Jozy Altidore is the latest player to have fallen victim to Phil Brown's rod of iron, with the youthful American striker dropped and fined at the weekend.
Altidore was not considered for the game against Portsmouth because he reported for duty late, but the fine came afterwards when he decided to confess all on his Twitter account.
It is all seasons on Brown at the moment, especially as he too has been guilty of letting in-house stuff slip in press conferences, but he is absolutely right on this occasion to punish Altidore. Twitter is an addictive and useful online tool but for sports stars it seems capable of doing more harm than good.
The one worry from this is that Brown will hold it against Altidore, who few people seem to recall is still a teenager with a great deal to learn both as a footballer and as a grown-up. While the likes of Craig Fagan and Daniel Cousin have been round the block as people to take some stick from their boss, it would be both a pity and an injustice if Altidore finds himself similarly as isolated as his more senior team-mates.
Brown does have a worrying tendency to fall out with his players, with recently departed professionals like Sam Ricketts, Caleb Folan and, just last week, Bryan Hughes all claiming that their relationship with their boss had become untenable and, of course, the manager wins every time.
Altidore's situation may pan out differently, not least because of his age, and were Brown to take further action against a player so raw and unproven at a time when all hands need to be to the pump more than ever, then he would be painted as not just the egotist which the footballing nation already sees in him, but as an out-and-out bully.
What is most disappointing for Altidore is that he could have been in line to start against Portsmouth. He has not shone too much in his Tigers career so far, though his endless battle with international issues has hampered his progress considerably. Instead of making a rare Premier League start at the KC, he found himself suited in the stands.
Given the lack of chances either attempted or even created by those whom Brown did select, the appearance or otherwise of Altidore at Burnley this weekend after such a listless affair at the KC will tell us whether Brown has managed to forgive him. If he doesn't make the team, or even the bench, then we'll know another City career has been snuffed out by a manager who has gone way too far in believing his own importance.
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