BATHCHAIRS AND ear trumpets will be in short supply in Chester this week as football's equivalent of the

BATHCHAIRS AND ear trumpets will be in short supply in Chester this week as football's equivalent of the House of Lords, the Football Association Council, convenes for its annual meeting. The choice of venue, an out-of-town hotel complete with three golf courses and myriad leisure facilities, might suggest that the younger members of the ageing oligarchy are finally gaining control but, this morning, in an odd alliance between ancien regime and nouveau riche, the would- be revolutionaries are likely to be put in their place. This is when the Council's backbone, the county representatives and sundry others from such organizations as the RAF, Oxford University and the Independent Schools, determine who will replace the deposed Keith Wiseman as chairman. The smart money is on one of their own, Geoff Thompson from the Hallamshire and Sheffield FA, winning the majority of the 91 votes.Thompson, who stepped up from deputy chairman to acting chairman when Wiseman resigned in January after being implicated in a cash-for-votes scandal, faces opposition from David Sheepshanks, the thrusting chairman of Ipswich Town and a keen moderniser.While either would be a vast improvement on the myopic Wiseman and the later years of his octogenarian predecessor, Sir Bert Millichip, the more dynamic and independent Sheepshanks would be the better man to take the game moves into the millennium.However, while he is supported by the Football League, for whom he was an impressive chairman, and some of the more enlightened and frustrated council members, that is unlikely to be enough to overcome the self-interest of others.His Blairite campaign, complete with swish video launch, glossy brochure and carefully staged media appearances, has been more style than substance but it has hinted at radical change. Both presentation and message will have alienated many of the conservative council members, but the crucial factor is likely to be the Premiership's decision to back Thompson. The Sheffield JP may not be one of theirs but he has agreed to take David Richards, chairman of the Premier League, as running mate.Richards, who is also chairman of Sheffield Wednesday, thus should defeat Ian Stott, the chairman of Oldham, in the election for deputy chairman.

The subsequent Thompson-Richards partnership would be unlikely to press too hard for a levy on Premiership income or a reining in of their growing power.While he has been a strong chairman of the disciplinary committee, Thompson's eagerness to go with public opinion, rather than personal judgement, and secure Kevin Keegan on a long-term contract as England coach did not indicate a firm and independent mind. His original verdict, that a Keegan stewardship "could end in tears rather than trophies", suggests his judgement may be shrewd but not his exercising of it.Once the new chairman is in place the appointment of a new chief executive, to succeed Graham Kelly, will proceed. It is unlikely to go to David Davies, the former director of public affairs who has been doing Kelly's job, because of his lack of a business background. However, a high-profile role is likely to be found in which his political and media contacts can be utilised. Since he has already forged a working relationship with the less telegenic Thompson, that should not be a problem.The rest of the weekend is mainly concerned with procedural matters, but behind the scenes there will be much lobbying over the plan to restructure the FA, which is continuing its slow progress through the bureacracy it aims to dismantle.The successful completion of this process would significantly help the new chairman, whoever he is, in the FA's next balancing act: to convince the Government there is no need for direct intervention in football administration while continuing to indulge the barons of the Premiership whose very power makes such intervention necessary. The fact that Thompson, through a deal with the Premiership, is likely to be that man highlights the problem.DAVID SHEEPSHANKSSchooled at Eton, he made his fortune in the food industry before joining the board at Ipswich in 1987. Took over as chairman of the club in 1995 and the Football League a year later.

Age 46 and only a Council member for two years but already on several FA and Uefa committees and a director of Wembley National Stadium Ltd.GEOFF THOMPSONA 53-year-old full-time football administrator graduating from general manager of Doncaster Rovers to secretary of the Hallamshire and Sheffield FA whose seat he has filled on the FA Council for 20 years. Has for many years brought his experience as a Justice of the Peace to his position as chairman of the FA's disciplinary committee.. WHEN KEITH Wiseman and I were ousted after the so-called "cash for votes" row six months ago, the interim leaders of the Football Association were quick to proclaim that they would seize the opportunity to prepare some much-needed plans to modernise the governing body's creaking administrative structure. The proposals have just been issued and at tomorrow's Council meeting in Chester the members will elect a new chairman to usher in the new dawn. WHEN KEITH Wiseman and I were ousted after the so-called "cash for votes" row six months ago, the interim leaders of the Football Association were quick to proclaim that they would seize the opportunity to prepare some much-needed plans to modernise the governing body's creaking administrative structure. The proposals have just been issued and at tomorrow's Council meeting in Chester the members will elect a new chairman to usher in the new dawn. The acting chairman, Geoff Thompson, the secretary of the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA, is coming under a late and forceful challenge from the Old Etonian Ipswich Town chairman, David Sheepshanks. But most council members who vote tomorrow have failed to recognise the full significance of the recommendations for restructuring, which are being explained to regional consultative meetings. Buried deep in the small print is the recommendation that the Premier League should be given a golden share in the FA's constitution, which would oblige the ruling body to seek the prior written consent of the Premier League for any rule change which affects either the Premier League or the Football League.

In three short lines Lancaster Gate is giving away a principle the Football Association has jealously and rightly guarded since its inauguration 136 years ago, the authority confirmed in the High Court to govern football in the widest interests of the whole game at its absolute discretion. The Premier League is also alleged to be claiming five of the six seats that are to be allocated to the professional game on a new 14 man board of directors who, instead of the Council, will become the company directors of the Football Association. In return the Premier League is pledging £12m a year for the development of the grassroots. So the all powerful club chairmen are being given a right of veto over anything that might threaten to curb their influence by making an investment which by their standards is modest and which in any event they have a moral obligation to undertake. Moreover, Dave Richards, the Sheffield Wednesday chairman who recently assumed leadership of the Premier League in succession to the former independent chairman Sir John Quinton, is another member of the FA executive committee and the strong favourite to defeat Oldham Athletic's Ian Stott tomorrow for the position of FA vice-chairman. The Premier League's five members on the FA Council have promised to vote for Geoff Thompson in the election for chairman. An atmosphere of intrigue has descended upon tomorrow's meeting because the Football Association, rather than presenting the new image which was promised so hastily six months ago, is now running scared. Scared that the Premier League will take its ball home; scared that Tony Banks or his sidekick David Mellor will somehow produce a big stick if they do not change something; scared that the rank and file council members will be offended (rather than pruning the Council the new plans actually increase the number of the all-pervasive committee places). As a consequence the election for chairman has become more difficult to call than appeared likely a couple of weeks ago. With one exception in modern times the chairman and vice-chairman have comprised an amateur/professional partnership.