WHAT'S in a name might be the response of new York City chairman John Batchelor as he comes up with another wheeze for the Minstermen?

Batchelor's latest initiative is to re-brand York City FC as York City SC- the 'S' standing for soccer.

Replacing football with the dreaded 'S' word is part of Batchelor's ambitious plan to market the club in America, where the City chairman believes he can tap into a niche of sponsorship and cash.

As he tries to drag York City into the 21st century anything that can bring in revenue needed for the club not only to survive but to thrive is to be lauded. City have been immersed too deep in stagnation for far too long.

But however groovy you cut it John, there is such a thing as tradition. And to jettison the most vital part of the club's identity for something that has turned into an American corruption of what English, British, European and world fans know as FOOTBALL is out of order.

Recently the traditions of the game have been messed about willy-nilly by our own powers that be. The farce of having the Premiership season go beyond the FA Cup Final has been one example of a maddening erosion of the worth of the world's greatest club competition.

But at least it is the FA Cup. It's not the Soccer Association Cup. Football remains governed domestically by the FA; by UEFA in Europe; by FIFA across the globe. The common denominator is FOOTBALL.

Americans do play football - American football, that is, with all its pads, helmets, grunts and interminable stoppages.

When they turn to the world game they play soccer. We, John, play FOOTBALL.

Updated: 11:55 Monday, May 20, 2002