GAELIC GAMES THE CORK HURLING DISPUTE:Former Cork hurling manager , John Allen,argues the Cork players and Gerald McCarthy are not villains of the piece but are the victims of a county board power/revenge agenda

THE GENETIC make-up of Cork people includes a gene that's not willing to conform, apparently. From where did we inherit the title Rebels? We're the most decorated sports county in the country and very proud of this fact, and maybe our rebellious traits have helped to keep us at the forefront in a highly competitive, changing sports world.

Our present senior hurlers, just a short time back, were the market leaders. Generations of other great hurlers were also the market leaders in their time. But times change and we, as a people, either change with them or we get left behind in the maelstrom.

The hurlers of the early 2000s weren't satisfied with the Cork County Board's support in the organisation and preparation of the intercounty teams. A stand-off ensued with the resultant concessions by the board. The next four years saw this team play in four All-Ireland finals. I had seen, at close quarters, the beginning of the development of this team in early summer '99 to a watershed on All-Ireland final day 2006. This was the day when the empire began to strike back.

Thirteen championship game wins on the trot, four Munster finals, winning three, four All-Ireland final appearances and two wins weren't good enough, apparently. No, the word filtering back from on high was that the time for change was nigh. It was time to dismantle this efficient, well-structured, successful management team and bring in a new backroom team who would bring a return to the traditional Cork style and even more success would follow.

The most important cog in the wheel was allowed leave without any acknowledgement of the hugely significant role he played in the success of the previous four years and very little effort was made to keep him involved. The team trainer, Seanie McGrath, played the key role in the preparation of the team in those glory days. He was a fitness expert, dietician, nutritionist, psychologist, funny man, and friend to each and every one of the players. He made the team tick. But he was let go by a board who refused to recognise his importance.

Gerald McCarthy, with a remarkable CV, was the new chosen one. There couldn't be any argument about his hurling and management background. I can't make reasonable comment on his coaching over the past two years because I haven't seen any of the training sessions. But one of the iconic figures in Cork's long hurling history now finds himself in an unenviable position. He is a pawn in a power struggle.

There was a well-documented, avoidable stand-off between the county board and the footballers and hurlers of the county last winter. If the board engaged in a meaningful way with the players that whole sad episode could have been avoided.

Now less than a year later, a similar, totally avoidable, stalemate again exists.

Part of the deal brokered with the board last year included an agreement in which the players would have two members on the seven-man committee to pick the next manager. I personally don't think the players should be involved in the process of picking the manager but such is the lack of transparency in the system in Cork that the players probably felt "a friend in court" would be very important .

But even the friend in court wasn't going to be enough to ensure that this new committee would work in an open and fair way. Why wasn't a list of candidates drawn up, their interest in the position ascertained and a series of interviews held? Even if the board were set on reappointing Gerald McCarthy they could have still gone through this sham process, held a vote of the seven-man committee and won.

The players then couldn't have any complaint with the process, which is at the core of their problem with the board.

Now the players and Gerald McCarthy are being portrayed as the villains of the piece. They're not the villains. They're the victims. The real perpetrators of this latest crisis are the board, which again, is operating from an authoritarian, immature position.

For too long there has been dysfunction at the highest level. Structures and policies need to be in place so that the leaders can't become more important that the organisation itself.

It is nothing short of a disgrace that this present conflict is allowed to happen. Some of our greatest sporting heroes are at each other's throats because the organisation once again refused to engage reasonably and maturely with all the interested parties.

I can vouch for the integrity of this present group of Cork hurlers. Three of the player leaders, Seán Óg (Ó hAilpín), Dónal Óg (Cusack) and John Gardiner, are people of the highest calibre. They are honourable, decent reasonable people. They are willing to put their careers on the line again for the betterment of the future generations of Cork hurlers. They don't want to pick the manager but they do want to have all the available, interested, best-qualified candidates allowed to pitch for the position before a committee which has the betterment of Cork hurling at heart and not some power or revenge agenda. That is the core of this issue.

There is now a complete lack of trust on both sides. This has been steadily gathering momentum since the first strike but is far worse now.

I think any future committees to pick managers should perhaps consist of a former player, captain, manager, board chairman, present board representative and be chaired by somebody with no ties to the GAA.

Gerald McCarthy has nothing to prove to the Cork sporting public yet he is being publicly humiliated in a battle that never needed to be fought.

It very much looks like a point of no return has been reached. The solution isn't anywhere on the horizon yet. There will be a resolution but I hope it's before too much more blood is let.

Maybe a proper revolution is needed this time.