7th August - Devils Trust and Supporters Club joint statement

The Devils Trust and Crawley Town Supporters Club have started a last-ditch effort to save Crawley Town Football Club from liquidation. The move, instigated by the Supporters Club, involves members of both organisations meeting with Chas Majeed on Monday in an attempt to keep the Red Devils alive.

After the club was put up for sale last week when creditors rejected a CVA proposal from the Majeeds' SA Group, administrators Begbies Traynor confirmed only one bid had been received, that coming from the same family's SA Retail Ltd.

With joint-administrator Rob Sadler unhappy with elements of the bid, he asked for comments from both the Devils Trust and the Supporters Club. That resulted in a series of requests being made regarding the future management of the football club, including assurances about the owners' future conduct.

The Trust fears that it could be too little too late and are concerned that the Majeed brothers will try to use using the recent moves as an excuse to back out of their own bid.

Trust secretary Jeff Thaddeus said: "We believe that they want to withdraw and they are trying to use our stance as a mechanism for helping that aim. Any attempt to attach blame to the Trust is just another Majeed mistruth. We believe that, like us, the Majeeds have been unable to obtain sufficient assurances about the continued existence of the club in the Nationwide Conference.

"Alternatively, it may be that they don't have the necessary funds to satisfy the terms of their bid last week or the current level of commitments necessary to sustain the club this coming season."

The Trust have also expressed concern over a faction of supporters who seem to believe that working with a Majeed-backed Crawley Town without those assurances in place is an attractive proposition.

It points to their track record over the last 12 months for evidence of their failure to offer any stability. Thaddeus added: "Why would some fans find it so unpalatable for the Majeeds to run a nightclub that they would never visit, yet at the same time want the Majeeds to stay in control of the football club that is so close to their hearts?"