My generation of players fought for it for you. You do so now for players in years to come.

Timing is not your responsibility. The club could easily have honored precedent. It is their choice. Brinkmanship is the clumsy tool that has historically always been used to bludgeon players.

The principle is what is important. A strong playing profession is critical to the game. So be strong.

There are thousands of former players behind you that fought battles they could not afford at a time when clubs could single them out, pressure them unfairly, pay scant regard to contracts and ruin careers.

Yet they still stood for what is right, because they believed in their profession and dreamt that, one day, players could enjoy a fully professional league with fair conditions and remuneration.

Remember that the game has only grown to the extent that the players, through the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), decided no longer to bear the burden of poor management decisions but to demand fair returns for their labour, which forced the administration of the game to professionalise.

It is the players that were the key catalyst to where the game stands today and they took great personal and professional risk to do so.

Player remuneration is never about another $1,000 or $10,000 but about a stronger and more attractive career path to train, retain and reward our best talent to grow the game to compete domestically and internationally. Do not allow the discussion to descend into talk of 'greed' that used to be the norm.

This occasionally fires up a few fans who talk of 'playing for the shirt' as though, to get where you are, you have already not shown enough passion, love and desire. This is a normal reaction, yet none of these fans will fail to argue their own commercial case with their employer.

Somehow, only footballers are exempt from wanting to improve their, and their family's position in life, and in a career that is precarious, short-term and often precludes satisfactory preparation for life afterwards.

The club has published figures to try to gain support and, as appears to be the case here, tried to characterise you as stealing from the mouths of future kids in the academy you are to partly fund through your efforts on the field.

But this is all part of the ugly business of managing public sentiment when fair deals are not agreed in good faith well ahead of time. We have, frankly, seen it all before too often.

Keep the debate focused on rewarding players in order to grow the game here because we need higher and higher rewards to continue developing.

At the 1997 Confederations Cup we voted to strike on principle and did not train in Riyadh in protest, despite our deep, deep love of representing our country. Eighteen of the 21 players were strong, great characters prepared to stand for the profession.

The 18 who fought for you in '97 and, as desperate as we were to play in a major tournament, were fully prepared to withdraw from the Confederations Cup on principle, the same situation you face.

They were: Stan Lazaridis, Milan Ivanovic, Alex Tobin, Mark Viduka, Aurelio Vidmar, Harry Kewell, Matthew Bingley, Robbie Hooker, Tony Vidmar, Josip Skoko, Paul Trimboli, Damian Mori, John Aloisi, Ernie Tapai, Kevin Muscat, Zeljko Kalac, Mark Bosnich and myself.

Captain Tobin and PFA co-founder Brendan Schwab fought like lions for the group and cemented key principles that underpin everything the Socceroos have achieved since.

There is a demand letter to Soccer Australia signed by these players framed in the PFA offices because from this stance, today's players, and therefore the game, benefit greatly.

Pay no heed to ex-players arguing against your stance because they all benefitted from previous positions by their fellow players, wherever they played.

Even some that were present in '97 have argued against you but remember, those that did not show courage in Saudi Arabia later banked the dividends we risked our careers to acquire. All.

To let colleagues take great risks and accept the benefits is bad enough, yet to then argue against those doing likewise is the worst crime of hypocrisy.

In 1974, the legendary Socceroos threatened not to board the flight to Germany.

Australian Soccer Federation President, Sir Arthur George walked in the room and told them that anyone who did not accept the pittance on offer could leave, and would be replaced. What do you think they did?

They stood, and walked out en masse. Strength, solidarity and conviction. The hallmarks of legends. The essence of the game that we feel as players, and never lose.

So too in '97. We were threatened with our own international careers, but stood firm so that each generation of players might be better rewarded for the years of sacrifice and dedication.

This is your history. Your forebears built it for you. Respect it, take strength from it and follow their lead.

Craig Foster is a Life Member, and former CEO of the PFA