'Resign' call to League plotters

The row over controversial plans for a radical restructuring of the Premiership and Nationwide League escalated today.

Clubs who knew nothing of the controversial scheme to form a two-division Premiership are furious.

Now two men accused of involvement will come under pressure to resign as directors of the Football League's executive board.

Geoffrey Richmond, chairman of Bradford City, and Bryan Richardson, chairman of Coventry, will be asked to confirm or deny whether they are involved in the scheme.

Standard Sport can report that talks about the scheme have been going on for four years. That shows how serious the conspirators are and suggests that they will not stop plotting, despite the dismissive reaction at the weekend of football authorities and some newspapers.

The code name for the new two-division Premiership is "The Phoenix League", which was first reported by Standard Sport in July 1997. At that stage the scheme being discussed was for two, 16-team divisions.

The name and some of the aims have survived during four years of plotting and secret talks. Under the revived plan, Scottish clubs Celtic and Rangers would be invited to join, along with the 20 Premiership clubs and 14 First Division clubs. They would form two 18-club divisions, leaving 10 clubs from the current First Division cut adrift.

Nationwide League clubs not involved in the talks have been outraged by the scheme. League chief executive David Burns, chairman Keith Harris and a number of club chairmen will ask Richmond and Richardson to explain themselves at a League meeting at Notts County on Thursday.

One London Nationwide League chairman told Standard Sport: " People will want to know what their fiduciary responsibilities are as directors. This plan is not in the interests of the League as a whole and there must be a conflict if the plan is being pushed by two chairmen whose job it is to protect those wider interests."

The impetus for the plan is the low audiences which ITV digital has been getting for its coverage of First Division games. Clubs relegated from the Premiership and those who fear that might be relegated believe that something must be done to protect their share of TV revenues.

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