Wigan did not break the salary cap in 2007 but....

[butt monkey]

how do teams such as st helens warrington and leeds all get away with big names in there squads and abide by this rule? can we think about signing there negotiator's maybe we will have a team made up of nothing but sonny bill's.. its puzzles me i think maybe out side sponsors as they all ways say before the game each player sponsor.. if so i am willing to put up listing to the squad list's for 5 minutes longer if it means we can sign bigger and better names? any one else care to share something on this?

Not sure about either Leeds or Warrington, but the stains were over the cap AGAIN for the fourth year running and got a paltry £8,500+ fine.

Leigh were over too! :eh:

[ferreira]

haha you got to love leigh tho i guess it would of been a push to get in to the super league hoping that they would of got caught after being awarded a promotion. at its a disgrace how they keep it under wraps,, but baldy from sky sports wouldnt be shouting that from the roof tops about his 'saints' team unlike when wigan where found in breach of it!

[Kittwazzer]

Not sure about either Leeds or Warrington, but the stains were over the cap AGAIN for the fourth year running and got a paltry £8,500+ fine.

Where did you hear that, and why has it been kept so quiet?

If it had been Wigan, it would have made the Wall Street Journal!!

[viva_seddo13]

typical scousers

[consigliere]

Personally I think the key point here is that they went over the maximum amount.
Now unless they are claiming they just can't count very well the punishment is laughable.

£8000 is not a lot of money but, it could make the difference between a young promising player staying or moving on. We have lost players to other clubs in the past over similar amounts of money. (I know this for a fact - before anyone wonders who I am not posting it on here!)
So their punishment is just a fine of the same amount!!!

All that says to the other clubs is that if you need to break the cap by that little bit it's OK.
Do so and just pay that bit extra.

[Kittwazzer]

One day, some Investigative Reporter will get to the bottom of all this. And when the truth comes out, Stains will have to regain their SL status from the bottom of NTL2!

Well...................we can dream!!!


I recall, they all took great pleasure when we were relegated!

[butt monkey]

Personally I think the key point here is that they went over the maximum amount.
Now unless they are claiming they just can't count very well the punishment is laughable.

They are making that claim

Meanwhile, a Saints spokesman revealed that the club's fine was related to a "calculation error".

"We have always welcomed the introduction of the salary cap and are pleased to see that its objective of creating a more competitive Super League across all member clubs is coming into place," said the spokesman.

"The miniscule breach of the 2007 cap is based on a simple historical formula calculation error which was in place before the start of the 2007 season.

I was told personally (from his cousin Dean) that James Roby's contract had gone from around £30k per season to £123k after "winning" the Man of Steel as he was in serious demand from Aussie clubs and stains were desperate to keep him. This compounded with the James Graham contract, should have seen the stains "well over" after releasing no new players to balance the figures. £8k over......someone is seriously having a laugh at our expense!

[Shaun1967]

Lets face facts, Saints over the past few years have been found guilty of salary cap infringements four years running, they have been found guilty (twice I think) of fielding weakened teams, and have had two players banned for gambling on the outcomes of matches involving their own team.
They continually bring the game into disrepute.
As for "minor infringements", spending more than you are allowed as they did last year, is not a minor infringement. It is a basic flouting of the laws. Wigan were deducted points for "breaking the spirit of the salary cap". Surely spending more money than they and other teams have agreed to breaks this spirit?

I think Saints are on very thin ice at the moment, in a similar position to that we found ourselves in during the latter years of the Jack Robinson era. I seriously believe one bad season could start the downward spiral to the depths we have achieved over the past few seasons.

If anyone admires the integrity with which the most succesful club of the Super League era is run, then take a look at the following link. It says a lot about them.


http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/ ... y_for.html

[DaveO]

Taken on its own the £8.5K breech is nothing. It could even be argued the Saints board are smart at wringing the very last drop out of the salary cap budget.

However four times in a row with a series of excuses each time doesn't sound to me like something that should be excusable.

As others have said how is this in the "spirit of the cap"?

They have however got away with it. The salary cap has moved away from the old retrospective one to the current "live" version. So my view is the RFL would rather just brush it under the carpet in saying goodbye to the old system rather than be seen to be taking their moist successful club to task.

I read the article on the link and I only wish someone involved with the soccer clubs had the financial resources to sue Saints for the £575K they pocketed. There isn't anyone of course so justice as ever remains something the rich can afford.

Dave

[Fujiman]

Lets face facts, Saints over the past few years have been found guilty of salary cap infringements four years running, they have been found guilty (twice I think) of fielding weakened teams, and have had two players banned for gambling on the outcomes of matches involving their own team.
They continually bring the game into disrepute.
As for "minor infringements", spending more than you are allowed as they did last year, is not a minor infringement. It is a basic flouting of the laws. Wigan were deducted points for "breaking the spirit of the salary cap". Surely spending more money than they and other teams have agreed to breaks this spirit?

I think Saints are on very thin ice at the moment, in a similar position to that we found ourselves in during the latter years of the Jack Robinson era. I seriously believe one bad season could start the downward spiral to the depths we have achieved over the past few seasons.

If anyone admires the integrity with which the most succesful club of the Super League era is run, then take a look at the following link. It says a lot about them.


http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/ ... y_for.html

This article is from Aug 2007. DOes anyone know whats happened since. Have they gone under?