The issue of how players - particularly elite inter-county players - are to be materially rewarded for their endeavours and how players in general are to have a say in the running of the GAA... these are central to how the future of 'Dis Great Assosheeayhsun Of Ours' will evolve over the next year to eighteen months.

Since the announcement of the GPA/Marlborough sponsorship deal, An Fear Rua has not flinched from making some fairly robust criticisms of the GPA and their approach to these matters. But this unequivocal stance should not be misinterpreted as blind support for GAA 'offeeshaldom' or as some kind of absolution for past and current derelictions by the powers-that-be.

By definition, players are quintessential to the playing of any sport. As Abraham Lincoln once said at Gettysburg, in another context, 'These truths we hold to be self-evident...' While the groundskeepers, minibus drivers, maoir, umpires, 'hang sangwidge' makers etc are all honourable participants in the GAA extended 'family', in the end they are not players. In ainm Dé, who would pay good money to watch a competition to see which groundskeeper could paint the straightest white line? So, players must be contented. They must be well looked after both physically and morally and they are entitled to a fair share of the enormous sums of money generated by GAA competitions (and not just at inter-county level).

Yet, it is a bit difficult to try to ally oneself completely with the GPA. Rather like the Italians in World War Two, they are in the nature of allies who shoot more at their own side than at the enemy and who insist on taking no prisoners. The GPA, it seems to AFR, have been excessively PR-driven, unnecessarily confrontational and have negotiated a very poor financial deal for the 'Marlborough Ten'. (Does this mean if you walk into your local corner shop and ask for 'Ten Marlboro' you'll walk out with Brian Corcoran, Brian Lohan, Paul Flynn, Derek Duggan and the rest of the lads? As the Government Health Warnings insist: 'Smoking Can Damage Your Health').

It has to be said too, however, that 'Dis Great Assosheeayhsun Of Ours' has not been without fault in the developing crisis. Far from it. While it was an enlightened decision to set up a working group to report on reforms of the rules on amateurism, the Association was far too slow in moving to implement the changes. Although there have been rumours for the past few weeks that a Dublin PR firm, Murray Consultants, have been retained as the official Players' Commercial Agent, there has been no official announcement and the company themselves are reported as saying they haven't heard anything yet. (Murray's by the way, is the alma mater of the disgraced public affairs lobbyist Frank Dunlop. It is also the company that featured in a high profile court case a while back following a bust up between the directors and the disclosure of up to £1 million pounds salted away from prying Revenue eyes in a Panamanian bank. With 'qualifications' and experience like that, sounds like they might be just the crowd to look after the players' financial interests and outdo even Dónal O'Neill and the GPA!)

Changes in the way players are insured appear to have been dragged from the GAA in response to the GPA 'threat' while the appalling or non-existent mileage rates paid by some counties to their inter-county panels are nothing short of a scandal. Equally fundamental is something one of 'The Ten', Peter Canavan, has cited: the rank hypocrisy of major sections of the GAA towards amateurism. We all know that, in recent years, the practice of having GAA players along to certain commercial ventures, sometimes linked to the Association's activities, has grown and that money of some kind passes. We hear rumours of certain high profile managers being extremely well rewarded. As the lookout in the crows' net of 'The Titanic' remarked to the ship's officer: 'This is only the tip of the iceberg...'

And there is what AFR regards as the scandal of top players heading off to play semi-professionally in North America during the Summer months. The deal there is that you get a good job in a city with a big Irish population, working in construction or in a bar, often where the proprietor is linked to a local GAA club, and you are on $500 a week. If you have a mid-week game, as often happens, you don't have to work on the day of the game, nor on the day preceding or following it! Effectively, $500 for two days 'work' a week. Now if stories of this may reach An Fear Rua's ears, there must be others higher up in the councils of the GAA who know about this as well, yet no action is taken. To adapt the words of the former Taoiseach 'Charvet J Haughey, this is 'a GAA solution to a GAA problem...' In fact, the GAA's approach to incipient North American semi-professionalism is reminiscent of the hypocritical approach some Irish people take to abortion - it's alright so long as it doesn't take place in 'Holy' Ireland.

So, if there is to be a 'hard line' taken towards the GPA/Marlborough deal, then morally the GAA must ensure that it's own house is absolutely in order first. There must be no exceptions to democratically agreed rules and regulations about payments to players.

Harking back to last week's Chronicle on this topic, when we discussed the making of a real star like DJ Carey, the word AFR hears now is that, whatever the rumours there were of his involvement in the 'Marlborough Ten', the Bould DJ Himself has made up his mind he will not be involved with them. AFR hears that DJ has sized up the financials of the deal negotiated and reckons they are Mickey mouse and, therefore, not worth the hassle. He's probably doing nicely enough already out of all those agricultural ads he does anyway.

One of the 'Ten' who is reported to be far from happy is Offaly Millennium star, Brian Whelehan. Brian already has an a good business in his excellent pub in Birr, so he didn't really need the extra few quid. However, sources in the Faithful County tell AFR that Brian has been bedevilled by media contacts since his name being public and it's in danger of affecting his preparation for the hurling All Ireland. He's reported to be a sorry man he ever got involved with the Marlborough sponsorship deal.

Faced with an ephemeral thirty pieces of silver from Marlborough or the prospect of All Ireland gold that lasts, any player worth his salt - as Brian is - knows the choice he would prefer to make...