Quote El Diablo="El Diablo"You still need to address the problem that the RFL has no actual stake in these players. The RFU and ECB call on the time of their centrally contracted players very regularly. The events that they call on them for also generate the huge revenue they can use to fund central contracts. The RFL don't have that kind of cash as they essentially have 2 showpiece events a year which generate big crowds (CC Final and GF) while the RFU have a cup final, a grand final plus at least 5 home test matches each year, all pulling in 70k plus punters.
The alternative is to relax the cap for players coming through the youth system. That's not a terrible idea, but taken too far, it could mean that only wealthier cluybs (Wigan, Leeds, Wire, Saints) could afford to keep their uber-gifted youngsters if other sides are still unable to pay the full existing cap, let alone expanding it to keep their starlets. Which starts to negate the point of the salary cap a bit.
Thus far I actually don't think it's been a major problem, but it would be an idea to address it before it becomes one. One helpful factor is that a lot of RU clubs are really feeling the squeeze in this country at the moment as their benefactors are less free with their cash. I know somebody who has a non-executive board position at a very well established Premiership RU club, and they are not spending their salary cap at the moment.
Even allowing for that, identifying the problem is easier than finding a solution that doesn't solve one problem by creating a load of other problems.'"
I agree with you that this is not a simple matter. I used to be in favour of abolishing the cap altogether, but it's now become clear to me that we can't do that (and unless it's challenged in court by a player who's perhaps looking to sue his club or the RFL for restraint of trade, or something similar, we probably never will).
But I am in favour of salary cap discounts on younger, home-grown players or RU imports. I simply can't accept that it's better if none of us keep our starlets rather than just an elite few. At least they'll still be in the game.
I feel this idea that life is unfair on the lower clubs (not accusing you of that, by the way!) is part of an unrealistic mindset that seems to bedevilling the game at present. Okay, none of us want it to go the way of football, where even in the Premiership there are now only five or six teams who actually matter, but I doubt we'll get to that stage. That said, I think the social demographic of modern RL is such that clubs like Workington, Wakey etc will never again be top dogs simply as a part of the natural course. They'll only do that by replicating the levels of investment, marketing and common sense management etc that have cemented clubs like Wigan, Leeds, Wire, Saints into the upper tier, and that may be beyond them now simply because they've fallen too far behind. But I don't think that contriving a status quo by which the leading clubs are constantly pegged back is a viable solution.
But ditto ... I too have heard that many RU clubs, while they talk a good a financial fight, are actually having problems. There's no doubt this is a big issue for RL - every time a new star emerges we seem to have the same conversation, and we end up losing some of them, which we can ill afford - but the credit crisis is hitting everyone, and that may slow things down in our favour.
