Premiership "Marquee Players"

From the season after next clubs will be able to nominate one player whose salary is excluded from the cap, allowing teams to splash out on one big, high-profile signing.

So who do you reckon would be a good buy for your club?

As a Leicester fan I'm not sure... I'd rather we developed our own players. Perhaps a top-class 7? David Pocock for example? Disapointed to see our academy prospect and England U20 international has left the club

As far as other clubs go, I reckon Northampton could do worse than Dan Carter... Bath could use a Bakkies Botha...

The other option is to pick a player already at the club (tight-heads are on a lot, so Cole or Castro could be an option for Leicester) and use the room in the salary cap to sign 2 more players.

How many clubs are at the cap limit? I know some aren't.

I imagine Leicester, Northampton, Gloucester, Bath and Saracens at least. Maybe Quins.

The other option is to pick a player already at the club (tight-heads are on a lot, so Cole or Castro could be an option for Leicester) and use the room in the salary cap to sign 2 more players.

... Or simply cope with the escalating wage demands of our existing squad. I don't particularly want Leicester to signing David Pococks, but I do wish we hadn't had to get rid of Moody and Vesty. I think we've missed them both sorely.

I thought it didn't come in until the 2012/13 season?

For Tigers I'd prefer they just stick the highest current earner as the marquee player - Cole's contract is up at the end of next season, I believe, so it means we'd be able to afford to keep him and Castro.

Eustace H Plimsoll wrote: Disapointed to see our academy prospect and England U20 international has left the club

You mean Everard? Seriously? I thought Cockers' comment on him getting booted out was spot on. Look he's a decent player, million miles better than I ever was, but as a professional he is going to be average at best and probably not even that. If you aspire to be the best team in Europe what's point of keeping guys like him hanging around? You certainly wouldn't want him in the salary cap.

I know he has been capped a lot by the U20s but every time I see him play I wonder what on earth is going on. England have several much better back rowers around (e.g. Jones, Stedman, Vunipola), not natural 7s but Kvesic could easily move over and accomodate them at 6.

As someone said above, an option might be just to declare whoever your top earner as your marquee player and then use the cash for 2 squad/academy players.

As someone pointed out to me the other day, it might also end up with clubs having to offer their current players higher wages to keep them as the other teams in the league try and poach them by offering to make them their marquee player. If that happened, then this change would have brough nothing except wage inflation.

Bath have signed Attwood...so i think he'll add some grunt to their pack..

I agree with what others have said, the main fallout of this could be existing players demanding higher wages, almost holding their clubs to ransom. Instead of a marquee players, which lets face it are mainly going to only be an advantage to the rich clubs (how many clubs could afford Dan Carter for example?) how about just increasing the wage cap across the board a little, or tying in wage cap to turnover (say 60%) up to a maximum level (so keeping things within reason) . I don't want to see clubs over extending themselves like wendyball clubs have but at the same time a well supported club should be able to benefit to some extent.