Salary cap?

Football Association chairman Lord Triesman has warned a salary cap may need to be enforced in English football.

Speaking at the Leaders in Football conference at Stamford Bridge, Triesman revealed English clubs face an uncertain financial future as they currently owe an estimated £3billion.

Triesman fears the current economic climate could cause major damage to English football, with it having been suggested some clubs could even go bust.

Bolton chairman Phil Gartside raised the idea of a salary cap to safeguard clubs' finances and now Triesman admits those measures may need to be carried out as he looks to resolve the game's financial problems.

Triesman believes wage levels have a damaging effect at all levels of the game in England and may no longer be sustainable in the global credit crisis.

"The reason I made the point about the 12 per cent per annum growth in wages is because some of the money is flowing through the clubs inevitably, including some of the money that is in their debt package is in wages," Triesman told Sky Sports News.

"I will be told in no doubt, if you want to compete at the highest levels you have got to be competitive in the wages market as well.

"I just make the point there is a volume of debt which becomes very significant in those circumstances and people need to think about it.

"I am told by people right through the football pyramid, down in the leagues in the Blue Square Premier for example, below the Football League that the issues of working with agents, trying to deal with wages right through the system is now impacted.

"This is like a waterfall, the water is reaching right down to the ground-level.

Asked if a salary cap needs to be introduced, Triesman said: "People in the clubs are the only ones who will be able to judge that.

"I start with the general proposition that we have in this business, as in so many other businesses, we have a level of debt which should cause us to stop, think and review where we are."

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I know it's not "Team news" But it's news, and if they did it, it would affect the team, so there.
What do you think about it? I think without one the wages will keep rising, with a reported 160k a week for Robinho, surely it will just escalate with all the rich owners coming in and currently here.
Does it work well in other leagues? MLS for instance?

a salary cape just in England would severly damage the English game. The Premier League is undoubtidly the strongest league in the world at the moment. This was proved last year with 3 of the 4 semi-finalists in the Champions League being English teams. If a salary cap was introduced to england alone, you just know that the "best" players would be off like a shot to toher leagues where there are no caps. For this to work it needs to be a global thing throughout the sport, with every FA throughout the world implimenting this.

The main issue I would have is that to bring some of the best talent in the game to a club, you need to put the best offer on the table, and have a salary cap would prevent clubs doing this, and thus losing out on the players.

The good thing about it though would be it would show where a players loyalties are. Whether it's actually about the club and football, or just about money.

At the moment I can't really see this working. I will also put money on the fact that the clubs who would support this would be smaller clubs, trying to "level out the playing field". The top clubs should not be brought down to the other clubs levels, they should have to take the step up.

I do think that money is starting to ruin the game, and it is giving the sport a bad image as a whole. Maybe transfer caps would be a better move. Perhaps based on clubs earnings. Say the clubs can only spend what income they get each season? Something like that may work. It may make teams spend more wisely, and try harder to bring through young talent.

Similar to these provisions to "level out the playing field" is that idea of forcing teams to field homegrown players or english players...Is it just me or does this idea seem badly thought out? The reason this league is so good is because of the mixture of english and foreign players. Players like Lampard have become better and better because of playing with different styles from around the world, i can point to countless interviews where english players say how playing with so and so makes them a better player. Lampard used to talk about Zola all the time, and maka, ess, deco and ballack etc. It makes them better.

I'd like to see more english players coming through just like anyone, but I think forcing teams to do it will not be the best move. And will not be the solution to a better England team (There are good enough players already!!!).

This salary cap I can understand how it could ruin the league, but maybe saying that in itself is slightly contrived, since I'd like to think all players don't think about money. It seems the money factor is much more decisive for the agent, who gets money on a signing on fee, hence why Robinho's move was engineered by his agent, and then he was sacked by robinho (hmm wonder what that means). Maybe we should stop looking at ways of limiting things clubs can offer, and maybe start putting regulations on agents, since i think they are the most disgusting thing in football (cept ronaldo's diving...obviously) and need to be stopped from looking for the best deal for them, especially when they come out with the "My player wants to go to so and so...." just to get a better contract deal...(Lampards agent anyone?).

End of pointless rant haha.

Not a pointless rant at all!

I know we'd like to think that the players are in it for the love of the club, but honestly, if someone said to you, "I'll give you another £25,000 a year to leave your company you work for now, to do exactly the same job with our company", wouldn't you be very very tempted to up sticks and leave, no matter how much you loved the company and everyone you work with?

I know playing football is very different to being a normal average Joe, working for BT, or whoever, but in some ways, it is what it is; a way to earn money. Obviously every player wants first team football, but if you're a player warranting £150k-a-week (though I don't think anyone in football warrants that amount of money), I'm sure you'd be pretty much certain to get a large amount of first team football!

Look at JT. He is Chelsea through and through, but even he, supposedly, has a clause in his contract that says, no matter what, he will always be the top paid player at the club. I'm not sure if this is true, and I doubt it is, just more anti-Chelsea stuff from the press, but wouldn't you have this clause in your contract if you could? I know I would!

I do think though that Agents do not help out, and I think they should be got rid of. Surely a player can speak his own mind and negotiate his own contract, with the help of his own lawyers and not need an agent to do it for him.

Personally if I was playing for a club like chelsea or united or real madrid and in the team enough. I wouldn't take a large increase in wage to go to man city.... But I suppose I'm not Robinho.

In terms of most footballers they probably are used to being in football enough that wages are much more important. I think players like Joe cole, wouldnt care what wage he gets, hes a chelsea lad and loves just to play.

I suppose the argument for agents is that the player against a company (basically) such as Chelsea, hasn't got the best chances negotiation wise...But I don't think agents are the answer if that is a problem.

Hmmm, maybe its time football was affected by the credit crunch lol.

No by no means would I go somewhere like Man City, but if I was at a big/biggish club and one the greatest clubs came knocking, with more money, then yeah, i'd be tempted.

Players who wouldn't be swayed by wages are a very few and far between, but hey ho, ho hum.

Credit Crunch FTW, bloody stupid British and American people!