GAA out, GPA in

Just as Croke Park is distancing itself (that shouldn't be too hard with most of them Down Under right now!) from the now annual feud in Cork, the GPA, has the Speedos and goggles on, and wants to dive in at the deep end.

Dessie reckons the GPA has a role to represent the players in the dispute and that likewise, Croke Park, could represent the County Board. And hey presto, we could avoid this type of situation. Dessie's using the quarrel, once again, as an opportunity to call on the GAA to recognise the GPA. Is Donal Og in cohoots with Dessie and engineering the whole thing so this could happen? 

That's a bit far fetched even for the biggest conspiracy theory fans, but it is jarring to see Dessie jump in and claim that the players are free to walk away "as ultimately it is volunteering and done on an amateur ethos". That's totally out of kilter with Dessie's usual spin that the county players are enslaved on the county teams and therefore deserving of money to compensate them for being so badly exploited.