viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3564&start=510
I agree that the salary cap is the most the prudent thing to do.Adelaide_United_Red wrote: Capping the A-League is a neccesary evil in my mind. It allows the club's administrationsto budget a solid figure for player expenditure in a period of fierce competition. Trying to start up a new league is not cheap. MLS bled millions doing the same in as competitive an environment as Australia.If there was no Salary cap, both Sydney and M<elbourne would make like Madrid & Barca, turning our league into a 2 horse race. Football already faces a perception problem in this country, with 8 of 10 clubs having no real chance to win it, the lack of a fair go would make taking shots at the league easier than it is now. Perhaps in the future after 20 years, the football pie would have grown enough to remove the cap and the squad size limit, but any loss in competitiveness would be to the dtriment of the league I feel. There are dreamers(kids) who write on football forums who bitch an moan that the cap is not real football and theat we need a 2nd division with promotion/relegation to have a 'proper' football league in this county. Sure, and the money to fund this will come from where exactly? It does make life difficult because in an open market we are intentionally tying one hand behiond our backs, as we see in the Asian Champions League.
In a closed environment, the AFL might be able to get away with no cap, after all you can hire as many assistant coaches as you like, fly the team to high altitude training whenever it bestfits, but you can't offer your bet player the salary he is worth. If anything though I feel the AFL will go the opposite way and cap the off-field spend to try to reverse the two-tier construct currently appearing in the AFL. In the NFL this extra money(profit) goes into to pocket of the wealthy owner, not sure where the leftover money (aka profit) would go for the AFL clubs?
However, while improving slightly, one can't help but think the A-League's current course is a road to nowhere. I wonder what would happen if they DID scrap the cap.
The Palmer backed Gold Coast could have a great team. Being consistently at the top they might then morph into an actual club with actual fans. Imagine the bitterness in Brisbane, a club with a natural constituency, at being dominated by their less deserving, smaller and uncultured neighbor. The Roar already take the rivalry seriously from their end. The sight last season of 1500 Brisbane fans massed behind the goal at an otherwise empty Robina was quite a memorable one. Now what if the Gold Coast actually had a support? There’d be the proverbial two to tango.
And who's to say where it would end? Fatso Clive is the richest man is Australia and only stands to get richer. I know he seems a tight arse now with the closing of stands to save money, but make no mistake, the man is a capitalist pig-dog. With the leash removed and the potential for self aggrandizing open he might really invest in the team and club. Few imagined in 2003 that Abramovic would still be pumping big money into Chelsea 8 years later. Could we get to experience the pleasure of seeing a team run by an Australian Oligarch lose a Asian Champions League final on penalties?
Also what of Tinklers Newcastle? With no cap they’d have the potential to out-recruit clubs like Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane ect. Newcastle has a strong football heritage and Novacastrians generally are parochial. They love a winner. A competitive Jets could see support greatly increase and possibly have a flow on effect down the Freeway.
As for Sydney, with no salary cap, how long would it be before a new consortium took over? The Lowy family might become re-involved. Frank is worth 5.5 billion. He's 80. That money will be no good to him when he's dead. He might just be willing spend a portion of it on one of his great life long passions. Imagine the potential of Sydney FC in such a scenario. Why couldn't they attract quality players from Asia and from certain leagues in Europe and South America?
Consider the recent examples of Carlos Hernadez and Patricio Perez. Before he came to Australia Hernadez was toiling in away in Costa Rica with L.D. Alajuelense. Perez was completely inconsequential in Argentina, playing for a small club in the Primera B. Even as it currently stands with the salary cap in place MVFC was a more then attractive option for Hernadez, one of the top domestic players in Costa Ricca and the freaking Central Coast Mariners were able to pay Perez more then a club in the Argentine second division. Both players were guns in the A-League and instant sensations with fans.
There’s a ton such footballers and better in South America that are playing for very little money. Cashed up A-League club's would be a very attractive prospect for them. Australia is a great place to live.
So scrapping the salary cap could mean more private investment which = better players, higher standards, competitiveness in Asia, bigger crowds, more revenue. Money is a tremendous change agent. 15 years ago the English Premier League was a place Serie A rejects would go.
Now this is an overly optimistic scenario and I don't think any of this will happen, it's more of a "what if?" However unlike Promotion/Relegation I feel a salary cap free A-League or even an A-League with a higher salary cap then half the clubs can reach is at least conceivable.
publicly floating football clubs has died out AFAIK.