It is exactly two years to the day since Crawley Town embarked on their first ever trip to Wembley as they took on Crewe Alexandra in the League Two Playoff Final with their sights set on a return to League One for just the second time in their history after nine consecutive seasons spent in the fourth tier of English Football.
What came of that day was something truly magical, scenes pure euphoria and elation as the Reds secured a 2-0 win at the home of English Football in front of 17,000 Reds supporters with players and staff wrote their names into Crawley Town – the club’s manifesting paying off as they proved the critics wrong.
That ecstasy soon wore off, however, when the team that got Crawley promoted to League One was quickly dismantled in the summer but where are those Crawley Town heroes now?
There are a few players that left Crawley following their promotion that have now returned so this article will look at their journey between leaving and returning back to the club.
The six foot three inch shot stopper was an integral part of that promotion winning squad featuring 46 times for the Reds, someone who improved massively during in his time with Crawley.
While he only kept eight clean shots over the course of that season he prevented a lot more goals going in then what was actually conceded, saving Crawley’s blushes on numerous occasions.
In the summer following the Reds return to the third tier of English Football, Addai moved on to Stockport County after two seasons with the club making 79 appearances for the West Sussex side.
The 28 year old now finds himself in the League One playoffs and Stockport’s first choice keeper as he looks for another playoff success this time into the Championship.
Joined Crawley on loan from, at the time, National League side Chesterfield. The defender slotted in Scott Lindsey’s side and quickly cemented his place in the starting eleven.
He proved to be a fine piece of recruitment with his solid defensive displays enhanced by his aerial abilities and physicality.
Crawley were unable obtain his signature on a permanent basis and the brother of England and Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire, subsequently signed for Milton Keynes Dons – the side that Crawley demolished by an aggregate score line of 8-1 in the playoff semi-finals en route to Wembley.
Since joining the franchise, Maguire has been plagued with injuries particularly last season making just 10 appearances in MK colours.
Although he barely featured for Paul Warne’s side this past season he has added another promotion to his CV but following the expiry of his contract at Stadium MK he has been released by the club.
After captaining the Reds to promotion, lifting the trophy at Wembley, Conroy remained at the club to tackle the task of League One.
The experienced centre-back missed the first half of the campaign through injury and came back into the side with the Reds fighting relegation.
Despite Crawley’s eventual drop back to League Two, the former Swindon Town man stayed with the club.
Another turbulent season followed and in December there were some sour scenes between the Crawley fans in the terrace and the Reds captain, and this ultimately led to his removal from the updated EFL list of registered players in February, which saw the 30 year old not feature for the rest of the season.
Following the conclusion of the 25/26 season many expected Conroy to be released by the club but with one year left on his contract the club may be hoping to cash in on him and get some good money for the experienced defender this summer.
Signed from Gillingham in the summer of 2023, Wright went on to play the most minutes of any outfield Crawley player that season, making 54 appearances in total, chipping in with four goals and nine assists.
Wright’s contract was not renewed following the conclusion of the 23/24 season and later joined Swindon Town, dropping back down to League Two.
Following two seasons with the Robins, accumulating just shy of 100 appearances, and a near playoff campaign in his second season with the club, the centre-back has been released by Swindon.
The American joined Crawley in the January transfer window 2024 amidst their playoff push, from Memphis 901 FC, on a deal lasting until the end of that season.
One of Crawley’s best all round players with immense technical ability with regards to the way he passed the ball and carried the ball.
He was described as “the best player in the world” by former Crawley manager Lindsey as he helped the Reds achieve promotion before penning a new two year deal in the summer.
He was a shining light in the Crawley side that got relegated back to League Two but went back across the pond to join Charleston Battery following relegation.
Williams joined Lindsey’s squad from National League North side Brackley Town and was a regular at the heart of Crawley’s midfield.
The following season, in League One, Williams was reported to have a falling out with Crawley’s manager Rob Elliot and in the January linked up with Lindsey at MK Dons.
The 25 year old struggled with injury during his time at Stadium MK and returned by to Crawley just six months later linking back up with Lindsey once again, who had returned to the club in a bid to save them from the drop.
Williams inherited the captain’s armband from Conroy the season just gone, showing maturity and leadership to help guide Crawley to safety in the last campaign.
The midfield maestro was picked up by the Reds from a relegated Rochdale side.
He went on to make 45 appearances, scoring six goals and contributing 13 assists, and what he will most be remembered for is his goal at Wembley which secured Crawley’s promotion to League One.
The former Feyenoord midfielder was snapped up by MK Dons in the summer following, and now the Irishman has achieved promotion back to League One with the Dons after they finished second in League Two with Kelly making 49 outings.
The right wing-back in was an essential figure in Lindsey’s system, which relied heavily on wing-backs.
