WOLVES S.O.S.

IT is times like these when I need to write straight from the heart.

Make no mistake, now it is do or die for the new stadium and for Warrington Wolves.

Can you imagine Manchester without United? More diversely, what about London without red buses or Cornwall without pasties? They are items, unthinkable apart and it is the same with Warrington and the Wolves.

It's okay for Wigan, Bradford, Leeds and co. They have Premiership soccer teams as well as their top flight rugby sides. These towns and cities are well catered for when it comes to top flight sporting entertainment. There is no such luxury in Warrington.

Only the Wolves are able to bring in the crowds and stir our emotions and passions in the way that true sporting love can.

The town has a great tradition for sport. We have magnificent high achievers in our community - county champions, national champions, European champions and even world champions. And they all deserve our continued praise and support.

But there is nothing in Warrington that acts as a focal point of people's lives like the Wolves do. They stir the passions of us all. Maybe not all the time and maybe not as consistently as we would have liked in the past few years, but the Wolves will have touched most people's lives in Warrington at some time or other.

It might have been for a past trip to Wembley or the Wolves may have been a topic of conversation in the pub. Your son or daughter may have been coached by a Wolves player as part of a school lesson or you may have shook hands with Wolfie as he has paraded around town. Maybe a Wolves star turned up at your club to make a presentation or maybe you have taken advantage of Wolfie's Learning Den using the internet to find a job. You may have benefited from the thousands of charity pounds the Wolves raise every year. Then again you may be an ardent Wolf and go to every game and have done so for as long as you can remember. It all adds up to Warrington Wolves being part of the town's make-up. They are an institution and they play too big a part in most of our lives for them to simply disappear off the face of this earth.

But that is what we are facing unless, as a town, we do something about it. As a community we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring about a modern stadium that will not only be a rescue package for the cash-stricken Wolves, but will also be an educational environment for our chidren, a conference centre for the town's businesses to use and a social focul point. It will be a landmark for the town, something we can all take pride in and enjoy for the rest of our lives and for generations to come.

Further into this report I highlight ways in which the whole town can help to save our club and stadium.

And don't forget there is an additional facility at stake here too - the Tesco Extra store. Further supermarket competition for our custom will not do any of our pockets any harm when it comes to the weekly shopping bill. How many of us would not be pleased about that?

Brian Bevan would turn in his grave if he had reason to believe the town was not pulling its finger out to save a 121-year-old club which has helped to shape a modern day Super League that is threatening to leave Warrington behind.

Bevan is the greatest name in the club's cherished history. But there are Johnathan Davies, Les Boyd, John Bevan, Phil Blake, Bob Eccles, Parry Gordon, Alex Murphy, Harry Bath, Jack Fish, Eric Fraser, Mike Gregory, Ken Kelly, Des Drummond, Mike Nicholas, Bob Jackson, Gerry Helme, Kevin Ashcroft, Mark Forster, Kevin Tamati, Paul Cullen, Tommy Martyn, Jim Challinor, Bobby Wanbon, Dave Chisnall, Steve Hesford and Allan Langer, to name but a few. Surely at least one of these famous Wolves names means something to everyone in Warrington? Are we going to let their achievements in the primrose and blue become a thing of the past that the next generation will not be able to understand - because the Wolves will have become extinct.

To me, my family, my friends, my colleagues, losing the stadium and the Wolves is simply unthinkable. We can't let it happen and how could we forgive ourselves if we did not try to do something about it.

The stadium battle is one thing, but if we do not pull together now as a community the club will probably not even survive long enough to go into battle.

We are being told by the Wolves that without urgent action now there will be no Wolves. And it is no good any of us sitting in our cosy armchairs and hoping someone else will do something about it. The only realistic way 121 years of history is going to be saved is if we all, as a community, act together.

In the news pages at the front of the newspaper this week Norman Summers, chairman of the Wolves' owners, outlines how the community could rescue the club in the short term and provide the platform for winning the stadium public inquiry.

There are other things we can do. Season tickets are still available for the season ahead. Subscribe to the Lucky 7 lottery. There is merchandise for sale in the club's Wolfwear Shop, including the new 2001 season replica jerseys. These are the club's lifeline finance avenues.

A Guardian poll is running from today asking the community if it would like ratepayers' money to be spent on saving the Wolves. See story on page 6.

On top of this, we all need to sign the official petition.

There is probably a Wolves fan living in every street in Warrington. If that person collects a petition form on behalf of the street, collects all the signatures and then hands it in at the Guardian office in Bridge Street, we would be reaching everyone in town.

This week a petition form can be collected from the GUARDIAN office reception at The Academy, Bridge Street, Warrington or we can send you one. You could also display a poster in your home, shop, car or work place window. See additional story on page 18.

On top of this, there needs to be a deluge of letters in support. They only have to be brief but stipulating you are behind the stadium and giving a reason why. These should be sent to the Guardian marked 'Stadium Support', c/o The Sports Desk, Editorial, Warrington Guardian, The Academy, 138 Bridge Street, Warrington, WA1 2RU.

Also, pester your councillors and MPs and tell them you are expecting them to relay your views back to the highest level.

There needs to be an instant impact, letting the Government know straight away that this town is in no doubt about the outcome.

Plans are taking shape for events and certainly another public meeting at the Parr Hall would be a worthwhile exercise. Maybe Wilderspool would be an alternative venue if the Parr Hall is not available.

A peaceful march through the town centre on a Saturday would be good for profile. Not only will it raise the awareness for everyone in Warrington, but all around the world. Pictures and reports of the event would go on the internet, television cameras and radio trucks would be present. The supporters who provide the band music on match days could lead the way. Hopefully this could be set up soon.

The Wolves players have a part to play in all of this too. This season, every game should be like a cup final and it should be win at all costs. Pride and passion on the pitch will win over new fans. And just imagine what an appearance in the Challenge Cup final could do for the cause this year. It would help to raise the profile tremendously and nothing brings the town together like a Challenge Cup final trip. There were almost 15,000 Warrington fans at Wembley in 1990 when the average home 'gate' was less than 6,000. The Challenge Cup final has to be the Wolves' number one target this year.

I also believe Tesco have a huge responsibility too. When the stadium finally gets its go ahead all Wolves fans will be eternally grateful for their support in handing the town a new stadium. Don't forget, along with landowners Carlsberg-Tetley, they have come up with a £9m package deal towards the £12m stadium and this will not be forgotten by Wolves fans. But unless the Wolves have the finances to get through the season the stadium fight will have been in vain from the start. The club is currently running at £600,000 per year less than what is required to break even and therefore they need cash help now before it is too late. While Tesco's support is most generous they are unlikely to get their store without the stadium, and therefore need the help of the Wolves fans so that they can realise their own goals. In return, Tesco could help Wolves fans by ensuring the club survives.

Businesses in Warrington should take note too. Companies sponsor the Wolves for community give-back purposes, to advertise their products and to be able to entertain their own clients by treating them to a Wolves match day experience. This is all in jeopardy. Match sponsors, player sponsors and kit sponsors are all still needed for the season ahead by the Wolves. You can help now by getting behind the Wolves for the season ahead.

We all have a responsibility and it would be great if, after reading this, everyone was to think: "Right, what can I do to save the stadium and the Wolves?"

Come on everyone, join the Wolves and stadium bandwagon. Start beating the drum before it is too late.