List of Crawley Town F.C. seasons

For details of the current season, see 2023–24 Crawley Town F.C. season.

Crawley Town Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex. Founded in 1896 as Crawley F.C., the team played in junior leagues until 1951 when they were admitted to the Sussex County League as part of its attempted expansion. ^{[1] [2]} In their second season, they finished bottom of that league's First Division with only 4 points from 26 matches, ^[3] but regulations prevented any team being relegated until the division reached its full complement of 16 teams. ^[4] After another last-place finish two seasons later, they were relegated, but a runners-up spot in the Second Division in 1955–56 preceded a move into the Metropolitan & District League. ^[3]

In 1958, under its new name of Crawley Town, ^[3] the club entered the FA Cup for the first time; its team lost in the preliminary round at home to Horsham. ^[5] It adopted professional status four years later, ^[1] and entered the Southern League in 1963–64. Crawley gained promotion to that league's Premier Division for the 1969–70 season, but dropped straight back to Division One. When the league expanded to create two regional second-tier divisions, Crawley were placed in the southern division. They remained in the southern half when the creation of the Alliance Premier League as the top non-league division forced another restructure of the Southern League, this time with parallel Midland and Southern Divisions. Crawley's lowly finish in 1981–82 meant they failed to benefit from yet another reorganisation, whereby the top ten teams in each regional division formed a new Premier Division, but two years later they were promoted as runners-up. ^{[3] [6]}

They remained at that level for the next twenty years, until they won their first Southern League title in 2003–04 and consequent promotion to the new Conference National. ^{[3] [6]} Despite a variety of points deductions, including ten points in 2006–07 for entering administration and six the following season for financial irregularities, as well as a transfer embargo, ^[7] they held on to their Conference status. In 2010–11, they not only progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup, coming "within inches" of drawing with Manchester United at Old Trafford via Richard Brodie's header against the crossbar, ^[8] they were not distracted from the league campaign; a 30-match unbeaten run and a Conference record 105 points earned them the 2010–11 title and promotion to the Football League. ^[1] As well as reaching the FA Cup fifth round again, they came third in their first season in League Two, so went up to League One, where they remained for three seasons before returning to the fourth tier. ^[3] Having narrowly avoided a return to non-league football in 2023, results on the final day of the 2023–24 season meant Crawley finished in the play-off places. They beat Milton Keynes Dons

8–1 on aggregate in the semi-final, an EFL play-off record, and in their first ever match at Wembley Stadium, beat Crewe Alexandra 2–0 to gain promotion to League One. [9] 

The table details the team's achievements in senior first-team competitions and the top league goalscorer(s) from Crawley's first season in the Sussex County League in 1951–52 to the end of the most recently completed season.

Key

Key to league record: Pld – Matches played W – Matches won D – Matches drawn L – Matches lost GF – Goals for GA – Goals against Pts – Points Pos – Final position Key to colours and symbols: Symbol Meaning ↑ Promoted ↓ Relegated ♦ Top league scorer in Crawley's division

Key to divisions: Sussex – Sussex County League Sussex 1 – Sussex County League First Division Sussex 2 – Sussex County League Second Division Met & D – Metropolitan & District League Met – Metropolitan League South P – Southern League Premier Division South S – Southern League Southern Section South 1 – Southern League First Division South 1S – Southern League First Division Southern Section Conf – Conference National League One – Football League One League Two – Football League Two, EFL League Two

Key to rounds: Group – Group stage Prelim – Preliminary round QR1 – First qualifying round QR2 – Second qualifying round, etc. R1 – First round R2 – Second round, etc. QF – Quarter-final F – Final (S) – Southern section of regionalised stage

Seasons

List of seasons, including league division and statistics, cup results and top league scorer(s)

