Transfers make the football world go round and it is about time Football Federation Australia and/or the A-League allow clubs to sell and buy players that are under contract.
At the moment A-League players can only be sold to foreign clubs and it appears this unsatisfactory state of affairs is not going to change any time soon.
The clubs want a system that enables them to be compensated financially for letting go of a contracted player after developing him from within or acquiring him from elsewhere.
At the moment if a player wants to change clubs he needs to get his contract terminated by mutual consent before going anywhere for free.
A case in point is Brisbane Roar's signing last week of striker Scott McDonald, who started the season with Western United but fell out with the new club and was released.
Australia’s powerful players’ union, however, will not be party to a domestic transfer system as long as the A-League salary cap is still in operation.
So the bottom line seems to be that if the clubs want a transfer system that would satisfy everybody’s interests they should first free themselves of the salary cap.
This is not as straight-forward as that because negotiations between FFA and the A-League over the competition’s independence are still in progress.
It is unknown at this stage where the line will be drawn in terms of the A-League’s rights and responsibilities although it is assumed that the clubs will have the power to get rid of the cap should they agree to do so.
The problem is that although some clubs would like to abolish the salary cap it is understood the majority want it to stay.
Most claim that a carte blanche to the wealthier clubs would widen the competitive gap between the haves and have nots and that the league’s economic stability is essential before such a bold move could be initiated.
The cap’s removal would be the only way Professional Footballers Australia would entertain the idea of domestic transfers.
“Historically, most specifically through the 1990s, the transfer system was dismantled effectively at the direction of the courts and the government after successive cases and inquiries found its operation was corrupted and it provided no tangible or meaningful benefit to any stakeholder,” PFA chief executive John Didulica says.
“In the current context, a salary cap and transfer system are entirely incompatible. It provides no strategic redistributive effect and will only worsen what’s left of any competitive balance. From a player’s perspective, another barrier is placed in the player’s freedom of movement yet the salary cap means there is no reciprocal capacity for wage growth – so it would be entirely illogical to support it.
“Moreover, the tidal wave of calls for a loan system has resulted in a grand total of one loan over the two years it has been in place. And that was a player going from the team that finished bottom to the team that finished on top – totally contrary to what people’s perception of what player loans would achieve.
“In speaking with the players, our position is clear – that if the salary cap were to be abolished then we would be open to discussing the introduction of a transfer system.”
You suspect that the PFA contends that if a club has any money to spend it should use it on its own players not on another club.
Whether the union’s attitude towards transfers or the clubs’ reluctance to dump the salary cap are in the best interests of the game remains to be seen.
It is important that the stalemate is brought to an end.
Life was not meant to be easy, they say, and Australian football with all its complex politics and perplexing complications is a prime example.
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