Club officials in urgent talks

Simon Corney

ATHLETIC managing director Simon Corney and chief executive Alan Hardy were in Walsall today for an emergency Football League meeting.

The Premier League is understood to have imposed a deadline of 5pm tomorrow for their new deal over solidarity payments to be accepted.

Rejected last time as a result of a rebellion from League One and League Two clubs, the arrangement — which would see each club in Athletic’s division pick up £325,000 and those in the bottom tier get £250,000 as a result of a new overseas television deal negotiated by the top flight — has been tweaked and would become a contractual arrangement for every season rather than a ‘gift’.

It remains to be seen whether that will placate clubs like Athletic, who were unhappy with the conditions attached to the Premier League’s initial proposal.

Half of the clubs in League One and League Two would need to be in favour of accepting the deal for it to go through.

If an agreement isn’t reached, there is a possibility of a breakaway of clubs in the Championship.