Season	League [3] [10]									FA Cup [5]	League Cup [3] [11]	Other [3] [11]		Top league scorer(s) [12]
	Division [lower-alpha 1]	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pos			Competition	Result	Player(s)	Goals
1951–52	Sussex	28	7	7	14	57	89	21	13th	—	—	—	—	Not known	—
1952–53	Sussex 1	26	1	2	23	30	112	4	14th	—	—	—	—	Not known	—
1953–54	Sussex 1	28	11	2	15	55	70	24	11th	—	—	—	—	Not known	—
1954–55	Sussex 1 ↓	32	10	4	18	47	70	24	17th	—	—	—	—	Not known	—
1955–56	Sussex 2	26	20	2	4	96	28	41	2nd	—	—	—	—	Not known	—
1956–57	Met & D	34	9	7	18	61	75	25	14th	—	—	—	—	Not known	—
1957–58	Met & D	34	12	7	15	70	75	31	11th	—	—	—	—	Not known	—
1958–59	Met & D	36	12	7	17	65	86	31	14th	Prelim	—	—	—	Not known	—
1959–60	Met	38	9	2	27	52	116	20	20th	QR3	—	—	—	Not known	—
1960–61	Met	34	5	4	25	39	123	14	17th	QR1	—	—	—	Not known	—
1961–62	Met	32	19	2	11	90	55	40	5th	QR4	—	—	—	Not known	—
1962–63	Met	32	19	4	9	82	49	42	6th	QR3	—	—	—	Not known	—
1963–64	South 1	42	20	2	20	81	71	42	12th	QR4	—	—	—	Not known	—
1964–65	South 1	42	22	5	15	83	52	49	7th	QR4	—	—	—	Not known	—
1965–66	South 1	46	17	10	19	72	71	44	12th	QR4	—	—	—	Not known	—
1966–67	South 1	46	26	8	12	81	48	60	6th	QR3	—	—	—	Not known	—
1967–68	South 1	42	10	8	24	54	85	28	18th	QR3	—	—	—	Not known	—
1968–69	South 1 ↑	42	21	13	8	65	32	55	4th	QR1	—	—	—	Not known	—
1969–70	South P↓	42	6	15	21	53	101	27	21st	QR4	—	FA Trophy	QR2	Not known	—
1970–71	South 1	38	15	11	12	84	68	41	10th	R1	—	FA Trophy	QR1	Not known	—
1971–72	South 1S	30	15	5	10	67	55	35	4th	R1	—	FA Trophy	QR2	Not known	—
1972–73	South 1S	42	14	11	17	59	76	39	14th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	QR2	Not known	—
1973–74	South 1S	38	6	9	23	35	79	21	20th	QR2	—	FA Trophy	QR2	Not known	—
1974–75	South 1S	38	3	5	30	31	102	11	20th	QR2	—	FA Trophy	Prelim	Not known	—
1975–76	South 1S	38	9	10	19	46	66	28	18th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	QR1	Not known	—
1976–77	South 1S	34	14	9	11	53	42	37	9th	QR1	—	FA Trophy	Prelim	Not known	—
1977–78	South 1S	38	14	9	15	61	60	37	12th	QR3	—	FA Trophy	QR2	Not known	—
1978–79	South 1S	40	9	9	22	44	75	27	20th	QR2	—	FA Trophy	QR1	Not known	—
1979–80	South S	46	13	11	22	55	72	37	20th	QR1	—	FA Trophy	Prelim	Not known	—
1980–81	South S	46	18	4	24	64	78	40	15th	QR2	—	FA Trophy	QR2	Not known	—
1981–82	South S	46	9	12	25	46	81	30	21st	QR1	—	FA Trophy	QR1	Not known	—
1982–83	South S	34	14	9	11	51	43	51 [lower-alpha 2]	7th	QR1	—	FA Trophy	QR3	Not known	—
1983–84	South S ↑	38	22	9	7	68	28	75	2nd	Prelim	—	FA Trophy	QR3	Not known	—
1984–85	South P	38	22	8	8	76	52	74	3rd	QR2	—	FA Trophy	QR1	Not known	—
1985–86	South P	38	18	5	15	76	59	59	6th	QR3	—	FA Trophy	R2	Not known	—
1986–87	South P	42	14	11	17	59	60	53	13th	QR3	—	FA Trophy	R1	Not known	—
1987–88	South P	42	17	14	11	73	63	65	6th	QR1	—	FA Trophy	R2	Not known	—
1988–89	South P	42	14	16	12	61	56	58	12th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	QR3	Not known	—
1989–90	South P	42	13	12	17	53	57	51	15th	QR1	—	FA Trophy	QR3	Not known	—
1990–91	South P	42	12	12	18	45	67	48	19th	QR2	—	FA Trophy	QR2	Not known	—
