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Crawley Fives:
1980s to 2009
The long running
Crawley Fives competition ended in Summer 2009. The competition
was the leading small-sided tournament in the town and ran from
the 1980s, possibly earlier. At its peak the Friday night Fives
hosted a field of 96 teams at the old Crawley Leisure Centre and
a healthy membership continued throughout its time at the old
venue. It was without doubt the highest standard competition
around and you would be pressed to find a local player active
around the 1980s to 2000s period who had not played at least a
few games in the Crawley Fives.
The Fives was the
competition in which Sporting Devils began. Devils own
participation began in Autumn 2004, rising out of the FC
Jiggleitalittleitllopen 5 aside team that had played in the
Fives from Summer 2001 to Summer 2004. In the final decade of
the Fives, Devils participated alongside other long running
teams including Alltraders, Caledonian Old Boys, Horley Town
Casuals, Ifield Eagles & Gilly's Heroes to name just a few of
the huge number of clubs and teams to have played in the Fives.
The Fives was the
arena which brought us local footballing greats like Roy Hart,
Terry Scott and the legendary George. In the old Leisure Centre
the competition was made by the natural 'stadium' setting of the
astro overlooked by the steps for spectactors and the balcony
above that backed onto the bar. Equally the nearby changing
rooms and the board housing the latest tables and fixtures added
to creating the effect. Remember, in the early internet age a
look at the results board was the only way to know the weeks
results! At the other end the pitches were bordered by the
railway line and matches were played as trains dodged the
countless off target shots from the action on all four pitches.
After the move to K2
in 2006, the aura of the Fives changed as no effort was made in
the construction of the new leisure centre to replicate the
setting of the old centre. As far superior as K2 is in its other
facilities compared to the old centre, for football there is no
question that the old centre was superior in every way as a
venue for playing and watching small-sided football. Still, the
Fives continued strongly for another two years with good, albeit
steadily declining participation numbers, however by early 2009
numbers had dwindled to the extent the Fives ended.
Devils final season
stats for the Crawley Fives from 2004-2009 can be viewed by
clicking on the 'Past Seasons' link above. |
Sporting Devils Football
Club
