Former Arsenal coach sacked as manager of new club

Crawley Town have announced the departure of former Arsenal youth player and youth coach Colin Kazim-Richards, as one of multiple changes to the club’s key staff.

Crawley Town released a club statement this week to confirm that head coach Colin Kazim-Richards has been sacked, along with assistant head coach Julian Gray. The statement added that club director of football Erdem Konyar will also be leaving the club.

The club did add that they’re grateful to Kazim-Richards and Gray for helping the club to avoid relegation last season, and sent them best wishes for the future.

They then confirmed that they’ve appointed Kevin Blackwell as an interim manager as they search for a new permanent manager.

Kazim-Richards is a former Arsenal youth player, and he returned to the club’s academy in a coaching capacity back in 2024. After a couple of years back with the Gunners, the coach then got the chance to take the head coach job at Crawley in March 2026.

At the time, Arsenal had youth player Louie Copley on loan at Crawley, and together they managed to save the club from relegation to the National League by one point and a few goals.

Sadly, things haven’t gone so well for either Copley or Kazim-Richards since then. Copley suffered an ACL injury in pre-season, and Crawley started the new campaign with one win in 10 games to sit bottom of the league and six points away from escaping the relegation zone.

There’s still plenty of time for the club to turn things around, with less than a quarter of the season played and a couple of games in hand on many of the teams above.

But this is the club’s worst start to a season in the last 15 years, and Kazim-Richards won’t be the one in charge of sorting things out now.

• Arsenal defender delivers encouraging verdict on current condition
  Riccardo Calafiori has given Arsenal an encouraging fitness update after two seasons disrupted by injury problems.
• Real Madrid star hopes to return from broken leg against Arsenal
  Real Madrid could have an unexpected option back in contention before Arsenal arrive, with one injured player making rapid progress in his recovery.
• Arsenal women show signs of life with huge draw v Barcelona
  Arsenal showed a very different side of themselves in Barcelona, and the challenge now is turning that performance into something more lasting.
• Viktor Gyokeres asked if he wants to stay at Arsenal
  Viktor Gyokeres has addressed his Arsenal future and his relationship with Mikel Arteta after a frustrating start to the Premier League season.
• Maanum strikes as Arsenal withstand Barcelona pressure
  Arsenal Women came through a demanding night at Camp Nou with something to show for it, relying on disciplined defending, an excellent display from Misa Rodriguez and a little good fortune.