Jack Anderson: No going back once a sport moves to non-amateur status

For most GAA people, the GAA’s Official Guide is a bit like an IKEA manual, you only ever read it after you’ve done something wrong, and Gavin happily admitted the same.

NON AMATUER STATUS: The establishment of an amateur status committee shows that any pretence that Rule 1.8 is being enforced or is even enforceable, has been abandoned. Picture: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile

The GAA have a problem with Jim Gavin. He has set the bar too high. A top-class player, coach and now administrator, he has, in less than a year, convinced GAA Congress to change the way Gaelic football will be played for years to come.

GAA Congress usually turns slowly. If it were the Titanic, it would have hit the iceberg dead on. If Jim Gavin was captain of the Titanic, it wouldn’t have hit it at all.