I'll have a bash at some of this, but will caveat it by saying that it isn't out and out disagreement, because I regard the SC as an imperfect solution for an imperfect world.



Yes, in the short term. Ignoring the inherent instability of relying on an owner who can walk away, there is the problem that actually those other products ARE Salford's product. A 6 team league would be quite hard to market.



I agree. It isn't ideal, but actually clubs like Wigan and Leeds can (and do) invest that turnover in clever things, like development officers, their academies, their training facilities etc. All of which go towards making success sustainable in the long term. Which is actually better for both club and sport than blowing your whole wad on a couple of Aussie superstars.




These are very good questions, and they are legitimate concerns. It is, as I say at the start of this post, an imperfect solution. It comes down to weighing the pros and cons up.

See above, on facilities, academies and imperfect solutions.



Fair point. Pedantically (but slightly imortantly) no individual does have a cap on their earnings, the whole squad does, and the cap is to a large extent dictated by what the industry can afford to pay. In that sense it isn't that unusual, it is just a regulatory form of something most sectors have to rely on common sense and accountants for.



There is a subtle difference in that Leeds didn't need to throw their toys out of the pram in the first place because there was no regulatory obstacle to spending £350k on Harris. To be honest, if thse Sugar Daddies were always going to materialise, I wouldn't have a problem.

I was also only 16 when Leeds signed Harris, so I didn't really worry too much about that sort of thing...

Furthermore, Dr Koukhash is being a bit disingenuous in complaining about the SC a few weeks into his tenure. He knew about both the cap and the state of the club's accounts when he took over. He didn't get that rich by not doing his homework before he invests in a business. He's a shrewd man and I suspect a lot of it is noise for noise's sake, with the objective of getting Salford in the press and letting it be known to the jaded fan base that he's serious about investing lots of money in the club.

Players do have a cap - you need 17 to make a side so unless some guys are going to play for nothing then the wages of the top players are capped. Leeds could not afford to have the 3 stars at Melbourne - they would not be able to field a side with what would be left on the cap.

Dr K is simply pointing out some of the issues in the game - having a cap that isn't moving with inflation is sad state of affairs - he knows like GH did he needs a quick fix to get the ball rolling.

Since when did GH go for a quick fix?

The signings he made to steady the ship when he took over were Wayne Collins, Damian Gibson and Jamie Mathiou. Hardly Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater.

And when GH splashed the cash he operated within the cap. You're mixing up transfer fees and salaries.

Only because they were probably still in junior school or whatever the Australian equivalent might be.

The Hetherington idea of a quick fix was to turn to a couple of his former charges who he knew very well and trusted to start the job of rebuilding a demoralised club - Anthony Farrell and Ryan Sheridan. (Other Hetherington favourites were to follow over the next couple of seasons notably Daryl Powell and Lee Jackson) In addition to Farrell, Sheridan, Collins, Gibson and Mathiou in came Andy Hay, Paul Sterling, Richie Blackmore and Martin Masella plus the major splash in securing the services of the aforementioned Iestyn Harris and all within the first half of his first season in charge.

In all there were sixteen players making their Leeds debuts in '97, only three (Carvell, Leatham and Sinfield) came through the Leeds Academy with the other thirteen recruited from outside the club.

I won't mention Dean Lawford ..... damn it, I think I just did. Thank gawd it's late and no-one will see it.

I think the activity in the first year under GH shows he went for a quick fix that was completed with the signing of Harris and the appointment of Graham Murray who brought Godden and Glanville.

Even GH said the 1997-98 team had no future and given hardly any of that team were at Leeds when GH arrived I would say that represents a quick fix.

I am not sure at that point there was a cap - so I don't think anyone is confusing transfer fees with cap. Dr K is wanting to do exactly what GH did when he took over a club in both financial on playing chaos.

I agree with you on the main principles, there, That youth and community development is a priority, that there should be some form of talent distribution (or at the least some form of talent stockpiling restriction) and that clubs need to stop wage inflations getting out of control. My argument isn’t necessarily that they should be removed, as I said before they are a necessary evil, I just cant for the life of me see why the commitment to this cap, at this level?

There seems to be an attitude in RL (im not talking about anyone specific) which sees any change in cap, whether in value or structure, as encouraging profligacy, being unsustainable, and being at the expense of more worthwhile areas of the game. The debate cannot be on those lines, it isn’t healthy.

The very first thing, and the most important thing the RFL need to do, is to remove the power over the SC from the CEO’s. It isn’t right that the people responsible for paying for the wages are the ones who are getting together to decide them. It is in my opinion, unacceptable, nobody in that decision making process is from the player side. The very very very least that we should expect is that the decision on the cap value and its structure is made by an independent body listening to representations from both owners and players. Surely its the clubs job to justify the cap than the players to challenge it.

He used to clean my windows you know. Needed a ladder for the downstairs windows.

He also prefers his pizza cut into 8 pieces rather than 4.

Legend.