"The idea that football directors need to be compensated for huge stress is ridiculous. "We are the world's biggest sports business," said Phil Townsend, United's spokesman. To earn anything like his £909,000 away from football's magic circle, Gill would have had to be running a vast, complex conglomerate, like, for example, Rentokil, which has a turnover of £2.4bn, 15 times that of United, and 90,000 employees involved in hygiene services and pest control, in 40 different countries.At United, as at other clubs I spoke to, they argue that a football club imposes particular pressures on its directors which justify the booming pay. In the year to 31 July 2004, United turned over £169m, increased profits six per cent, to £58.3m, and Gill was paid £909,000, including £455,000 of bonuses in cash and shares.Pay packages like these are spectacularly better than those of directors at similar-sized, non-football companies, according to the national survey of chief executives' earnings by the Chartered Management Institute and Remuneration Economics.In companies with United's turnover, the average chief executive's pay last year was around £200,000, less than a quarter of Gill's. Until Chelsea's accounts are published next year, however, we will not know how much Abramovich is paying Kenyon directly.Kenyon's replacement at Manchester United, David Gill, well-respected in football for his running of United and conduct of the Glazer takeover tussle, was last year's second highest-paid football director. However, he had to forfeit thousands more options, and another executive incentive scheme, which might have made him £1m.

The only relief in this constant, grinding ordeal is, apparently, money - and loads of it, according to this column's annual survey of football directors' earnings, which are now up to four times the pay of directors at similar-sized United Kingdom companies outside football Pity the weary, downtrodden football club director. It is hardly a life at all if you listen to some of them; the stress, the relentless media spotlight, fans' unreasonable expectations. Pity the weary, downtrodden football club director. They will also play in Fifa's new World Club Championship in Japan in December, against the champions of South America, Oceania, Asia and North America.Contrary to reports, they would be unlikely to pull out in protest if they were denied a place in the Champions' League.. The other key supporters are the Dutch delegate Drs Mathieu Sprengers and Viacheslav Koloskov of Russia.The FA's chairman Geoff Thompson also serves on the executive committee, and he will be the only English representative at the meeting.There are no trenchant opponents on the executive committee but there are serious obstacles among the senior staff at the governing body, who think England cannot have more than four Champions' League places.While the new FA chief executive Brian Barwick had no choice but to stick with the original format of qualification for the Premiership's top four, he has lobbied hard on Liverpool's behalf.Liverpool will play in the European Super Cup final against the Uefa Cup winners CSKA Moscow in Monaco in August.

The lobby group has also been encouraged by reports yesterday that Uefa's president Lennart Johansson, who was known to be supportive of Liverpool's case, will change the rules to accommodate the new European champions.He was reported to have said: "The winner should have a chance to defend the title. We must sit down as a matter of real urgency to see if there is a way to make it happen. If there is a rule that harms the tournament, we have to discuss changing the rule."Sources close to Uefa have indicated that reports that the 13 members of the executive committee would take part in a telephone conference on the subject before the meeting are wide of the mark, as any official discussion of the issue before 17 June could potentially harm the club's chances of being given a chance to defend their title.Liverpool's supporters, from within the club and at the Football Association, have cultivated some of the committee's most influential members and believe that the club's best chance of success will be at the Manchester meeting.One of their most powerful allies is the Cypriot Marios Lefkaritis, who is known to back Liverpool and holds sway among many of Uefa's smaller nations. Supporters of Liverpool's bid to take part in next season's Champions' League believe there is a majority on Uefa's executive committee in favour of their inclusion ahead of the crucial meeting next month that will settle the question.