I think there will only be 1 signing for next year if Eastwood goes (which should be a forward) since Hetherington always likes to have a bit of cap space to play with and with Smith returning we're right up to the cap this year. So I think Eastwoods cap space will be used on a forward whereas Donald's will be used to keep hold of the likes of BJB for the future and leave us a bit of space to play with too.

If the money Donald had previously received was going to BJB, what were we going to pay Donald under his new contract?

There are two salaries(?) available Donald and Eastwood, so we can reasonably expect at least 1 top quality signing, and either some room to manouvre mid season, or another average quality player.

All you internet experts seem to have forgotten that there might be some junior players who will need enhanced deals?

Clarkson was part time at the beginning of this season, BJB has just played a season of Super league etc etc

So on the basis that 7 players were all re-signed earlier this season, at a time when Clarkson was already in and around the first team, and we have known for a long time that BJB would be coming back, along with the effect on the Salary Cap that both would have, are you suggesting that GH is either unable to count how much money he would have been spending on the cap, or that he is now so generous that rather than bring in a new player (or 2 to replace the ones leaving) he is going to needlessly upgrade a junior players contract?

I'd give GH a bit more credit than that.

Agree re Clarkson depending on his current contract expiry at Leeds.

When is Jones-Bishop contracted to?

Hetherington doesn't strike me as someone who gives upgrades until they are earned and/or until he has to.

You also forgot the almost certainly reduced contracts of Ali, Kylie, Senior, Diskin, Buderus (and isn't a mere 10% reduction enough for the rest of the team ). But then the probably increases for Bailey, and probably Smith.

I was actually taking that as a "given" tbh especially as the contracts Clarkson and Ambler have signed are already within the cap for next year as is Bjb's return.
I still expect at least 1 arrival.

I'm saying you have no more idea than I do and it's not as simple as your previous post makes out.

I give GH plenty of credit and tend not to fucs too much energy on the issue. Needless to say, it's better left in GHs hands than the vast majority of the experts on here.

I'd definitely agree that GH is the best person to deal with these issues (not that the likes of you or I will ever be involved I suspect).

Where I disagree, is that given the competence that GH has in this area, he will know full well that when two senior (no pun intended) players leave, this gives him a surplus of Salary Cap spend that is very unlikely to be taken up on contract upgrades for two or three juniors. This is a very reasonable assumption given that one of the players leaving had signed a new contract only weeks ago, and the other was 1 year into a 3 year deal, oh and that we had Smith on board for next year before Donald announced he was leaving.

I don't understand what you are disagreeing with? Is it that GH is best left to deal with this or that it is not a simple as you think?

I avoid basing massive hypothesis on assumptions and try and establish facts. I guess that is the difference between law and sales, you just make stuff up to suit and I find the flaws in it..

Massively OT - but what area of law are you in? Just curious.

G1, the bit I disagree with you on, is that you seem to think that we will have to pay out additional salary to BJB, Clarkson and other juniors, whilst I am saying that we must have already known about this and factored it into our sums when calculating how much we had to spend on re-signing the 7 players we did earlier this year. Then considering that one player who agreed a contract extension (Donald) has subsequently decided to retire, this leaves even more spare Salary Cap capacity.

These are facts not assumptions, so you might as well drop the Law V Sales guff which you are using to try to discredit my statements.

I'm in charge of making cups of tea when client's visit.

And occasionally I get to clean the whizzy wee off the Senior partner's desk when he's been shtooping a secretary.

Congratulations on your promotion!

So you don't think, for example, clarkson will be in receipt of en enhanced contract given that he has now quit his day job and gone full time?

Maybe they always leave spare capacity in case, you know, a player like Clarkson emerges during the season. A player they will likely not have factored in their calculations for this season but one who became a 1st team regular, one who will have received match bonuses un-budgeted for and an enhanced conrtacted, unbudeted for.

What are facts?