1991–92	South P	42	12	12	18	62	67	48	17th	R3	—	FA Trophy	QR1	Not known	—
1992–93	South P	40	16	12	12	68	59	60	6th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	QR2	Not known	—
1993–94	South P	42	21	10	11	56	42	73	5th	R2	—	FA Trophy	QR3	Not known	—
1994–95	South P	42	15	10	17	64	71	55	11th	R1	—	FA Trophy	QR3	Not known	—
1995–96	South P	42	15	13	14	57	56	58	9th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	QR2	Not known	—
1996–97	South P	42	13	8	21	49	67	47	7th	QR2	—	FA Trophy	QR3	Not known	—
1997–98	South P	42	17	8	17	63	60	59	10th	QR1	—	FA Trophy	QR2	Not known	—
1998–99	South P	42	17	10	15	57	58	61	11th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	R3	Not known	—
1999–2000	South P	42	15	8	19	68	82	53	12th	QR2	—	FA Trophy	R2	Not known	—
2000–01	South P	42	17	10	15	61	54	61	11th	QR2	—	FA Trophy	R3	Not known	—
2001–02	South P	42	21	10	11	67	48	73	4th	QR3	—	FA Trophy	R1	Not known	—
2002–03	South P	42	17	13	12	64	51	64	7th	R2	—	FA Trophy	R3	Not known	—
2003–04	South P↑	42	25	9	8	77	43	84	1st	R1	—	FA Trophy	R3	Charlie MacDonald [14]	17
2004–05	Conf	42	16	9	17	50	50	57	12th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	R4	Allan Tait	10
2005–06	Conf	42	12	11	19	48	55	44 [lower-alpha 3]	17th	QR4	—	FA Trophy Football League Trophy	R3 R1(S)	Daryl Clare	11
2006–07	Conf	46	17	12	17	52	52	53 [lower-alpha 4]	18th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	R1	Scott Rendell	11
2007–08	Conf	46	19	9	18	73	67	60 [lower-alpha 5]	15th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	QF	Jamie Cook	16
2008–09	Conf	46	19	14	13	77	55	70 [lower-alpha 6]	9th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	R3	Jamie Cook	13
2009–10	Conf	44	19	9	16	50	57	66	7th	QR4	—	FA Trophy	R2	Charles Ademeno	11
2010–11	Conf↑	46	31	12	3	93	30	105	1st	R5	—	FA Trophy	R1	Matt Tubbs [17]	37 ♦
2011–12	League Two↑	46	23	15	8	76	54	84	3rd	R5	R1	Football League Trophy	R1(S)	Tyrone Barnett	14
2012–13	League One	46	18	14	14	59	58	68	10th	R3	R3	Football League Trophy	R2(S)	Billy Clarke	10
2013–14	League One	46	14	15	17	48	54	57	14th	R2	R1	Football League Trophy	R2(S)	Matt Tubbs	8
2014–15	League One↓	46	13	11	22	53	79	50	22nd	R1	R2	Football League Trophy	QF(S)	Izale McLeod	19
2015–16	League Two	46	13	8	25	45	78	47	20th	R1	R1	Football League Trophy	R2(S)	Rhys Murphy	9
2016–17	League Two	46	13	12	21	53	71	51	19th	R1	R1	EFL Trophy	R2(S)	James Collins	20
2017–18	League Two	46	16	11	19	58	66	69	14th	R1	R1	EFL Trophy	Group (S)	Enzio Boldewijn Jimmy Smith	10
2018–19	League Two	46	15	8	23	51	68	53	19th	R1	R1	EFL Trophy	Group (S)	Ollie Palmer	14
2019–20	League Two	37	11	15	11	51	47	48	13th [lower-alpha 7]	R2	R4	EFL Trophy	Group (S)	Ollie Palmer	13
2020–21	League Two	46	16	13	17	56	62	61	12th	R4	R1	EFL Trophy	Group (S)	Max Watters	13
2021–22	League Two	46	17	10	19	56	66	61	12th	R1	R1	EFL Trophy	Group (S)	Kwesi Appiah	11
2022–23	League Two	46	11	13	22	48	71	46	22nd	R1	R3	EFL Trophy	Group (S)	Dom Telford	12
2023–24	League Two↑	46	21	7	18	73	67	70	7th [lower-alpha 8]	R1	R1	EFL Trophy	R3 (S)	Danilo Orsi	19

