregory as a manager?

In my opinion, a real strength John has is that he’s a ‘people person’. There was a great divide with the last man in charge of things at the Checkatrade.com Stadium but John got the supporters on side early on. He brought back the fight and character in the players that was desperately lacking. JG encourages the players to move the ball in a neat manner but isn’t afraid to mix things up when needed.


Like Fulham, Crawley are going through a transitional phase at the moment. What can you tell us about the players that have been brought in?

As I mentioned previously, there have been a number of new arrivals in the summer, with a nice blend of youth and experience. Goalkeeper Brian 'The Beast' Jensen has been there and done it with Burnley and will provide a very good last line of defence, whilst the back four in front of him - probably Lanre Oyebanjo, ex-Fulham man Dean Leacock, Joe Walsh and Ryan Dickson - seem very solid on paper. The midfield has a nice mixture of bite, with Jimmy Smith, and creative spark in former Arsenal man Conor Henderson. Up front, Izale McLeod has scored plenty of goals in his career - and at the age of 29 still has plenty left in the tank. The two that I’m looking forward to watching are Oyebanjo - because I have some sort of weird obsession with attacking full backs - and Smith, who seems to be a very reliable, minimum 7/10, box-to-box midfielder.

Although this is a friendly fixture, what type of game do you anticipate against Fulham?

There’ll be goals, I’m sure, and both teams won’t be taking it lightly either. As long as it’s entertaining, then I won’t be too fussed - not until the ‘proper’ games come around, anyway. It’ll be a good test for the Reds - and likewise for Fulham. Both clubs’ squads are pretty new following a summer overhaul and there will be plenty of players out on the pitch wanting to impress and nail down a starting spot for the opening day of the season.

Which Crawley players do you anticipate causing Fulham the biggest problems?

Oyebanjo and Dickson certainly look threats from the full back positions - both like to get forward and they’re very quick as well. McLeod has already been in the goals in pre-season and netted a first-half hat-trick in his last outing in a Crawley shirt.

Have you seen much of Fulham over the years? How do you rate them as opponents?

I’ve been to Craven Cottage once - watching West Ham a few years back. All I remember is Paul Konchesky - who later played for Fulham - got sent off, Alan Pardew left Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez out of the side, and it was 0-0! Entertaining stuff!

In all seriousness, it was obviously a disappointing campaign for the Whites last season but they should be okay in the Championship under a very experienced manager in Felix Magath. It should be a good clash at the weekend, especially if Ross McCormack plays – I'm looking forward to seeing how he gets on against our defence.

What’s the Checkatrade.com Stadium like to visit?

It’s good enough and it’ll be a nice treat for the away supporters to stand in a terrace for a match. There are good views from anywhere in the stadium so what’s not to like?!

Where can Fulham fans go for a pint prior to the game?

Redz Bar behind the Bruce Winfield Stand is where I always go for a pre-match beverage. Good atmosphere and a good pricing structure make it a high recommendation from me!

It can be hard to call with friendly matches, but if we had to push you for a score prediction…

A 3-3 thriller!

 

http://www.fulhamweb.co.uk/news/former-fulham-striker-collins-john-is-at-crawley-town.aspx

FORMER FULHAM STRIKER COLLINS JOHN IS AT CRAWLEY TOWN

last updated Friday 18th July 2014, 10:14 AM

The former Dutch international made his name at Fulham in the Premier League. He scored 23 goals in 108 games for Fulham between 2004-08.

Crawley boss John Gregory admitted Collins John was "off the pace" in Crawley Town's friendly at Oakwood on Tuesday night, but the Reds boss is hoping to give the striker another chance - against his former club Fulham on Saturday.

John was a surprise inclusion among Crawley's trialists but despite a long run out, the striker was not among the goals as the League One team ran out 10-0 winners against their Sussex County League landlords.

Last season, John played for Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the third tier of the American league pyramid and Gregory believes the 28-year-old needs to readjust to the pace of the English game.

And the Crawley boss admits he is planning on giving the striker another chance to impress by playing him in Saturday's friendly against Fulham - the club where John spent four years and scored 23 goals.

"He did OK. He is obviously lacking what I would consider English match fitness," Gregory said. "He has been playing in the States where it is at testimonial pace most weeks; I don't think it is vibrant as it is here. So, he's a little bit off the pace in that respect but I like a lot of things he does; he's very experienced as you know. He has an exceptionally good CV.

"We had the chance to look at him [at Oakwood] and I was pleased with what I saw. I'd like him to hang around, and probably play against one of his former clubs at the weekend."

 

Fulham team to face Crawley Town:

Starting XI: Joronen; Hoogland, Hutchinson, Burgess, Stafylidis; David, Parker, Christensen, R. Williams; Woodrow, Rodallega

Substitutes: Stockdale, Bettinelli, Amorebieta, Zverotić, Burn, Grimmer, Kačaniklić, Roberts, Hyndman, Trialist A, Trialist B, Trialist C, Taggart, Dembélé, G. Williams

 

A goal and an assist for Stafylidis so far today. He sounds like the Anti-Glue!

 

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/july/19/manager-reaction

 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo8gCrh9g54[/youtube]

 

Some more highlights.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR6MuGz32ZA[/youtube]

 

I sure wish I could recognize more than a few of the players in that highlight clip.