Bristol Rovers and Crawley relegated from League One

Following Burton Albion’s 1-1 draw against Wigan Athletic, Rovers of Bristol and Crawley Town were both relegated from League One.

Rovers and Crawley were four points clear of the 20th-placed Brewers heading into the final round of matches on Saturday when Ronan Darcy scored the winner at Pirelli Stadium.

Even though Crawley have won four out of eight games since manager Scott Lindsey’s arrival in March, Rovers’ fate was almost sealed by their defeat by Reading last weekend.

Rovers’ two-year league break comes to an end, while Crawley are back in League Two after winning promotion via the play-offs the previous term to play third-tier football for the first time.

Rovers of Bristol fans celebrated one of the most memorable days in the club’s history three years ago when they defeated Scunthorpe 7-0 and, against all odds, earned automatic League One promotion.

Since then, nothing has quite captured those highs.

Hussain AlSaeed, a businessman from Kuwait, took control of the company in August 2023 before forming its sole ownership three months later. Senior executives like Tom Gorringe and George Friend, both of whom are now leaving, have also been replaced.

Since Joey Barton was fired in October 2023, Matt Taylor and Inigo Calderon have been appointed as two new managers. Taylor made hints at disruption before being fired, and Lee Cattermole had previously been briefly removed from his coaching staff without his knowledge.

Calderon said: “When I arrived, I felt that there were a lot of bad things that weren’t because of the previous manager. Saturday’s defeat by Reading almost confirmed relegation.” I have a lot of respect for him.

“But it’s true that there were many things I disliked when I first joined the club.” Too many people.

Results have stagnated on the field, and by 2024-25, the decline has accelerated after placing 15th and 17th places in the previous two years.

Rovers were nine points clear of the bottom four in March, but a six-game losing streak sent them into danger.

They also have the division’s worst away record, recording just three victories and 12 points in 22 games.

Last weekend, Captain James Wilson claimed that the squad’s fitness levels were insufficient to consistently deliver 90-minute performances and that standards on and off the pitch were insufficient.

With only 43 goals scored in 45 games, none of them have been helped by the injury to Chris Martin and Promise Omochere, who have both had hamstring injuries and knee surgeries, respectively, since March.

Chairman Preston Johnson resigned the same month that the Red Devils were promoted thanks to a stylish League Two play-off run.

The only change that has happened since has been in the wrong direction, he claimed a month later when he returned from a trip.

After 87 games and 20 memorable months at the helm, Lindsey, the man who spearheaded Crawley’s promotion, left a division and took over as MK Dons’ new head coach.

Johnson insisted he did not want to lose Lindsey despite the club already struggling in 18th place with seven points from seven games.

Rob Elliot, a former Newcastle goalkeeper and manager of Gateshead, signed for a two-and-a-half-year contract that ran for just over six months.

Elliot left with Crawley 12 points adrift of League One safety after losing 19 of his 33 matches as manager of the Reds.

Lindsey was given a second spell in charge after departing Stadium MK.

His first two games saw him win both victories over Rovers of Bristol and Rotherham United, which gave him hope for the future.