League Two for £2 (X2)

Clearly aware that I'd backed them to be relegated from League Two this season, Crawley Town are looking up towards the play-off places rather than nervously over their shoulders as we enter the final straight of the campaign.

Always active in their ticket offers throughout the time I've been writing this blog, the Red Devils are repeating their 2@£2 offer which means that tickets for both the visit of Doncaster Rovers on 29 March and Colchester United on 13 April are priced at just £2 in all areas of the ground.

Speaking to the official club website, General Manager Tom Allman said: "The players and management have already commented internally on how much they’re looking forward to playing in front of a big crowd and we hope that the fans can play their part, as they did at last year's fixtures, in what is shaping up to be two huge fixtures in our season."

Cheaper Football At Crawley Town

New owners, new manager and a new start for Crawley Town this summer with WAGMI United having completed a takeover of the Sussex club in April and with Kevin Betsy recently installed into the managerial hot-seat.

I'm not going to pretend I know much about WAGMI's business of cryptocurrency and NFT's, and there have been some doubts voiced as to how things may play out but one of the first moves of the new owners has been to bring down the cost of watching League Two football in this coming season.

That means a reduction of up to 34% on season tickets and, more relevant to this blog perhaps, a drop in matchday ticket prices which now start at £15 for an adult on the terraces.

More accompanied children can now go free following a change to the age limit on such tickets from  under 11 to under 16.

Co-chairman Preston Johnson told the official club website: "We want the matchday experience to be as vibrant as it can possibly be. 

"To help make that happen, we want to make it easier for families with kids to come down to the stadium and make a day of it."

Early sales have been good, with Johnson telling the Crawley Observer: “It has been positive and just great to meet many of the fans coming into the club the last few days as well."

I have plenty of sympathy with those people tasked with making League Two clubs both financially sustainable while making progress on the pitch.

It's a level where clubs have lots of regulatory burdens which prevent them from having the easy-going feel of a day watching non-league football while also being squeezed from above, certainly by the Premier League where the broadcast income allows for policies such as the price cap on away tickets.

WAGMI had previously shown an interest in buying Bradford City and their success in selling season tickets has continued this summer with over 14,000 already gone.

Elsewhere in League Two, Salford City have held their matchday prices which means a maximum of £15.

Football For £1 At Crawley Town

Just under a year ago I wrote of Crawley Town that there was a 'sense of stability' on the managerial front as Harry Kewell prepared for his second campaign in charge of the Sussex club and that the Australian would be 'looking to push for the play-offs' in 2018/19.

Well, the Red Devils may have been slightly disappointed to have ended the campaign in 19th place in League Two but there was never any danger of relegation and they certainly enjoyed a better year than Kewell himself, lured away to Notts County at the end of August but out of the door in November, one casualty of a truly awful season at Meadow Lane.

The other part of last year's article holds true, however. Crawley continue to try and grow their fanbase, as a relatively new Football League club who have come a long way in a short space of time.

Swansea City's visit for a pre-season friendly on Saturday 13th July sees tickets priced at just £1 in all areas of the ground as part of the annual Fun Day with plenty of activities planned in addition to the game.

Crawley Town FC

There is a sense of stability in the air at Crawley Town ahead of the 2018/19 season as Harry Kewell prepares for his second campaign in charge of the Red Devils.

Having made the move into senior management after working with Watford’s Under-23's, Kewell had to fight the perception that he wouldn't have the necessary steel to negotiate the 46-game marathon that is a season in the basement division of English football, one that has claimed fellow high-profile casualties such as Teddy Sheringham in the past.

Implementing his philosophy and a different way of playing took some time but steady progress was made throughout the year and Crawley finished comfortably in mid-table.

Linked with the vacant Charlton Athletic job earlier in the year, Kewell will now be looking to push for the play-offs and play his part in boosting attendances at the Broadfield Stadium.

The club are also doing their bit in this regard having held successful 'Pay What You Can' matches over the past two seasons as part of a wider move to engage with their local community.

Clubs such as Crawley and Stevenage, who featured on these pages a couple of months ago, have done so well in becoming part of the Football League landscape that it can be easily forgotten how far they have come in such a short space of time and how much effort is needed to keep growing and interacting with supporters old and new.

Crawley's final pre-season friendly takes place on Saturday 28 July against Belgian side KSV Roeselare and tickets for all areas of the stadium will cost just £1.

