THERE is a strong case for saying that any local council should be extremely careful about becoming involved in putting money into league football.

Maintaining swimming pools, pitches and other sporting facilities for the people it serves to use for their own recreation is one thing.

Such provision is a vital part of the role of a local authority in people's everyday lives in the same way as schools and libraries.

But putting public money into a spectator sport comes into a very different category.

Here the justification has to be that it is an investment to help the prestige and reputation of the area - in the case of Accrington Stanley the best known club of its size in the country.

Such an investment is likely to be one where no cash return will be measurable.

It's also likely to become a political football as we see today with a Labour attack on the ruling Hyndburn Tory group's £45,000 three year Stanley sponsorship deal.

Club chairman Eric Whalley calls councillors who criticise the deal "pathetic" and has offered to give back the money with interest.

He shouldn't really be surprised though at the fuss the club now finds itself in the middle of.

For councils in other parts of the country have found to their cost that professional football and politics really don't mix.