I don't like the concept of a salary cap. Think it holds back RL in the UK. Soccer doesn't have one.

Now the RFL has a qualified and experienced salary cap policeman, there are a couple of alternative regimes I could live with as a move in the right direction:

1. Scrap the salary cap - but RFL to reserve the right to refuse to register a player's contract if it appears from the club's most recent accounts and most recent business plan that it cannot prudently afford the contract.

2. Keep the salary cap for clubs in the traditional heartland:
Yorkshire
Cumbria
Lancashire/Manchester/Liverpool/Cheshire

But adopt approach in 1. above for clubs outside the heartlands (and there are a lot of them even now - see draw for Kingston Press League One Cup).

Perhaps replacing it with a financial fair play system similar to that which has been introduced in football.

That would at least prevent sugar daddy run clubs running roughshod over the rest of the league and buying up every top player they can get a hold of.

Within a season most clubs would be trading illegally, some probably are at the moment, in soccer that is definitely the case.

It hasn't prevented that though has it.

Why, who has been buying "top players"? No one that I can see!!

Its not illegal to trade when you make or loss, or when your liabilities exceed your assets

Regards

King James

Yeh great idea, and lets have a 4 club SL. Better bet would be to allow a marquee signing, any player as much as you like, one per club.
If you wanted to boost wages you could also add in 3rd party allowance ie clubs who can attract corporate support to pay players can spend more
thirdly to counteract big clubs signing everyone you could have a home grown allowance meaning clubs that produce their own and invest in jnr development can pay their home grown players more.

Reality is 80% of clubs can't afford to pay more than they are doing and we arent losing heaps of talent out of SL.

If you wanted to ensure clubs didnt throw all their money at the top and neglect development of English players you could have a 75-25 incentive. For every 75 pound spent on jnr programs you can spend an extra 25 pounds on your salary cap.

I don't know why everyone gets so het-up over "sugar daddies".

If I won the Euro Millions, or had an investment mature in an amazing way or just a great business idea that took off, here in BRITAIN, I'd expect to be allowed to spend my money on what I want....This is NOT North Korea!

Too true Pete. Unfortunately, if you let clubs become too reliant on sugar daddies you end up with situations like we had in London. 2007.......real hope and a chance to put down strong roots with a landlord who wanted to partner with us.......to 2013, when the owner, who had ignored everyone for 7 years and wasted millions of his and the RFL/sky's money decided he'd had enough, before being convinced to "Save" us at the 11th hour......but by then, 2014 was already a forgone conclusion. Now we have a club that is even more reliant on him for income as he's given all our ticketing revenue to a landlord who doesn't want to partner with us......but sees us as a way to finance his soccer club.
Having cash doesn't equal being able to run a sports club Pete.......

I believe for club trained players, only the first £100000 now counts on the salary cap. So in effect there is no ceiling to how much clubs can spend on players wages, they just need to produce the star players and they can pay them what they like. I think this is the right route to go down, perhaps allow one player who is not club trained per club the same allowance.

I don't think that can come in at the moment as that too will only benefit 4 teams, once more sides get stronger academy's then yeah It'll be a good idea.

A simpler rule would be a zero-debt rule.

ie: A club owner/owners can spend as much as they like, however under no circumstances can it be in the form of a "loan" nor can any monies be "borrowed" against "club assets, and MUST be underwritten by each individual owner/owners.

Its easier to enforce, it means no club faces debt repayment it can't afford and owners are free to buy who and what they like!

I repeat my mantra on Salary-Caps..... THIS IS NOT NORTH KOREA!