I BELIEVE it is time for the authorities who run the game to take a close look at the rules about finance for clubs.

And they should examine the fit and proper persons test to ensure that anyone taking over a club is not going to destroy what is already there.

For example, that owners are not going to borrow massive amounts of money against the clubs to force them into debt, which has happened.

And also show that they have adequate financial means to support the club.

But where will it end?

I can remember when it was predicted that a player would be earning £100k per week and everybody said that was mad. But it has happened.

A wage cap would be a good thing for the game which is moving further and further away from a core set of people who have backed the game for years and years - the supporters who pay their money to come and watch the clubs.

In days gone by, the bigger clubs used to share their revenue with the smaller clubs.

If Hereford played Leeds United at Elland Road in the league then they would share the gate.

Hereford are never going to have the same amount of supporters as Leeds United, obviously, but if you have earned the right to be in the same division then you should benefit from that.

That way of doing things gave teams an opportunity to compete.

The Premier League have greedily sucked up vast amounts of money for themselves and it is essentially the money coming from Sky.

I understand that Sky want to show Premier League matches more than other games so it is quite understandable that Premier League clubs should get more.

I do not have a problem with that but they get huge amounts and the money is disproportionately dispersed.

This makes the massive clubs even bigger.

Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea all sell more merchandise than everyone else. They also receive massive amounts in sponsorship – far more than other clubs.

So even before you distribute the Sky money they are the richest clubs anyway because they are getting bigger crowds and selling more merchandise.

And then qualification for the Champions League brings even more money.

Because of this, lots of the competitions have been devalued.

The Carling Cup was devalued many years ago and now the FA Cup seems to be going the same way – these are prestigious competitions but, to a number of clubs, they do not mean anything like as much as they should.

It is not a healthy state for a game which is all about competition.

Before a season starts, there should be nine or 10 teams in competition for the two or three places at the top of the league.

But in all the divisions, the biggest clubs occupy the top spots.

It has not always been the case – teams like Carlisle and Oxford have been in the top flight and in the past other clubs have ben able to force their way up the pecking order.

But generally it is the clubs who have the most money, which therefore perpetuates more money, who occupy the top spots.

In the Premier League, the top four are firmly embedded.

People say Liverpool are in crisis because they might finish fifth!

Why shouldn’t they finish fifth? It is astonishing when teams like Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton – all big clubs – have got every right to be up there challenging.

But everyone now talks about the gap between the top four and the rest and I think it is sad for the game and its future.

It is something I feel very strongly about. If the pyramid does not have a base, it can also have no top and so I despair for the future of the game unless something changes.