Notes

1. Divisions are sorted according to their level within the English football league system at the time.
2. The 1982–83 season saw the introduction of three points for a win instead of two in the Southern League. ^[13]
3. Three-point deduction for exceeding their annual playing budget as agreed with the Football Conference. ^{[1] [15]}
4. Ten-point deduction for entering administration. ^[7]
5. Six-point deduction for financial irregularities. ^[7]
6. One-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player. ^[16]
7. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was suspended in March 2020, and Leagues One and Two were concluded prematurely in June, with league positions and promotions decided on a points-per-game basis. ^[18] Crawley lay 12th on points but finished 13th on points per game. ^[19]
8. Promoted via the play-offs after beating Mansfield Town 8–1 in the semi-final and Crewe Alexandra 2–0 in the final. ^[9]

References

1. "Crawley Town FC history". Crawley Town F.C. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
2. County Rover (24 August 1951). "Biggest County League ever starts tomorrow". Sussex Express & County Herald. Lewes. p. 8.
3. "Crawley" and "Crawley Town". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
4. County Rover (13 March 1953). "Farncombe: what will be the next move?". Sussex Express & County Herald. Lewes. p. 12. Funny, but in all probability the club who finish at the bottom of the Sussex County League (Division I) this season will not welcome the safeguard against relegation which the rule amendments, approved by the County F.A. Council on Wednesday, will give. It is more than likely that the bottom team will be Crawley, and under the new rule which says there will be no relegation until Division I has 16 teams, Crawley will be doomed to struggle on in Division I. They would, I should think, be far happier in Division II, and their small gate would probably increase if there were a few wins to stimulate interest.
5. "Past Results". The Football Association (The FA). Retrieved 24 May 2024. Individual seasons accessed via dropdown menu.
6. "Southern League". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
7. Gurney, Tom (7 August 2007). "Crawley docked six points". The Argus. Brighton. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
8. "United edge past brave Crawley". Sky Sports. 20 February 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
9. McIntyre, David (11 May 2024). "League Two – Promotion Play-offs – Semi-finals: Milton Keynes Dons 1 – Crawley Town 5". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
   Burnton, Simon (19 May 2024). "Liam Kelly clinches League One spot for Crawley with playoff defeat of Crewe". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
10. "Crawley Town league performance history". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
11. "Crawley Town football club complete match record". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
12. For seasons from 2004–05 onwards: "Crawley: player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 May 2024. Access season required via dropdown menu.
13. Abbink, Dinant (24 July 2005). "England – Southern League Final Tables". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 31 May 2016.
14. "1st team fixtures – Season 2003–04". Crawley Town F.C. Archived from the original on 23 November 2004.
15. "Nationwide Conference 2005/06". Footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
    "Crawley penalised by Conference". BBC Sport. 18 May 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
16. Talbot, Bruce (28 February 2009). "Evans: Justice was done". The Argus. Brighton. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
17. "Blue Sq Premier Table – April 30 2011". Bluesq Premier. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011.
18. de Menezes, Jack (9 June 2020). "League Two season ended to confirm promotion and relegation plans". The Independent. London. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
19. Owen, Brian (9 June 2020). "Crawley drop a place but it's still their best finishing position for five years". The Argus. Brighton. Retrieved 21 August 2020.

External links

• Crawley Town F.C. official website