As an undergraduate at the University of Essex in the heady summer of 1968, David Triesman was suspended for breaking up a public meeting addressed by a government scientist, a defining episode that suggests he has the dynamism required to drag the FA into the 21st century. The Labour life peer will not be averse to banging a few heads together among the warring factions at Soho Square, if required, while Gary Neville may have a surprising ally should he organise another strike of England’s senior squad.

Triesman, like many of his generation, has undergone a significant political journey since his days as a communist in the 1960s, though during the same period the FA has plodded along largely unchanged, which goes a long way towards explaining his appointment as the governing body’s first independent chairman. In addition to presenting the FA as a truly independent body, Triesman’s main role in replacing the outgoing Geoff Thompson will be to ensure the board provides more united leadership, as opposed to the splits between the professional and national game representatives that have blighted the past.

His appointment represents a triumph for Brian Barwick, the chief executive, who, in the other significant reform, will be given a permanent seat and vote as the second independent member of the FA board, with five representatives of the clubs and the amateur game squaring off as before.

Triesman’s methods of promoting more harmony between these conflicting groups are likely to be less direct than during his university days - when he organised a sit-down protest promoting greater student rights after several of his colleagues had been punished for vandalising the car of Enoch Powell, another unwanted visitor.

His experience as a trade unionist and as general secretary of the Labour Party should have taught him everything he needs to know about conflict resolution, while three years in government since being made Lord Triesman will have smoothed away any rough edges, not to mention militant tendencies.

However, Triesman’s appointment is not without controversy. The minister has been forced to deny any involvement in the Labour Party’s illegal donations scandal after allegations that he was aware of the issue when he was general secretary in 2003.

As well as ticking the political boxes, Triesman was chosen because of his affinity with grassroots football, where he scored significantly over the only rival candidate, Sir Roy Gardner, the former chairman of Manchester United. While the FA board feared Gardner was too closely associated with the top-flight clubs, Triesman has been involved in the amateur game for most of his life, as a player, referee and coach. He is also a season ticket-holder at Tottenham Hotspur.

With Fabio Capello appointed as England manager last week, Triesman’s in-tray will not be as daunting as it could have been, though there is still much for his consideration. The revised plans for the National Football Centre need seeing through to fruition, while the structure of youth development in this country is up for review. Given the dearth of home-grown talent in the Barclays Premier League, all ideas will be gratefully accepted, no matter how radical.

Heady cocktail that can make headline news

- The belief that sport and politics do not mix persists, even though the House of Commons, with its baying opponents jeering, cheering and mocking each other across the floor, is more like football’s terraces than the terraces themselves in these days of all-seat stadiums.

- Given the internal conflicts, power struggles and dramas that have afflicted the FA over the years, perhaps English football’s governing body is more political than politics proper.

- John Reid, the former Defence Secretary, faced protests from Celtic fans angered by his support of the Iraq war when he was named as the club’s chairman this season. The appointment of Lord Mawhinney, the former Conservative minister, as chairman of the Football League in 2003 was less controversial. Lord Coe has straddled politics and sport with distinction, swapping the track for Westminster and playing a key role in London’s Olympic bid.

- How transferable are management skills? George W. Bush went from running the Texas Rangers baseball team to running his country. Ilie Nastase and George Weah found their political ambitions thwarted.

- Nelson Mandela wore a Springbok shirt in the 1995 rugby union World Cup final. That iconic moment helped the colours that had been a symbol of oppression to become a representation of national unity. Hopefully, Lord Triesman will manage to unite English football’s authorities without resorting to donning a Three Lions replica kit. Words by Tom Dart

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