Crawley Town have taken a major punt on ex-Derby County forward Colin Kazim-Richards, with the Red Devils set to appoint the 39-year-old as their new manager.
The Broadfield club are on the lookout for a new boss after the sacking of Scott Lindsey, who was unable to replicate his previous success in Sussex upon his return and was dismissed after a year in charge.
Town Appoint Unknown
According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Crawley have chosen Colin Kazim-Richards as their next permanent manager, in what will be his first senior appointment since retiring from football.
The Turkey international, who played for Sheffield United in the Premier League alongside stints with Derby County and Blackburn Rovers in the EFL, has had a nomadic playing career, playing in Brazil, Scotland and France.
His last club was in his native Turkey, playing in the 2022/23 season for Fatih Karagümrük in the Super Lig, but has since gone into coaching at his boyhood club of Arsenal, where he has assisted in the development of their youth sides.
Town face a major battle in their hopes of avoiding back-to-back relegations, with the Red Devils one point on the right side of the drop zone and are two points ahead of bottom side Barrow.
Crawley have seven games remaining in their season, with their most crucial of those fixtures coming up on Good Friday with a clash against 22nd-placed Newport County, who took a similar gamble with an inexperience manager in former Leicester City man Christian Fuchs.
Can Colin Kazim-Richards Save Crawley?
Scott Lindsey’s final gamble of reuniting his playoff-winning side over the January window has simply not paid off and cost the former MK Dons man his job at Broadfield, leaving the board at Crawley Town to decide whether to choose an interim boss or find a new permanent head.
Colin Kazim-Richards has seemingly won that race to become a permanent fixture for the club, and is an eyebrow-raising choice considering his lack of experience in senior management, let alone in what will be a relegation battle between five sides.
The 39-year-old heads to Sussex having experience in coaching with the Arsenal academy, but has limited exposure to that side of the game, with his time following retirement spent more in the media spotlight.
It is not a very inspiring appointment for Crawley’s immediate worries of saving their EFL status, but if the owners at Crawley are content in giving Kazim-Richards time should they fall into the National League, then the former Sheffield United man has time to build a squad in his image over the summer.