York City chairman Douglas Craig delivered a cautious response to a new structure of power in the Football League.

Moves to engineer a breakaway of the leading Nationwide clubs petered out at the League's annual meeting at a hotel complex just outside Chester.

Instead clubs agreed a new package of measures headed up by the formation of a new ruling board.

But the make-up of the board was not favoured by City's chairman, who believed power would be concentrated towards the elite.

Besides the League's Chief Executive and an independent chairman the new board will comprise three representatives from the First Division, two from Division Two and just one from the Third Division.

Ventured Craig: "I am not terribly happy about the board structure as it effectively gives almost total power to the executive directors." He added he would be 'surprised' if the power base did not veer towards the First Division.

Elections have yet to be held to determine who sits on the board as the divisional representatives and Craig said he was unsure whether he would stand.

Of the mooted breakaway, which threatened to slice open the 72-strong Nationwide League, the City chairman declared: "There was little discussion on it.

"The 'breakaway' was a myth because there was nowhere for them to go. Nobody wanted them."

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