By Phil McNulty BBC Sport Online chief football writer

FA chief executive Adam Crozier has paid the price for making the fatal error of being too good at his job - a high-profile victim of his own success.

Crozier has transformed the FA from a body associated with cobweb-covered committee rooms - and arguably cobweb-covered committee members - into a slick and modern organisation.

He succeeded Graham Kelly in February 2000 with the brief of dragging the FA into the 21st century.

Crozier succeeded Graham Kelly

The task of modernising the dear old Football Association can be considered as easy as knitting fog, but Crozier has pulled off the trick.

The organisation was symbolic for clinging to old-fashioned and out-moded values like ship-wrecked men clinging to a buoy.

And its idea of a brave decision was refusing to give the finest manager of his generation, Brian Clough, the England job - plumping instead for the safe and sound Ron Greenwood.

Crozier has been a mover, shaker and decision-maker since he arrived from Saatchi and Saatchi.

He successfully swept aside the committee culture inside the old Lancaster Gate headquarters, even moving the FA to plush new surroundings in Soho Square.

Crozier was prepared to take responsibility for big decisons, and was presented with the biggest of all when England coach Kevin Keegan walked out in October 2000.

He made it clear he would be appointing Keegan's successor, having taken advice, and gave a clue to his philosophy with the words: "You can't have groups of people making decisions. It doesn't work."

Crozier has been a mover and shaker

Crozier identified Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson as the man for the job, and despite criticism from the anti-foreigner lobby, single-handedly and successfully pursued his chosen target.

He turned the FA into a successful commercial organisation, and has recently been able to announce that the new Wembley will be built after all.

Crozier has been successful in making money to pour back into football, but has apparently angered Premier League clubs by acting alone in signing commercial deals with England players in recent weeks.

Could it be, however, that the Premier League clubs have simply seen the money raked into the FA by Crozier's success and decided they wanted a slice of the action?

To the naked eye, Crozier appears to have fulfilled all the criteria put before him when he took the job.

And it seems his only crime has been to pursue his goals with a lack of diplomacy and with undue haste - at least for some.

But if this is the reason why Crozier has had to resign, it is a flimsy one and a move that may well see the FA back in the dark ages before too long.