STRONG RESERVE SIDE BEATS QPR
A strong Reds reserves side produced an excellent performance to defeat Championship side Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on Tuesday afternoon. Goals from Steve Burton and Omari Coleman sealed the win for Town, while Rangers' only response was a late strike from former Aston Villa forward Stefan Moore.

The win moves Crawley up to fifth place in the league. Woking are the visitors to the Broadfield Stadium this Tuesday in the next Combination game.

Crawley opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Paul Armstrong broke from midfield and sent a perfect cross into the box for Burton to slide home. Rangers rarely troubled Scott Ward in the Town goal despite having a strong side out, including ex Premiership stars Moore, Georges Santos and keeper Simon Royce. Moore had the best chance for QPR during the first half, as a back pass was incepted and Moore's attempted chip was flicked away for a corner.

Playing in a strong wind and rain, neither side troubled their opposition goalkeepers too much in the second half until Crawley wrapped up the win with five minutes to play. A long kick by Ward caused all sorts of trouble for the Rangers defence and Coleman was left free to slide the ball under Royce to extend the Reds' lead.

There was a glimmer of hope for Rangers when Moore pulled a goal back two minutes later but the final chance of the game fell to the Reds. Good work by the impressive Lee Blackburn set Burton free on the right and he sent a ball right across the face of the goal, with Coleman's out stretched leg only narrowly failing to convert it.

Result: Tuesday 7th March 2006 (Pontins Holiday's Combination Central Division)
QPR 1
Crawley Town 2
Crawley Town: Scott Ward, Ben Judge, Ian Simpemba, David Woozley, Neil Jenkins, Lee Blackburn, Paul Armstrong, Danny Brown, Sacha Opinel, Omari Coleman, Steve Burton.
Unused subs: Phil Smith, Chris Giles, Leonard Mendy.
Crawley Town Man of the Match: Lee Blackburn.

YOUTH AND RESERVE FIXTURE NEWS
The game between Weymouth and Crawley Town in the Conference Youth League which was due to be played on Wednesday has been called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

The youth side return to action on Monday when Gravesend & Northfleet will visit Sussex. The game will be played away from the Broadfield Stadium although no venue has yet been announced. Please check back for details as they are finalised.

The reserve game against Eastbourne Borough scheduled for Thursday has been called off. The game has yet to be rearranged. The reserves next match in the Sussex County League Alliance Reserve Division is on Wednesday 29 March when the Reds travel to face Hastings United.

Before then they play host to Woking on Tuesday 14 March in the Pontin's Holiday Combination League, kick-off 7.00pm. Admission for this match is Adults £5, Concessions £3, Season ticket holders free.

CHAIRMAN EXPLAINS CUTS TO THE FANS
More than 200 Crawley fans packed into the Redz bar at Broadfield Stadium on Monday to hear chairman Chas Majeed explain the club's recent salary cutbacks.

Mr Majeed said reducing the wage bill had been necessary to meet the Conference salary cap, and that a restructured budget could enable new players to come in to boost the club's fight against relegation.

He said that before last week's announcement that wages had been cut by 50 per cent, that the club's wage bill had been the second highest in the division.

“We wanted to restructure the club to enable us to move forward and to get out of this position.”

Mr Majeed said the moves had been made after an investor had pulled out due to the team's poor position in the table.

“We will complete our fixtures this season, there is no doubt about that. The changes we have made will enable the club to operate without that extra investment, but we are also hoping to bring in more. The club will still be here next season – we want to go up, not down. We will not go into administration. What we are doing now is to stop that happening.”

The chairman said he took some responsibility for the situation, claiming that he would never again hand players big money two-year contracts, which he said had led to some complacency.

“We have learned the hard way that is not the way to do things. I should have been there when the contracts were being negotiated and signed – that's my fault, I admit that. But we left it to other people and it has not worked.

“We know now that what we should have done is put them all on one-year deals in order that they maintain their drive and don't slip into a comfort zone.

“We knew the club was losing money when we took it on – that's not the problem. But the long-term contracts had created a big problem for next season and we had to take action.

“From now on we are keen to get a set pay structure in place with a maximum that we won't exceed and put players only on one-year deals.

Mr Majeed was quick to assure fans that top scorer Daryl Clare was not one of the players he expected to leave in the near future.

“We want him to stay. He is one of the guys who plays with passion and he might even still be here if we didn't pay him at all!”

“If we had 11 players who tried as hard as they did on Saturday all season we wouldn't be in the mess we are in.”

Assistant general manager Ben Taylor added that the players had responded brilliantly in the last week's events.

“The cuts were announced to the squad before they played Gravesend and the players, Danny Brown for example, have been fantastic in the last two games, showing more spirit and pride than they had done before.”

Mr Taylor also said the club staff were determined to make the club a success despite having their own wages cut as well. “We are all in this together. We are Crawley Town Football Club and we will get through it all together,” he said.

Mr Majeed accepted that communication with fans could be better, but that this meeting, and similar events in the future could improve the relationship. One fan pointed out that when the club held a meeting soon after their takeover, only around ten supporters had turned up.

The chairman added that although the swift transition from part-time to full-time this season had not been ideal, it had been a necessary move.

“We were criticised but if you saw our games at the start of the season the players looked tired in the second half – they couldn't even play for 90 minutes. You have to be full-time to compete in this league.”

The chairman also threw his support behind manager John Hollins. “We are sure John Hollins is the right man for the job. He has still not had a full chance to take control and work with the team he wants.”

Assurances over the future existence and promotion of the club's youth set-up were given before Mr Majeed appealed to the fans to come through the gates for the rest of the season and help to strengthen the club's financial position.

“You guys are the bread and butter of this club. We need to do this together but the gates have been dropping.”

Commercial manager Victor Marley had a similar message, saying: “The passion for Crawley Town among the fans here is obvious and there is no doubt the chairman has sunk a lot of his money into the club. What we need is for the next game, that everyone tries to bring someone else and we'll be on the right track.

Club consultant Alan Mullery's involvement was questioned and Mr Majeed said that while he still advised the club on procedural matters and how other professional clubs operate, he no longer had any say in player recruitment, which is now down to John Hollins.

Mr Taylor pointed out that the only player signed on Mr Mullery's recommendation had been defender Leonard Mendy, who was the fans' player of the month for February.

Mr Majeed explained that Tony Scully had been signed by him and then caretaker-boss Simon Wormull.

Supporters Club chairman Kevin Giles, who hosted the meeting, appealed for there to be no repeat of the scenes before last Saturday's game against Accrington, when a handful of fans entered the field of play shortly before kick-off.

“The people who went on the pitch should know better. We are all emotional about the club but the consequences of their actions could have made the situation worse.”

However, Mr Majeed said no action would be taken against the protestors. “Everyone is passionate about this club. But they are our supporters and we won't throw them out.”

The meeting was held in a positive spirit throughout, with fans breaking into a spontaneous chorus of “We are the Reds” at the end.