Crawley finish the season as clear champions as their Project Promotion was achieved emphatically. It always looked like the Reds will bulldoze their way to the Football League once they embarked on a Manchester City-esque spending spree in the summer. And Steve Evans, as a wily operator at this level, made sure that the squad completed the job and for the last two months it was a procession for the Reds. The big story for them was not actually the promotion but a magnificent FA Cup run that saw them pitted against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the fifth round. They may have lost 1:0 but ran the giants of English football really close and deserved a replay. Crawley did not have the best of starts to the season as the squad needed some time to gel but even in the early weeks it looked like Crawley would have too much for the opposition. A vital 2:1 win away at main rivals Luton in October instilled belief in the squad and they never really looked back from then on, despite losing 3:2 at home to Newport County at the end of that month. This actually proved their last league defeat of the season as they broke a new Conference record of going 30 games without defeat until the end of the campaign. Their league charge only really got started after the turn of the year due to a number of games called off but the team now had real momentum and was easing past teams with real authority. Goals were coming from everywhere while Matt Tubbs looked unplayable. Still, with games in hand, Crawley were lying second to AFC Wimbledon in February but then crucially made up the difference and usurped the top spot by the end of that month. The title was practically sealed with a 3:1 win against the Dons in mid-March and from then on it was easy for Evans's men as they overpowered teams and secured the title mathematically with three weeks of the regular season still to play. Now they will be aiming for another promotion next season and one would be foolish to bet against them given the resources at hand and the resilience within the squad generated by Evans.
