David Votoupal
Well-Known Member
I'm going to be a tad controversial here.
I understand, as we all do, that the salary cap is there in reason, to keep the A-League competitive and ensure financial responsibility. However, at the same time, with more players leaving, the too-restrictive salary cap and short season are becoming increasingly an albatross around the neck of the A-League.
We are in a global game where professional leagues on all other continents are competing for the services of current players and potential recruits, both Australian and foreign. Not just the big leagues of Europe, or the lower divisions thereof, but the medium to smaller leagues in Europe, as well as the MLS, Latin America, East Asia, Middle East and North Africa. The too restrictive nature of the cap effectively hinders us in this regard. This is unlike the AFL or NFL, who have no external competition for players, and the NFL has a large market and talent pool to be able to fill rosters adequately.
What is also concerning me is that too many players leaving the country without adequate replacement will adversely affect the quality of football, as we saw in V3. In fact, the setup of the league promotes and rewards mediocrity- and you might even say prevents well-run clubs like Adelaide United, Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners from achieving what could be their full potential. What do you consider more important, an even league or a higher quality league with more entertaining football?
On one hand, the restrictiveness of the cap might prevent clubs from signing better players- but if the cap were to be lifted or outright scrapped, who's to say that the same average to crap players that populate the league won't be asking for more $$$$ as a result? All the cap is doing now, in this regard, is preventing poorly-run clubs from spending themselves into oblivion.
I don't know where to draw the line here.
I understand, as we all do, that the salary cap is there in reason, to keep the A-League competitive and ensure financial responsibility. However, at the same time, with more players leaving, the too-restrictive salary cap and short season are becoming increasingly an albatross around the neck of the A-League.
We are in a global game where professional leagues on all other continents are competing for the services of current players and potential recruits, both Australian and foreign. Not just the big leagues of Europe, or the lower divisions thereof, but the medium to smaller leagues in Europe, as well as the MLS, Latin America, East Asia, Middle East and North Africa. The too restrictive nature of the cap effectively hinders us in this regard. This is unlike the AFL or NFL, who have no external competition for players, and the NFL has a large market and talent pool to be able to fill rosters adequately.
What is also concerning me is that too many players leaving the country without adequate replacement will adversely affect the quality of football, as we saw in V3. In fact, the setup of the league promotes and rewards mediocrity- and you might even say prevents well-run clubs like Adelaide United, Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners from achieving what could be their full potential. What do you consider more important, an even league or a higher quality league with more entertaining football?
On one hand, the restrictiveness of the cap might prevent clubs from signing better players- but if the cap were to be lifted or outright scrapped, who's to say that the same average to crap players that populate the league won't be asking for more $$$$ as a result? All the cap is doing now, in this regard, is preventing poorly-run clubs from spending themselves into oblivion.
I don't know where to draw the line here.