IF you asked GAA supporters what is the biggest issue facing our games at present, what would the most likely answer be? Cynical play? Black cards? Blanket defence? Those three would almost certainly be the most popular answers. Too many are ignoring the big issue which threatens the popularity of the game - the disgraceful treatment of club players throughout the country, caused by the lack of a fixture calendar preventing players at all levels playing regular games.
Year after year club players are being ignored, with the county game taking precedence. We are now at a time of the year when there should be games played at senior level in clubs all around the country.
Unfortunately club players are being treated like rubbish, playing one game per month if they are lucky and awaiting their county getting knocked out of the Championship.
Niall Morgan highlighted the issue last week with the Tyrone Championship being played a week after the Down replay. No county manager would accept only having their players for the week before a game, never mind them not playing a competitive game in a month before the biggest game of the year. However, it is a common issue for clubs to deal with. Too often club championship matches are rushed through at the end of the year. County boards usually get most of the blame, but I have some sympathy for them. Without some help from Croke Park they can't provide club players with regular games.
I freely admit that my perspective has changed since I retired from county football.
As a county player, all your training and preparation is focused on performing in the big Championship games. Management can plan their training so their team peaks at the correct time of the year. How could a club manager prepare his team when he doesn't know when the next game is coming?
When I was back playing club football solely, it was a hugely frustrating experience. Going from week to week not knowing when the next game was and having to wait until the result of the next Tyrone game to get some sort of clue.
The GAA's main competitors for players are soccer and rugby. Both sports have regular fixtures, playing week after week. It would be no surprise if some players just decide to give up on the sport as a direct result.
Drastic action will need to be taken to fix the problem. Personally I feel the only solution is to shorten the county season. It takes almost as long for the GAA county season to be completed as it does for the Premier League. The American Football season involves a similar number of games to the inter-county year and can be completed in five months. It's a crazy situation that it takes nine months for the GAA to play county games.
Some teams have two months between the end of the National League and their first round Championship match, while the Ulster Championship takes two months to complete. If we were to remove these breaks in the season, there is no reason why we cannot finish county football by June. The club leagues could start in late May or early June and be completed by October.
All clubs have to accept that they will not have their county contingent for all their games, but they must have them for the majority of matches and on a consistent basis.
As a county player I hated missing any club games, but it was something you had to accept. My own club suffered more than most as we had a number of players on the county panel.
I think we could quickly reach a situation where county players will only play championship football for their clubs. It would be a sad day for the Association if we get there.
What makes the GAA so great is that it is based in communities, that sense of local attachment must be treasured. We should never lose sight of that.
One point to remember in the debate is that county players would benefit most from a proper fixture list. In 2008 I played my last club game on December 14 and was back out in the McKenna Cup three weeks later.
The welfare of players needs to be considered as county players are playing more games than anyone, yet they get the shortest off-season.
In my last few years playing with Tyrone I took three to four months off to try and rest up the many wear and tear injuries that I was suffering from. Without that break I wouldn't have been able to get through a full season.
I was maybe fortunate to be able to do that as I was an established player, but most players are trying to impress during the McKenna Cup and League to nail down a starting place for the Championship. Player burn-out is a major problem and we need to ensure that we have a fixture list that allows players a proper break from the game.
The most worrying aspect is that Croke Park does not appear to want to deal with the issue. We've had committees to look into changing rules for years, but it took until this year for the Football Review Committee to put forward proposals to deal with the fixture crisis. As the chairman of the FRC Eugene McGee stated, the fixtures problem is mainly a club problem.
The biggest obstacle is likely to be money. If Croke Park can keep the county season going for longer and provincial councils keep control of setting their fixtures, then it will generate more cash for both. Hard decisions need to be made and sacrificing the spreading of games over a longer period is a must if we are to find a long-term solution which works for all GAA players. Thousands of players across the country want to play our games on a regular basis, and it's unacceptable that we do not match their needs. It's now time for the GAA to take action.