It has been another hectic couple of weeks on the North West merry-go-round however the recent comings and goings among the playing fraternity have been shaded by the unfortunate situation at Limavady. Plenty of people have had their say on the demise of one of the region's most successful clubs of the generation while the simple fact is that it sent shock-waves around the North West. Some have happily laid the blame squarely at the feet of those who paid a King's ransom for short term gain and now find themselves haunted by a club bereft of one single home grown youngster.

They may have a point - Limavady themselves are in no doubt now that their reluctance to spend some of their budget on a development policy meant that there was always the chance that this could happen. You can't grow plants unless you buy seeds and all that. But you know its not that simple either, because for a club who paid a plethora of players to play cricket, the return was hardly jaw-dropping. The Roesiders shared the title with Strabane in 2009 but haven't won it outright in 12 years. Their trophy haul since beating the same team in the Irish Senior Cup final more than 8 years ago is two senior cups and an Ulster cup.

Last season, despite starting the campaign as title favourites they finished just two points above Glendermott who were relegated. It's hardly the stuff of legends and it demonstrates very clearly that something wasn't right. And while the people who put the money into pockets with a total disregard for the club's future have to shoulder the burden of the blame, they are far from alone.

The fact that Limavady's problem unfolded publicly at the start of the month will probably serve as a warning to others. Make no mistake about it, there are a lot of cricket clubs in Ireland, the North West and beyond, living seriously beyond their means. I would go so far as to say that several have severe financial problems and are holding on by their fingertips hoping the situation gets better. The North West gets plenty of bad press on the whole player paying issue but the fact is we're no better and no worse than the other Unions. Just because you close your eyes to something doesn't mean it isn't happening and it is an issue that needs attending to.

There are some clubs who aren't shy about admitting their role of course which brings me neatly on to our friends at CIYMS. The Belmont side's capture of Trevor Britton this week brings their North West complement up to four and there could be more to come. But while there are plenty who would be quick to wag the finger at the NCU outfit it might pay to remember that they also have a host of Intermediate and under-age teams going as well. That is also true of the majority of clubs who continue to offer terms to players and it is the area where Limavady fell down.

Now that the dust has settled somewhat on events at the Hunter Grounds, one of the main talking points will be where their players will wind up this season. Decker Curry has no shortage of offers as expected but while Bready and Terenure are considered two of the favourites, neither looks particularly likely. Strabane and Glendermott have both been keeping tabs over the past couple of months and while the Red Caps would probably have been the front-runners, the fact that the Rectory side are now back in Premier League business thrusts them into the picture again. Brigade could also come back into the reckoning too therefore it is no surprise to see the former Irish International take his time to deliberate.

Andrew Riddles has been targeted by a Championship club but is also likely to want to stay in the top flight with Glendermott and Brigade sure to figure in the equation while Simon Dunn looks a ready made replacement for "Ted" at Beechgrove.

Strabane will want a resolution to the Curry situation one way or t'other pretty quickly as they will explore other options should they fail in their bid while Bready now look like bringing Agha Sabir Ali back for another season as they look to cover for the losses of Bryan Scanlon and Steven Clarke. No doubt there will be twists and turns in the weeks ahead as the start looms ever nearer.

The final bone of contention for this week is the Inter-Pro series and what selection policy will be put in place by Cricket Ireland. At the time of writing there was still no clarification as to whether the North West will be facilitated to select home based players who are plying their trade in other regions (most notably in the Belmont region) or whether they will only consider players playing here.

The issue has generated some passionate debate on public forums in the past few days but only time will tell what transpires. Come to think of it, with the suggestion that the series' will now be starting in April is it not about time that we were at least advertising the various posts throughout the regions? We don't want to make a hash of this so time to get the finger out.