NEXT Tuesday's management committee meeting of the National League will be asked to ratify a radical and progressive new format, for the domestic game. A splinter group of six Premier Division clubs will put forward proposals that will see the top division reduced to 10 clubs in three years' time, with promotion thereafter also dependent on clubs fulfilling certain criteria with regard to their ground facilities.
These proposals were agreed at a meeting in Dublin on Wednesday night which was attended by representatives from Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick's Athletic, Bohemians, Sligo Rovers and Cork City.
This follows the hastily agreed decision at the last management committee meeting two weeks ago in which it was decided to reduce the league from 33 games to 22 and expand the groups stages of the League Cup from three games to 10.
According to a statement issued on behalf of the six, "a consensus was reached amongst the clubs that change must take place and that the proposed League format which advocates an extended League Cup competition would be detrimental to the future development of the game.
An alternative format was formulated by the six to the one agreed by the last management committee meeting and will be put to the other club representatives next Tuesday night.
According to insiders, it proposes that next season. 1996-97, reverts to the 33 game format, at the end of which three clubs would be relegated and two promoted. The following season, 97-98, would see the 11 clubs meet each other four times, resulting in a total of 40 games per club, with the League Cup becoming a knock out competition.
Again, three clubs would be relegated and two promoted thereby pruning the Premier Division to 10 clubs for the 1998-99 season. Thereafter, promotion would only be granted if the said First Division clubs fulfil certain ground requirements.
These requirements such as pitch standards, a minimum number of seated and covered spectator facilities, toilets, press facilities and so forth would be in accordance with UEFA guidelines. Similar requirements are demanded from clubs in the Vauxhall Conference before, before they acquire promotion to the English league.
Smaller clubs may baulk at what appears to be such an elitist format but then again, increasingly in a modern game dominated by financial considerations, a concentration of resources at the apex of the game is commonplace.
Furthermore, this format allows every club three years in which to upgrade their facilities to the requisite standard, in which time the prospects for promotion will not have been significantly diminished. Most of all, it sets basic standards which for too often have been neglected. That has to be progressive.
Yesterday's statement, while re-iterating the six clubs' belief that their meeting "poses no threat to the FAI National League or its member clubs," added. "Regarding co-operation between clubs, we believe that every progressive club will embrace positive discussion on how to achieve a vibrant and successful domestic league."
Meanwhile, Steve Cotterill has committed himself to Sligo Rovers for the next season by signing a new one year contract after discussions with the Rovers chairman Ray Gallagher on Monday.
Currently on holidays, it is expected that he will seek to strengthen his squad from England in the light of the Bosman ruling, as a result of which Sligo will receive no transfer fee if, as expected, Brendan Aspinal and Andy Ramage join Coleraine.
It is also believed that Robbie Brunton is interesting Derry and may follow Gavin Dykes to the Brandywell.
