As we suspected, you can smell it from here....

[chipnchase]

Yes because club officials would openly tell supporters they are bunging players extra cash off the books???

[mol2]

Lest we forget even in the amateur days there were "expenses" be that envelopes full of cash or jobs with a friendly employer.

[darganj]

If Bath and Sarries are overpaying a bit and I get to watch Louw and Burger play in the Prem then I'm happy.

Both teams have some real quality that is great to watch.

The cap is inherently flawed, very hard to place a value on a lot of the benefits that an overseas player receives. How can you put a value on being allowed more time off to visit home? Can you put a value on Saracens finding a certain English forward's best friend a job in the Sarries marketing department when they were struggling to find a job?

All clubs will be in the grey area, its just Sarries and Bath are run by businessmen so know how far they can go!

[sapajo]

[quote="darganj"]If Bath and Sarries are overpaying a bit and I get to watch Louw and Burger play in the Prem then I'm happy./quote]

Really??? are you South African?

[jgriffin]

Once the cap goes, as it may well do in the next two years, pro rugby will splinter into a few franchises or rich man playthings (Bath, Sarries, Wasps, Bris) plus the profit-makers. Give it a couple of more years and you end up with a 8-team superleague or a pan-European league.
I don't mind to some extent as long as it leaves the vast pyramid of English rugby funded and alive; I only really care what happens to Tigers.

[Skin_and_Muscle]

If Bath and Sarries are overpaying a bit and I get to watch Louw and Burger play in the Prem then I'm happy./quote]

Really??? are you South African?

Or, indeed, Namibian.

It's quite a narrow view from darganj; surely watching competitive matches every week is more important than watching the haves constantly, and predictably, beating the have-nots.

That some teams haven't got the turnover to sustain a high wage bill through geographical or cultural quirks, or financial luck, shouldn't prevent them from playing in a competitive league.

[Iain]

If Bath and Sarries are overpaying a bit and I get to watch Louw and Burger play in the Prem then I'm happy.

Both teams have some real quality that is great to watch.

The cap is inherently flawed, very hard to place a value on a lot of the benefits that an overseas player receives. How can you put a value on being allowed more time off to visit home? Can you put a value on Saracens finding a certain English forward's best friend a job in the Sarries marketing department when they were struggling to find a job?

All clubs will be in the grey area, its just Sarries and Bath are run by businessmen so know how far they can go!

What a thoroughly depressing post on so many levels.

[h's dad]

If Bath and Sarries are overpaying a bit and I get to watch Louw and Burger play in the Prem then I'm happy.

Both teams have some real quality that is great to watch.

The cap is inherently flawed, very hard to place a value on a lot of the benefits that an overseas player receives. How can you put a value on being allowed more time off to visit home? Can you put a value on Saracens finding a certain English forward's best friend a job in the Sarries marketing department when they were struggling to find a job?

All clubs will be in the grey area, its just Sarries and Bath are run by businessmen so know how far they can go!

What a thoroughly depressing post on so many levels.

It would be if there was any accuracy or comprehension in there.

[L Smith]

Just thought i'd keep this thread alive so it keeps its rightful place towards the top of this forum.
The paying supporters will not allow a whitewash on this issue!!!!
My two pennerth, as an increasingly angry season ticket holder, for what it's worth.

[sapajo]

Great attitude to keep this to the fore, but it is abundantly clear that this issue has been kicked into the swamp. As the premiership clubs voted for this the reality is that supporters views are of no concern. All that matters to any business is that the revenue continues to increasingly keep rolling in.

[darganj]

If Bath and Sarries are overpaying a bit and I get to watch Louw and Burger play in the Prem then I'm happy.

Both teams have some real quality that is great to watch.

The cap is inherently flawed, very hard to place a value on a lot of the benefits that an overseas player receives. How can you put a value on being allowed more time off to visit home? Can you put a value on Saracens finding a certain English forward's best friend a job in the Sarries marketing department when they were struggling to find a job?

All clubs will be in the grey area, its just Sarries and Bath are run by businessmen so know how far they can go!

What a thoroughly depressing post on so many levels.

It would be if there was any accuracy or comprehension in there.

No accuracy or comprehension?

It is a fact that Saracens found a current England second row's best mate a job in their marketing department. However, he ignored all their advances and resigned with his current club.

How do you put a value on that? Also, how can you put a value on the hypothetical situation of Bruce Craig going to into a clothing business with Sam Burgess?

Surely the value of the business is irrelevant to the cap if all of the money is kept in the company and only extracted in his 40s?

The cap is so so so flawed. Any decent financier could think of 100s of ways round it.

[h's dad]

It is a fact that Saracens found a current England second row's best mate a job in their marketing department. However, he ignored all their advances and resigned with his current club.

How do you put a value on that? Also, how can you put a value on the hypothetical situation of Bruce Craig going to into a clothing business with Sam Burgess?

Surely the value of the business is irrelevant to the cap if all of the money is kept in the company and only extracted in his 40s?

The cap is so so so flawed. Any decent financier could think of 100s of ways round it.

darganj, every situation you have cited, genuine and hypothetical, is clearly and effectively dealt in the salary cap regulations in a number of ways, both specifically and, as a catch-all, if the SCM is not happy with the numbers declared to him, the substituting of his own assessment of a players worth for whatever has been declared. No proof required, simply, "I am suspicious of the accuracy of this number so I am changing it." Please read the regulations, it should help clarify how the system works.