Wednesday's financiers full of woe

Apparently the Chinese played a version of the game in the seventh century; the Basques, who claim to be Europe's oldest tribe, probably kicked some kind of ball around the green hills of Euskadi around the same time; in differing parts of Britain variations of what became football have been played for roughly 700 years - Edward II banned it from London in 1314.

But, when it comes to claiming the right to say "yeah, but we were first" then Sheffield's shout should be as loud as any. Not Wednesday or United, though, but Sheffield FC, founded in 1855, still in existence today, and recognised as the oldest surviving football club on the planet.

In their wisdom, and no sarcasm is intended, Sheffield FC never turned professional. Today they play in the Northern Counties (East) League and on Saturday drew 0-0. Sheffield's Corinthian amateurism, however, did not infect everyone in the city and over the past few months an increasing number of folk weaving in between the tram lines must have been questioning the intelligence of their forefathers. Sheffield, as famous today for Pulp as it was once for steel, has been buckling.

At Bramall Lane, United are onto their fifth manager in three years. Howard Kendall, Nigel Spackman, Steve Bruce and Adrian Heath have all come in, had a look around, and walked out again. The boardroom has a revolving door, more backstabbing than Eastenders and, as the latest incumbent Neil Warnock might say, "not a pot to piss in".

Warnock, however, has done well in difficult times. The club may have sold over u13 million £13 million worth of talent over the past five years but United remains in debt and with no imminent sign of economic security. Nevertheless, their position has stabilised since Warnock arrived. On Saturday they beat Manchester City.

Just as important, a crowd of 23,862 were there, a key figure given the recent debate which has split the city - the proposed merger that dared to speak its name. The idea of United and Wednesday dispensing with 244 years of history between them and uniting was first mooted about nine months ago. Fans were outraged. The germ of it, though, came from both clubs' diminishing attendances and worsening fiscal situations.

To a businessman it would make sense. Half the staff, double the crowd. Bingo. Such a proposition would be attractive to venture capitalists. Some organisation such as, say, Charterhouse. Or at least that might have been the case.

Charterhouse is the City of London institution that pumped u17m £17 million into Wednesday in 1997. Today Wednesday are said to be that much in debt and revealed before Christmas an annual wage bill of u13.5m.£13.5m. Emerson Thome and Benito Carbone have been offloaded since, cutting both debt and wage bill, but Charterhouse cannot be too pleased with their investment return. Unlucky. They were not investing for the love of football.

That, presumably, was the explanation for the Charterhouse offices being the venue for the four Sheffield MPs who met to discuss the worrying plight of Wednesday 10 days ago. The headlines which followed concerned four Labour MPs - i.e. alleged socialists - calling for Wednesday manager Danny Wilson to be sacked. One of the MPs, David Blunkett, is the Minister for Education and Employment.

Not even New Labour could spin their way out of this web, although another of the politicians, Joe Ashton, said that his criticism was focused on Wednesday chairman Dave Richards rather than Wilson. Richards, Ashton said, was presiding over a club doomed and he claimed Richards would rather see Wednesday relegated to become "a first division club of u9 £9 million turnover with no debts" rather than a Premiership club u23m "with a £23m turnover and debts of £18m".

Ashton received a lot of stick for his intervention, mainly from people concerned about the NHS and schools. But there was some sympathy for his attack on Richards. And yet, would there not be economic logic in Wednesday dropping down a division, erasing their borrowing and re-grouping? After all they are not doing much in the Premiership. (At least, not until the MPs spoke up).

They could even retain Wilson, ensuring some continuity. The MPs would not be happy but then their proposed solutions of sacking chairman and manager is exactly the sort of short-termism they dismiss when their government is under attack. Eighteen years of brutal Conservative rule cannot be overturned overnight they say. Well, several years of dwindling optimism and declining crowds in Sheffield falls into the same category.

As anyone in the city's amateurs could tell them all: one week, one season - it's not a long time in Sheffield.