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Flores is ex-victory etc etc etc...

 

But seriously, we might as well keep Engelaar as Marquee! Why would you rather have Flores than Engelaar as marquee? As far as I am concerned, Flores will not be any better than another South American ex-Victory marquee we recycled!

 

We need 'our' marquee that no-one's had before in the A-League - a la Engelaar - but this time we have the money for him to be younger/faster/better/bigger (not by size obviously!).

 

If Flores takes $300k and sits happily under the cap then I'll be happy to have him!

Edited by Red or Dead
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This is all only rumour or speculation anyway.

 

But surely we can do better than Flores, who's been out with an ACL injury and shunted from club to club since starring with Adelaide?

 

I'd rather leave a spot vacant on the squad.

 

There's no rush. If the CFG global network of 36 scouts hasn't got someone ready for us then we should hold off.

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Flores won't be our marquee, no way. Would take in a heart beat as someone under the cap tho

Exactly - It would be good news if we are being linked to Flores because it def means that would be getting him as a Non Marquee Player.

Edited by cadete
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I thought it was 2.55 for the 2014/15 season.

 

But I don't think that's the issue. I'm one of those that supports Polenz' point of view. The salary cap doesn't actually improve the football being played by the financially-weaker clubs. It does even out the competition in terms of results, but the financially-weak clubs remain weak financially. The cap prevents the wealthier clubs from improving the standard of their football though the employment of better players, and hence inhibits the growth of the game in this country overall.

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I 100% agree with Polenz in regards to the salary cap. With the A-League now expanding into Asia with the Asian Champions League the cap is way too low.

 

For an  A-league club to have a genuine chance at competing at the highest level the cap should be raised significantly without putting any clubs existence at risk. 

 

The clubs would be able to sign higher profile players BUT most importantly keep the countries younger talent in the country for longer before they head off to Europe. Attracting higher profile players also has its commercial benefits as it will also attract new sponsors.

  

To many younger players head off to Europe way too soon as they can earn triple to what they do here and its pretty much a no brainer. Earn triple and learn off the best!!

 

Keeping the cap so low is only holding the league back when it should be expanding at a rapid rate due to the debarkle with the AFL. Perfect time to pounce A-League!!! 

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Eventually the cap will go imo but that's still some time away.

At least 10 years away, IMO.

 

I hope it stays so it does`nt  become like Europe where its the same top 4 fighting for the league ever year (or a similar league the SPL where its a 2 team league). Hopefully it gets significantly raised though but keep the level playing field!

Edited by AntiScum
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Eventually the cap will go imo but that's still some time away.

At least 10 years away, IMO.

 

I hope it stays so it does`nt  become like Europe where its the same top 4 fighting for the league ever year (or a similar league the SPL where its a 2 team league). Hopefully it gets significantly raised though but keep the level playing field!

 

I obviously get your point...

 

But has been the same four in the GF every year since we have been around and thats - Includes Perth who only had one really good win out of nowhere to make it four.

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I don't really like the idea of a salary cap because it restricts trade and punishes clubs for developing talent. But I would hate to see clubs going Euro style and buying championships. I think the best solution is a trade cap. Where there is a cap on how much clubs can spend on attracting new players.

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I 100% agree with Polenz in regards to the salary cap. With the A-League now expanding into Asia with the Asian Champions League the cap is way too low.

 

For an  A-league club to have a genuine chance at competing at the highest level the cap should be raised significantly without putting any clubs existence at risk. 

 

The clubs would be able to sign higher profile players BUT most importantly keep the countries younger talent in the country for longer before they head off to Europe. Attracting higher profile players also has its commercial benefits as it will also attract new sponsors.

  

To many younger players head off to Europe way too soon as they can earn triple to what they do here and its pretty much a no brainer. Earn triple and learn off the best!!

 

Keeping the cap so low is only holding the league back when it should be expanding at a rapid rate due to the debarkle with the AFL. Perfect time to pounce A-League!!! 

You are making the assumption that the young players move to Europe primarily because of the increase in pay. I suspect that many move there because the standards are meant to be better and therefore improve themselves which leads to higher salaries. Many will return not having improved much and wiser for their experience.

The cap is low so that clubs don't go broke. The one thing that we are not aware of is what is the formula for calculating a salary cap but I suspect that if we were privy to all the info, the cap will be roughly about the same.

As for expanding at rapid rates and no salary caps you need look no further than basketball when in the early 90s became all the rage. The league went broke and now they are a semi-professional league.

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I 100% agree with Polenz in regards to the salary cap. With the A-League now expanding into Asia with the Asian Champions League the cap is way too low.

For an A-league club to have a genuine chance at competing at the highest level the cap should be raised significantly without putting any clubs existence at risk.

The clubs would be able to sign higher profile players BUT most importantly keep the countries younger talent in the country for longer before they head off to Europe. Attracting higher profile players also has its commercial benefits as it will also attract new sponsors.

