Gates of froth

Wasps have not hosted a Northern Ford Premiership match now for five weeks and the lack of income from gate receipts has begun to stretch the purse-strings at Huntington Stadium.

However, before fans begin to fear about the future of the club, especially given the financial troubles of recent years, chief executive Ann Garvey has stressed that the club is paying its bills and remains in the black.

"The fact we haven't had a home game for a while has made a difference," she explained.

"Everybody is fully aware that we don't have what a lot of other clubs have in terms of bringing income in, for example bar facilities, and we are dependent on sponsorship and gate receipts.

"Therefore, in terms of gates, it has been a hard time looking at the recent cash flow. But we are not in debt."

The Villeneuve clash a month ago tomorrow was the last home game staged by Wasps but as that was a Challenge Cup tie, the gate receipts were shared and with just under 500 in attendance, the income from that was not too great.

Furthermore, as the Wasps' next two home games are bottom-of-the-table clashes against Chorley, tomorrow, and then Gateshead, big attendances are not expected perhaps until the home game against Featherstone on Good Friday. However, that match is a National League Cup tie and the gate could depend on how fans take to the new competition.

Garvey added: "Also on the financial side of things we are very disappointed with sponsorship other than that coming in from our main sponsor. But everybody should be aware that that money comes in over periods of time, not in one go at the start of the season."

The Wasps, like many NFP clubs, have stressed that crowds of 1,000 are needed for them to break even, and so Garvey obviously wants the fans to stick by the club.

"I'm satisfied (with the financial) situation today but a lot depends on how the next few weeks go with regards to how many people come through the gates.

"We are not anticipating big crowds for the Chorley and Gateshead games and so it's not going to be the easiest period financially.

"However, I fully understand that supporters aren't going to flock in unless we get a few wins, and I can assure the fans that we are all working very hard behind the scenes to improve that."

Super tonic for Docherty

YOUNG Mick Docherty has the ability to get better and better.

That is the opinion of coach Leo Epifania, which will no doubt boost the confidence of the former Hull FC prop.

Docherty, above, was the early pace-setter in the Guildford Construction/ Evening Press player-of-the-year stakes but has fallen down the rankings in recent weeks.

But Epifania said today: "There's a lot more in Mick Docherty which he has got to go looking for, while I've got to help him to get it out of himself.

"He started the season well but his performances have dropped a little bit. I've spoken to him about it and he will be the first to admit he's a better player than he's showed recently."

Leo striving to rid Liddell of leg slip

WASPS coach Leo Epifania has been assessing the tackling technique of stand-off Jon Liddell in a bid to stop the youngster receiving any more red cards.

The in-form former Leeds Rhinos starlet is suspended for tomorrow's Northern Ford Premiership clash against Chorley Lynx following his sending off against Hunslet a fortnight ago.

That red card was the result of his sticking the knee into Hawks' Lee Bargate, who was also sent off for retaliation, but the Wasps have jumped to Liddell's defence, saying the incident was out of character.

Epifania also explained how it was unintentional. "He does not use his knee to hit anybody but uses it for leverage," the Aussie said of the youngster.

"He's tackling a bit high at the moment and as he has not got the bulk on him yet to tackle the big men high, he grabs hold and tries to throw his legs into it to help him drag the guy down.

"For the incident against Hunslet he lifted his knee and made contact."

He added: "I've been trying to get him to tackle lower round the legs and I've been working with him on it for a while."

MARK Cain, who could switch to stand-off in Liddell's absence, has echoed the fact that Wasps need to cut out the mistakes if they are to start winning games.

However, he also said morale in the camp was still high, despite the poor start to the season.

"We've had a lot of soul-searching recently but the spirit is still good," he told the Evening Press.

"We just have to get our performance up to 90 per cent plus. Training is going really well, it could not be better, but it's what we take on to the park that matters.

"We can't continue to give teams a lot of cheap ball. A defence can only hold so much before they get through.

"For example, every one of Dewsbury's tries (during Sunday's game) came on the back of one of our mistakes."

Epifania agreed: "Seventy per cent of tries are scored after a mistake, and every one of their tries came after our errors. Take those mistakes away and you take away the tries."

EAGLE-EYED Wasps' fans have spotted that club physio Pat Howdle has not been present in recent weeks to give vital assistance to crocked players.

Unfortunately, Pat's work commitments and the amount of travelling he has to do from Beverley have made it increasingly difficult for him to get not only to games but also to midweek training sessions, and therefore he is standing down.

However, other physios have stood in for him over the last few weeks, and the club are currently interviewing candidates for a possible full-time replacement.

Mystery player on the bench

YORK Wasps fielded a new player away to Dewsbury last week - or at least they did according to the official team sheet.

Named among the substitutes at number 17 was mystery man Dave Clark, presumably a player signed on just before deadline.

Was it a ploy by coach Leo Epifania to surprise the Rams with a new signing? Heaven forbid, had late pull-outs forced the Wasps to resort to calling up a local amateur at the last second?

Actually, no. Dave Clark was in fact first-team regular Darren Crake.

Now, names are quite often spelt incorrectly on the typed team sheet handed out before matches. For example, Lee Deacon occasionally appears instead of Leigh Deakin - and to a certain extent that's fair enough.

But Dave Clark for Darren Crake? Someone somewhere down the line must have terrible handwriting.

ONE new player who took to the field for the Wasps was Craig Moore, who replaced Shaun Austerfield in the centre.

Okay, he's not that new, as this is his fourth spell at the club having re-signed from Gateshead Thunder, plus the fact he came off the bench against Hunslet the previous week, but he was new in the sense it was his full debut back with the Wasps.

He was unable to get on to the Guildford Construction player-of-the-year leaderboard, though, as the players already high in the rankings again dominated the points.

Jon Liddell was awarded the man of the match vote and thus three more points and in doing so moved to the top of the table, above long-time leader Mark Cain.

Captain Peter Edwards is hot on his heels, however, having been awarded two more points for another solid display. He worked hard as always at hooker and then strengthened the team's defence down the channel after switching to loose-forward and, although the Kiwi did drop the ball once during the game, we can forgive him one mistake all season.

The third and final player-of-the-year point went to substitute Leigh Deakin, who was back in the squad after recovering from a broken jaw.

He was forced to return to his old wing position early in the game due to an injury to Michael Forbes before having a spell in the second row, where he has played most of his rugby this term.

Player of the year standings: Jon Liddell 12pts, Peter Edwards 11, Mark Cain 10, Carl Hall 7, Mick Docherty 6, Steve Hill 4, Jamie Benn 4, Michael Forbes 3, Ben Sorbello 3, Scott Yeaman 3, Andy Precious 1, Shaun Austerfield 1, Leigh Deakin 1.

Updated: 11:37 Saturday, March 09, 2002