Salary cap = handicap?

Today's Express is reporting that Jabba is determined to put in place a wage ceiling should we achieve promotion. The story itself isn't new - it's been circulating for the past week or so, and was mentioned in connection with the temporary sticking points over the permanent deal for Danny Simpson, now successfully concluded. But what is new, I think, is reference to an exact figure: £30,000 a week.

Now I can appreciate that Jabba might want to keep a tight rein on the wage bill so that the club remains an attractive proposition to potential buyers - especially given the astronomic amounts we've haemorrhaged weekly in the recent past, often for players who simply haven't merited it. But I very much doubt that we'd be able to strengthen and bolster the squad sufficiently to ensure Premier League survival while operating within a strict upper limit of £30,000 - and staying up should be paramount. Hard-headed prudence might actually turn out to be as damaging as our more customary financial extravagance.

What Jabba certainly should be insisting upon in any contract negotiations, though, are more performance-related deals and bonuses. Not only would they give the players more incentive to win (not that they should need any more incentive than the prospect of the three points, of course), but they would also ensure that there's no repeat of the ludicrous situation with Obafemi Martins, whose weekly wage packet actually fattened to the tune of several thousand pounds despite our relegation...