On 7 August 2012, Crawley appointed Bury F.C. manager Richie Barker as their new manager. Under Barker's management the club had a successful debut season in League One, challenging for the play-offs for much of the campaign and finishing comfortably in tenth place. The club caused controversy, however, by banning a reporter from Crawley News because the club's management disliked two of his paper's headlines. The club were condemned for this in a motion signed by 23 MPs on 10 December 2013. Barker was sacked early in the following season for speaking to League Two side Portsmouth about their manager's job. He was replaced by John Gregory, who steered the club to another mid-table finish despite a poor late run.