-
Agreed - though I suppose I air on the side of cynicism given that the findings seem to suggest these aren't legit companies (purely a way to cheat the salary cap) else it's plausible to think, if these were legitimate investments/companies, Saracens may not have been guilty of breaching the salary cap. Anyway, as you say we won't know until the time it all 'comes out' however it is fun to speculate in the meantime.
FWIW my brother (a big Sarries fan) feels that it's a travesty of justice and poor old Sarries and my favourite "well, let's be honest, this isn't exactly good for English rugby" ) referring to the punishment rather than the salary cap breaches that led to it! I wonder is this 'poor Sarries, we're being made a scapegoat' 'no one likes us we don't care' attitude the general consensus among Sarries fans?
Pasty_Spumante-
We have no idea what the findings suggest as nothing has been released! We know Sarries have accepted they were over the actual cap, but beyond that and the reality around these investment companies it is pure speculation...
I have some sympathy - I don't think the academy credits properly reflect the investment they have made and the amount of players they lose to internationals. But everyone else has to live by that so they shouldn't have assumed they didn't.
They have a big chip on their shoulders about their position outside 'the establishment' and I think a lot of fans (and board members) are quite loudly wondering at the moment about Bath/Quins' finances and general compliance. Potentially quite telling you don't hear much from either of their ownerships. Unlike Exeter, who have every reason to feel outrageously aggrieved and are doing well to not throw all their toys out of the pram...
owl
This is where we're into such a grey area - without the report we really have no idea. There's clearly a big difference between shell companies into which Wray deposits money with no attempt to set up or run a company and genuine investment opportunities which Wray is a joint investor and possibly even retains an interest in. The former feels like a flagrant breach of the cap and you would feel this reflects upon the players who must have understood that this was dodgy. The latter feels very different and you could understand that the players may have been sold it in such a way that it wouldn't necessary raise red-flags for them. Until we get that report there's too much speculation and too little understanding...