Matt Reeder: Time for the Premier League to show managers who is the boss

Standards in almost every area of the game have seen a steady improvement thanks to our nation's top clubs deciding to pull away from the Football League back in 1992.

Supporters, safely seated in their stunning new stadiums feast on a high-octane, high-quality brand of football played out by some of the best players in the world.

Our top teams are celebrated and supported all around the globe and before this year's Champions League final between Inter and Bayern Munich, our top clubs had dominated their European counterparts with six English participants in five consecutive finals.

In 2008-2009, the Premier League could boast it was the world's most lucrative football league in the world with combined club revenues topping 2.096bn, while this year's list of richest domestic clubs saw four English sides in the top 10 – more than any other nation.

So with the money rolling in, the entertainment undoubted and our top clubs clearly among the best in the world, you could be forgiven for thinking all is lovely in our top-flight garden, that all is fine up there where the air is obviously sweeter and the financial rewards certainly greater.

We rarely hear complaints from those within – and why would we? But for those of us on the outside, looking in, I fear there is a foul stench starting to waft its way down from the great and the good of our domestic game.

Something is not quite right and it needs to be sorted quickly.

Of course, we have suspected for some time that it is our players who have perhaps been the biggest winners of the Premier League revolution. With the big money created by TV revenues, came an undoubted shift of power in their favour.

Today's top footballers are all multi-millionaires, paid handsomely for their art and almost in a position to demand anything they desire.

Could you have imagined a scenario 30 years ago where a young out-of-sorts striker, having threatened to quit his club because he thought they were not showing enough ambition, was first handed a massive pay rise before then being sent off to the USA for a week of recuperation mid-season?

No, of course not.

The players of today have an astonishing amount of power and too often it is abused to the detriment of the game and the supporters.

They are not all bad, of course, but the behavour of the few has gone unchecked for so long that it now seems to be spreading... not just to fellow professionals, but to their managers as well.

Sir Alex Ferguson gave us a hint of what was to come when he decided he would no longer give interviews to the BBC after a Panorama documentary about his son Jason's dealings as an agent was screened on the BBC in 2004.

Ferguson has refused to speak to the nation's No 1 broadcaster ever since and at the start of this season confirmed his 'silence' would continue despite the Premier League introducing new rules which state all managers must be made available for comment after league matches.

His initial show of dissent, and yes it is dissent if you do not carry out your expected duties, went unpunished because it was 'expected' not 'demanded' that he speak. But even now there are rules governing such a dereliction of duties, he still only faces a small fine for each misdemeanour – thought to be about 1,000 per interview missed.

Instead of making a stand and issuing a harsher penalty, the Premier League wimped out. Their weakness clear for all to see, it has shown other managers how the system can be played to their advantage.

In the past couple of months we have seen two managers issuing ultimatums to the league's governing body in an attempt not to be punished.

Harry Redknapp threatened to never speak to the media again if he faced the rap for comments made after his Spurs side conceded a controversial second goal at Old Trafford, while Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, even threatened to resign this week should he face punishment for his decision to 'shuffle' 10 of his starting line-up at Aston Villa during the week.

Who do these guys think they are?

Surprise, surprise Redknapp was not handed a fine for his outburst and while we await to see what the powers-that-be make of Holloway's little offer to fall on his sword, it would be a great surprise if the Premier League were to test his word.

I actually hope the League do punish Blackpool. Holloway is always entertaining, but a press conference where he tries to wriggle out of his daft threat? I would pay to watch that.

Either way it is a worrying trend that could have far-reaching consequences.

We can almost live with players holding sway over their clubs – but managers having the last word over the Premier League? That is a recipe for disaster and cannot be allowed to continue for the good of the game.

If this were to continue un-checked then we could end up with the animals running the zoo; League bosses actually frightened of making a decision, fearful of causing further dispute with one of its members.

As with all governing bodies, whether in sport or everyday life, the Premier League must be allowed to get on with their jobs without the fear of reprisals.

If they feel a manager or player deserves to be punished then they should jolly well go ahead and impose sanctions. There should be no argument, no discussion. They are the boss and they should damn well prove it.

The Premier League and the Football Association need to toughen up, they need to take control of their subjects and they need to show just who is in charge, otherwise all their hard work in making their league the best in the world could go to waste.

and another thing…

So, how long can a hero carry on failing before his halo slips and he falls back into the realms of ordinary?

I don't really know the answer, but I bet Martin Johnson was sailing perilously close to the threshold when his England rugby union side continually failed to hit the heights.

We have had more than two years of nearlys, maybes and what ifs with Johnson's England; watching and wondering if his magic touch had deserted him.

Our World Cup-winning captain did not have the best of starts and there were even suggestions in some quarters that 'Jonno' was, in fact, not the right man for the job.

Those who remained patient, however, seem to have been rewarded and even before Saturday's crushing display against Australia, there had been signs of England getting it together.

A victory Down Under during the summer, a stirring second-half display against the Kiwis nine days ago and then a quite brilliant display against the Aussies at headquarters on Saturday prove that Johnson and Co are on the right path.

There is still more work to be done, but at this rate we may just be ready for a World Cup challenge in New Zealand 2011.