Hartlepool United’s rivals Crawley Town to ‘scout’ Sidemen YouTube charity match ahead of FA Cup clash

Crawley have announced that they will be scouting players participating in a YouTube charity match with a view of potentially recruiting them to take part in their FA Cup First Round match, provisionally scheduled to take place on November 5.

Co-chairman Preston Johnson revealed the thinking behind the idea: “It’s no secret that we want Crawley Town FC to become ‘The Internet’s Team.’

“And while we’re normally referring to growing a global community of online fans when we use that term, why can’t it also refer to the players we scout and recruit to join our squad?

“We know this is an unconventional idea, to say the least. But we’ve never been shy about doing things differently, and we’re excited about partnering with The Sidemen and the opportunity to scout their charity match to potentially identify a couple of quality footballers who can join the club ahead of our first FA Cup match.”

Red Devil’s manager Kevin Betsy assured fans that his side will be taking the cup seriously, however:

"When we step on the pitch our only goal is to win the match and advance to the next round.” Betsy added.

"The FA Cup is a historic competition that is incredibly meaningful to our club, our players and our fans, and we're looking forward to doing everything we can to make a deep run this season.

"However, the unique rules of this competition give us a chance to try something different, and we're looking forward to potentially welcoming some new faces to the team.

"It's fairly unlikely that they'll get on the pitch unless the game is already well in hand, but we're excited to add some fresh blood to our training sessions and in the dugout — and hopefully bring some new fans to the club in the process."

The Only Way is Essex star Mark Wright famously made his debut for Crawley during their shock 3-0 win over Leeds United in the FA Cup in January 2021 before being released at the end of the 2020/21 season.