Possible saviour for women's team

The club are in talks with a possible sponsor for the axed women's team whose support may allow it to continue: Women

The statement reveals that the cost of running the team was £306,000 in 2006-7 and that the lowest cost at which a downsized team could be run was £100,000 and even that figure has no certainty attached to it.

The club admits that it has received 'vociferous' criticism over the issue. Even I received an E mail from a casual work acquaintance describing the decision as 'shoddy' and damaging to the club's image.

The club makes the point that there have been cuts across all aspects of its operation and that the women's team has not been singled out, but then it is proposed to shut it down altogether which is not (as far as one knows) the fate of other loss-making operations like the reserve team.

I appreciate that many fans consider that the club has had to take a tough decision in difficult circumstances, but this has not been a public relations truiumph. To be fair, the club was constrained in what it could say for legal reasons after the story was leaked.

Let's hope that the possible sponsorship deal turns out to offer a way forward. Did the sponsor only come forward after all the publicity?