The Devils Trust are looking for local heroes!
Based on nominations from the Crawley public, the Trust are selecting two people to become special matchday guests of the club, with executive package tickets, which includes:
- Dedicated seating in the Directors Area
- Complimentary hot buffet meal, with a glass of wine or soft drink
- Complimentary match-day programme
- Team sheet
- Half time tea, coffee & biscuits
- Big screen television showing live sport
- Regular visits by team management and players
- Exclusive pay bar facility
- Exclusive raffles
Read more about the wonderful work of the Trust here…
Last night was the first of many for the 2009/2010 season. Shelley went along to see what it was all about. There was some confusion about our attendance at this event but we had a knight in shining armour walk through the door, to save us, in the form of Zaff Khan (owner of Metro Cars) who kindly gave Shelley a VIP wrist band and made her feel most welcome at their table and seating area in the stalls. Our thanks goes to Zaff 
The atmosphere was impressive with all the devoted football fans and of course the star guests. Lee from Food Time were serving up hot sausage and mash, which was delicious and the staff from the football club were busy making sure everyone was happy and comfortable.
Shelley had the pleasure of meeting Thad who is heavily involved with the Devils Trust. Thad is currently actively promoting his ‘Wags for a Day’ campaign. You can read more about this here…
Thad introduced Shelley to the main star guest for this event, Dan Walker, presenter of Football Focus. Dan, ex Hazelwick pupil who resided in Ifield, told Shelley “I am originally from Crawley so it is lovely to come back for such a great occassion. In fact, it is quite an honour to be nominated as the special guest for the first Local Heroes event.” Shelley asked Dan what his thoughts were on Crawley. Dan said “Crawley is becoming very trendy. It has changed alot from the small town it used to be, but all in a good way.” Dan and Shelley sat reminiscent of the old days when they used to visit Pepes Golden Griddle and the cinema, now Bar Med. The town has definitely changed dramatically over the last ten years.
Dan Walker, Presenter of Football Focus & Shelley from Crawley Happy Times
Next to Dan sat Mark Cole, Editor of Football Focus. Shelley asked Mark how he felt about the event. Mark told Shelley “I have been really looking forward to it and I would like to thank Dan for inviting me. It is nice to do something different. Conference premier football matches are the grass roots of football so it’s refreshing to watch.” Shelley went on to ask Mark if he had ever visited Crawley in the past and what his thoughts were on the town. Mark said ” I have never been to Crawley before but have heard lots of good things about it from Dan.” Mark told Shelley he lives in Bristol therefore a Bristol Rovers fan.
Sat next to Mark was Paul Armstrong, Editor of Match of the Day. Paul told Shelley “this is my second visit to Crawley and I think it is a lovely town. Dan kindly invited us to the event and we are happy to be here. It is nice to see football on this level.”
Shelley found all three guests very friendly and down to earth. It was a pleasure to meet them.
After the lovely hot food and a glass of wine Shelley sat in the stalls with Zaff and his friends and family and watched what can only be described as a thriller of a match. It was Crawley Town V Oxford United. Crawley scored the first goal in the fifteenth minute, driven into the back of the net by Thomas Pinault (later named player of the match). By half time the Crawley fans were on the edge of their seats praying for the score to stay at 1-0.
The second half was just nail biting! Crawley Town played well but the second goal came from Adam Chapman from Oxford United in the eighty second minute. Crawley fought tooth and nail to keep in the game but were pipped to the post in the nineteeth minute by a smashing goal from James Constable, shatteringCrawley Town’s dreams of a win against Oxford United. There were plenty of solomn faces in the stalls but they should not feel so glum as Crawley Town are fourteenth in the league and Oxford United are at the top. As the score ended 1-2 we feel Crawley should be proud of their performance, learning from any mistakes, taking the knowledge with them into the next match. It was a fine effort from Crawley Town. You can view the league here…
So, the event came to a close and it was time to make our way home. Shelley was just about to leave when she caught site of a very happy man indeed. His team had just won and he was smiling from ear to ear. Do you recognise this man?
Shelley bumped into Jim Rosenthal at Crawley Town Football Club
Oh what a night!!!
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Great article Shelley, sounds like you had a great time rubbing shoulders with all those stars of the TV world. I’m sure Mark Cole used to present the early breakfast show on a local radio station when I lived in the Bristol area. If it’s the same Mark, then he was always full of silly jokes and interesting “facts of the day”. Even now I remember his fact about how many strands of wheat there were in each Shredded Wheat parcel. 247!
Dear Charles,
xx
Thank you for your lovely comment. Mark was lovely, I have to say. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Just hoping others are enjoying it as much as I am
“WOW” The Golden Griddle certainly brings back memories for me, as a young lad of 15 cooking the hamburgers for the nightclub crowd next door, all those years ago.