Crawley Town have issued a statement regarding issues surrounding them and former manager Matthew Etherington.

The former Stoke City and West Ham United player was appointed manager of the League Two club in November 2022, lasting 32 days before departing the club.

The 42-year-old was appointed under 21 manager at fellow League Two side Colchester United in June, but was made interim boss when Ben Garner was relived of his duties in late October.

Crawley have now blocked Etherington from taking on the position, stating he has breached the contract he had signed with them last year.

"We want to apologize to the Colchester United fans who were caught in the middle of an unfortunate situation.

"Matthew Etherington resigned as Crawley Town manager last December and had the following clause in his contract.

"The Manager shall not be permitted to bring his Agreement to an end early under this clause to take up employment at or be otherwise engaged by another football club playing in the same or a lower league as the Club is playing in at that time. No buyout will be permitted in such circumstances."

The Red Devils also added that they were not aware that Etherington had breached the contract until earlier this week. They are happy for him to continue being under 21s manager, but will not allow him to be named first team manager, unless a financial settlement is agreed.

It appears that the financial settlement will not be agreed though according to the statement.

"When we alerted Robbie Cowling (on) Friday, we were told he would provide us zero compensation for Matthew." said the club.

The club ended the statement by saying: "We're happy Colchester won on Saturday and we wish Robbie and his team the best in their ongoing managerial search."

Writer's View

It is a very confusing turn of events, with it seeming that Crawley Town have found a way to make money to help with their ongoing financial problems. The club, who are owned by the group WAGMI United, have had a difficult time since the takeover in April 2022, with financial issues leading to a spiral down the league.

It appears that no agreement will be made in terms of a settlement, leaving Colchester United to find a different replacement for the departing Ben Garner. It's a tough position for The U's, but seemingly one they will not get around without the payment of a settlement.