'We're all about the underdog story' - new American owners have high hopes for Crawley Town FC
The new American owners of Crawley Town FC have revealed their high hopes for the club's future, declaring they are "all about the underdog story."
Preston Johnson, co-chairman of Crawley Town FC has told ITV Meridian their goal is "winning and doing it with a culture that's inclusive, really engaging and transparent with the fans."
The team was recently purchased in a takeover by American cryptocurrency investment group, WAGMI United LLC, run by Preston Johnson and Eben Smith.
Preston Johnson said: "Everyone that we met that was in Crawley, has this tight-knit family sense that we really appreciated, despite it being the smallest club in the EFL, or at least one of them or near the bottom."
"There's this story or narrative of being an underdog and that's where we come from, like my background in crypto or whatever it may be. We're all about the underdog story and inclusivity."
Co-chairman of Crawley Town FC, Preston Johnson, tells ITV Meridian what attracted him to the club
After a turbulent few months at Crawley Town, the club has now announced their new manager.
It comes after John Yems was sacked last month, following allegations of racism.
Former Arsenal U23s head coach Kevin Betsy was unveiled to the media today at a press conference (Wednesday, June 8).
He said speaking to the owners gave him a "real clear idea of how they wanted to take the club forward."
New manager Kevin Betsy says his vision aligns with the club's owners
"Many of their ideas and vision align with mine in terms of if I was going to take a job, my first role in senior management, what that would look like."
"Preston and Eben were really committed to trying to bring me here and the research they went in terms of finding out about myself and my background and the level of qualities I would bring to the football club was immense."
He said he was attracted to the club because of its history and family-oriented nature, which "matched his thoughts of what a progressive club looks like."
Co-chairman Preston Johnson said the club hopes to be in League one next year.
Co-chairman of Crawley Town FC, Preston Johnson, says his goal is to "walk the walk."
He said: "We want to be promoted. That's what everyone says and we want to actually walk the walk."
"One of the main things that we think will lead to winning is going to be our style of play, and incorporating and making a lot of our decisions based on data and analytics. The style of play will be a lot different than what Crawley Town's been playing in the past."
"We can't immediately jump to it and expect perfect results. It'll be a nice transition over time."
The co-chairman added that the fans will be left with the final say: "We said if we're not promoted in the first two seasons that my co-chairman and I will let the fans decide if they want to vote us out and have someone else come in and replace us to strategise and plan."
He said that Crawley's proximity to London attracted the group to the club.
"There's a lot of untapped talent in South London that either just go to Crystal Palace or Brighton or to the clubs in London. There's a business opportunity here."
"WAGMI is our ownership group. WAGMI stands for We're all going to make it. And the staff here all wanted to be part of that mission with us."