LIKE every union boss, PFA chief Gordon Taylor is paid to represent his members’ interests.

Very well paid in fact, for the former Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City and Bury winger is reputed to be the highest-earning union boss in the world with a salary reported to be knocking on £1million a year.

He must be worth it because the Professional Footballers Association have employed him for three decades. Nevertheless, I sometimes wonder whether this dyed-in-thewool Lancashire lad has lost all sense of reality.

I have no doubt Taylor had every right to force Manchester City to halve the fine – from four weeks’ wages to two – imposed on Carlos Tevez for his Bayern Munich shenanigans.

He attended the disciplinary hearing and, having heard all the evidence, came to the conclusion that Tevez, although being found guilty of five breaches of his contract, had not, as accused, refused to play for the club. That led to accusations that the PFA had a conflict of interest in representing the player and being the body with the power to determine the punishment.

Taylor responded: “It’s not a conflict of interest at all. It’s just merely pointing out what the law is, what the law says, and what the code of practice says.”

Personally, I don’t care a jot about the legal niceties. Tevez was bang out of order, publicly undermining his manager’s authority and was fortunate not to have been shown the door.

Now he and his people are just playing the system, knowing he can’t lose and, with the help of the PFA, he appears to have got Manchester City over a barrel.

Generally, I just wish Taylor would take a step back every once in a while and listen to what he is actually saying.

In his efforts to justify the obscene wages paid to Premier League players – £1.16million a year basic on average – he trotted out the tired old “entertainment” line: “It’s the players who people pay to watch. I don’t think anybody goes to see a film and complains about Brad Pitt’s wages, or a potential Oscar winners’ wages.”

Substitute Tony Bennett, Elvis or Michael Jackson and it’s the same argument I’ve heard down the years from people who put footballers in the same bracket as giants of the entertainment industry, whether recording stars, rock heroes or screen idols. Well they are not.

I don’t recall ever going to a concert and thinking the star attraction was not trying, or buying a record and feeling I’ve been cheated by an artist who is not playing for his manager.

And I’ve certainly never paid up front for a cinema season ticket only to discover that every time I turn up for my fortnightly dose of escapism, the entire cast is performing so badly that I’ve gone home depressed and convinced they’ll end up relegated.

If I don’t like artists I don’t attend their concerts or buy their records, if I don’t care for actors I don’t pay to watch their films.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my sport – football especially – and I enjoy being entertained by teams and individuals, even though they don’t always live up to expectations.

I’m prepared to make allowances for loss of form and the quality of the opposition.

And if the owners and chairmen of football clubs want to spend their Sky TV money on players’ wages that have got completely out of sync with what is right and proper, then that’s their business.

But, come on Gordon, don’t use Brad Pitt comparisons to justify the average Premier League player – and I repeat average, not exceptional – picking up £22,353 a week.