VIDEO: Crystal Palace turn to saucy cheerleader video to sell season tickets (From This Is Local London)

VIDEO: Crystal Palace turn to saucy cheerleader video to sell season tickets

3:20pm Thursday 12th July 2012 in Championship By David Mills

THESE are hard times indeed, especially for football fans forced to pay a premium to enjoy the beautiful game.

With clubs around the country struggling to sell season tickets before kick off next month, teams are having to put in extra effort to get fans to cough up for another year.

Even Manchester United have had to resort to manager Sir Alex Ferguson issuing a video message appealing to fans to renew theirs.

Meanwhile the Eagles have taken a different approach and deployed their band of scantily-clad cheerleaders - The Crystals - all dressed in Palace bikinis calling on supporters to do the same.

Within hours the YouTube video has already become a hit with more than 21,000 views.

Although whether that will be reflected in ticket sales, remains to be seen.

Last year The Crystals came under fire on certain online fans forums following a dismal run of form which saw Palace caught in a relegation dogfight.

Some fans blamed the team's poor performances on the cheerleaders' saucy routines, claiming their revealing outfits were distracting the players.