IN the days of Wembley's Twin Towers, the people of the North-East faced a long and expensive journey to the capital if they wanted to see the England football team in action.

The demise of Wembley, and the long-running wrangle over a national stadium, has meant that the North-East has enjoyed rare tastes of international football.

And that has been an undeniable boost for a region which loves football as much as any other.

Last month's shameful scenes at Sunderland, when yobs invaded the pitch, is not the image for which the North-East wants to be remembered.

Instead, we want the Football Association and genuine football fans around the country to think of our region as a wonderful place for staging international football matches, with first-class arenas filled with knowledgeable, passionate supporters.

That is why next month's European Championship match against Slovakia at The Riverside in Middlesbrough is so vital.

Relieved of the threat to stage the match behind closed doors, local families have an opportunity to see a sporting occasion which they will never forget.

Fifty years from now, children will recall the day they saw the likes of Michael Owen play at the Riverside and train in the County Durham village of Hurworth.

The pitch-invaders at Sunderland placed all that in jeopardy. They brought shame on the North-East and on English football.

That is why the pictures of the 29 men being sought by police are published on our front page today.

The sooner they are identified, the sooner they can be brought to justice, and banned from future matches.

And then the vast majority of decent fans can get on with representing the region in a way we can all be proud of.

A special case

HERE we go again. . . Another 340 jobs are likely to go in County Durham and, as the latest devastating news is sinking in, the Government is announcing that we need not hold out any hope that it will step in to save hundreds of steel jobs on Teesside for the sake of "cheap popularity".

It is not a question of cheap popularity. It is a question of the Government waking up to the fact that the North-East is a special case for assistance.

And to steal a slogan from One NorthEast, it needs it here and now.