31 December 2011
The Aviva Premiership Salary cap was introduced in the late 1990's to keep the league competitive and ensure all clubs had a fair chance at winning rugby’s biggest prize inside of England. I would argue all its done is hamstrung the leagues big boys in European competition. Since the game went pro only 5 clubs have won the league with Wasps and Leicester being the only multiple winners. This suggests to me the big clubs will always rise to the top domestically; the best players always want to play for the clubs with the most revered histories.
And now in the 2012/2013 season we see the introduction of the Designated player rule where you can choose one player from your squad to eradicate from the Salary cap bill, What is there to stop a club going to a top Kiwi like Dan Carter for example and saying "Dan we would like you to play for (insert club allegiance here) here’s £15 million wages and it would be totally legal. Now of course this totally defies what the cap was bought in for. Making the league a level playing field for "yoyo" clubs like Worcester, Leeds, Bristol and giving them a chance of becoming a top club.
I would argue that this designated player rule actually encourages teams to overreach their budgets for short term success leaving them extremely vulnerable for long term ruin.
Currently the Salary cap in France is double ours and the Pro 12 is limitless although Wales are rumoured to be implementing a cap in the near future. So how are traditional Giants such as Leicester/Northampton and New kids on the Block Saracens meant to compete on a fair scale? The simple answer is we can’t.
Now my idea is to implement a break even scheme whereby you must present club finances at the end of each year WITHOUT showing debt. If you are a well-supported club regularly getting 20,000 through the turnstiles you will be rewarded with extra to spend on team wages, giving you the extra firepower needed to challenge for European honours on a more definitive basis.
Should your club be able to generate a £20 million yearly turnover then by all means why shouldn’t you use this to your advantage? Also should you be a CEO of a smaller rugby club then you will be forced to promote the club more locally getting more people inside the ground.
What this also does is guarantees no clubs go bust or does a "Leeds United" and basically spends its way into mediocrity. I honestly can’t see a downside but as always am quite happy to hear comments to the contrary as what our great sport has always had over others is the frank exchange of views between fans of all clubs.
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