ELATED York City fans will be more than merely over the moon. Today's fantastic news will rocket them to infinity and beyond.

Bootham Crescent is saved. This is a dream result, and we salute everyone who has worked to pull off an audacious coup.

It is the latest in a series of death-defying triumphs that have seen the fans rescue York City from the brink time and again. Armed with little more than big hearts and bucket collections, they have countered each new threat with astonishing resourcefulness.

The hastily-convened Supporters' Trust first steered the sinking club to the temporary berth of John Batchelor, then took the wheel when his reign sent City crashing against the rocks.

No one knew how a club controlled by the fans would fare. The answer: magnificently.

A new team of directors combined financial dexterity, community spirit and sporting ambition to powerful effect.

But while City's fate lay between Huntington and homelessness, everything that had been achieved was under threat. Now York City is complete: a democratic club run by and for the fans with a cracking ground.

That makes it the envy of the football world. With Bootham Crescent in the bag, York City can reach for the stars.

Updated: 10:59 Wednesday, February 04, 2004