EAs BBC - Squad May Be Dismantled

[Hymenoptera]

Depending on the size of the overspend there will come a point in the season where they are over regardless of cutting players.  At that point perhaps we can hit them with another 35 point deduction and fine.

So I learnt this today, which I didnt realise and is totally wrong. The cap is the average of the full year, so the fact that they are over it now, currently beating teams is irrelevant. That sticks in the throat. For me, if they are over at any point they are cheating, front loading a team and gaining momentum .. against teams that are losing and struggling with the mental 'losing' syndrome.
I'm not sure what they do legally to reduce the average, i'm sure they'll have a *plan*...either way, it stinks.

[Vespula Vulgaris]

I've decided to look on this positively, firstly because our outrage has no effect, partly because of what happened to NWW, and partly because it's possible we may actually come out of this well.

So hows this for a possible outcome.

Sarries let their squad know that if anyone wishes to leave for another club with immediate effect they will be allowed to.

If the owners of the other clubs have already had this plan for some time then approaches may already have been made.

So who do they have that we may wish to sign?

Loz probably, anyone else?

[wasps]

I've decided to look on this positively, firstly because our outrage has no effect, partly because of what happened to NWW, and partly because it's possible we may actually come out of this well.

So hows this for a possible outcome.

Sarries let their squad know that if anyone wishes to leave for another club with immediate effect they will be allowed to.

If the owners of the other clubs have already had this plan for some time then approaches may already have been made.

So who do they have that we may wish to sign?

Loz probably, anyone else?

Let's be sensible here.
There won't be any Lions leaving, so there won't be a chance for either Vunipola, Jamie George, Itoje, Kruis, Farrell etc.

They're the Saracens faithful, and are the ones that I suspect would take a pay cut for the club - presumably knowing that Nigel will look after them.


In reality, we need to focus on 12's, wingers or LHP.

Loz might answer the 12 issue.
I believe their backup LHP is Richard Barrington, who is the kind of player they should be keeping as he's been there so long as a useful squad player.
Not sure who else they have at LHP.

What wingers do they have? I'd love a power runner like Northampton brought on against us

[Marlow Nick]

On the Saracens board they are speculating that 3 players could be out for the season due to injury and hence outside the cap. Williams, Figalo and Rhodes.
I've checked the rules and this seems legitimate as long as they are out for the entire season and Saracens make do with smaller squad not using medical jokers.
What's less clear is what happens if/when they become fit again but Saracens choose not to select them. I wouldn't put it past them to fake an injury!

[wasps]

On the Saracens board they are speculating that 3 players could be out for the season due to injury and hence outside the cap. Williams, Figalo and Rhodes.
I've checked the rules and this seems legitimate as long as they are out for the entire season and Saracens make do with smaller squad not using medical jokers.
What's less clear is what happens if/when they become fit again but Saracens choose not to select them. I wouldn't put it past them to fake an injury!

McCall has stated that Williams will be fit for the start of the 6N.

It would seem that a player has to be injured for the entire season to have their wages excluded from the cap.
So any injury must have existed before the season started, and must still exist at the end of the season (as you say, this final part could be fiddled)

[Neils]

Fiddling injury requires medical staff to falsify diagnosis which could get them into very deep water.

[welsh wasp]

As Quins know to their cost.

[RBB]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-7861985/Williams-leave-early-Saracens-exodus-salary-cap-England-stars-remain.html

Full back Liam Williams will make an earlier than expected move to Scarlets, he has not played this season so his wage will not count within the salary cap

Argentina prop Juan Figallo is another rumoured to be leaving soon. Clark has played four times for Saracens this season, but Rhodes and Figallo are yet to make an appearance.

If Clark, Figallo and Rhodes make swift exits, it is estimated that Saracens could cut around £800,000 from their wage bill.

[wasps]

So it's not about being injured for the season, it's whether or not they play at all???

That would suggest you could have players in the senior squad that you only use for cup games and Europe and don't contribute towards the salary cap.
Sounds like another loophole to me

[Vespula Vulgaris]

Yep, definitely another loophole.

They will have taken part in training, in analysis, in planning, in team building. The squad will have had the benefit of them and so they count as squad in my eyes.

[BdeB]

If the latest figures are true and Sarries were on course for £600000 overspend on the cap this season, then that is a massive advantage. In professional sport the margins between winning and losing can be very small, for a team to have a 8.5% (based on a cap of 7m) advantage over all the other teams is huge. This is the kind of margins that dopers would dream of getting away with. This is Lance Armstrong level of cheating.

[Raggs]

So it's not about being injured for the season, it's whether or not they play at all???

That would suggest you could have players in the senior squad that you only use for cup games and Europe and don't contribute towards the salary cap.
Sounds like another loophole to me

It's if they don't play due to injury.

And it's Prem and Euro games, so you can't just have a euro squad.

[Gaz]

What wingers do they have? I'd love a power runner like Northampton brought on against us

I hoped that Bassett could be that type of player - add a bit of bulk and back himself a bit more in contact. Does a bit of the latter but to me still looks a bit lightweight against other wings of that type.

[DGP Wasp]

Max Malins out till April and out of contract at the end of the season and was already rumoured to be attracting interest from elsewhere, so if they decide not to play him for the handful of games after he returns from injury, then is his salary not included from the point at which he was injured?  Dose a doctor need to declare him fit / unfit for the purposes of cap calculation, or is it simply down to whether or not he plays?

[westwaleswasp]

Would be an asset to any team.....