THE SELECTION and announcement of the All Stars football and hurling teams passed off quietly this year, the second time that the selections were made by a panel of players. Heretofore, the selections were made by journalists from the national media who were regular writers and commentators on the players on whom they were asked to adjudicate.

The selection process, although hailed as a better system by Jack Boothman, did not meet with widespread approval and even inspired a reader of this column with a Belgian address to point out its many flaws.

In his letter, Malachy O'Rourke (a fine old Belgian name) suggests that the selections "have finally demonstrated the irrelevance, indeed injustice, of the whole scheme".

He goes on to write: "The original idea had some merit once, when journalists like yourself were the judges. At least you saw games of all kinds at all levels (mostly county) in all parts of the country throughout the year, even though over the years you attached a preponderant value to participation as much as performance in the All-Ireland finals.

"The decision to entrust the selection to intercounty players was doomed from the outset. The surprise is not so much that this year's selection is so unconvincing as that Roy Keane and Colm O'Rourke failed to make it. It would have been simpler to invite the Meath and Mayo managers to select the team from their own squads.

"Any selection which suggests that 10 of the 15 best footballers in Ireland this year took part in the All-Ireland final is clearly an aberration. The fact that Joe Brolly was chosen on the strength of two championship outings merely confirms the point because Mickey Linden is still the outstanding number 13 in the country, even on the strength of three championship appearances.

The correspondent then goes on to suggest another system of assessment which he believes would bring about a more equitable outcome. Without making any firm suggestion of who the judges should be, he proposes a system which would involve the selectors, whoever they are, filling in cards after all competitive games with the scores being totted up week by week.

This suggestion from Belgium has some merit, but I'm afraid the administration of such a scheme would be difficult to monitor and could cause other problems.

The old scheme, while far from perfect, at least had the strength that the people who actually picked the team were physically at the matches and saw the players in the flesh.

The recently-introduced scheme seems to have several weaknesses, not least the fact that the voters will probably not have seen a wide spread of matches, they being players themselves. One can only assume, therefore, that they depend to a large extent on television, radio and newspapers for their information as to players' performances. In other words, they will be depending on the very people who have been turfed out of the selection process.

The old scheme also had the merit that it ran itself, in the sense that the reporters and commentators were detailed to see matches by their employers, who therefore, picked up the bulk of expenses involved in the running of the scheme.

The voters under the new system are not professional match observers, will not be in a position to make on-the-spot notes, nor do they get an opportunity of debating the merit or otherwise of the players upon whom they are passing judgement.

The new system has the advantage that the eligibility rule, which forbade the selection of any player or players sent off, was dropped. It had always been a bone of contention and reached its nadir when Offaly's Pat Fleury had his invitation to the gala presentation ceremony withdrawn because he had been sent off subsequent to his selection. My Belgian correspondent takes me to task, however, for suggesting, a couple of weeks back, that it was a pity that the Wexford county board had to launch a fundraising drive to provide their hurlers with a holiday abroad.

"The suggestion that the GAA should subsidise such trips, I find outrageous and shocking. Everything worthwhile is achieved by voluntary effort. My view is that if winning an All-Ireland is not regarded as sufficient reward in itself we are in real trouble," he says - and it is difficult to disagree with him.

However, the fact remains that the effort which is necessary to win an All-Ireland title these days is such that huge sums of money have to be invested in preparing the team, travelling and accommodation expenses, meals, playing gear and so on and a county board may find it difficult to make ends meet.

Of course the winning of an All-Ireland title is of paramount importance and is a long way ahead of any other consideration. But a set contribution for the teams involved in All-Ireland finals - senior and minor - would not be out of place in a world where amateurs, like those in the GAA, are becoming all too rare.

There are, of course, limits to which the GAA could go in this regard, but it would not be harmful to the ethos of the game for the GAA to recognise the efforts which so many people have to make to bring an All-Ireland title to the county. A small "thank you" gesture would, I am sure, be appreciated and would not open the floodgates to professionalism as my Belgian correspondent suggests.