To many younger players head off to Europe way too soon as they can earn triple to what they do here and its pretty much a no brainer. Earn triple and learn off the best!!

Keeping the cap so low is only holding the league back when it should be expanding at a rapid rate due to the debarkle with the AFL. Perfect time to pounce A-League!!!

You are making the assumption that the young players move to Europe primarily because of the increase in pay. I suspect that many move there because the standards are meant to be better and therefore improve themselves which leads to higher salaries. Many will return not having improved much and wiser for their experience.

The cap is low so that clubs don't go broke. The one thing that we are not aware of is what is the formula for calculating a salary cap but I suspect that if we were privy to all the info, the cap will be roughly about the same.

As for expanding at rapid rates and no salary caps you need look no further than basketball when in the early 90s became all the rage. The league went broke and now they are a semi-professional league.

IMO Although I think that is true... I would say a big part would be just because its about leaving here and getting overseas.

In terms of the cap... I think its very important (needs to be raised), I don't think it was ever brought in to raise the standard, but like everyone has said, to avoid a euro style 2 or 4 team league. Whether it was intentional, its pushed all the money spending to off the field. Which IMO is better than buying players and then having the off field issues seen as less important money wise. I also think the FFA has done largely the right thing with the cap. They have taken small steps and made incremental changes along the way, which I think maintains the integrity and stability of the clubs and league as a whole because there would be a lot more risk in having massive changes, all at once (including a huge increase to the cap) since in reality, we have a small sparse population and football in this country is mostly third, or thereabouts, in line.

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"The cap is low so clubs don't go broke." We were told the salary cap was NOT brought in to equalise the competition.

 

The A League has grown and attracted super wealthy owners.

 

Clearly a $2.5 million salary cap is absurd for clubs with multi billionaire owners such as Brisbane Roar, Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart.
 

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I think I've said it before, but here's what I think:

 

Make the MIN salary cap $2.5m

Make the MAX salary cap $5.0m

 

With the new TV deal the FFA is now giving $2.5m to every club, which means EVERY club will be able to satisfy the MINIMUM $2.5m.

After that it's up to the each club to use as much or as little of the $2.5-$5m left because essentially they're not digging into their own coffers.

 

Yes, you'll have some clubs, i.e. Heart, Victory, SFC, Roar, WSW(?) who can afford to use most of the remaining $2.5, but hey at least that will allow all clubs to get creative with their player signing, salaries, structures, etc.

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"The cap is low so clubs don't go broke." We were told the salary cap was NOT brought in to equalise the competition.

 

The A League has grown and attracted super wealthy owners.

 

Clearly a $2.5 million salary cap is absurd for clubs with multi billionaire owners such as Brisbane Roar, Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart.

 

 

Newcastle has question marks over its owner and Central Coast struggled to make ends meet at times. Once they become more viable it's time to up the cappage. Interesting we are all talking about this now that Siddlewell and his tightarse brigade have moved on.

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I don't really like the idea of a salary cap because it restricts trade and punishes clubs for developing talent. But I would hate to see clubs going Euro style and buying championships. I think the best solution is a trade cap. Where there is a cap on how much clubs can spend on attracting new players.

 

 

"The cap is low so clubs don't go broke." We were told the salary cap was NOT brought in to equalise the competition.

 

The A League has grown and attracted super wealthy owners.

 

Clearly a $2.5 million salary cap is absurd for clubs with multi billionaire owners such as Brisbane Roar, Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart.

 

 

 

I think I've said it before, but here's what I think:

 

Make the MIN salary cap $2.5m

Make the MAX salary cap $5.0m

 

With the new TV deal the FFA is now giving $2.5m to every club, which means EVERY club will be able to satisfy the MINIMUM $2.5m.

After that it's up to the each club to use as much or as little of the $2.5-$5m left because essentially they're not digging into their own coffers.

 

Yes, you'll have some clubs, i.e. Heart, Victory, SFC, Roar, WSW(?) who can afford to use most of the remaining $2.5, but hey at least that will allow all clubs to get creative with their player signing, salaries, structures, etc.

 

 

Before we think about increasing the cap significantly or ever scrapping it all together, how about a lot of clubs concentrate on crowd averages over 10K. Ours included. Then a extended cap may become feasible.

 

as Parrot originally alluded to, the cap was always put in place so that clubs didnt go broke in the start and so that owners could manage.  Nth Queensland aside, you'd have to say it has mostly worked.  some clubs may have changed hands, but clubs are still there.

 

the big problem people see in a salary cap system within the realm of football is that there will always be clubs in other competitions that don't have one.

subsequently, players that do well here always open themselves up for a big money move overseas whenever they have a stellar season(s) here.

 

that being said, for me the cap is great for the a league for both the short and medium term.  

 

as frustrating as it is that good players will be lost to bigger offers overseas, i never ever want to see a club with the financial problems of a Rangers or Portsmouth here.  

