The general decline in attendance figures at football matches across the country is proving to be a worry for many clubs besides Bradford City. Even Premiership clubs are suffering from the downward trend. A report from the Football Governance Research Centre points out that attendances for Pemiership matches in 2004/05 declined for the second season running.

It suggests that external factors like the thrilling end to the Ashes cricket series could have led to a decline in gate receipts this year. There is also the ongoing problem of ticket prices, which are nowadays at a level which might well deter many of the less committed fans from going to matches - a factor that Bradford MP Gerry Sutcliffe has said he is looking into nationally.

Bradford City is, wisely, taking steps to counter gate-price resistance by offering free tickets to the under-11s, usefully cutting the cost of a family outing to Valley Parade, and other new initiatives are to be discussed at a meeting this month of the board of the Supporters' Trust.

Let's hope the measures work. Bradford City has been through some difficult times in recent years. It survives largely because its supporters and Bradford's citizens as a whole appreciated the importance of the club to the life of the city and generally responded to the Telegraph & Argus's Save Our City challenge to keep it in business.

It would be good if now they could rise to a further challenge: to take themselves along to home matches and demonstrate that Bradford is one place that can buck the national trend towards lower attendance figures.