I couldn't find the thread where we were discussing the whole grants thing in the first place but this should do.
Anyway as predicted by a good few people on this site. When the economy went south these grants were gonna be one of the first things on the chopping board. Now the question is what happens next...
I for one don't think it's in the GPA to say "fair enough, the economy is in the sh*tter, lets leave it at that" They've already come out and said that:
The scheme gave inter-county players some much-needed revenue and status, and that status would be removed if the scheme is cut,' the GPA said in a statement to the Irish Independent.
'It would be very serious for inter-county players. GAA players are elite sportspeople. There is no escaping that inter-county hurlers and footballers have been singled out here.
Firstly I think they've really given an insight into their way of thinking. They wanted status as well as revenue, as if to say the pride of getting to wear your county jersey wasn't status enough.
Secondly, I don't want to fall into knee-jerk reactions but anyone who watched the games at the weekend, the Dublin-Meath game last weekend or indeed the our own game against Kildare would be hard pushed to see why these players consider themselves so elite. Throughout that organisation they have high impressions of themselves that are not fully justified. IMO.
Finally, I do think there is going to be an expectation by the GPA for the GAA to take up the slack here. The GAA are doing relatively well in this current climate but as I think I've made my stance on this pretty clear. It was fine for the government to deem that the GAA players were contributing to Irish society and therefore reward them but the minute the GAA says that an inter-county player is worth more that the junior C player or the fella who marks the pitch then we might as well call the whole thing off because the GAA as we know it would die.
I think the GPA will struggle to gain leverage with this one. While their "long game" was fairly clear to see from the start, the extreme circumstances that exist in the Irish economy now will leave them with very little leverage whatsoever and I'd say they know it. They probably foresaw a different government with different priorities, rather than the current situation where the economy is in meltdown and every citizen is feeling pain to varying degrees. Every cent spent by the government is now "my taxes" to everyone since those taxes have gone through the roof, and the idea of "my taxes" paying lads to play ball won't sit well with a lot of people. They were also thinking in a climate where the amounts of money seemed trivial and where the idea of being careful with a couple of grand was anathema to a lot of people, never mind to the state. The GPA will keep issuing soundbites, but I think they'll sit back on this one for now and wait it out another while.
From a personal perspective, I think it's a huge deal that these payments have never been made, not even once. Amateur status is like virginity in that you can't really give it away once and have it back later when you feel like it. You can pretend, but everyone knows the truth. The best course of action now would be for the GAA, with the help of the state if they wish but not if that's okay, to try and take up the slack and steer the course of this debate. The GPA will claim poor mouth and talk about how many intercounty players are unemployed, which misses the point on a couple of grounds. (1) The level of unemployment among young intercounty footballers is no different to that among young men in Ireland, with blackspots dotted around the place of course, and (2) the unemployment of an individual is no logical reason to give a whole demographic a payment. If player A is unemployed, let's put all our efforts into helping him find work - not advocating a payment to players A, B, C and D.
Rugby has long since led the way when it comes to networking and looking after each other - though in fairness, the GAA has never been far behind. Now is a great time for the GAA to look to take the lead on that by asking members, past and present, to look after each other and to try and make sure that unemployed GAA people (again I stress all grades here, not just intercounty) are the first ones considered when another member has a job to offer, and that if a little bit of training/preparation is required in advance, then that can be found too. All of this could be formalised in some fashion.
The GAA itself could step in in terms of whatever infrastructure projects are going on (after all, 90% of the infrastructure that we have today was put in place when the country was on her knees, no reason why that can't continue), or possibly think outside the box in other ways. For one example: in Offaly this year maybe 1000 young lads and girls will play minor football/camogie for their clubs, with hopefully many of them going on to keep playing into adulthood. Many of them will fall by the wayside and lose interest, many more will keep it up as a distant hobby, lining out when they get an emergency text message saying "we only have fourteen" and hopefully 300-400 of them will keep going and try and improve their game into adulthood. Most of these will hit the gym over the winter, some of them having been instructed as to the right way to prepare, many more without any guidance about the safe and correct ways to workout. Above all, many of them will lose interest in what can be a lonely pursuit, particularly if followed away from home. How many would benefit from a proper fitness instructor keeping tabs on them, of which there must surely be dozens of candidates in the county?
The key point is that by taking away the one card which the GPA can play that will resonate to some degree, the GAA can then leave the GPA with nowhere to go, and have a stronger association for ourselves in the process. ManfromFerbane rightly highlighted the lunacy of Dessie's claim to "status" - anyone who is or has been active within a club knows that the county player is already widely respected by his peers and that the idea that "status" would only come from being paid is a farce. If this is the only thing that the GPA are left with, their cries will go unheeded from now on - but we've got to take control of the issue ourselves in order for that to happen.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.
Here we go again. The same people who lambasted the GAA for even thinking of not opening up Croke Park will jump on this one biig time. "Look at all the money the Grab All Associtaion have made from rugby and soccer", "look at the crowds at an All Ireland final", blah, blah, blah. Soundbites from people who don't know how the GAA works. The GAA cannot afford to pay these grants. Most counties will be in the red this year, including us. Development of games and improving grounds is where the money should and will go. The sooner people realise we can't compete with soccer and rugby as international sports the better. I didn't see the recession affecting the attendance at Munster v Leinster.
