League Two Crawley Town have dismissed head coach Colin Kazim-Richards as part of a wider shake-up which also sees assistant Julian Gray and director of football Erdem Konyar leave the club.
Kazim-Richards, who appeared for a host of clubs during his long career, most recently Derby County in 2022, paid the price for Tuesday’s 3-2 home defeat against Shrewsbury Town.
Ade Adeyemo gave Crawley a fourth-minute lead, heading in Stephen Duke-McKenna’s cross, and the hosts remained ahead at half-time. Shrewsbury responded after 62 minutes when George Lloyd played in Josh Davison, who finished beneath Vito Mannone to equalise.
Lloyd put the visitors ahead in the 82nd minute, but Dylan Morgan restored parity three minutes later with a powerful 25-yard strike. Crawley’s hopes of salvaging a point were ended in the fourth minute of stoppage time, when Davison scored his second from close range after Mannone had parried Thomas Sang’s shot.
Bizarrely, the announcement arrived shortly after midnight, meaning many fans woke up to the news this morning. It’s not a huge surprise: Crawley have collected one victory from their opening 10 league fixtures, losing seven and conceding 20 goals.
The former Turkey international had maintained after the match that he could improve the team’s fortunes, although he acknowledged uncertainty over whether he would be allowed to continue.
Speaking to BBC Radio Surrey, he said:
“I feel I can. If I’m given the time is another question. It’s not a question I can answer for you.
“I think we need a little bit more experience, a little bit in terms of game management and things like that. But we’ll see what happens, right?”
Kazim-Richards also highlighted the demands being placed on an inexperienced squad following substantial summer turnover. Crawley brought in 16 players permanently or on loan, with the same number departing, and he said he had handed out nine league debuts.
Crawley Town Confirm Changes Beyond The Dugout
Konyar’s departure means the changes extend to the club’s football leadership as well as its coaching staff. Crawley confirmed all three exits in a statement on their official X account, while acknowledging the contribution made by Kazim-Richards and Gray during last season’s survival fight.
“The club would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Colin and Julian, who joined during a challenging period and played an important role in securing the club’s EFL status at the end of last season.
“We would also like to thank Erdem for his hard work and commitment since returning to the club last year.”
Kazim-Richards took charge in March and oversaw two wins and three draws across Crawley’s final seven matches, enough to preserve their Football League place. They finished one position and one point above the relegation zone, and he signed a new deal in May.
That escape followed relegation from League One in 2025, just a year after Crawley had won promotion through the League Two play-offs. Their latest campaign has produced the club’s worst start to an EFL season since entering the competition in 2011.
Seven defeats in 10 games made Kazim-Richards’ position increasingly difficult to defend, but changing the head coach cannot resolve every weakness in a squad rebuilt so extensively. His concerns about experience deserve scrutiny, particularly when so many newcomers have been asked to adapt together while results deteriorated.
The next appointment needs to be supported by a clearer recruitment plan and a realistic assessment of the players already available. Crawley cannot afford another cycle in which a coach is asked to establish a settled team after wholesale changes, then leaves before the underlying problems have been addressed.
