Great to see a proper GAA hero have the balls to speak his mind. Well said Sean Og, I salute you.
Why should Sean Og, Sean Cavanagh, Bernard Brogan and JJ Delaney not be paid, when the likes of Glen Crowe and Jason Byrne are on nearly 1K a week!

Mikeynora (Limerick) - Posts: 888 - 29/04/2010 11:40:39    633224

Mike... I'd support a complete review of the grant scheme with the hope of a significant increase but the "Pay for Play" pool of money simply does not exist in the GAA.

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 29/04/2010 11:50:22    633242

i disagree with Sean Og completly..in my opionion players should be given expenses like health insurance,an access to a local gym for free,free doctor,free physio and any other bits like county tracksuits.

Grattonboy (Monaghan) - Posts: 143 - 29/04/2010 11:54:34    633249

A free track suit gratton boy!! Wow!
Your all heart!

Mikeynora (Limerick) - Posts: 888 - 29/04/2010 11:59:33    633258

I do agree with Sean Og, but as a current intercounty player, no amount of money can give you back the time you spend training, playing recovering etc. Unless, the amount of money a player earns can sustain him and his family, then I can't see that getting a small amount weach mach will make any difference as the players will still have to do a full days work and in todays climate, most are happy to do so.

Rock & Roll (None) - Posts: 74 - 29/04/2010 12:01:07    633261

Grattonboy:

They get much of that already maybe excluding health insurance.... I'm not sure i agree with pay per play it the first step in full blown professionalism and the GAA could not support 34 professional teams.

I would agree with what micko said on the late late they should have an increase on the expenses they get.

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 29/04/2010 12:03:14    633263

Most of them if not all already get paid by being "set up in jobs for life" if they wish to avail of it.

AfricanGael (UK) - Posts: 1947 - 29/04/2010 12:04:43    633264

Interesting that he makes this statment after the GPA has been officially recognised.
It will certainly throw the pidgeon among the cats.

I could expound on both sides of the argument but thats because I'm so intelligent.
I don't think it will happen for purely economic reasons. The market is not there.

RAM85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 978 - 29/04/2010 12:04:59    633265

Grattonboy
County: Monaghan
Posts: 25

633249 i disagree with Sean Og completly..in my opionion players should be given expenses like health insurance,an access to a local gym for free,free doctor,free physio and any other bits like county tracksuits.

Everyman is entitled to his opinion... and that's all this is on Sean Og's part, Just because he's a GPA member does not make this GPA policy, I agree with your post above but I would also add a vastly improved Grant scheme sum of money to your suggestions,

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 29/04/2010 12:05:14    633266

"Glen Crowe and Jason Byrne are on nearly 1K a week! "

The league of ireland is in serious trouble and they only have 10 teams and rubbish grounds!!

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 29/04/2010 12:11:38    633279

This is stupid. Players already get enough and now they are just getting too greedy. No longer do the likes of Sean Og care about giving all for their county, they now want to play so they can be looked after like celebraties.

laflour (Cavan) - Posts: 528 - 29/04/2010 12:12:48    633281

Such cynicism Africangael! Do you, Patrique and Pomeroy Plunkett all sit in the corner having a good moan about everything?! ;-)

Tongo (UK) - Posts: 1795 - 29/04/2010 12:13:56    633283

Thanks to all the folk who agreed with me :)

sean og (Armagh) - Posts: 1073 - 29/04/2010 12:23:33    633294

This is hardly a surprise. I don't know about the GPA as a whole but the recent concession to the GPA as a representative player's body is looking troublesome. The GAA is an amateur organisation - if he wants to play professional sport, he is welcome to take up a professional sport.

Oggy (Galway) - Posts: 245 - 29/04/2010 12:25:26    633298

Oggy
County: Galway
Posts: 120


What are you basing that on....

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 29/04/2010 12:30:54    633306

Pay for play is coming, make no mistake.
It will be introduced in some capacity in the next twenty years.. look at the progress they have made in the last ten.

sam57 (Louth) - Posts: 1502 - 29/04/2010 12:35:16    633314

What Sean óg has failed to mention with professionalism would come the freedom of movement between workplaces under European law, i.e. a bosman transfer system. Glenn Crowe gets paid a grand a week because different clubs are bidding for his services. What he is talking about is taking away from the rivalry that attracts us all to the sport in the first place.

doublehop (Kildare) - Posts: 4172 - 29/04/2010 12:44:56    633327

How do you grade the amount that each player receives or do they all receive the same amount of pay?

Do Kilkenny footballers deserve to be paid as much as Kilkenny Hurlers? If the footballers were a soccer team they'd be the equivalent of division 4 in england for example whereas the hurlers would surely be premiership quality?

Messy messy messy

kilruane (Tipperary) - Posts: 155 - 29/04/2010 12:45:15    633328

I think Sean Og is living in the same world as the 'professionals' among us....

How can Ireland afford to pay footballers to play when it cant afford to pay people to work?

BIG SACKS (Tyrone) - Posts: 1681 - 29/04/2010 12:56:29    633346

i think pay for play will be the 1st step on the road to the end of GAA as a local community sport. after pay for play, there will be more concessions, then the bigger profile teams will gain a huge advantage leaving smaller teams with an unatainnable mountain to climb, leading to general disinterest in the sport from all but small few which will kill the game. thats if half the teams/gaa don't go bankrupt before all this.

we all knew this is wat GPA was going to come out with. they've been flexing their muscles for last few years and disruption to our national games will only get worse now. its a god damn shame that i now resent some of the sporting heroes who i have admired over last ten years.

ps the recent trend within irish soccer is the team who wins the league goes bust the next year so your point about crowe etc getting paid is ridiculous

jaffacake (Meath) - Posts: 720 - 29/04/2010 13:00:39    633352