Divide and conquer says chief executive

ATHLETIC are in favour of the regionalisation of lower-league football.

Chief executive Alan Hardy says that such a move could reduce costs massively compared to the current situation, which is a financial drain on resources.

Npower Leagues One and Two currently contain major imbalances between teams based in the north and the south.

In Athletic's division, only nine other other clubs lie north of the Watford Gap, the unofficial divide. Even that number includes Peterborough and Walsall, which are hardly local derbies.

It means the club are left with huge travel bills for overnight stopovers in a season containing nearly 8,000 travelling miles — money it would much rather save to help balance the books.

"We have been at meetings this year where it has been discussed," said Hardy.

"The division we are in is heavily southern-based and means we have substantial travel and hotel costs to deal with.

"Again, the feeling is split between the clubs over its benefits and some have excuses why it wouldn't work.

"But I think it is something that needs to be looked at very closely."

The lower leagues moved away from the regionalised Third Division North and Third Division South structure in the 1958-59 season.

The next quarterly meeting of the Football League takes place on October 28 in Walsall.

Possible regional structure (based on teams currently in League One and League Two):

North: Accrington, ATHLETIC, Bradford, Burton, Bury, Carlisle, Chesterfield, Crewe, Hartlepool, Huddersfield, Lincoln, Macclesfield, Morecambe, Northampton, Notts County, Peterborough, Port Vale, Rochdale, Rotherham, Sheffield Wednesday, Shrewsbury, Stockport, Tranmere, Walsall.

South: Aldershot, Barnet, Bournemouth, Brentford, Bristol Rovers, Brighton, Charlton, Cheltenham, Colchester, Dagenham, Exeter, Gillingham, Hereford, Leyton Orient, MK Dons, Plymouth, Oxford, Southampton, Southend, Stevenage, Swindon, Torquay, Wycombe, Yeovil.