The Professionals

[irunthev]

The admission over the weekend by Donal Og that himself and Dessie have actually gone through the process of accessing the financial viability of professionalism in the game, before realising that it was unfeasible tells a great deal about the motivations of these guys.
The fact is that their primary focus appears to be on the financial element of the proposal, not on the human factor.
Monetary factors aside, there are many other issues surrounding the "professionalism" debate that are far beyond the remit and apparently the understanding of the GPA and I see them as follows;

1.   If a player is being paid for playing for his county, what happens to his commitment to his club? When would they be allowed to play for their club?

2.   Currently county players get the opportunity to develop their professional careers whilst still pursuing their sport at an elite level. It's tough going and we respect that, but it is a tried and proven system. The day after a player retires from playing he just carries on with the rest of his life. If the concept of professionalism was to be introduced into the game, what happens to the 30-something county stalwart when he retires from football after working as a "county footballer" for the previous ten years. Where does he go from there? Who wants to employ a thirty-year old with no experience?

3.   What happens to the guy who gives up his work career only to be told two years later that he isn't good enough and that his contract was being terminated?

4.   What happens to someone when they get a career ending injury?

5.   At what stage would a player become a "professional"  -  while still at university, after uni or straight from school?

6.   What would the standard professional wage be? Given that by the time they reach 30, many top players will be in fairly senior positions in their jobs, then realistically the average wage would need to be in the region of €40-50,000 to make the proposal attractive.

7.   If the scheme wasn't introduced into every county in both codes, then in effect you would be creating a two or three tier hierarchy in football and hurling that would signal the end of the GAA as we know it in terms of county rivalry and county loyalty.

8.   How would you justify €50,000 a year (or even €20,000) for a county hurler from Leitrim or a footballer from London or Carlow, whose average attendance rarely breaks 1,000 paying customers?

9.   If players were employed by the Association, how would the GAA then stop the free movement of players between counties and a type of compensation / transfer system developing. It wouldn't be long before a talented corner forward from Waterford would be "courted" by a top county, and given the freedom of movement of labour, there would be nothing to stop him moving to a better team. Ireland would soon have their very own Jean-Marc Bosman to talk about.

10.   How long would a contract last for and who would issue it? Would it be central or from the county and how long would it last for? Would a player want to give up his career in construction or some the private sector business for the promise of a one or two year contract?

It would be a wonderful idea that the GAA could support 60+ professional county squads (somewhere in the region of 2000 players, plus all the backroom teams involved) but the reality of it is very different.
The currently situation in Ireland proves that Ireland is a country that, economically at least, has been punching way above its weight for the past decade or more. Now it's time to go back to basis. The GAA isn't a broken entity, so why fix it?
There is an ego factor in here with the GPA and there appears to be an element among some of the top brass of carving out long term political / public careers for themselves. That's their prerogative, but in my opinion they don't have the right to potentially terminally damage the long term futures of hundred of average county footballers while pursuing their own personal dreams.
At the end of the day, it is very small proportion of county footballers who are remembered two or three years after they have played their last game. The currency of fame would only last so long in the employment market, and those that are remembered make good use of that fame, but there is only room for so many on that bandwagon.
The GPA needs to go back to its own fundamental principles and stop trying to create headlines and fame for those at top.

[Gnevin]

And if the moon tastes like cheese and the price of a ham sandwich is 4.00 why did Rome fall?

Or in other words . What's the point in discussing what would happen if the core of your argument isn't feasible.

[The Konica]

Some GPA members proposed that 11 counties go professional in a Super League run on a Champions League format.


That would be financially very viable.

[irunthev]

And if the moon tastes like cheese and the price of a ham sandwich is 4.00 why did Rome fall?

Or in other words . What's the point in discussing what would happen if the core of your argument isn't feasible.

Maybe I'm bored!

[irunthev]

Some GPA members proposed that 11 counties go professional in a Super League run on a Champions League format.


That would be financially very viable.

But what would that do to the weaker counties? And it still wouldn't take away many of the points made in my opening post.

[Maroon Heaven]

Surely the issue with professional playing needs the removal of the county structure.

A system based around cities/town with a healthy support base is the only viable option. To continue talking about professionalism based around the county system is laughable.

Then again the whole idea of professionalism is laughable and unwanted. Still people laughed about sending people to the moon

[thewobbler]

Some GPA members proposed that 11 counties go professional in a Super League run on a Champions League format.


That would be financially very viable.

If the Railway Cup has taught us anything, it's that you can put the best players in the country in the best ground in the country, make it competitive, and support it with TV coverage - but the average GAA man won't see the appeal.

