Great post mate, and already FC are after copying our club idea after many of their fans mocked Rovers for doing it, just as they tried to copy us with the Junior Robins with the Junior Airlie Birds which hasn't really taken off.

By making it too inflexible you can create problems and cause players to leave as well - like Calderwood in your example. Not a problem for Leeds, who have an excellent pipeline and need to let players go to keep under the cap. There has to be a strategy in place, of course, and no club can be held to ransom. Despite a limited pedigree the Dobson signing has worked out well and I'm sure his team mates recognise his value to the team. It is more important the structure is sensible, rather than rigid. In wage cap discussions on your board I've seen [iformer[/i internationals described as high earners because of caps they won during an earlier contract, which seems silly. I suspect the quality you have brought in this year represents a less rigid adherance to policy that I think may have contributed, just slightly, to your 'too many average players' squads of the last couple of years.

You've missed the point. It's not a matter of paying everyone equally, its about coming up with a valuation of a player and not paying more than that valuation. It's easy to get sucked into a bidding war and end up paying more than you should have done.

It's easy and also sometimes necessary. A whole range of external factors can influence a player's worth. Say a club really needs, for example, a centre and a hooker. There are a few good centres about, so you can afford to play the field, bide your time and try to grab a bargain (I'm paid by the cliche). There is only one adequate hooker available though, he isn't brilliant but it is him or nobody. So you pay slightly over the odds - well I would at least.

If I were designing a wage structure, I'd borrow from championship manager and have a wage range for: Key players, regular 1st team players, squad players and development players (the last two overlapping). And that'd be it.
From a Rovers business point of view I think the pertinent question is what total spend is affordable?, rather than the details of how the pie is divided (kerching).

makes you wonder how much fc have invested in long,o'meley and fitzgibbon....we have released a fair chunk of last years squad and only brought in 4 players, one of which cant be on alot(turner)....agar stated we have room on the cap IF another player is needed mid-season, so it will be interesting to see what pans out at the kc....

also player up grades to both briscoes, moa, kent, lyne, tuffour, burnett, whiting i think.