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Rambling about amidst all of the furore raised by Mark Conway and the One True Belief faction last year over pay for play, was a sizeable elephant in the room. His name? Paid Managers, dumbo. This week outgoing president Nicky Brennan has stated unequivocally that the practice must stop but admits he can do nothing to stop it.

Let us examine the rumours that we have heard in the last year. One manager, now involved with a county team, left his home club, whom he he had just coached to a Senior County Championship title, to coach a rival club. The rumour was that this manager was paid more than stg £15,000 and less than stg £22,000. Talking Balls wonders aloud why a manager would leave his own home club, where his sons are part of the senior team, to manage a rival team in the same competition in the same county? Ambition, the challenge or ££££££s?

Another flamboyant coach who recently re-engaged with another county team not his own – he has been involved with a number of reasonably successful county teams over the recent past – charges a minimum of £80 for a coaching session for clubs. This on top of what he might and might not receive from the county in question. Is he being paid by his current county employers? We don’t know, but we do know he’s burning a serious amount of firestone rubber up and down the road.

A third case: another current county manager was allegedly put on the books of a business whose owner was a ‘benefactor’ of the local club team. Hand on heart if asked were they paying the manager, committee, officials and players could state ‘no they they weren’t’. And that would not be a lie. The local businessman was handing over the five figure sum, and maybe a car thrown in, all legal and above board you see, because he was giving it to one of his own employees.

We could go on, and on and on, but you know the story. It is an amateur organisation after all. Here’s what Nickey said:

“It is not too strong to say it is at epidemic proportions in some cases and it is amazing. I have met some club people who admit they are paying their managers but try and get that proof to bring them to accountability and you can’t.

“There is usually some generous benefactor that is able to do this sort of thing. It is just that the clubs are doing themselves a terrible disservice by doing that and it is a failure of club leadership not to face up to their responsibilities.

“I do know we have been criticised for not doing anything about it. At times you have to say that is fair criticism but ask me how and I just can’t come up with a formula.”

The reality is that in many clubs the pressure to win, achieve, whatever you want to call it, then means that less emphasis is put on player development and doing the right thing. Nothing’s more important than results, results, results.

The great flaw of course in the paid manager-theory is that the game is played by players, not managers. And you know what a fickle lot they can be. So how many times have you seen the big shot, well-paid and well travelled manager win Sweet Feck All? And then move on somewhere else and continue to win Sweet Feck All? Answers on a postcard please.