York Rugby League Club's match at Oldham on Sunday, September 6 could be the last in the club's 113-year history.

That is a stark fact.

There have been alarms in the past, but this time there's no crying wolf, the beast already has one foot in the door.

The club's parlous position has been spelt out in no uncertain terms by chief executive Phil Elliott in a desperate plea to fans to get the Wasps buzzing again.

Unless sufficient people go through the Huntington Stadium turnstiles this season it could spell the end of professional rugby league in the city.

Elliott warned that until the 'missing' fans start to go back to watch the team then it would be forced to join the amateur ranks.

That, in turn, may lead to the loss of Sky TV cash - currently £90,000 a season - which would mean the club would find it almost impossible to find the rent for their current home.

The rate at which supporters have deserted the club is alarming.

The early to mid-eighties saw the club attracting between 2,000 and 3,000 fans - now the dwindling band of die-hards is down to just over 600 as our graphic painfully illustrates.

Fans, the cash lifeline of any club, have vanished. But why?

If you used to go cheer on the Wasps but no longer go, why not?

We would like to know.

The information could also help the club pin-point what areas to concentrate on in their fight to get the fans back.

There are many theories why the people of York, often cited as a city with stronger rugby league roots than football, have turned their back on the club, but we want you to tell us.

Here are just some of the questions that need to be answered:

Is the entertainment on offer worth watching?

Have you stopped going because the club has been unsuccessful in recent seasons?

Is it too expensive to watch York RL? Last season it was £6 to stand and watch a match.

Is Huntington Stadium too awkward to get to?

Was the switch to the out-of-town stadium from Clarence Street in 1989 a mistake?

Have off-the-field wrangles alienated supporters?

Are people preferring to travel to watch Super League sides like Castleford and Leeds rather than watch York?

Can York RL compete with live soccer on Sunday afternoons?

Is it because all the better players have in the past left to join bigger clubs?

If you think you have the answers let us know.

York are not alone in finding their customers are going elsewhere.

Prescot, Lancashire, Carlisle and Bramley all attracted smaller average gates than York last season.

But just because others are in the same boat it doesn't mean the Titanic will stay afloat.

By and large Super League clubs are doing fairly well, but the gulf between them and the low lights like York in the Second Division seems to grow each season.

At the other end of the scale the gap between the bottom of the Second Division and the leading amateur sides appears to be shrinking. Improved performances by the amateurs in the Silk Cut Challenge Cup highlight that - and York have been on the sharp end of giant-killing acts by West Hull and Dudley Hill in recent seasons.

Perhaps lack of success is the root cause of the decline.

If so, then this could be York's last chance to win back the faith and support of their long-lost fans.

On the face of it, coach Dean Robinson has pieced together a useful squad as the board have gambled on one last throw of the dice.

But the cost of recruiting players with Super League and First Division experience could backfire unless gate receipts can cover the outlay.

The club's future lies in the hands of its supporters.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.