loretta wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 8:47 am
I'd forgotten just how far the modern game has moved from it's amateur days. Watched the Tigers v Gosforth game and at times it looked more like Hallaton bottle-kicking!
Must remember that they didn't train full time and had jobs, some doing manual labour.
I don't think anyone wants to go back to that time but there are things to learn from it.
Teams that played the uncontested scrum have a lot to answer for and I recall at the time there were calls for some form of simple rule to deter it such as the team uncontested losing the put in, but instead they went the other way and stacked the bench with more subs.
Coaches are now often doing a 6/2 forwards/backs bench split.
Add in the lengthy stoppages and it has created a different game favouring more and more size. Players earnings have risen in relation to the growing need to retire more wealthy due to the higher risk of injuries because of the increased impacts to which injuries, player earnings and squad costs have become unsustainable.
It's slightly more complicated than that.
Assume an amateur(ish) league of 10 teams each with competent players who are all pretty even. One year team A wins the next team C and so on - any team might win. they get a cup.
Now, change that to a professional league. with huge rewards and penalties. Assume again the teams all start pretty evenly matched but team A finds a genius 9. They pay him more. Other teams want him and offer more. Other "star" players are found who want more. The rest of the players see this wage inflation and want more. "He's not three times as good as me..." Teams are prepared to go along with this because of the structure. Win the league and riches ensue (eg Europe competition, more TV money) lose and failure beckons (eg championship, no TV money, falling gate receipts) so any player who genuinely brings a competitive advantage is worth money. (Of course, some only appear to do so). This structure inevitably drives wage inflation as it has and does in soccer. It is obvious and predictable and can be prevented only by a truly enforced cap.
Yes you are right it is slightly more complicated.
Constantly finding good young players is crucial.
A loaf is worth less when the shelf is well stocked.
English club rugby union is in chaos with some players being given 24-hour ultimatums to sign new contracts in order to exploit a loophole in the new salary cap rules. The Rugby Players’ Association says it is working around the clock to help hundreds of players who risk falling foul of their employers if they do not agree to rip up their current contracts.
Following the decision to reduce the permitted cap by £1.4m to £5m plus allowances from the 2021-22 season, it emerged that only 75% of the wages of a currently contracted player will count towards it.
There has consequently been a mass scramble to try to persuade players to amend existing deals and re-sign prior to the deadline on Thursday. With many of his members under pressure to accept permanent 25% cuts and Premiership Rugby having ignored offers of mediation, the RPA’s chief executive, Damian Hopley, believes trust within the English game has seldom been in such short supply.
“It’s an absolute circus … I’ve never known anything like it,” said Hopley, who is particularly concerned for middle- and lower-income players who have been contacting the union seeking advice. “We have situations where players are being given contracts and told they have 24 hours to sign them. It beggars belief.
“We’re talking about the next three years of a player’s life. In what other walk of life would you be given 24 hours to sign a contract with barely any time for consultation? The upshot is that we’re on calls pretty much 24-7.”
I read that the clubs are offering the same salary or higher on longer contracts to exploit the salary cap loophole - I think that article, if I've read it correctly, might be slightly misleading in implying that players are being offered 25% pay cuts and only given 24 hours to sign.
You would think that for a rugby player facing a reduced salary cap, the prospect of a longer than normal term contract on your current or higher salary would be pretty attractive, if all other parts of the contract are the same. Maybe not for the younger players who would hope to increase in value, but for most it seems like a good opportunity to secure their futures - even if you do only have 24 hours to consider it.
It has emerged that by getting players to agree longer deals, clubs can still pay higher wages to some individuals, as contracts beyond the 2021-22 season will only see 75% of their wages come under the cap.
It has led to some players being asked to agree 25% cuts, while others are being asked to sign new longer contracts to maintain or increase their wages, all at short notice.
For the people who think the players are being selfish and are not "doing their bit" I urge you to listen to what Genge and Hask have to say in the latest house of rugby, its honestly shocking what is happening to some players at the moment and this is going on across the whole prem.
For those who are only intersted in Gengey talking about the current situation it starts at around 10 mins in
I hope players realise they’re lucky to have a job, a very well paid job, even if they are having to be on a lower wage. Some people are less fortunate.
Cutting your cloth accordingly is something a fair amount of people are not used to nowadays. Maybe it’s time some people sorted their priorities out and do exactly that.
TigerBoy1880 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2020 8:11 am
I hope players realise they’re lucky to have a job, a very well paid job, even if they are having to be on a lower wage. Some people are less fortunate.
Cutting your cloth accordingly is something a fair amount of people are not used to nowadays. Maybe it’s time some people sorted their priorities out and do exactly that.
I doubt that the players are any less sensitive to the situation of others than the rest of us. I think it's more straightforward though...
If your current employer chooses to demand a 25% wage cut of you (and does so in a very autocratic way, I might add) and a prospective employer offers you a 25% increase - what are you going to do?
Happy days clearing straw from the pitch before the Baa-Baas games! KBO
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