BEGGING bowls, bike rides and bucket collections now appear to be the level we have reached.

Yesterday was probably the most depressing I can recall since the initial announcement that Burnley Football Club was on it knees financially.

A press briefing spread the news of the latest initiatives aimed fairly and squarely at the pocket.

And supportive as I am to any brainstorming session that can secure a path to financial stability, let's not forget that apathy among stay-away fans has driven the club to what could certainly be described as extreme measures.

Weeks and weeks of appealing for fans to turn up and back the Clarets at home games has fallen on deaf ears.

The turnstiles have clocked a few more rotations, but nowhere near enough to convince club chiefs the corner has been turned.

So yesterday signalled a new approach - one that relies on extremes sitting poles apart.

The minority with £1,000 to spare are being asked to part with their cash, while at the opposite end of the scale buckets will become a regular feature outside the ground to prick the conscience of every other die-hard fan.

I have serious reservations about all three latest proposals.

Asking 500 people in and around a depressed town to first invest £1,000 is not, in itself, an unheard of proposition.

Indeed club chiefs have already indicated that certain shareholders - and Alastair Campbell - are supporting the venture.

Admirable stuff, and hats off to anyone who can spare that much, because my head tells me it excludes pretty much the entire working class fan-base.

The sponsored bike ride also seems something beyond most folk through a combination of raising £1,000 sponsorship, securing the time off work and having the stamina to cover upwards of 80 miles a day.

As for bucket collections, the mere mention sent a shiver down my spine because, for all its good intentions, the amount raised would surely make only a small dent in the overall debt.

Let me repeat, I wholeheartedly support everything Burnley Football Club are trying to achieve in these desperate times.

But I worry when the club is forced to alienate the vast majority of fans from its serious fund-raising because the proposals pitched at middle ground have clearly failed.

A final concern is that, should Burnley defeat Gillingham this weekend and pull a ripe, juicy plum out of the hat, these latest ideas may be seen as over-egging the pudding.

I think all this and more. Yet at the same time, my optimistic gene still kicks in at times like this to tell me everything will be all right.

If that fails, I'll just tell myself at least I don't support Leeds!