Are Bohemians a Rosenborg waiting to happen?

While Limerick FC’s 1-2 defeat at the hands of UCD on Friday night was a little depressing - why the Limerick management didn’t play two up front from the start is beyond me - I did strike up an interesting conversation with another member of the press corps at the game.
Said scribe went along to the League of Ireland launch a couple of weeks ago and cornered UEFA general secretary David Taylor over a cup of tae later that afternoon - Mr. Taylor was a special guest at the event.
Anyway Taylor will be keeping an eye on the League of Ireland this season. UEFA are more than interested in how the league implement the ‘Salary Cost Protocol’ which has been designed by the FAI to control spending on the wages paid to players.
The model decrees that players’ wages must only make up 65 per cent of income and UEFA are interested in attempting to introduce the measure right across Europe. There are however complications.
It’s no accident that the likes of Bayern Munich are all for introducing the measure. Sixty-five per cent of their income is a lot higher than 65 per cent of their rivals’ income therefore making it impossible for clubs to take the financial plunge and try to challenge for honours against the top teams i.e. they can’t sign the best players.
I’m all for sensible management of financial resources, but is the Salary Cost Protocol such a good idea? Say, for instance, Bohemians make it into the group stages of the Champions League next October. Don’t laugh it’s possible. If they do they will earn more than €20 million for their trouble. The following year the Salary Cost Protocol will restrict them to spending 65 per cent of that income on players’ wages while their rivals spend 65 per cent of income based on some sponsorship and pathetic gates.
Bohemians won the league with 19 points to spare last season and it’s anyone’s guess what they would win it by with several millions to spend e.g. Norway’s Rosenborg first qualified for the group stages of the Champions League in 1995 and thanks to that breakthrough have qualified for the group stage 11 times during the last 12 years. They have utterly dominated their domestic league during the same time period and only surrendered the league title on one occasion during the past 13 seasons - that was in 2005 when Rosenborg threw it away. No one, but no one in Norway can compete with Rosenborg’s millions. And, the Salary Cost Protocol will encourage a similar pattern in every footballing nation right across Europe.

Brian McDonnell