Easter Monday Is 'Pay What You Can' At Crawley Town FC

Having been pleased with the 4,266 attendance and the goodwill generated by last season's dip into the 'Pay What You Can' waters, Crawley Town will be repeating the offer on Monday 2 April.

A minimum of £1 is all you will need to watch Harry Kewell's side in League Two action against Swindon Town.

Although there's just under two months to go to the game, it could be an important one in the promotion/play-off race and should top the Hartlepool gate where, interestingly, the average price paid per ticket was £4.

Operations Director Kelly Derham told the official club website: "We learned a lot from last season's Pay What You Can in terms of offering a bit more than just a football match, and we’re going to work hard to provide plenty of pre-match entertainment."

I think this point is crucial when a club is thinking off doing a 'Pay What You Want' or reduced admission fixture as a one-off.

Coventry City are holding a Community Day for the visit of Accrington Stanley this coming Saturday and it is the extra touches, in addition to the £5 tickets, that should make it an enjoyable occasion.

Tickets for the Crawley game go on sale on Thursday (Feb 8th).

Quids In For Opening Crawley Town Friendly

Crawley Town featured on these pages last season after taking the bold step, for a Football League club, of offering 'Pay What You Want' admission to their home match against Hartlepool United.

This summer has seen the League Two side appoint a new manager and a high-profile one at that as Harry Kewell, once of Liverpool and Leeds, has been given the opportunity to take his first senior managerial role at the Checkatrade Stadium.

A Chelsea XI will provide the first chance for home supporters to see a Kewell side in action when they visit Sussex on Saturday July 15 for a 3pm friendly.

A Family Fun Day is planned beforehand in addition to Crawley's new kit launch and, refreshingly, tickets will cost just £1 for all categories if purchased by 4:30pm the day before the game (£3 on the day).

It's a good gesture from the club, one that has little financial downside and plenty of potential benefits given the goodwill it will produce among the local community.

Pay What You Can at Crawley Town FC

Pay What You Want, or Pay What You Can, tends to be a Non-League affair in England although it has been done at Brentford in the past and also at Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Premiership.

The initiative perhaps lends itself to people paying cash at a turnstile or gate rather than buying tickets in advance but that shouldn’t stop a pat on the back to Crawley Town for trying it out when Hartlepool United visit the Checkatrade Stadium for a League Two fixture on Saturday 17th January.

A minimum price of £1 has been set and all areas of the stadium are available apart from those held by season ticket holders.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the box office or by phone and turnstiles will be open on the day for both home and away supporters to pay what they can.

Operations Director Kelly Derham told the official Crawley Town website: “We are delighted to be staging our first Pay What You Can game.

“January is traditionally a time when money is tight for everyone. The Hartlepool game is one of three fixtures in the month with Portsmouth the following week arguably our most attractive home game of the season.”

As I have written before on the blog, smaller clubs in Leagues One and Two face testing times as they balance the demands of maintaining full-time squads and the associated costs that come with that against a trend whereby the Championship is increasingly looking like a Premier League 2.

That task may be even harder for clubs such as Crawley who have risen so far in the past ten years but who are now looking to maintain their Football League place against a backdrop of attendances that have dipped below 2,000 at times this season.

Let's hope the 'Pay What You Can' offer can boost those numbers in January and increase awareness in the town of the efforts that the local club are making.

Family Ticket Offer as Crawley Aim to Boost Crowds

Starting with Saturday's home game against Yeovil a family ticket offer has been launched by Crawley Town FC that will allow 2 adults and 2 under-16's to attend for £44, saving £12 on normal match day prices.

It comes after a dip in crowds so far this season. Fewer than 2,000 came through the gate for the recent League One clash with Fleetwood leading to CEO Michael Dunford issuing a rallying cry to the people of the town to come out and support them.

Having come so far, so fast, Crawley's low levels of support have to be put into context.

Like Wigan Athletic they are trying to build from a low base and Dunford identified one of the key problems when he said: "Lots of families have historical links with other clubs,especially clubs in London."

But, like Wigan, who is to say that the other Red Devils cannot reach the Championship or even the top-flight?

Premiership cash may have created an 'us and them' scenario but there is space left by the casualties of the race to grab it for 'smaller' well-run clubs to move in. If that means marketing the club as a 'second team' almost for local supporters of Spurs, Arsenal, Brighton or whoever then so be it.

As Mr Dunford also said: "Maybe in another ten years’ time on a Saturday, we will have convinced them to come along and watch their local club, feel part of it, that’s our biggest challenge."