Crawley Town show no fear of dream date with Manchester United

Romance is one thing but reality is quite another and so it is hard to believe Crawley Town's FA Cup fifth-round tie at Manchester United will provide them with anything more than souvenirs and a savaging. This, after all, is the 11-times winners of the competition and a club on course for a record 19th league championship against a team that was playing six divisions below in the Southern League as recently as 2004. There should only be one outcome. A sense of doom does not, however, run through the squad itself, and on the eve of the biggest match in Crawley's 115-year history, the Red Devils of Sussex genuinely feel they can give their counterparts from Salford a stern test. As the defender Dean Howell said: "United are only human and I don't think they realise how good our standard of play is." Such confidence will seem laughable should United run up a cricket score on Saturday evening but it stems from a top-down revolution at Crawley, partly funded by a mysterious foreign investor, which has seen them transformed from a club that was forced into administration twice in seven years to one of the wealthiest in non-league football. They sit second in the Blue Square Premier division having signed more than 23 players since last summer – including a non-league record fee of £275,000 for Richard Brodie from York City – the bulk of whom are either hardened veterans of the lower leagues, such as Howell, or developing talents, such as the top scorer, Michael Tubbs, and the team's most eye-catching addition, Sergio Torres. It was Torres who ignited Crawley's Cup run after the midfielder scored the late winner in their 2-1 victory over Derby County in the third round and should he also breach the United defence it would prove a defining moment for the 27-year-old Argentinian, who arrived in England from Mar del Plata seven years ago and played for Molesey, Basingstoke, Wycombe and Peterborough before establishing himself at the Broadfield Stadium. His exuberance and sense of ambition perhaps captures best what Crawley are now all about. "When the draw for this round was made I was out shopping in Brighton," said Torres. "When we came out of the hat with Manchester United I was celebrating like a madman, jumping around all over his shop. I am not famous back home but more will know about me after this weekend because the game at Old Trafford is being shown live in Argentina. That is important to me. I have also enjoyed people reminding me there is only one Torres left in the FA Cup. Fernando Torres got knocked out at Old Trafford in the third round with Liverpool. Hopefully I can do better." Simon Rusk shares that sense of purpose but, unlike Torres, he views today's game less as an opportunity to make a name for himself and more as a chance at redemption. The 29-year-old defender suffered a serious knee injury while playing for Boston United in 2006 that forced him to drop out of the Football League and join Northwich Victoria and then York City in 2008. It was during this time that Rusk visited Old Trafford for the first time to watch United take on Celtic in a Champions League tie. "I went with my dad Billy, who is a Celtic fan, and remember thinking to myself that my chance of playing there had gone forever, which hurt as for me there is no better ground to play at than Old Trafford," said Rusk, who signed for Crawley in May 2009. "To get this chance to go there is unbelievable, it will be one of the greatest days in my career. "We don't want to sound like idiots by saying we can go there and win, but at the same time we have to believe we can. Otherwise there would be no point turning up." That sentiment is also shared by fellow defender Kyle McFadzean, who last season was playing in the Blue Square North with Alfreton Town and may now find himself with the challenge of having to mark one of Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov or Javier Hernández. "I wouldn't mind marking any of them," said the 23-year-old. "I'm a bit disappointed that Michael Owen is injured as I'd liked to have played against him." Crawley's critics, of which there are many in non-league football, will view this collective sense of opportunity as typical brashness from a club that has allowed money to go to its head. Some will also point to the club's manager, Steve Evans, as the architect of such foolhardiness. The Scot is undoubtedly a controversial figure having been given a suspended prison sentence for tax evasion while in charge of Boston and, since joining Crawley in May 2007, racked up numerous touchline bans for unprofessional behaviour. Given Crawley's league and cup form it is hard to argue with Evans's methods and ahead of a match-up with his fellow Glaswegian Sir Alex Ferguson, the 48-year-old is also showing no signs of fear. "Come 5.15pm on Saturday we will be in United's faces," said Evans. "All we can do is our best and that means giving everything for a win." For all their talk, Crawley remain huge outsiders to make an impact against United on Saturday. But what is sure is that this is a club on the up and determined to become a big noise in English football.