The Conference has issued a statement in response to FA chairman Greg Dyke's proposals aimed to strengthen English football. One of the proposals is to have a League Three which would be a mix of Premiership 'B' teams and Conference clubs which if approved would start from the 2016/17 season.
Dyke has proposed SLPs, Strategic Loan Partnerships, a new system which would effectively lead to feeder clubs by allowing wealthy clubs to place eight players in two clubs in League One or Two. The lower-league clubs would have the bitter pill sugar-coated by financial recompense from the Premier League and FA. Dyke also wants B teams in a new League 3 between League 2 and the Conference, a move that will change the historic structure of the 92-strong professional league and affect its sporting integrity.
Dyke has proposed SLPs, Strategic Loan Partnerships, a new system which would effectively lead to feeder clubs by allowing wealthy clubs to place eight players in two clubs in League One or Two. The lower-league clubs would have the bitter pill sugar-coated by financial recompense from the Premier League and FA. Dyke also wants B teams in a new League 3 between League 2 and the Conference, a move that will change the historic structure of the 92-strong professional league and affect its sporting integrity.
The Conference Response.
Whilst the Commission contains in some detail proposals deeply affecting the Football Conference, neither its chairman nor any other members of the Board of that particular competition were in any way consulted nor were their views sought directly or indirectly.
Whilst the Commission contains in some detail proposals deeply affecting the Football Conference, neither its chairman nor any other members of the Board of that particular competition were in any way consulted nor were their views sought directly or indirectly.
The Conference absolutely
believes in the principle of introducing measures to improve the England
national team and although it has not had the opportunity to analyse the report
in detail it does feel able to comment on some of the resultant media reports
and speculation.
We agree there should be more home
grown talent playing at those highest levels and fully support measures to
increase those numbers to at least 50% with 10% being U21 players.
We would like to see The FA extend its
coaching programme by providing more financial support, in order to enhance the
skills of its existing and future coaches to a higher standard, in order to
compete with countries like Spain who have an abundance of more qualified
coaches compared to those in England.
The last point we wish to make
at this stage is that the English pyramid system is unique, having evolved over
100 years. It has supported the growth of football into a league system that
has become the envy of the world. The foundation is that in every community,
throughout the UK, ordinary individuals engage in the financing, support and
participation of teams which one day can reach the pinnacle of the top of the
Premier League. It is built on a dream
that every single football supporter has bought into.
In view of the length of the
Executive Summary and the number of
major issues contained therein it would be wrong to comment further at this
stage before an in depth consideration.
We, as a competition, together
with all other leagues who make up the structure beneath the Premier League and
the Football League, should have the opportunity to meet, with some urgency, to
reflect on the issues contained therein.
It is important in these
proposals to remember the heritage of the English game, which has over a
century of participation, been the rock on which the modern game currently
exists so it is right we should consult with our partner competitions before
making a full response.
We, like all supporters, wish to
see the national team successful on the world stage but not to do it in a
manner which threatens the whole existence of the Pyramid, on which the solid
base of our whole game is dependent. The report will no doubt be viewed with
much scepticism, surely players who seek to wear the Three Lions shirt in the
future MUST be enhancing their skills and ambitions at the highest level of our
game.Meanwhile Hereford United's Rob Purdie has commented: Football is dying from the bottom up and soon the English league system which is the best in Europe will be destroyed to cater for the prem!
Finally there is a petition for anyone who doesn't like the proposals: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/the-football-association-say-no-to-b-teams