THE full extent of York City's cash crisis is laid bare today. Its estimated total debts are £1.85 million - barely the price of a David Beckham metatarsal, but enough to sink a small club in the League basement.

It is not the scale but the reach of the liabilities that shocks. City's great strength was as a community club, with ties to many other local organisations. But when its financial bombshell dropped, the shockwaves extended across city and county, catching hundreds of individuals and businesses in their wake.

The club has hundreds of creditors. Many are local traders with small profit margins whose livelihood must have been jeopardised by City's failure to pay up.

Others are fans whose commitment to York City has cost them dear. They signed up to the season ticket offer for 2003/4, partly because it seemed a good deal, but mostly because they felt it was a practical way to support the club they love. How betrayed they must now feel.

So what went wrong? Some of City's debts can be blamed on outside factors - the collapse of both the ITV Digital deal and the transfer market has left many small clubs struggling.

But that does not obscure mismanagement at Bootham Crescent. The previous regime, once so boastful of its prudence, signed up players on high wage, long contract deals which the club could not afford. Then it walked away. That is why the largest debt, nearly £900,000, is owed to the players.

John Batchelor made matters much worse by making unsustainable promises about sponsorship deals and marketing ploys. Large sums are owed to various marketing companies.

What a mess. If City can survive to the end of the season, we must hope that the new owners possess some genuine business expertise, like that which Costcutter king Colin Graves is now applying to Yorkshire Cricket Club.

The Supporters' Trust might be in a position to provide this. After all, Trust leaders are now undergoing a crash course in the harsh reality of football economics.

Updated: 10:16 Wednesday, March 05, 2003