TerenureJim wrote:
Have they accepted it or just said it's unlikely but instead of opening books up to audit we'll take relegation please and thanks.
I'd have serious reservations about the state of those books given the fact they jumped. Could they be beyond PRL issues and into company law/tax law issues that may have come to light.
Some people saying don't blame players or McCall but honestly how could you sit in that changing room looking around and not wonder at how so many talented players could be assembled without something fishy going on wage wise. There must have been suspicions post 2015 and yet expensive experienced players kept joining with Sarries outbidding other clubs.
Titles should have been stripped and questions asked in terms of adjusting the Euro record as their qualification is tainted in terms of top six finish to qualify any year cap breached.
According to Brendan Venter on TheRugbyPOD, they choose relegation because to get under the salary cap this year would force players out and that wasn't
the Saracens way. I'm not sure if he still has an official position in Saracens, but claims to have been taking to Ed Griffiths about the situation.
I wonder if they choose relegation, before they had checked the criteria for getting promoted? It would be a terrible oversight but you can only imagine the maelstrom they are operating in and it could be they have overlooked it.
I can't see how any player would stay in those circumstances. Effectively you would not be able to compete for 3 years in either The Premiership (including this year) or the HCup.
In other circumstances you could imagine a deal being done with the other clubs whereby Saracens would spend 1 year in the Championship and then be let back up. But at every turn they seem to be alienating the very people they need to negotiate with.