Crawley Town have changed direction at a crucial moment, but at what cost to everything they’ve built?
The news that Preston Johnson has stepped down as Crawley Town’s chairman and CEO should send more alarm bells ringing than it currently has. While some fans may view his departure as a natural transition, and others as overdue, the timing and circumstances suggest something far more unsettling. This isn’t just the exit of a figurehead. It feels like a fork in the road for Crawley Town, and the early signs point to a club preparing to walk away from its greatest asset: identity.
Let’s be clear. Johnson was not flawless in his role. His association with WAGMI United, a group that often polarised opinion with its data-driven, tech-first ethos, created as many questions as it did innovations. Yet under his stewardship, Crawley achieved something they hadn’t managed in more than a decade: genuine forward momentum.
A Club Reborn Through Risk
Since WAGMI took over in April 2022, Crawley became a club with a story. That story may have frustrated the traditionalists, but it was a story nonetheless. Under Johnson’s guidance, they embraced analytics, unorthodox marketing, and a belief in doing things differently. They weren’t trying to be Wrexham-lite; they were trying to carve out their own path.
It worked. Promotion in May 2024, a first trip to Wembley, and a refreshing honesty about what they were trying to be helped Crawley stand out in a saturated football landscape. They weren’t throwing money at the problem like some League Two clubs, nor were they relying on stale managerial appointments or bloated squads. The club had a model, and for a while, it worked.
The departure of Johnson, framed diplomatically in the club’s official statement, points to a deeper philosophical schism. The line that recruitment will now be a “balanced process” using “data, experience, and instinct” might seem harmless, but it masks a warning. The new leadership is telling us that the old vision is being parked.
The Problem With ‘Balance’
It is easy to say that balanced decision-making is the best route forward. But in football, especially at this level, boldness tends to win out. Crawley were not promoted last season by being average. They were promoted because they were willing to make different kinds of bets. Johnson’s approach, whatever people thought of it, was focused and forward-thinking. It wasn’t safe, and that was the point.
To remove him now, and more importantly to reject the principles he stood for, strips the club of that clarity. Who are Crawley now? A fan-owned collective? A data-led disruptor? A traditional lower-league side looking for stability? The messaging from the new leadership is vague, and that’s already raising anxiety among the fanbase.
This is a pivotal summer for the club. They are preparing for life in League Two, a division filled with historic clubs, bigger budgets, and unforgiving margins. Crawley overachieved in getting promotion. They cannot afford to take half-measures now. The loss of a strong leadership figure in the middle of pre-season, at a moment when clear vision is needed more than ever, is a gamble of a very different kind.
Preston’s Flaws Made Him Human
Johnson was not universally loved. Some criticised his lack of footballing background, his at times awkward media presence, and his association with a failed NFT project that became a stick to beat WAGMI with. But his greatest strength was his authenticity. He fronted up, made himself visible, took responsibility when things went wrong, and celebrated honestly when they went right.
He believed in what Crawley were building, and he articulated it in a way that, even if you didn’t fully agree, you understood. In an industry filled with vague directors of football and faceless ownership groups, that counts for something. His departure creates a vacuum, and right now, nobody is stepping up to fill it with meaningful direction.
The club says more information on ownership and personnel will come soon. That cannot come quickly enough. Crawley fans are entitled to know who Daniel Khalili, Ryan Gilbert and Maxwell Strowman are. They are entitled to know what they believe in, and how they plan to build on what Johnson started. Football fans do not need perfection, but they do need purpose.
Holding the Line in a Dangerous Division
League Two is not forgiving. Clubs get marooned here. A few poor decisions, a couple of failed loans, and the narrative quickly turns. Crawley need to know who they are and what they stand for if they are going to survive, let alone thrive. Without Johnson, and without a clear replacement vision, they risk becoming just another club trying to tread water in a brutal division.
There is nothing wrong with change. But change without clarity is dangerous. The optics of a mid-July exit, following weeks of quiet restructuring, do not scream control. They scream uncertainty. And if the current owners believe simply removing the WAGMI label is enough to instil confidence, they are underestimating the loyalty fans had developed to the identity that came with it.
Conclusion
Losing Preston Johnson may not seem seismic to outsiders, but for Crawley Town, it feels like a crossroads. He gave the club vision, relevance, and belief, even if it came with risk. His departure hands the keys to people we know little about, during a season that demands total focus and cohesion. If the new ownership really wants to lead, it must talk. Fast. Because in football, silence always breeds suspicion.
