A TRANSFER made back in 1966 has spurred Premiership-bound Manchester City to pull out their wallets for crisis club Bury FC writes Chris Hall

Shakers must find £400,000 by Friday or their 117-year-old existence will come crashing to a halt. Part of their fundraising effort is to sell off all 12,000 seats in the Gigg Lane Stadium for £10 each and the response has been overwhelming, with over half the seats sold in the first three days.

Now City manager Kevin Keegan and all the players at the Maine Road club have pitched in to boost Bury's coffers by some £2,500, exactly 36 years since signing their greatest ever player, Colin Bell, from their Lancashire neighbours for £45,000.

Keegan recognised the link between the clubs and said he had little trouble in rallying his players into action.

"What we have done as a club is to put £2,500 in to Bury and for that we are putting our names on 250 seats somewhere in their ground. The seats are probably stuck in a corner somewhere," he joked.

"The players wanted to do it, so that is a contribution from the players and the staff at City."

Keegan got his big break when Liverpool spotted him playing for lowly Scunthorpe, so understands the importance of keeping the smaller clubs afloat. Now he expects Manchester United to follow suit with a similar financial injection and has also hinted at a possible City v Shakers fundraising fixture being arranged.

"Clubs like Bury are vital to football, but I am afraid their plight might become a common thing," he said.

"We have to be seen to help clubs. I asked Stuart Pearce for the players' reaction and straight away the money was forthcoming.

"They will have to help themselves but there is no question that we should do something to help them and I know Sir Alex Ferguson will do something for them as well."

"They are just down the road and we will see if we can't help them with a game at sometime in the future if they get turned round."