Des Cahill Drivetime Sport

[mediahack]

There are a number of issues here.....

The players have been operating in an area that turned a blind eye to tax, PRSI and the like and now that the clubs have been brought to task over it, the inflated wages have become a problem. There is no job where you go in and ask for €x per week and expect that your pay packet will have €x in it each week! This has pushed wage costs through the roof for clubs.

Like to overhyped property market, there will be a levelling off and more realistic wages will be paid next season. The players rep can yell all he wants about players going to Uk or wherever but the reality is the majority of the players will be in the eircom league next March!

One other interesting aspect of the wages debate is that the players have demanded and gotten gross wages over the years. The tax has been paid by the clubs, yet when the players retire they can reclaim the tax they(???) paid for the 10 best years of their career!

Bet you won't see many of them handing that money back to the clubs as they didn't actually earn it!

[Dodge]

Not strictly true. The players always had a gross and net amount. Just because they negotiated in net, doesn't mean they didn't have a gross figure.

Thankfully some clubs have now stopped this ludicrous anomoly

[mediahack]

Not strictly true. The players always had a gross and net amount. Just because they negotiated in net, doesn't mean they didn't have a gross figure.

Thankfully some clubs have now stopped this ludicrous anomoly

So if I was earning €100 per week did my P60 read €5200 earnings or the €8000ish earnings if tax and PRSI was paid!

Player power forced many clubs to continue to pay that way but as you have said nearly all clubs now pay wages in the normal way.

[pineapple stu]

You'd probably be lucky if you got a P60.

And he didn't say "nearly all clubs now pay wages in the normal way."

[Macy]

It was a few years ago that the standard contract came in, and gross contracts. It was back when Rovers were in examinership, with the revenue got stung, that the clamp down on "expenses" happened. I wouldn't think that's relevant to the current difficulties or the wage spiral tbh. Wages have continued to spiral since wages were regularised in a tax sense.