LIFE IN THE RED ZONE
EXCLUSIVE: Chief Football Writer John Cross on Crawley Town’s Covid match-day frontline
CRAWLEY TOWN is a club dealing with a crisis in unprecedented times.
They are a small League Two team now facing a weekly challenge to survive with no fans allowed and only red warning signs within the stadium because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mirror Sport was given unique access to what it is really like within the Red Zone of a football club which is normally reserved for players, managers and directors.
The media are normally kept in the Amber Zone in this era of protocols and behindcloseddoors games but, having had a Covid-19 test to get the all clear, we were given an Access All Areas pass to The People’s Pension Stadium.
It offered a fascinating look at the obstacles, as well as the surreal sight of the club’s coronavirus officer sanitising the pitch after an opposing player spat out his drink.
The officials insisted they would not restart last Saturday’s g am e w i th
Southend until the mess was not only cleaned up, but had been sprayed and wiped with disinfectant gel.
These are crazy times in which Crawley stand to lose up to £750,000-a-season in gate receipts. The club have had to reduce their directors’ lounge – such as it is – and section it off with rows of chairs so the away team’s substitutes can get changed while maintaining social distancing.
The showers have red signs to stop the players getting too close together, while only 10 guests from the opposing club are allowed at any one game, with just six permitted to eat!
Their 600 season- ticket holders get free access to the EFL’s iFollow streaming service, while an extra 130 fans
The biggest challenge we face is simply how to survive - Erdem Konyar
bought passes for the recent game at Scunthorpe.
But hospitality revenues – worth £40,000-a-year – have disappeared, while the tea bars were worth another £40,000-a-year.
Manager John Yems said:
“We have to make our own atmosphere and our own income – and everything else for that matter.”
Yems actually thinks it was easier to win at Oldham last month because they went 1-0 down. The home crowd would normally get behind them but there was no one there and Crawley came back to win 3-2.
Similarly, Crawley went 1-0 up against Southend but ran out of steam and the visitors salvaged a late equaliser.
Crawley’s players are not fully fit. Three rounds of testing in a disrupted pre-season saw to that.
After the game, the roll call of injuries is presented. One player has hurt his thumb – it might be fractured but there is a risk of going to A&E. No private hospitals at this level.
Clubs are doing their best, but the extra cost is crippling.
The recent trip to Oldham cost £5,000 because you have to use extra coaches and the players can no longer share rooms. If it was not for owner Ziya Eren then the club would not be able to keep going.
Erdem Konyar ( far left), the club’s technical director and advisor to the chairman, said: “Our biggest challenge this year is to survive. It’s a crazy year. It’s a challenging season.”
But Konyar believes the club will stay afloat, even if it is only the owner’s personal fortune keeping them alive.
He said: “He’s backed this club with every pound. We could have done better sometimes in previous years but he’s never stopped supporting and the club’s in a good place.”
Sadly, not every club has such a generous sugar daddy.