Player issues still there

NEWS: Player disputes are likely to be forgotten once the 2002 football championship gathers pace, according to four county managers gathered in Dublin's Bank Of Ireland centre yesterday for the official launch of this year's competition. But that doesn't mean problems won't persist with the financial structure of the GAA.

Dublin manager Tommy Lyons was quick to dismiss fears of possible disruption through the Gaelic Players Association (GPA). "When the championship starts then I'm only interested in players that want to play football," he said.

"I don't agree with pay-for-play but I think players are right to be looking for better treatment. Across the country we need to treat them better, because maybe only eight or 10 counties are doing it right.

"We need more equality, and I think that would solve a lot of the issue. But most players won't have any real interest in any disputes going on during the championship, and most managers won't entertain it anyway."

Galway's John O'Mahony felt the disputes were unlikely to hinder the focus of his players: "There are issues out there but players don't want the distraction right now. Managers are caught between the administration and the players, but we just need to be pro-active on it.

"With the new qualifiers as well there is the issue of how to redirect some of the finances through county boards so that they can look after players better, but there is good work being done on both sides of the fence."

Mick O'Dwyer, who was quick to remind everyone that this would definitely be his last year with Kildare, remains against any calls for a full-time professional game, although he would support a semi-professional game.

"For me it's the financial structure of the association that needs to be looked at," he said. "It's a crazy system where you have, say two Leinster counties playing in a provincial game, and the Leinster Council comes in and takes all the gate. I've advocated that there should be a three-way split of all gates in championships, and then counties could look after the players and all the other things.

"And players are the VIPs on the day of big matches and they should be treated like that. So the GPA should be brought in and the dialogue increased, but I've no doubt either that things have improved."

O'Dwyer also ruled out any notion of players transferring between counties: "County boundaries should never be touched. And the day you do that you are going to have problems. If a player comes to work in a county then he is entitled, but that's as far as it should go."

Not that O'Dwyer hid the fact that he would relish a player like Maurice Fitzgerald: "Well if I had a hold of him then I'd definitely still be playing him. I'd play him at full forward on any team. I think he's still a great player and it's sad he's not playing for Kerry."

Eamonn Coleman was more content to ponder the Ulster championship, and Derry's chances of progressing. "Tyrone are definitely the form team at the moment," he said. "Ulster is always tough, but at the moment I would see Tyrone and then Galway as the teams to beat."

Lyons, though, remains concerned about the funding of county boards: "I can't understand how counties have accepted for so long that they have to rely on a group of passionate county men to raise money to support the county teams.

"You could go around every county and count about five people who deliver the funds for the financing of senior teams. I'm sure it will happen where the county boards will get a direct percentage of each gate. And the teams that go on longer should be entitled to more. Look at Westmeath last year, they were nearly broke at the end of it all."