Minstermen on the up

York City languished in the Conference for eight years, showing what a difficult league it is to get out of. But now they have escaped in some style, winning the FA Trophy and promotion through the play offs from the Blue Square Bet Premiership.

York City languished in the Conference for eight years, showing what a difficult league it is to get out of. But now they have escaped in some style, winning the FA Trophy and promotion through the play offs from the Blue Square Bet Premiership.

The club has lost money for eight years, but calculate that they will get a £750,000 boost from promotion. However, if they want to fulfil their aim of a top half finish, they may have to spend some money on players.

Key to their plans is a move away from what many of us still know as Bootham Crescent to a purpose built 6,000-seater stadium on the outskirts of the city.   This is a realistic size for a club like York.  It is a ‘stand alone’ city with a prosperous rural hinterland, but Leeds and even Manchester are not that far away.