Premier League cult hero BANNED from taking charge of EFL club as bizarre contract dispute emerges
FORMER Premier League star Matthew Etherington has been forced to step down from Colchester United due to a bizarre contract row with old club Crawley Town.
The U’s sacked Ben Garner after they were beaten 2-1 at home by Harrogate Town on Saturday - their fourth-straight loss - which left them 23rd in League Two.
The ex-Tottenham and West Ham winger, 42, was named as interim boss on Monday and led them to victory over Grimsby in League Two the following day.
Etherington believed that he would be boss for the “foreseeable future” but he has now handed the reins over to assistant Scott Marshall for the trip to Accrington Stanley this afternoon.
A statement from Colchester chairman Robbie Cowling confirmed that Crawley believe Etherington is still under contract with them until May.
He said: “Following a series of phone calls and email exchanges with one of the owners of Crawley Town, I have found myself in a position where I must request that Matty Etherington steps down from his interim head coach role for tomorrow’s game against Accrington Stanley.
“Crawley Town have alerted Colchester United to their concerns that Matty may be tempted to violate the contract he signed with Crawley when he initially accepted their managerial position in November 2022.
“At 3.34pm today, (Friday 27th October), I received a call from Eben Smith, who informed me that Crawley believe Matty is still bound by their contract until May 2024. Consequently, if Matty manages any of Colchester's games, a buy-out fee would be owed to Crawley.”
Cowling added: “Personally I don’t agree with the Crawley position but given that we have less than twenty four hours before the game against Accrington, which is 250 miles away, I requested Crawley's permission for Matty to lead the team for this specific match while we seek legal counsel regarding the contract.
“Unfortunately, this request was denied. As a result, Matty Etherington has been asked to step down, and Scott Marshall will now take charge of the game tomorrow.
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“Hopefully, we can seek the legal advice we need and sort the matter out with Crawley early next week.”
Etherington, who was appointed Under-21 lead coach at Colchester in June, hit the headlines in December when he was sacked by Crawley Town after just three games in his first managerial job.
He named former Peterborough and Tottenham teammate Simon Davies as his assistant on November 27, 2022 and went on to beat Swindon Town 2-0 in his opening match.
A 2-0 home defeat to Hartlepool followed on December 9 before another setback on home turf followed on Boxing Day as they were downed 2-1 by Sutton before he was axed.
Etherington retired from playing in 2014 after an impressive playing career with Peterborough, Spurs, Bradford, West Ham and Stoke City.
The ex-England U21 winger battled a gambling addiction while at the Hammers, with the club lending him £300,000, after he accumulated huge debts.
Etherington also spent time at Tony Adams' Sporting Chance Clinic.
He began his coaching career in charge of Peterborough’s U18s in 2018. Etherington was then promoted to assistant manager of the first-team in November 2021.
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He even had a one-game foray as interim boss before returning to his No.2 position under Grant McCann before then taking the leap and making his ill-fated switch to Crawley.
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