Dein voted off FA board

Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has been voted off the FA Board by the Premier League.

Dein’s place will be taken by Manchester United chief executive David Gill following a vote of all 20 top-flight chairmen.

The news comes as a surprise, with Dein having established himself as one of the most important figures in the game.

Dein came in for criticism over his influence on the FA’s bid to find Sven-Goran Eriksson’s successor.

Dein was perceived to have pushed the claims of Luiz Felipe Scolari, who pulled out of the running after talks with the FA in Portugal.

After being co-opted onto the panel to choose Eriksson’s replacement, Dein is thought to have been a prime mover in the FA’s pursuit of Scolari, only for the Brazilian to declare he did not want the job when a deal appeared to have been done.

Scolari’s rejection of the job led to criticism of Dein. Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson questioned why Arsene Wenger, Dein’s manager at Arsenal, had not been approached which prompted the FA to respond that the Frenchman had stated categorically that he did not want to be considered for the job when approached by FA chief executive Brian Barwick.

Gibson lost his manager Steve McClaren, the FA finally opting to make Eriksson’s right-hand man his successor on May 4, and asked why the Premiership’s most successful overseas coach had not been pursued more vigorously.

Gibson said: “How someone like David Dein can be kingmaker, I don’t know. The FA is there for the good of English football, but was Arsene Wenger interviewed? Why was he protected?”

Dein’s ties to Arsenal were also cited by Jose Mourinho as one of the factors behind an unbalanced Premier League fixture list which provided Chelsea with five away games following their six Champions League group matches last term, while Arsenal played five of their games at home.

Although Gill is as influential at Manchester United as Dein is at Arsenal, the Premier League clearly feel he is currently a more able representative on the four-man team which sits on the FA board on behalf of the league.

An accountant by profession, the 48-year-old has attracted plenty of admirers for the way he has run United since succeeding Peter Kenyon as chief executive at Old Trafford in 2003.

He has come under attack from Red Devils fans for continuing in his job following Malcolm Glazer’s controversial takeover after previously claiming the American’s business plan was ‘too aggressive’.

However, he continues to preside over one of the most streamlined football operations on the planet, even if Roman Abramovich’s deep pockets means United can no longer claim the tag of wealthiest club in the Premiership.