CHIPPENHAM Town have thrown their weight behind the Dr Martens League's claim that the FA's chosen blueprint for the future of the non-league game is undemocratic.

The FA announced their plans at the National Leagues Conference in Birmingham at the weekend and, of the four options available to them, plumped for Proposal D despite it gaining less support from level one and two clubs.

Proposal D will see the FA largely retain the status quo, with some minor rule and geographical changes being brought into force to create a uniform system for promotion and relegation throughout the country.

The more radical Proposal C would have seen two semi-national leagues feeding directly into the Nationwide Conference, but would also have resulted in many clubs losing their status in the non-league pyramid.

Proposal C received 54.66 per cent of the 150 votes from clubs in the Nationwide Conference and the Ryman, Unibond and Dr Martens Leagues, with Proposal D collecting 45.33 per cent. The Dr Martens League believe the vote should have been enough for the FA to move forward with Proposal C.

But National Leagues manager Greg Fee told 120 delegates on Saturday's Proposal C had not found favour with member clubs.

The Ryman League, which covers the south east, will be the most pleased with the FA's choice as many of its clubs would have lost their status.

But Chippenham Town secretary Chris Blake believes the proposed changes are a backward step. He said: "I agree 100 per cent with what the Dr Martens League have said to the FA. It is a farce. At the end of the day, the FA never mentioned what the majority had to be. In our opinion, proposal C was the way forward.

"Yes, some clubs would have been disadvantaged in the short-term, and that is all one or two of the other leagues are concerned with."

Precise details of the FA's plan for the future will be revealed early next month, and should mean clubs in the Screwfix Direct and Hellenic Leagues will not suffer a loss of status.

Ground grading requirements and the number of teams in each division are expected to be standardised at every level. The FA hope to have the changes in force for 2003/04.

Fee will address representatives from the country's level three leagues in Warwick on August 15, but Screwfix League secretary Ken Clarke believes his clubs have little to fear.

He said: "There is still a lot of work to be done, but it isn't a negative thing. It probably doesn't look as far-reaching as Proposal C, but Proposal D will sort things like geography out.

"We believe the proposals will at least maintain all of our clubs at the level they ought to be at, although we could see some movement as a result of the geographical boundaries they set. We'll also need to see how many teams they wish to put into each league."