article: From 2019-20, the Football League wants a fifth division with 20 teams in each. Initial reaction was one of outrage from some clubs at how they found out about the plan. Given 90% - 65 out of the 72 - of the Football League clubs need to vote in favour, that seems like a mistake. The Football League insisted it sent documentation on its proposals to all member clubs on Thursday lunchtime, but senior officials of two Championship clubs say they were unaware of the proposals until they were reported by the media. The positive argument put forward for reducing the number of teams in each league is that there would be less need for midweek games, when attendances are smaller. It would also reduce the number of away games and, as a result, the travel costs of both clubs and supporters. "That is an utterly ridiculous argument," said one Championship chairman. "For the best-supported clubs, four home league games amounts to between £1.5m and £2m in gate receipts. For away games, our bill is around £2,000 each time. "So, basically what they are saying is give up over £1m and you will save £8,000. Are you being serious?" In 1994-95, the Premier League needed to reduce from 22 clubs to 20. It was managed in one season, by relegating the bottom four clubs and promoting only two from the First Division. The process continued down to the Third Division, which expanded from 22 teams to 24. Reducing a league from 24 to 20 could be done with four relegated clubs and none promoted, five and one, six and two or seven and three. Then you would need to reduce the third tier by eight and the fourth by 12. The best eight National League sides could make up the rump of League Three. An even more radical option would be for eight Premier League reserve teams to be asked to make up the numbers. It is the kind of idea FA chairman Greg Dyke proposed in 2014 - only for it to be instantly rejected by the Football League. However, the presence of eight well-supported 'reserve' teams may widen interest and could be a way of filling the gap in funding created by those eight fewer games. There are various ways of getting there, but the brutal fact is four Championship clubs are going to get axed from the division. Current solidarity payments for Championship clubs not in receipt of parachute payments are £2.3m. For League One clubs it is £360,000 and League Two £240,000. When the new £5.1bn Premier League TV deal comes into force in August, Championship clubs will get a solidarity payment equivalent to 30% of a third-year parachute payment. League One and League Two clubs will receive 4.5% and 3% of a third-year payment. If the current £10m third-year parachute payment remained the same, there would be a difference of around £2.5m. "Why would anyone who had a chance of being relegated from the Championship vote for that?" said the same chairman. "It is the ultimate turkeys
summary: The Football League faces a problem getting plans ratified that would lead to the game's biggest shake-up since the Premier League was formed in 1992.