It’s eight years to the day since Crawley Town came up against Manchester United in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup. A Wes Brown header was all the separated the Premier League greats and the Blue Square Bet Premier side, who were backed by almost 10,000 supporters at Old Trafford.
But where is the class of 2010/11 now? We’ve done some digging to find out.
STARTING XI
Michel Kuipers – Following his departure from Crawley in 2013, Kuipers joined Barnet as a back up for Graham Stack. He retired shortly afterwards and the Dutchman linked up with former club Brighton coaching junior teams. He now works in The Netherlands for SEG International, an agency that has players such as current Albion striker Jurgen Locadia on their books.
Pablo Mills – The skipper left the club in 2012 and joined Macclesfield, but he has since spent most of his career in non-league, and has been with Derbyshire-based club Mickleover Sports since 2016, while also working part time as a teaching assistant.
Dean Howell – Howell now runs a successful organic vegan food company following his retirement from football in 2014. After Crawley, he played for Fleetwood Town and also had a loan spell with Bury.
Kyle McFadzean – Kyle now plies his trade in League One with Burton Albion, whom he signed for when they were in the Championship. He was signed by Milton Keynes Dons from Crawley in 2014 and he’s still a regular starter for Nigel Clough’s Burton side.
David Hunt – Most recently with Wealdstone alongside current Crawley loanee Tarryn Allarakhia, Hunty also runs a successful coffee business called Bean Team, which distributes healthy brand Organo. He travels all over the world to promote the brand.
Ben Smith – Having last played in 2014 for Essex side Maldon & Tiptree, Smith qualified as a teacher following his retirement and earned himself a degree in business management. “Smudger” also released a successful book about his career named ‘Journeyman.’ He now works in Brighton's Academy.
Sergio Torres – One of the heroes of our FA Cup exploits now plays for National League South side Eastbourne Borough. In 2016 he joined Russell Martin Soccer Academy as a lead coach and has continued coaching since. He has also undertaken a Sports Science degree and is putting the finishing touches on a documentary about his career named ‘The Unknown Torres.’ It’s expected to be released this year.
Dannie Bulman – Despite hitting 40 in January, Bully is still outrunning his younger opponents in Gabriele Cioffi’s midfield, and has scored twice for the Reds this season.
Willie Gibson – Currently at Scottish League Two club Peterhead, having spent the last five years in the Scottish lower leagues, mainly at Stranraer. Having signed from Dunfermilne, he left Crawey in 2012 for Falkirk and has stayed in Scotland since, aside from a short loan spell with Northern League club Celtic Nation.
Matt Tubbs – Now a player-coach at Gosport Borough, Tubbsy has been in and out of the Football League since leaving Crawley for Bournemouth in 2012. Gosport are currently mid-table in the Evo-Stik South and have won their last two matches in the league.
Craig McAllister – Alongside Tubbs at Gosport is his former strike partner Macca. McAllister joined Newport after leaving Crawley but spent a majority of his post-Crawley career at Eastleigh where he played for three years.
SUBSTITUTES
Simon Rusk – Rusk retired at the end of the 2010-11 season and took a role coaching in our former Centre of Excellence. When this disbanded, Rusk became a youth coach at Brighton & Hove Albion that involved the development of scholars and management of the under-18 and under-23 side.
Jamie Cook – Cooky retired in 2017 and his last club was Oxfordshire non-league side North Leigh. He has now taken then up a career as professional golfer. Since 2014, Cook became a PGA assistant professional at Heythrop Park in Enstone and is now club manager at the resort.
Richard Brodie – Brodie has played for a whopping 19 clubs since departing the Broadfield Stadium in 2013. These include Gateshead, Southport, Aldershot, York City and Solihull Moors. He’s now playing in Lancashire for Northern Premier League side Ramsbottom United.
