Sobering experience

The world's oldest football ground looks set to become another bland housing estate as cash problems force the Vics to move to Witton Albion's bland, out of town industrial estate home. In a town where the major tourist attraction is a salt museum (which, I'm told, is almost as thrilling as it sounds) no attempt seems to have been made to capitalise on a unique and irreplaceable treasure.

Instead, it seems, 'Northwich Albion' or similar will live out their days forgotten and ignored in a field full of portakabins and breeze blocks with the soul ripped out of two once proud sides. Here in Lancaster and Morecambe, a minority of people - most of them not big football fans - believe a merged team in an out of town superdome would become the Rushden & Diamonds of the North.

Sorry to disappoint you all (not that I imagine you'd even do something as common as reading a sports page) but Rushden & Diamonds are essentially two park teams bought by a millionaire in a bid to realise his dream of building up a football club from nothing. But here we have two clubs who are at the heart of their community, and that's exactly what football teams should be about.

While it's not as old as the Drill Field, Giant Axe is one of the best named, and most picturesque venues for an afternoon of football anywhere.

While the team get better on the pitch, the Dolly Blue Tavern and its surroundings have a growing reputation as a venue for community activities.

Christie Park, meanwhile is a neat and compact stadium, big enough for the football league but small enough to guarantee a friendly atmosphere, an ideal compliment to the growing reputation of Shrimps' fans, who were praised tot he rafters for the support they gave when their team faced cash strapped Scarborough last week.

We've got two football clubs to be proud of. Let's not throw them away to chase an impossible dream.