IS THIS the season of myths, or does The Northern Echo really have two sports writers in Athens this week? You may have noticed they're called Wilson and Fraser, but our men perched atop the Parthenon are definitely not characters out of Dad's Army.

One has been with the Toon Army, the other with the Smoggies, and while it's marvellous for the region that both clubs are in Europe there are signs that the obsession with football has reached its financial limit.

For the first time since the Premiership's inception attendances are in decline. At Middlesbrough, where the team is better than ever, they are victims of their own success because once fans have forked out for their season tickets there's not much left for UEFA Cup ties, even if they do bring the likes of Lazio calling.

Like any bubble, you can only inflate it so far before it bursts. Birmingham charged £45 for the 0-0 draw against Manchester United last Saturday, and any casual visitor shelling out that amount won't be back in a hurry to watch Norwich or Crystal Palace.

The reassuring converse of all this is that when a team are relegated to the Conference their crowds invariably increase. There were an incredible 9,215 at Carlisle last Saturday for the top-of-the-table clash with Barnet, only 217 fewer than the record Conference crowd at Lincoln 16 years ago.

Unfortunately Carlisle lost 3-1 and, while retaining second place, are now six points adrift of Barnet. But they can look forward to another bumper crowd in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round when they are at home to York, who were relegated with them last May.

Sadly, things have not gone as well for York, who attracted only 2,207 for a 0-0 draw against mighty Canvey Island on Saturday and languish seventh from the bottom. Instead of wallowing in history, York obviously needs to follow Athens' example by bidding for the Olympics.

PERHAPS I wasn't paying attention, but I can't say I was aware that there was to be a big parade in London on Monday to celebrate the success of our Olympians. It was for the Paralympians as well, yet it was held when Tanni Grey-Thompson was earning her latest accolade at the Laureus awards in India.

She can't be blamed for putting this annual extravaganza first, even if they did name Michael Schumacher as the world's top sportsman last year, but the absence of our greatest Paralympian from London reflects very badly on the organisers of the parade.

Apparently it had been delayed so that Kelly Holmes and Matthew Pinsent could both be there, but after such a long wait surely a few more days wouldn't have hurt.

It's two months since Pinsent and Holmes lifted the mood of the nation, and yet again the powers-that-be have shown little idea of how to capitalise on the feelgood factor. As with the Sydney goldrush, the moment has been allowed to pass with little sign of using it to encourage people to go out and try to emulate their all-too-temporary heroes.

The parade of the Rugby World Cup-winning team 11 months ago was held much sooner after the event and attracted a much bigger crowd, and the signs are that the sport is still profiting with Premiership clubs reporting improved season ticket sales.

Monday's parade, by comparison, seemed like an after-thought and did nothing to promote the London bid to stage the 2012 Olympics. Any fool can argue that the bid is a good idea on sporting grounds, and it would be great for national morale if we could pull it off. But how can we pull it off if we organise a post-Olympic parade two months after the event and even then can't have our greatest Paralympian present?

HOW much longer can the World Matchplay Championship survive? Without a major sponsor, it cannot be economically viable to throw £1m at the winner, and Ernie Els' domination does nothing to maintain interest.

It seems no amount of prizemoney can attract Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, and when numbers have to be made up by Jeff Maggert and an over-the-hill Bernhard Langer it is not a true world championship.

The event used to provide a thrilling climax to the golf season, but its glory days are obviously over.

THE England and Wales Cricket Board are to introduce incentive payments next year to reward the counties who field the most England-qualified players. This is a much-needed move, but they need to be careful with their definitions with Lancashire, for example, about to take advantage of the fact that Australian Stuart Law is now England-qualified. They have signed another Aussie, Brad Hodge, and the world's leading chucker as their overseas pair.

It is also a move which the Rugby Football Union would do well to follow as South Africans and Pacific Islanders continue to proliferate. Whatever happened to the Home Guard?

Published: 22/10/2004