Saracens are relegated!

[Grannyman]

Apologies if this has already been discussed, but has anyone questioned why Sarries are still allowed to compete in Europe? I understand that there's no cap for those competitions, but they've cheated during the qualification process by competing in the league illegally. Has this been addressed?

[nasher]

What I do not understand is they are relegated but are they continuing to pay players and exceed they salary cap? If so they should be slung out completely. As for players denying any knowledge of the cap being exceeded is rubbish they are complicit. How many of us can go to their employer ( who is not a bank or financial Institution) and ask help me buy my house? Without seeing it as an ‘off the books’ payment.

[bendy]

What I do not understand is they are relegated but are they continuing to pay players and exceed they salary cap? If so they should be slung out completely. As for players denying any knowledge of the cap being exceeded is rubbish they are complicit. How many of us can go to their employer ( who is not a bank or financial Institution) and ask help me buy my house? Without seeing it as an ‘off the books’ payment.

At the risk of being quite dull - employers can provide loans of up to £10k to employees tax free (to cover things like season tickets for travel, etc). Thereafter the loan becomes taxable to the extent that the interest on it is different to a loan the employee could obtain from a bank.

So if your employer lent you £1m at 10% interest to buy a house, the taxman (probably) wouldn't be interested.

One suspects that's not what Mr Wray was doing however.


Edited to clarify - I'm wholeheartedly in favour of Sarries being ejected from the league immediately btw. We're effectively allowing them to continue cheating this season and, potentially, to ruin some team(s) play-off hopes / injure players unnecessarily.

[nasher]

I think it was more than 10k but the taxman is not my business it’s the salary cap. For instance I will pay you 100. K a year but you are worth more so here is 50k to buy your house pay me back if you sell it. Salary cap ? 100k or 150k I do not know but the salary cap does.

[BFG]

I've rarely heard of anything as laughable as all this.
Regulation 4.u.s - decisions shall be made only after many expensive bottles of wine have been consumed at a free lunch.

[chewbacca]

Apologies if this has already been discussed, but has anyone questioned why Sarries are still allowed to compete in Europe? I understand that there's no cap for those competitions, but they've cheated during the qualification process by competing in the league illegally. Has this been addressed?

Allowing them to complete any more fixtures is a pointless exercise. They have nothing to compete for except individual pride. By allowing points gained and lost prior to and after their confirmed relegation to count biases the league position of all teams. Nullify already played matches and cancel all remaining fixtures. Tough on England as their players won't be match fit but that's just unfortunate.

[Cagey Tiger]

Ealing are 3rd behind Newcastle and Cornish Pirates. They don't look likely to get promoted regardless of Sarries.

Just more people trying to use Saracens cheating to cover up their own failure. Ealing have constantly talked about promotion over the last couple of years and invested a lot of money, now they're taking the opportunity to use Saracens as an excuse for not making it.

So much negativity from you Tiglon, Ealing are 2pts from being in the playoffs this season, which in your eyes is 'failure', just a sad attitude when you think of those players giving their all on a Saturday.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they stop the play-offs in the Championship? Top of the table at the end of the season gets promoted (subject to ground criteria etc.).

[Tigerbeat]

Play offs finished a couple of seasons back....Worcester were the first team to come back to the Premiership following the play offs being scrapped if I recall correctly.

[Tiglon]

Ealing are 3rd behind Newcastle and Cornish Pirates. They don't look likely to get promoted regardless of Sarries.

Just more people trying to use Saracens cheating to cover up their own failure. Ealing have constantly talked about promotion over the last couple of years and invested a lot of money, now they're taking the opportunity to use Saracens as an excuse for not making it.

So much negativity from you Tiglon, Ealing are 2pts from being in the playoffs this season, which in your eyes is 'failure', just a sad attitude when you think of those players giving their all on a Saturday.

Negativity or reality?

In my universe there are no playoffs in the Championship and Ealing are 11 points off the promotion place. They have said numerous times that their aim is to win promotion and far they have, quite literally, failed to do so. That's a failure. This isn't negativity, it is simply reality.

Which part of that is incorrect or incomprehensible?

[LE18]

Any techies out there with time to workout what the current league would look like if all points v Sarries were removed? Would we now be in top 4?

[Tiglon]

Any techies out there with time to workout what the current league would look like if all points v Sarries were removed? Would we now be in top 4?

I don't have the time to do that and I'm not a techie, but I strongly suspect that we would still not be in the top 4...

[DingDong]

Which part of that is incorrect or incomprehensible?

Agree the 'playoffs' aren't relevant in this seasons context, next season it is being reconsidered under the minimum 3 year trial agreement.

But to call Ealing a failure when 11pts behind the leader with 12 games to go is negative and therefore incomprehensible to anyone with an open and positive mind. I suggest your universe needs more light wherever that dark place is.

[Tiglon]

Which part of that is incorrect or incomprehensible?

Agree the 'playoffs' aren't relevant in this seasons context, next season it is being reconsidered under the minimum 3 year trial agreement.

But to call Ealing a failure when 11pts behind the leader with 12 games to go is negative and therefore incomprehensible to anyone with an open and positive mind. I suggest your universe needs more light wherever that dark place is.

Ealing's stated ambition is to be promoted. They have not been promoted. They have failed to be promoted.

[h's dad]

Negativity or reality?

In my universe there are no playoffs in the Championship and Ealing are 11 points off the promotion place. They have said numerous times that their aim is to win promotion and far they have, quite literally, failed to do so. That's a failure. This isn't negativity, it is simply reality.

Which part of that is incorrect or incomprehensible?

"We are an ambitious club and have the desire to be a part of the Premiership, which is what we are all striving for at some point in the future."
It's not failure until they fail to achieve their target within the time specified for the achievement. If you could advise where Ealing have said specifically that their target was to be in the Premiership by now we can agree that they have failed. Otherwise we will have to accept that you are incorrect. Will that make you a failure?

[Coops]

Any techies out there with time to workout what the current league would look like if all points v Sarries were removed? Would we now be in top 4?

Barely any change - i've very quickly done it.

Biggest change is Quins drop 3 places due to their 5 point win over Sarries. Sale and Saints swap places.

We remain in 11th.