Crawley Town make an early start to their preparations for next season - opinion

The coronavirus pandemic has played havoc with the schedules of those sports that have been able to resume whilst others are still waiting for the go ahead.

July would normally see the cricket season in full swing with much interest in the touring West Indians and the Test Matches.

The tourists are here but club cricketers are still awaiting the opportunity to prepare the square. Track and field athletes still have no competitions that might have formed part of their build up to the postponed Tokyo Olympics.

Tennis has restarted but the Wimbledon tournament is another highlight that has been cancelled.

The tentative resumption of the Premier League and the Championship has now been joined by the return of the FA Cup at the quarterfinal stage but I have noticed an unusual difference closer to home.

June usually does not feature in the football calendar as it is the ‘closed’ season when no transfers are permitted. This year, however, is different and at no club is that more apparent than at Crawley Town. So far just three transfers have been reported in the EFL but two of them involved Crawley Town.

Following the arrival of midfielder Sam Matthews from Bristol Rovers the club has now completed the signing of front player Sam Ashford from Hemel Hempstead on a two year contract. Three things are pertinent here.

In past seasons the club has seemed reticent to get involved in the transfer market until its closing stages which has resulted in several targets being missed. It would appear the current manager is not prepared for that to happen again.

John Yems is also minded to back his own judgement as to which players are best suited to his requirements. Matthews impressed him significantly during their time together at AFC Bournemouth and maybe joining the Reds will prove to be a breakthrough for the 23 year old.

The club is also ready to back the insight of its scouting system at non league level. Panutche Camara is a great example of signing a player from a lower level with belief that he will attain the standards required within the EFL. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Ashford proves to be another good ‘un.

The rumoured departure of Jamie Sendles-White has been confirmed to the bemusement of supporters and, I understand, to the player himself. On the other hand I was not surprised that the club has released Josh Payne. I mean unsurprised not agreeing. It strikes me that successive managers failed to get the best out of Payne who could have been a creative kingpin in our midfield.

That’s a matter of opinion and, as I have said before, it’s that of the manager that counts. I’m happy to go with John Yems on his choices.