Is this the title of Keith Senior's autobiography?

What a load of absolute stinking drivle. The argument about attracting other athletes is total garbage, people play the sport they are good at. Kids in scholl don't think "I will play football because footballers earn more money.". They play it beacuase they are good at it and enjoy it. People who design computer games have a great job, and probably earn a fortune doing it. But I don't do that for a living, why? Because I wouldn't actually be any good at it!

I disagree. I think the final this year was as predictable as ever, and the playoffs were dull dull dull, because everyone knew who was going to be in the final.

A salary cap set at an arbitrary level for all clubs is ridiculous, because as Smokey says, all it serves is do is to artificially lower the standards to artificially even the competition on the field.

And it is still failing to do that.

Effectively Leeds can't reward their players because if they do Cas could go bust.

Brilliant.

Lots of old pro-CC chestnuts on this thread:

1. Tedious personal abuse (you can tell when certain people have lost an argument)

2. The CC stops clubs from getting into financial difficulties (obviously I just imagined the GatesHull fiasco, London's repeated issues pre-IL, Bradford's more recent difficulties and the Celtic scenario this season...

). Don't any of you pro-CC posters realise the 50% cap has gone, meaning that small clubs can massively overspend? Please don't pretend the CC is a well designed system to prevent clubs from financial difficulties, that is just ridiculous.

3. SL clubs can't afford to play players more, apparently. Rubbish. They haven't even increased the cap in line with inflation, let alone the average rise in earnings. Many pro-CC posters have a real problem with RL players earning what for most professional sportsmen at the top of their sport would be a very modest salary. Its sad to see such envy exposed. I don't have a problem with them earning a really good wage - good luck to our RL stars - they are talented people and its a short career. It obviously suits club owners and the small minded envy of some RL fans though to keep wages down.....

4. Apparently the "level playing field" (it's a bizarre level playing field that sees 2 clubs dominate year after year, but there you go...) is raising standards across the sport. Well, Wigan finished 6th and then made the semi-finals, losing narrowly to Saints, with a team from which only 3 or 4 of our players would have been able to get into the Wigan side of 10 years ago, let alone the sides of 15-20 years ago. The game has been going backwards, particularly in the last 3 or 4 years. At international level we are barely able to field a three quarter of world class, at FB we are light years behind the Aussies and Kiwis, as for the halves we are left desperately hoping that the likes of Tomkins, Eastmond and Myler will make the grade because the present crop just are not up to it. Our forwards are simply not good enough.

I'd like to see a competition that encouraged and rewarded ambition and growth. Unlike the Aussies we don't have a massive player base and big media coverage in this country. The game is getting increasingly marginalised. It needs to grow financially, it needs to grow its fan base and it needs to grow its player base. None of these things are helped by the dumbing down effect of the CC, which pulls all clubs down to the level of the smallest (who are allowed to spend recklessly!!!) and does nothing to encourage or reward player development, growth in crowds or increased financial performance, nor does it control finances properly to ensure clubs don't get into difficulty.

The head in the sand mentality of the pro-CC people on this thread would be amusing if the reality of today's RL and its likely slow decline were not so sad.

Pure conjecture. Different game, different players. You can't possibly know who would have got in which team and who wouldn't. Andy Goodway would have been puffing and blowing after 5 minutes of yesterday's GF and Sean Long's "skills" are no match for those of Sean Edwards. Comparisons in this scenario are pointless.

OK, so you think the current Wigan side is as good as the one 10 years ago....







Let's see what happens in the 4 nations. I predict more humiliation for England and the exposing of the myth that player quality in SL is increasing....

So those who think the Cap is counter-productive, what are the alternatives?

50% of turnover? No cap at all?

You mean [ithe same [/ihumiliation we've had for the last 30 years?

As for the current Wigan side - it's certainly fitter, bigger and stronger than 10 years ago. The only thing that's gone is the ball handling skills - which isn't much needed these days in the bash and barge product which has evolved in SL.

Oh Please




Wire pi$$ all over what Wigan can pay



Free market?..
The current recession anyone?

At least previously we could muster a one off victory against the Aussies or give them a real good run for there money. Beating them in Melbourne in the Tri-Nations being a good example.

But at the World Cup we were demolished and couldn't compete. At least in the past we have competed. Look at the Aussie team. Billy Slater, Hayne, Inglis, Falou etc up against Briscoe, Hall, Shenton and Atkins?



Rubbish. This current Wigan side is not fitter and stronger than the past Wigan side ten years ago. The likes of Feka Paleaasina, Mark Riddell, Karl Pryce are drastically unfit and it is the fitness levels at the club that is of major concern and has come under the most scrutiny.

We've won jack s[ihit[/i for 30 years. An odd win in 1988, 1990 and so on and so forth ....... to what - a whitewash in 2008? Same difference to me. Don't kid yourself that 20 years ago we were slightly better than we are today by comparison. It all amounts to the same thing - we're still way behind. We were 20 year ago and we still are today. By what degree? Does it matter? We're still crap.