Crawley Town's top 10 best ever managers in order of win percentage (Ranked) | OneFootball

Highlights

Scott Lindsey takes control of Crawley Town as they prepare for another year in League Two.

Last season, Crawley narrowly avoided relegation to the National League thanks to Lindsey’s appointment. This season, he’ll be hoping to improve the squad on the field and make progress.

With Lindsey still settling in at Crawley, we’ve looked at Crawley Town’s top ten best managers based on win percentage, according to transfermarkt.

Here are 10 managers who have had the best win percentage in their time in charge of the club and who have also managed more than 20 games.

10 Scott Lindsey, 27.27%

Lindsey starts our list of top best ever managers in relation to win percentage. Excluding his games this season, Lindsey has managed 22 games and won six games, a win percentage of 27.27%.

Lindsey joined Crawley in January 2023, after previously managing Swindon Town. He also managed Chatham Town and was caretaker of Lincoln City. During his playing career, he spent much of his 20-year+ long career in the non-league system.

Note: Lindsey’s win percentage is cut to the end of 2022/23 and will change over the course of 23/24.

9 Mark Yates, 27.65%

Mark Yates was the manager of Crawley between April 2015 and May 2016. Yates’ time with the club was short, but he did manage 47 games and won 13. His win percentage at Crawley was 27.65%.

Yates joined the club after they were relegated to League Two. Despite coming with the expectation of challenging for promotion again, he was sacked after poor performances in the 2015/16 season.

Since leaving Crawley, Yates has managed Solihull Moors, Macclesfield Town, Kidderminster Harriers, and Stourbridge. He’s currently out of work following a short spell with Solihull.

8 Dermot Drummy, 27.77%

Seventh on our list of Crawley Town's best ever managers based on win percentage is Dermot Drummy. Drummy took over the club after Yates departed. Like Yates, his time at the club lasted just over a year.

Before becoming Crawley boss, Drummy was a manager in the Chelsea setup. He started as an academy manager and moved to reserve manager.

Drummy managed a total of 54 games as Crawley manager. Of those 54 games, he won 15 games, which is a win percentage of 27.77%.

7 Gabriele Cioffi, 29.17%

Italian Gabriele Cioffi was a surprise appointment at Crawley at the time, and once again he only had a short spell with the club. Cioffi managed 72 games at Crawley and won 21 games, a win percentage of 29.17%.

Cioffi joined the club during a relegation battle; he helped Crawley secure safety. The following season, he looked to make positive steps with the club as they enjoyed two good cup spells. Despite fan confidence in Cioffi, he agreed to mutually terminate his contract.

6 John Gregory, 29.82%

Another short-term manager at Crawley, John Gregory, managed Crawley between 2013 and 2014. In that time, he won 17 of his 57 games, which is a win percentage of 29.82%

Gregory joined Crawley with a wealth of experience. Since moving from player to manager in 1989, he has managed Portsmouth, Wycombe Wanderers, and Aston Villa in England. Gregory also had management experience outside of England after spells in Kazakhstan and Cyprus. After leaving Crawley, Gregory went on to manage Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League.

5 Harry Kewell, 31.6%

Liverpool, Leeds United, and Australia legend Harry Kewell was appointed in 2017. It was his first senior management role after two years as the Watford u21 manager. Kewell became the first Australian to manage a professional English club.

His time at the club, like many of the managers on this list, was short. Kewell managed 57 games and won 18 of the games, a win percentage of 31.6%.

After a poor start to his second season, Kewell was sacked by Crawley. After leaving Crawley, Kewell went on to manage Notts County, Oldham Athletic, and Barnet.

4 Dean Saunders, 33.33%

Dean Saunders joined Crawley in December 2014 and managed just 24 games at the club before departing for Chesterfield. Saunders won eight of those games, which is a win percentage of 33.33%.

Prior to joining Crawley, Saunders had a long-playing career in the Football League, and briefly abroad. Saunders had experience in management before Crawley, managing Wrexham, Doncaster Rovers, and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

3 John Yems, 36.1%

Coming in third on the list is John Yems. Yems managed Crawley between 2019 and 2022. In that time, he managed 119 games, winning 43 of those games. This is a win percentage of 36.1%.

With Crawley looking to make progress under Yems, allegations of racism against Yems came out. Yems was suspended by Crawley following “serious and credible accusations” that he used discriminatory language and behaviour towards his players. He was later found guilty and suspended from all football activity until 2026.

2 Richie Barker, 37.3%

Coming second on the list of Crawley’s best managers based on win percentage is Richie Barker. The current Derby County assistant manager spent a year at the club between 2012 and 2013. In that time, he won 28 of his 75 games, a win percentage of 37.3%.

Barker was sacked by Crawley after failing to win in six games. After managing Crawley, Barker went on to manage Portsmouth. He’s now the assistant manager of Derby County, after leaving Rotherham United with Paul Warne.

1 Steve Evans, 48.1%

Topping the list of Crawley’s best ever managers based on win percentage by some margin is Steve Evans, who has a win percentage of 48.1%. Evans managed 266 games at Crawley and won 128 of those games.

Evans joined Crawley on the back of four years with Boston United. Despite his outbursts in the dugout, Evans helped Crawley make progress on the field. After reaching the FA Cup fifth round, narrowly losing to Man United, Crawley were promoted to League Two.

Evans left Crawley for Rotherham United, stating he had taken the club as far as possible. He’s now the manager of Stevenage after spells at Leeds United, Mansfield Town, Peterborough United, and Gillingham.