Glasgow Rangers went in to administration this week, providing one of the strongest arguments European football has made in years of the extraordinary benefits of a competition having a salary cap.
The obvious way to take this article would be to use it as an attack on the Gus Goulds of this world. You know, the types who use the argument that football clubs have their own administrative staff, boards and CEOs who should be intelligent and prudent enough with the club’s money to ensure they don’t overspend on players.
As much as £75 million in unpaid taxes certainly suggests the Rangers’ administrators could probably have had a ceiling placed on their player spending to ensure the basics, such as paying their taxes, were taken care of as well.
But instead, it’s the penalty Rangers will be handed from the Scottish Premier League that provides the stronger argument of the need for a salary cap.
The SPL will penalise Rangers 10 competition points as a result of going in to administration. In on-field achievements, that’s stripping them of three wins and a draw, taking them from 61 points for the season to 51.
If ever there was an argument for a salary cap, surely a club being stripped of ten competition points and consequently not only maintaining second place in the competition but also still having daylight as third is a damn strong one.
Compare what being stripped of equivalent points would do to any Aussie team placed second in any of our salary capped football codes.
Going in to round 21 of the A League, Brisbane Roar were in second spot with 35 points. If they were to be stripped of 10 points, they would free-fall out of the top six into seventh place, only clearing eighth placed Melbourne by goal difference.
In the AFL, season 2011 saw eventual premiers Geelong finish second on 76 points. If they were stripped of 14 points (the equivalent of three wins and a draw in the AFL) they would have finished the season on 62 points and thus, fourth on the table. Whilst it is impossible to argue they would not have gone on to win the premiership as they did, it would have been made that much harder as instead of playing Hawthorn in the opening week of the finals, they would have faced Collingwood.
As for the NRL, once again it was eventual premiers Manly who finished second on the ladder. Had Manly been stripped of seven points (NRL’s equivalent of three wins and a draw) their 40 points would instead have been 33, ending up in fourth place. Again, it is impossible to say what would have eventuated had this been the case but instead of facing the North Queensland Cowboys, whom they easily disposed of, Manly’s first week of finals would have been against Wayne Bennett’s Dragons.
Any sporting competition worth its salt is tightly contested, particularly at the pointy-end. When the second placed team in a competition is stripped of points worth three wins and a draw, the result shouldn’t mean they are further away from first place in points but not position. Particularly when, as is the case in the SPL, the top two teams at season’s end automatically qualify for the highly lucrative UEFA Champions League.
Of course anyone with a base knowledge of the SPL will not be surprised by this in the slightest. Since the formation of the SPL in 1998 there have been a grand total of two premiers – Rangers and Celtic.
This domination of football in Scotland dates back even further – the last time a team outside the Old Firm won the premiership in Scotland’s top league was Aberdeen in 1985.
As a result, even if you support any of the other ten teams competing in the SPL, the question of “who do you support” can only be answered one of two ways – Celtic or Rangers.
Imagine, for a moment, the reality of that in Australia.
A series of competitions in which only the two richest clubs ever had a chance at winning the competition, thus ensuring their own cycle of wealth by attracting the biggest sponsors, the most fans and the largest prize money.
As it stands the A League would only ever see Sydney FC or Melbourne Victory win – with Newcastle Jets occasionally popping up depending on how loose Nathan Tinkler’s purse strings were that year.
The NRL would simply be Canterbury against Brisbane – again depending on the Tink’s desire to win versus his desire to actually make money.
The AFL would be Collingwood against Carlton. Could you imagine the shame – half the AFL actually supporting Collingwood?
Happily, Australia’s respective football codes have a system which ensures the equal spread of talent. As a consequence, since the formation of the SPL in 1998, the NRL has had nine different premiers, the AFL have had ten and the A League (including premiers from the old NSL) have had eight.
Meanwhile the Old Firm of the SPL have dominated and even after one of these two teams has gone in to administration, tens of millions of pounds in debt and been docked ten points, there is no sign of the domination ending.
Dublin Dave
Guest
Er, who won the European Cup (forerunner of the Champions League) in 1967? And got to the final again three years later? Who won the Cup winners cup in 1971? And who won the same competion in 1983? All Scottish clubs. You might say these are pretty prehistoric references, but I remember all of them. Not to mention the various appearances in the final match of may tournaments by the likes of Celtic, Rangers and Dundee United. Scotland has a very proud footballing history.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Scotland has a great tradition in the game, but it's a country with a tiny population, no more than that of Denmark, on the very fringes of Europe. What's more, it's large Southern neighbour must soak up a huge chunk of the big sponsorship dollars floating around the UK. The days when when Scotland could support two large clubs that could compete with the best in Europe are probably gone.
