CRAWLEY BOSS ASKS BIG BOYS FOR A HELPING HAND

CRAWLEY TOWN manager John yems wants Premier League clubs to consider donating their Fa Cup Tv fees to opponents from lower leagues.

Marcelo Bielsa will take Leeds United to Crawley of League Two on sunday for a third-round tie to be broadcast live on the BBC. The clubs will each receive £75,000 from the Tv deal, a lifeline to those in the lower leagues in this season of crisis, but a drop in the ocean for top-flight clubs.

‘We won’t get as much as we would normally, because there’s no crowd,’ said 61-year-old yems. ‘This would be a full house. in the current climate it would be nice if some of the big clubs can donate a little bit back, like they used to.

‘at Kingstonian, we played Brighton in the Fa Cup in 1994 and they let us have their share of the gate money. There are no gate receipts now so it’s more about Tv money and they split it 50-50. i don’t know if you can get money off a yorkshireman but i think a lot of clubs want to help the lower clubs and don’t know how to. This would be a good gesture.’

Crawley, unbeaten in nine games, are chasing promotion to League One while Leeds are on course to survive in the Premier League after an exile of 16 years.

‘For us, that money might be the difference between finishing the season well and not finishing the season,’ said yems. ‘There are a lot of clubs with their backs to the wall. i’m not saying we have but it’s about survival and making sure we’ve still got a club at the end of it. That’s what’s important.’