Rethink on league changes needed

PRESENTED with arguably the best National League season in aeons, and the continuation of a League Cup which ranks as one of the least meaningful competitions in European football this side of Afghanistan, what does the league's management committee do?

Yep, double the length of the League Cup and carve off one third of the league. Naturally.

The decision to reduce the National League's Premier Division to 22 games and extend the group stages of the League Cup from three games to 10 beggars belief.

At a stroke, it will have carved many clubs' income, at least that part of their seasonal income in gate receipts by one third given an unfavourable home League Cup programme (almost guaranteed) and a first round FAI Cup exit.

This alarming decision, coupled with the equally startling elect ion of Waterford's low profile chairman Milo Corcoran over the Bray Wanderers representative Eddie Cox, would seem to suggest that the tail was wagging the dog at last Wednesday's management Committee meeting.

Cox clearly suffered by association with the cabal which has been seen to run the affairs of the association for some time. No one who voted for Corcoran can honestly tell me that the well meaning Waterfordman (a decent man) has more to offer the association than Cox.

It says something about the current mood in Merrion Square that Cox was pipped for the vice presidential nomination (by 12 votes to 10) despite being passionately nominated by the well respected Dr Tony O'Neill. Clearly it was as much an anti Kilcoyne vote as a pro Corcoran vote. Here was a classic case of Cox being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

There has, it's true, also been understandable concern over the three round format employed in the 33 game season for some time.

Depending which way the third round of 11 games fell, some clubs' felt aggrieved over an imbalance in travelling expenditure and gate receipts which they felt had to be rectified.

Clubs were asked to consider a number of proposals in recent weeks with regard to the short term for there is a long term commitment to restructure the season along more equitable grounds. To that end, a working party is likely to be set up this summer and report back for recommendation to the FAI's a.g.m proposals for new, improved long term structures for the National League season.

In the short term clubs were asked to consider a number of short term proposals, varying from the aforementioned proposal (by Dundalk) which was ratified reputedly by 14 votes to eight, to one by Shelbourne which recommended scrapping the League Cup (no bad idea) and somehow struggling by with a four round, 12 team, 44 game league campaign.

Whatever happened, it is astonishing that this hugely important matter merited just a 90 minute debate as one of 10 items on a packed agenda which also included the vice presidential election and the PFAI dispute.

This issue warranted a weekend seminar with the ramifications of Ball the proposals open for lengthy discussion. This reporter knows of one club who instructed their delegate against voting for the existing 33 game format, but in hindsight would readily change its vote.

Other clubs, such as the newly elected champions St Patrick's Athletic, are rightly up in arms at the prospect of having their gate revenue from league matches reduced by one third. Any of the delegates who believe an additional seven games in a competition (the League Cup) in which neither the media nor the football public give two hoots about would compensate for this is living in cloud cuckoo land.

No doubt the prospect of six guaranteed games against Premier Division opposition (presumably three at home) explained why the First Division clubs voted for this seriously flawed format. Given there is yet another commitment to restructuring the season, within a year or two, surely it made sense to persevere with the existing format, for all its imbalances.

This row will rumble on and become far more serious. Indeed, failure to reverse last week's decision could well lead to a split within the game as the more successful clubs (i.e. the ones being hurt by the 22 game format) threaten to orchestrate a breakaway.

It's still not too late to reverse this awful, short sighted decision and I'm aware of several clubs who are already making moves to do that. Then, in the long term, structures could be put in place, be it a 16 or 18 team Premier Division on a home and away basis, or a three tier 10 teams per division format.

At the very least that would require a weekend seminar with several representatives from all the clubs, as, arguably, last week's unnecessarily hasty decision should have.

. Leicester midfielder Neil Lennon has been forced to pull out of Northern Ireland's friendly against Sweden in Belfast tomorrow because of a groin strain.

But manager Bryan Hamilton has moved swiftly to cover Lennon's absence, calling up St Johnstone's 18 year old defender Danny Griffin after failing to recruit Swindon midfielder Kevin Horlock because of club commitments.