Former Newcastle United ace emerges as favourite for League One job after ex-Magpies star sparks domino effect

Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot has emerged as the frrontrunner to become the new manager of League One side Crawley Town.

The West Sussex outfit are currently searching for a replacement for Scott Lindsay, who steered the Red Devils to a surprise promotion via the League Two play-offs last season.

Lindsay spent 18 months of his managerial career at the Broadfield Stadium and oversaw a rapid turnaround in fortunes for a club that had only narrowly avoided relegation to the National League at the end of the 2022/23 season. However, just six games into the new League One season, Lindsay has now made the surprise decision to drop back down to League Two to replace former Newcastle man Mike Williamson as MK Dons boss.

The ex-Magpies centre back left the Stadium MK to take over the reins at Carlisle United in the same division last week. The move has since triggered a managerial domino effect, which could now see his former Newcastle teammate Elliot get his first chance of management in the Football League. Elliot, who initially joined Gateshead as technical director, became manager of the Tynesiders in October 2023 after Williamson’s exit to MK Dons.

In the second half of last season, Elliot led the Heed to FA Trophy glory and also recorded an impressive sixth place finish in the National League. However, the club were prevented from competing in the play-offs as they were unable to secure a 10-year lease on their ground at the International Stadium, which is owned by the council.

Gateshead are currently fifth in the National League table with 20 points from their opening 10 matches this term and have been praised for their front-foot and possession based brand of football under the former Newcastle shot-stopper.

Elliot is the odds-on favourite to become the new manager of Crawley Town as things stand, putting him ahead of the likes of Ben Gladwin, Nathan Rooney, Brian Murphy, Pete Wild and John Coleman.