Salary Caps

[Baron Pepperpot]

For those interested on a quiet Sunday I thought I'd put my thoughts down on the issue of clubs increasing wage bills


Football Needs Salary Caps | The Pepperpot Post


I think it's a debate that should start (and probably will) sometime soon. I'd be interested to hear what other folk think.

 

[clippedgull]

Football doesn’t seem real anymore. I’ve stopped enjoying it in the way I once did. All I see is pound signs, big business, and the lofty throne of the media. I think the thing that has turned me off is that as a supporter I am now a consumer, and football is my product.



Perhaps I am romanticising the days of the flat cap, footballers with second jobs and five teams still in line for the title at the start of April. The days when the F A Cup draw was exciting, and the day of the final was fish ‘n’ chips and Cup Final It’s A Knockout. The days when a little non-league team could enter the league and win said final ten years later (as well as reach the top division). Yes perhaps I am romanticising, but it felt so much more genuine then, and at least we could dream.

Exactly how I feel.

It's not really a level playing field anymore so therefore the competition element especially in the Premiership has long gone except for the Top 6 richest clubs.

 

[SeagullSongs]

Football needs salary caps, but they need to be international, otherwise all of the really good players in this country will just f*** off over to the Middle East, Asia or the MLS where they'll get paid twice as much.
Thinking of a reasonable price cap though, that's the tough part.

 

[coagulantwolf]

Simply won't happen unless it is internationally made a rule/law.

Sadly, I feel those at the very top will let the game implode through money before they would actually implement it. By then it'd be too late as well!

 

[nwgull]

If such a thing were to be brought in, then I'm sure clubs, player's agents and their respective lawyers and accountants could easily find several loopholes.

 

[countryman]

To be honest, I wouldn't really care if only England had the wage cap and it was not an international thing. Yes, the best English players would bugger off to another country in search of money, but we would have players who care about the game and their team, less glory supporting fans, less money grabbing agents, the English national team would probably benefit and most importantly, a competitive top division.

If it was up to me, I would set the the wage cap at £5,000 a week. At £260,000 a year, footballers would still live very comfortably, and they would be set up for life after a career lasting about 15 years. I would also set the maximum signing on fee at £50,000.

 

[nwgull]

If it was up to me, I would set the the wage cap at £5,000 a week. At £260,000 a year, footballers would still live very comfortably, and they would be set up for life after a career lasting about 15 years. I would also set the maximum signing on fee at £50,000.

Sounds like a horrible idea; the thin end of a communist wedge in my opinion.

Also, you'd need to be a bit more realistic with those figures if you think that any decent players would stick around when they can earn 20x that much abroad.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Football needs salary caps, but they need to be international, otherwise all of the really good players in this country will just f*** off over to the Middle East, Asia or the MLS where they'll get paid twice as much.
Thinking of a reasonable price cap though, that's the tough part.

The MLS does have wage caps (actually, the MLS system of three designated players is a pretty good one).

 

[El Presidente]

Restraint of trade, bad idea.

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

Restraint of trade, bad idea.

Works well in other sports, though.

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

The MLS does have wage caps (actually, the MLS system of three designated players is a pretty good one).

Would be interesting to see how that works. In rugby clubs are allowed 'marquee' signings outside the cap, although I think that is limited to one.