King of the Gorgonites
Roar Guru
FIUL, i have spent a considerable amonut of time in Scotland (mainly in Edinburgh). A fact is a fact. the top clubs are debt ridden. the competitino thinks its something its not. yes i understand that people want to support their own leagues. and that still should be the case. but the SPL in its current form is not sustainable. if the the people in the Glasgow pubs that i am surpsoe to be freightened on, want to watch a scottish soccer league then they must face the realisation that the SPL is unstainable. dont be blind to the problems facing the SPL. things have to change.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
KotG What's your problem? Are you Scottish - what's your level of knowledge of what the average SPL fan wants from the SPL? For heaven's sake you are some kid from Australia, who follows Rugby, and you are trying to tell the Scots what they should do with their Football league? I wish you'd go to a pub in Glasgow and offer them your opinion of the SPL. Here's something for you to chew on ... ... Football fans love our local leagues. Unlike Rugby, AFL or NRL, football fans don't need to watch the best leagues. We simply want to watch OUR teams play in OUR leagues. That's why there are pro football leagues in the majority of countries on earth. The Danes, the Austrians, the Slovaks, the Serbs, the Romanians, etc. etc. don't give a stuff that they're not watching Messi & Ronaldo every week. They are more than happy watching their own "nobodies" play against their rival teams' nobodies. Finally, Scotland's record in the Europa League, which is the competition for the 2nd tier clubs of Europe, in the past 10 years is pretty damn good. 2 Scottish clubs have made the Europa League final in the past 10 years, which is the same number of finalists produced by England, Russia & Germany; and better than Italy, France & Netherlands.
King of the Gorgonites
Roar Guru
this really deomostrates what a joke of a competition the SPL is. the two big clubs are never competitve in Europe. They are debt ridden, and relics of the past. Take the old firm clubs out of the SPL and the average attendance is less then the HAL. infact its pretty bad all round. The SPL has run its course. if Celtic and rangers are good enough and financial enough then they should join the English divsions. After all the Welsh clubs do it, and have found great sucess.
Walt
Guest
No, but even the girl who answers the phone at the organisation gets a Superbowl ring. I met a guy on holiday who proudly sported one. Asked him how he won it - he told me he was the locker room security guy for the Redskins like 20 years ago!
Football United
Guest
aw thats nice, does everyone in the league gets a medal for trying hard as well?
Roger
Guest
The free market has proven that it can't be trusted without some sort of boundaries to operate in. This is true for both the global economy and football. We absolutely need salary caps in football leagues. The result will be we avoid situations like this.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Chris, With a draft, revenue sharing and a hard salary cap, the NFL is one of the most relentlessly socialist leagues on the planet. Note that association football in Europe has none of these things.
Chris
Guest
Different sport, but the NFL is a good example of how to run things. Different winner almost every year...
Walt
Guest
There ya go.
pete4
Guest
Walt - you could say the same about other codes with NRL 14 of the 16 clubs last season lost money also 4 of the 5 Super Rugby teams lost money
Walt
Guest
Australian soccer clubs are not financially viable though. Nearly every club makes a loss, some in the millions. The competition may be fairly tight but only because the clubs cant spend money trying to outdo each other.
Walt
Guest
Good point. The AFL and SANFL have quite a few clubs who are posting losses. Both have a spending cap on player wages but not on other payments that may give teams an added edge. Training facilities, coaching staff, trips overseas, specialist rehab staff.... So a salary cap is far from an insurance policy that a club will overspend and get itself into strife.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
That's because of TV money though, which is a reflection on the popularity of the league as opposed to the individual clubs. Although I believe the old firm clubs take the majority of SPL TV money anyway. In reality the SPL is probably the worst example of a league that should have a salary cap because 2 clubs are so far ahead of anyone else, and any salary cap is going to be so big that only 2 clubs can afford to pay it, or if it's set that a majority of clubs can afford it then it's going to be so small that it renders the old firm completely useless in Europe.
Bondy
Guest
There is only one football, not codes. If anything this story illustrates that the H.A.L. is the fairest league on the planet .
Cameron
Guest
Why strip the clubs playing in say the A-league, AFL and NRL of three wins and a draw, and not 10 points each, as was the case for the Rangers??
Dublin Dave
Guest
On the contrary. The Bosman Ruling merely showed how European employment law could overrule restrictive structures placed by sporting authorities on the movement of labourers within the EU. Effectively, you are not allowed to discriminate in terms of employment in favour of people of your own nationality over equally qualified people from another country in the EU. I believe this is also extended to countries outside the EU, for example in Africa, who have certain trade treaties with EU countries. So Bosman ended the rule that UEFA had, for example, which restricted the number of "foreign" players that each club could field in Champions League or other European competitions. The thing is, the idiots might have gotten away with it if the mightly RFC Liege (not to be confused with the rather more accomplished Standard Liege) and Dunkerque hadn't between them stuffed up a transfer deal involving a player that one team didn't want to use but wasn't prepared to let go and that the other team wanted to sign but didn't want to pay for.
pete4
Guest
Happening in other codes too: Demetriou reveals club debt crisis http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/afl-chief-andrew-demetriou-reveals-debt-of-all-18-clubs-is-the-worst-in-competitions-history/story-e6frf3e3-1226274854353?from=public_rss
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Why would Spurs, Villa & Newcastle agree? In my opinion, without a salary cap no club outside the big spenders will win the EPL. Villa were a mighty powerful team in the late 70s and won the European Cup (equivalent of UCL) in 1982. But, in the 20 years of the EPL, Villa have been a mid-table club since the EPL formed. After a few good finishes in the early years of the EPL & even playing Champions League in 2002 Newcastle ended up playing in the Championship (Division 2) 3 years ago. If mighty Rangers - who are a bigger global brand than Spurs, Villa & Newcastle - can fall then no club is safe.