 

creates way too much instability.

 

as it stands, the salary cap here actually has a 85-90% min cap attached.  that way clubs like CCM can spend less without being dramatically worse off in terms of squad depth or general talent.

 

i agree with Red or Deads premise but to have 2.5mil gap is way too much.  the difference needs to be more proportionate.  

 

with the way it is, the wealthier clubs can still benefit in four ways; through the Aussie marquee, International marquee, Junior Marquee and the coaching staff (manager included and most particularly).

 

you only have to look at Sydney to see a team that is inefficient at it.  same goes for the visitors.  for all their spend, neither have push the limits of the a league with who they have had.

 

after all, you can't say that Sydney spent much on coaching despite the spend on ADP.  

 

for a club willing to spend 2 mil on ADP, you'd think they would back it up with the coaching and other marquees.  

 

get your world class players, a top up coming youth and a manager that is at the top of the game and you will see wonders.  

Edited by mattyh001
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The cap is 2.7 now?

 

The German fullback, 27, is convinced the $2.7 million salary ceiling

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2014/05/25/clubless-polenz-urges-league-change-cap

 

 

It looks like the junior marquee amount is included in that number. Next season the cap is $2.55m, and the Junior marquee amount is $150k, so if you count them together you can say the salary cap is $2.7m.

 

 

"The cap is low so clubs don't go broke." We were told the salary cap was NOT brought in to equalise the competition.

 

The A League has grown and attracted super wealthy owners.

 

Clearly a $2.5 million salary cap is absurd for clubs with multi billionaire owners such as Brisbane Roar, Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart.

 

 

 

The salary cap is at its current figure primarily so the clubs don't go bankrupt and/or fail, like North Queensland Fury did recently (in historical terms) in 2011/12, and Gold Coast United did in 2012/13.

 

 

Most clubs, 6 or 7, run at a debt every season, and things are just this year starting to very slowly improve.

 

 

And it should be remembered that the current salary cap was agreed in July 2013. Around that time clubs were very weary of costs, with the National Youth League (NYL) being rather new and being a financial loss for all clubs, and W-League teams being a cost as well (both initiatives are fantastic, and are essential for football to grow in this country, but the fact is they don't make money). So when the salary cap was agreed to be $2.5m last season, and $2.55 next season, the PFA (which rather fiercely and effectively looks after the interests of players, which don't always fully align with the interests of clubs) said:

 

"The only reason the PFA would agree to that is we're satisfied the players are already taking home more than a fair share of revenue, and now is the time to invest in the security of the clubs and also the security of the players in education and development,"

 

So even the PFA thought it was appropriate to spend that amount on players.

 

Whilst the A-League now has a few rich clubs in Sydney FC, Melbourne Heart and probably Brisbane Roar as well, the league also has Central Coast Mariners (whose finances are practically a concern every season, despite their phenomenal on-field success), the Newcastle Jets (who's owner recently ditched his Newcastle Rugby team, because he couldn't afford it) and Adelaide United (which has been weary of costs over the past few seasons).

 

 

The 2013/14 season was arguably a watershed though, which showed that the league's finances were solid enough for some financial expansion. Even though most clubs still have net losses, last season was the first time the FFA paid clubs enough money too cover the cost of the salary cap (which "effectively double[d] the central grant" the FFA gave to clubs. Source). And there was TV growth (with FTA TV covering the A-League for the first time with SBS) and pretty much growth across the board (more attendances at games, memberships, digital following of the A-League etc.), which all means more revenue.

 

 

Whilst a few rich clubs like Melbourne Heart and Sydney FC could do without the salary cap, the salary cap is there to promote the sustainability and the well-being of the league as a whole, and not the sustainability and well-being of a few clubs. It sounded similar to me when Khaldoon spoke about the FFP. He was sure right that Man City's business model might be sustainable for his club, but that doesn't mean that the way Man City and other rich clubs conduct their business is sustainable and good for the well-being of European football competitions, and European football, as a whole.

 

 

A side benefit of the salary cap is that it does increase competition in the A-League to a degree, meaning clubs with very limited resources, like Central Coast, can challenge to finish up the top of the table, and can even win silverware. That shows that the A-League is impressively meritocratic. And because of the salary cap the A-League is not conducive to dynasties, as seen with Berisha leaving Brisbane and Polenz leaving WSW. Some of that is to be expected in a competitive competition with a salary cap, although I think the salary cap is probably too effective in that regard, and too many good players leave their A-League clubs after achieving success.

 

 

The salary cap will be negotiated next season for 2015/16 and beyond. As long as there isn't serious financial instability (in particular watch out for CCM and Newcastle), a pretty significant boost in the salary cap is likely IMO (maybe an increase between $500k to $1m). As for the salary cap overall, unless the A-League experiences really rapid growth over the next few years, with stability at all A-League clubs, I expect the salary cap to be around in some form in 5, or even 10 years, time.

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