[The Konica]

Some GPA members proposed that 11 counties go professional in a Super League run on a Champions League format.


That would be financially very viable.

But what would that do to the weaker counties? And it still wouldn't take away many of the points made in my opening post.

I know
But some of the main men knew it wasn't financially viable so they opted for trying to look at a Super League

They didn't give a damn about the weaker ones

[The Konica]

Some GPA members proposed that 11 counties go professional in a Super League run on a Champions League format.


That would be financially very viable.

If the Railway Cup has taught us anything, it's that you can put the best players in the country in the best ground in the country, make it competitive, and support it with TV coverage - but the average GAA man won't see the appeal.

Yes, but the difference here was the teams that were being talked about were county teams

So imagine say 11 or 12 Super League Teams   
Armagh, Tyrone, Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Kildare, Monaghan, Derry, Meath, Donegal.
That are professional who run off on a Champions League basis, home and away.


This is what they were thinking about at one stage - needless to say it was GPA members from one of the Ulster counties that were pushing for this big time.

[armaghniac]

Armagh, Tyrone, Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Kildare, Monaghan, Derry, Meath, Donegal.

The county system is not compatible with professionalism. Which is why we don't want it in the GAA. OK Dublin, Cork, Galway can probably support a professional team, but can Monaghan?

[DuffleKing]

Some GPA members proposed that 11 counties go professional in a Super League run on a Champions League format.


That would be financially very viable.

But what would that do to the weaker counties? And it still wouldn't take away many of the points made in my opening post.

I know
But some of the main men knew it wasn't financially viable so they opted for trying to look at a Super League

They didn't give a damn about the weaker ones

what form did this "look" at a superleague take and what were the results?

[The Konica]

Armagh, Tyrone, Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Kildare, Monaghan, Derry, Meath, Donegal.

The county system is not compatible with professionalism. Which is why we don't want it in the GAA. OK Dublin, Cork, Galway can probably support a professional team, but can Monaghan?

Just using that list as an example maybe of one based on current ratings/success ... but yes Monaghan couldn't, though their crowds would help the coffers etc

[Maroon Heaven]

Some GPA members proposed that 11 counties go professional in a Super League run on a Champions League format.


That would be financially very viable.

If the Railway Cup has taught us anything, it's that you can put the best players in the country in the best ground in the country, make it competitive, and support it with TV coverage - but the average GAA man won't see the appeal.

Yes, but the difference here was the teams that were being talked about were county teams

So imagine say 11 or 12 Super League Teams   
Armagh, Tyrone, Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Kildare, Monaghan, Derry, Meath, Donegal.
That are professional who run off on a Champions League basis, home and away.


This is what they were thinking about at one stage - needless to say it was GPA members from one of the Ulster counties that were pushing for this big time.

No way will a County based structure work. You'd need 12 teams around Ireland based around cities/town, Galway City Tribes, Cork Rebels, Omagh Gaels, Dublin Capitals etc etc....

Would be a break away league / Championship with no affliation with the GAA. So if Des Dolan or Paul Galvin wanted to play, they simply walks away from the GAA and joins the professional team who are willing to pay his salary and serves his interest best. Up to them if they value €80k for playing GAA professionally or a chance to lift Sam in September.

The game would be run like the AFL or any other fledgling sports body in the world. All they have to do is look at the MLS in the states or the Australian A-League.

For Professional GAA to be a runner - it needs to be removed from GAA ethos and culture. Then ask whether a team in Belfast will get the 8,000 attendence needed to pay the 30 full time players, have the business and marketing network to support it, the TV money and audience from SKY or Setanta to support it and fans who'll give up a Friday night to Watch The Belfast Titanticsagainst The Tralee Kingdoms managed by Paidi O'Shea in drizling rain in Windsor Park?

[irunthev]

Surely the issue with professional playing needs the removal of the county structure.

A system based around cities/town with a healthy support base is the only viable option. To continue talking about professionalism based around the county system is laughable.

You are thinking along the right lines there. If it was ever to come to it, which personally I hope it doesn't, then the current county set-up would have to be disbanded.  However, if Armagh City were to play Navan Town in an inconsequential league match, how many would actually turn up to watch it or even tune into it? Even Sky with the Premiership find that there are certain matches people just don't want to watch. And if Derry City were to travel to play Killarney Town, how many travelling fans would there be?

[The Konica]

I think that's a better alternative - moving away from County structures.
I think it's an option - but will probably never happen.

From a financial point of view - the key isn't travelling fans though - the key is TV rights and sponsorship.