With Patrick Vieira finding himself on yet another charge we have to look at the mentality of those who are administering our sport. Remember the way the disciplinary chaps gave Robbie Fowler a six match ban for pretending to sniff cocaine after calling a fellow pro a poof (perhaps he hit a raw nerve there what with the preponderance of public schoolboys in the ruling classes, ref. Michael Portillo), yet only gave Le Saux a one match ban for a physical assault. Whilst I cannot condone Patrick for spitting -and from the newspaper reports he is pretty contrite about that action - the FA, who will sit in judgement upon him remind me of the silly old git in Chariots of Fire who berated Eric Liddel for refusing to run on the Sabbath by reminding him that sort of thing would never have happened during the 1st World War. "Precisely," retorted Liddel, "which is why so many people went to their deaths unnecessarily." This is the mentality which will sit in judgement on Patrick Vieira and will no doubt hand down a ban between 6 and 10 matches because the press seem determined to push that sort of punishment on Arsenal. These are the same old twits which deducted us points back in 1991 after the brawl with Norwich. How can the professional game allow this pathetic bunch to continue to incompetently administer any longer.

These people are well meaning amateurs, the same 59 old farts that Will Carling was spouting about. They wear the same blazers as all the other well meaning amateurs that sit on the committees of every sport in England and the reason why England are praying that Sweden beat Poland on Saturday October 16th in order to keep our hopes alive of participation in Euro 2000 and why the English rugby team will never win their World Cup (forget the taffies and jocks they are a joke). Come to think of it is there any sport in this country which doesn't have lions led by donkeys? I can't think of one but it is football which I really care about and worry for because the mentality displayed by these people is so rooted in the past that I have to question their capabilities to manage our future. Remember the FA and their School of Excellence. What a great idea, then suddenly abandoned with nothing else put in its place. I believe that the FA have a great man in the form of Howard Wilkinson but I wonder how much of his time is spent reporting to committees about what he is doing rather than just doing it and creating English players with better technique? Having appeared before the referees committee at Lancaster Gate on two occasions (yes they really do wear blue blazers with their badge of office) I know that you have fear of questioning them in case you get accused of age abuse.

Committees and sub committees are a splendid anachronism which should be confined to Women's Institute meetings, old people's flats and village bowls. Queen Victoria is dead, its official, so somebody please tell the FA. Football is now a professional sport, epitomised by Martin Edwards cashing in his Man U shares for £41m, and whilst the amateur game can afford the blazer mentality the professional game and paying spectators cannot. Even at the lowest level players are receiving wages. The only amateur leagues left are the Sunday beer belly leagues. Let the bloody amateurs administer those.

Football has moved at an incredibly fast pace over the past 10 years whilst the English FA have moved at a snails pace or hardly at all. Remember that they started talking about a new national stadium in 1966. It was only a few years ago that many clubs almost lost their grounds to property speculators with Chelsea and Fulham springing to mind. Brighton, of course, were not so lucky.

So with the new millennium just around the corner it was announced this week that the FA were planning to enter the 21st century by announcing the modernisation of its structure. The 92 strong full council voted unanimously top set up a new board of directors to run business and commercial affairs. This is expected to be rubber stamped by the full 1,200 FA shareholders in December. (They didn't state which year mind you.)

The new board would have 14 members, including the chairman Jeff Thompson and the chief executive, when he is appointed. The last one resigned trying to get things moving in a modern way I believe. However, the professional game would not be complete without a sop to the blazers. Six representatives of the amateur game and six from the professional game are to be on the committee. The professional six are understood to be drawn from the Premier league, four, and two from the Nationwide League.

The game is riddled with profiteering, greed, and spiralling wage costs which it has been stated by independent professional auditors is unsustainable in the long term. What it needs is leadership from the governing body with a clear marketing view for the next decade and beyond which will help England produce a conveyor belt of talent which we can watch in comfortable affordable surroundings. Unfortunately I don't have the faith that the new six by six pro-am committee can deliver this vision. For the future of the game I hope they prove me wrong.