BY IAN BROWN

IT is almost precisely three years since a clutch of the wealthiest football clubs in the UK tried their hardest to head off out of the English Football Pyramid to form a breakaway European Super League.

Thankfully, prompt action by football supporters, backed by the Football Supporters Association (FSA), prevented this abomination from happening.

It is clear however that though thwarted, those clubs with aspirations elsewhere were far from totally reconciled to life even in the cash rich Premier League where despite existing profitability and sustainable rules a series of clubs have courted points deductions with reckless abandon.

There was a clear and pressing need for the appointment of an Independent Regulator for English football and we now appear to be getting just that with the announcement of the introduction of HM Governments Football Governance Bill in the House of Commons.

The Bill still has to be debated by MP’s and interest groups like the FSA who were active in getting this legislation sorted will be keen to have an input.

The promise is that the Regulators powers will include the ability to strip bad owners of their right to run a club into the ground forcing them to sell their holdings in the club via a system that seeks to start with a seemingly strict licensing system allied to live checks on the finances of clubs.

There’s mention of fan engagement and club heritage of course but sadly clubs look like being required merely to consult supporters on a regular basis - they will seemingly not need to act on any concerns raised in the consultations.

Meanwhile let’s hope the Regulator uses their powers to ensure that the Championship and above get their financial act together before County join them in the very near future.