He was the only change from the playoff semi-final against MK Dons replacing the injured Harry Forster.
The summer following promotion Gordon switched his allegiances to Notts County but he struggled to find consistency and regular starting place which led to his return back to the Reds 18 months later, in January.
The Newcastle man made the move down south to play for Lindsey’s side from Gateshead.
The five foot seven inch attacking midfielder was not the biggest in stature but scored some incredible goals during his time with the Reds.
Campbell then made the switch back up north to be closer to home joining Hartlepool United but the 31 year old has been released by the Pools this summer.
The Greek arguably had the best move out of all the players that departed following Crawley’s promotion winning season.
He played a crucial part in Crawley’s playoff winning season with 15 goals and seven assists to show for it.
Lolos secured himself a move to Bolton Wanderers where he played 30 times, scoring three goals before moving onto Peterborough United the following season where he struggled to gain a foothold in the side making just 13 appearances over the course of 18 months.
He was one of thirteen signings in Crawley’s mid season makeover last season and part of the Reds idea of “putting the band back together” in a bid to reignite a spark at the club after a poor season.
The hype around the signing did not translate with regards to performances during his loan spell scoring just once from 12 appearances, with the 25 year old then only featuring once under Colin Kazim-Richards when he took charge for the remaining seven games.
Another member of the “putting the band back together” movement at the club after his heroics during the 23/24 season in which he hit the back of the net 25 times in all competitions for the Reds and was also able to use his trademark horse celebration at Wembley, scoring the opener for Crawley.
Crawley’s talisman moved onto Burton Albion following the Reds promotion where he made just over 30 appearances, scoring seven goals before teaming up with Lindsey at MK Dons on loan.
The 30 year old secured a move to Wimbledon making 25 outings for the London outfit but his playing style did not suit Wimbledon’s system and therefore he struggled to make an impact.
He made a permanent return back to the West Sussex side in January where he had fond memories and hoped to get the Reds galloping in the right direction, but he struggled to hit the heights that was expected of him, scoring just one goal in 15, before picking up an injury that put him out for the rest of the season.
The Scouser, or “White Pele” as the fans used to call him, featured 52 times during the promotion winning season with 12 goal involvements after joining from Swindon Town – a player that Lindsey had also previously worked with.
He was one of the few integral parts of the side from the playoff winning squad that actually remained on at the club, however he did move on in the January to play for League One opponents Wigan Athletic.
Things did not work out the way he had hoped at Wigan and at the start of last season Darcy secured a loan move to Chesterfield, which was reasonably successful, 31 outings and four goal involvements.
However with many star players returning from injury at Chesterfield it was made clear to the 25 year old that his game time would be limited and was subsequently recalled.
He was then sent out on loan for the second half of the season arriving back at the Broadfield Stadium for a second spell which proved to be very anti-climatic with him not the only returning player to not reach the heights he had before.
He has now returned to Wigan Athletic and following the conclusion of this past season he has been made available for transfer by the Latics.
The 27 year old is the only player to have stayed with the club permanently since the promotion winning season with him now one of the more long-serving players, although having only just completed his third season at the Reds.
Adeyemo had joined Crawley in pre-season 2023 after a successful trial period, and then he went on to make 28 appearances during the promotion winning season.
He became a more prominent figure the following season in League One with him being selected 35 times in all competitions that season, making 13 starts and netting five goals.
His inconsistency and defensive liabilities when playing at wing-back for the majority of his time at Crawley, have limited his ability to stamp his mark on that position but he is certainly an exciting player to watch.
Similarly to Adeyemo, Roles was a player that struggled to cement a place in the starting eleven but became know for his contributions in the domestic cup competitions, particularly the EFL Trophy.
He did score a goal off the bench in Crawley’s demolition job over MK Dons in the playoff-semi final but in search for regular minutes the man who was given the tagline “Jack Roles scores goals” had his contract terminated after the both the player and the club agreed this was the right decision.
Roles was soon acquired by National League North side South Shields, where he helped the team push for promotion into the National League but they fell just short losing in the playoff final to Kidderminster Harriers after finishing second in the league.
Tsaroulla spent four seasons with the Reds before moving on to Notts County following Crawley’s promotion to the third tier of English Football.
During those four seasons, he made 128 appearances scoring 12 goals. The Cypriot was a fan favourite and his name was used in conjunction with a rendition of the song “Tequila”.
He was always an important figure on the left side for Crawley whether that be at wing-back or left-back, and he would always take on players and drive the Reds on.
The Tottenham Hotspur academy prospect, scored a memorable goal in Crawley’s 3-0 win and cup upset over Leeds United in the FA Cup in 2021, during his first season with the club.
Since leaving RH11, Tsaroulla has continued his progress at the Magpies playing well over 30 games a season and is now in the playoff final with Notts as they look for promotion to League One.
