English soccer should have only two professional leagues, not four, Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon said yesterday. In comments made to BBC radio, Kenyon said the current system of 92 professional clubs was not viable in the difficult financial climate surrounding the game following the collapse of broadcasting revenues.
"I can't see much beyond the first two divisions being professional," Kenyon said. "Quite clearly, I don't think we can have four divisions of professional football any longer. There are too many clubs. That's not to say they can't all exist, but they can't all be professional, and that has to be reviewed."
The English game's structure is unique in world soccer, with 92 clubs operating full-time on a professional basis in four divisions. But loss of TV revenue in the past year has made it difficult for many clubs outside the elite Premier League to break even financially, and several are in administration.
Kenyon also said the days when football clubs were seen as a good stock market investment had gone, something reflected in the disappointing share prices of those clubs quoted on the London Stock Exchange.
The Football League, which governs the 72 professional clubs outside the Premiership, is conducting a structural review of the game with salary capping one of the proposals on the agenda.
Allan Leighton, deputy chairman of Leeds plc, said yesterday: "Some clubs have big squads of 25 to 30 players who are paid whether they play or they don't, whether they are fit or they are not, whether you win or you don't. I think one of the things I would like to see coming much more into the game, the same way as it is in many other businesses, is performance-related pay."
Celtic will contest UEFA's decision to ban manager Martin O'Neill from the touchline for two matches. European football's governing body hit him with the news he had been dreading after he was sent to the stand by French referee Claude Colombo against Celta Vigo last week.
But club chief executive Ian McLeod announced he would be launching an appeal against the "unreasonable" punishment. O'Neill's dismissal means he will be absent from the dugout for the second leg in Spain on Thursday when the UEFA Cup third-round tie is decided.
Meanwhile, Celtic striker Henrik Larsson yesterday gave the champions a pre Old Firm derby boost by declaring himself fit for tomorrow's clash at Ibrox. The Swedish international missed Wednesday night's bruising victory against Hibernian after catching a virus. But Larsson, with 26 goals in all competitions already this season, was given the all-clear for the weekend crunch.
Everton manager David Moyes has won the Manager of the Month Award for November. Two victories on the road at Leeds (1-0) and Blackburn (1-0), either side of two triumphs at Goodison Park against Charlton (1-0) and West Brom (1-0), have seen Everton rise to fifth place in the Premiership table.
