MARK TWAIN once said: “Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”

That quote is quite fitting as Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has risked the wrath of thousands of lower-league football fans by refusing to back down on his B-league proposal in an attempt to develop young English talent for the national team.

Dyke is quoted to have said: “The game is not over yet. I don’t rule it out. A lot of Premier League clubs and particularly managers read the report and were totally in favour of the analysis.”

In May, I wrote an open letter to Greg Dyke in the Morning Star questioning his motives and logic behind introducing a B league between League Two and the Football Conference and in turn destroying and ripping up a football system and fan base that is glanced at with envy by European rivals.

There had been huge uproar then from supporters as well as the Football League and Football Conference, who rejected the idea.

Two months later, the FA chairman doesn’t seem to have taken any meaningful consideration of those organisations and the opinions of thousands of fans. It makes you wonder: who is the fool in his argument?

Is the B league such a genius idea and a light-bulb moment from Dyke and we, the lower and non-league football family, are just not able to comprehend it?

Or is it simply a case of the FA concerning itself with the higher echelons of English football, with the rest just simply making up numbers?

It seems quite simple. If the fans involved are saying No and the teams affected are saying No, why Dyke is still pushing is beyond me.

Maybe it’s all to do with timing. With the new season around the corner, many Premier League and Championship clubs have played non-league clubs in pre-season friendly fixtures. The majority of these have been development squads, littered with a handful of first-teamers but the majority being under-21s.

In truth, the games prove a good test of non-league players who are coming up against professional footballers in the sun with a good crowd in attendance.

One of the biggest friendlies, and attendances, came at Meadow Park as Arsenal — along with manager Arsene Wenger — visited Conference South Boreham Wood and went on to win 2-0 in front of a 3,000-strong crowd.

In a team that included Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky, Wojciech Szczesny, Kieran Gibbs, Abou Diaby, Nacho Monreal and Carl Jenkinson it was youngsters Kris Olsson and Benik Afobe that scored the goals.

This was all well and good for all players, fans and clubs concerned for a pre-season friendly. But pitting a Premier League U21 side against a Conference side in a competitive match remains a ludicrous idea.

Expecting a match between a team of grown men, putting food on the table for their family, against young professionals starting their way in the game, with three points up for grabs, and to bring in 3,000 fans is laughable.

Any Premier League team facing a non-league side should be left for the pre-season summer period.

Over 400 fans from Premier League to non-league will go to Wembley Stadium this week for the Supporters Summit, hosted by the Football Supporters Federation and Supporters Direct, two organisations which aim to ensure fans are given a fair voice.

It may be wise for Dyke to make an appearance to understand what the fans want, but if he refuses to listen then perhaps it’s best he stays as far away as possible.