Taylor calls for Scottish clubs to join Football League

The Players' Union head, Gordon Taylor, yesterday urged the crisis-hit Football League to consider the revolutionary idea of combining with the Scottish Premier League.

Taylor, the Professional Footballers' Association chief executive, believes that the scheme – bringing the Old Firm giants Celtic and Rangers and the other 10 SPL teams into a reformed Football League – would generate enormous interest.

The League is in crisis after the ITV Digital collapse left a £131.9m shortfall in television revenue and sparked Tuesday's resignations of the chief executive, David Burns, and the chairman, Keith Harris.

Clubs have reacted by threatening to tear the League further apart – with First Division sides believed to be pushing for more power and Third Division chairmen reported to be 75 per cent in favour of a new regionalised structure. But Taylor's radical change goes far beyond anything dreamed up by the club chairmen pondering how to increase their dwindling income.

Taylor said: "The PFA wants to be involved in any League restructuring – and we shouldn't discount the possibility of combining with Scotland. We already have clubs from Wales in our League, so I think serious talks should take place with Scotland, bearing in mind their concern for their future.

"Rather than just paper over the cracks of the League, let's be positive and make sure football is in as many towns and cities as possible in England and Scotland.

"If the current problems in Scotland continue, one option for the League is to think about a combination with Scotland to add extra spice and variety to the League."

Taylor's plan would have to be approved by leagues north and south of the border, the Football Association and the game's European governing body, Uefa. But his proposals won the support of his counterpart north of the border, Tony Higgins.

The Scottish PFA secretary said: "It is certainly worthwhile debating the issue but Scotland must be viewed as equal partners and not just to shore up the Nationwide League. With the recent resignations of the 10 clubs from the SPL, the time is right for discussions about the future of the game.

"We have spoken informally with the PFA about this and it is worth debating. Many questions need to be answered about this idea. The Old Firm would be a tremendous draw but, size-wise, the Edinburgh clubs and Aberdeen could hold their own comfortably their own in the First Division too."

The Lincoln City chairman, Rob Bradley, led the calls for regionalisation of the Second and Third Divisions. The hard-up Imps finished third from bottom of the Football League last season and have just had their path out of administration approved.

Bradley and his Third Division counterparts believe more games against local opposition will generate desperately needed income for lower-division football. He said: "There must be an overview of the League structure, including regionalisation. The League board and chairmen have already discussed it and it's certainly an option.

"There's more in favour in Division Three than Division Two – and I'd say that, in Division Three, it's about 75 per cent of chairmen in favour.

"There are a lot of good points for regionalisation, including it being easier for supporters to get to away games, extra revenue from bigger gates against local teams and a reduction in travelling costs."