End-of-season signing deadline "anomaly"

[The Phantom Horseman]

Am starting a new thread about this subject as it had rather derailed the game thread for the Wakefield v York semi final.

As we all know, there's an end-of-season signing deadline, which this year was close of business on Friday 2nd August. It's not hard to see why this rule is in place; it prevents, for instance, players whose club have failed to reach the play-offs from then signing for a club that has reached the play-offs (in whatever division).

However, this year a signing has taken place that appears to highlight an anomaly in this rule - I called it a "loophole" in the other thread, but that appeared to upset people.

Wakefield have included Jake Trueman in their squad for today's semi-final (whether he plays or not isn't really relevant to discussion of the rule). There's no dispute that they signed him before the transfer deadline (and as we all know, he's joining them next season), but he appears then to have been loaned back to Hull for the remainder of their regular season. Indeed, he played for Hull two days after the signing deadline, and barring the injury he sustained that day, would clearly have continued to play for them until their final match on 21st September, which Wakefield acknowledged when they finally confirmed that Trueman had signed for them on 27th August.

Let me make it clear, as I did on more than one occasion in the original thread (albeit to deaf ears on occasions), that neither Wakefield nor Hull have done anything wrong or outside the rules here. Indeed, you could say they have been quite shrewd in spotting this "anomaly". Although Trueman was offically Wakefield's player from before the signing deadline, they clearly had an agreement with Hull that denied Wakefield access to him (at a time when they were desperately short of fit half backs) until the end of the SL regular season, but allowed access for the play-offs.

However, what it does mean is this: every club in the league is now aware (if they weren't before) that they can approach any club that looks likely to miss the play-offs and strike a similar sign-then-loan-back deal that means a quality player could continue playing for his own club for the remainder of the regular season, and then "join" another club for the play-offs without having played for them previously.

We already have a rule in place to prevent teams from exploiting this with DR players (a DR player has to have played at least 4 games for his Dual Registered club to be allowed to play for them after the end-of- season signing deadline).

In my view, we need another rule that prevents players effectively being transferred in for the play-offs. A rule proscribing players from playing for their parent club if they have played on loan for another club after the transfer deadline seems the obvious solution to this. It might not be a big deal this year (especially if Trueman doesn't play), but it could be in years to come.

Edited October 13 by The Phantom Horseman

[Gav Wilson]

Excellent post Sir, I am in total agreement! 

[Gooleboy]

With the squad Wakefield have, why have they done this anyway? I would guess Trueman has taken the place of someone who is very dissapointed at the situation.

[johnh1]

You have come in for a lot of sticky on the other thread, Phantom, but I think you have a very valid point here. Another solution is to state that a season long loan only finishes when the season is over for all clubs.

[TrueBull]

37 minutes ago, Gooleboy said:

With the squad Wakefield have, why have they done this anyway? I would guess Trueman has taken the place of someone who is very dissapointed at the situation.

Trueman, I would think, is taking Gales spot next season. 

[The Blues Ox]

Im not sure of the rules for the semi pro game but Ive seen rules in the amateur game that a player must have played at least 1 league game to be eligable for the playoffs.

I can't find similar for the Championship but a search on google brought up the rules from the Womens game and I would presume they will be similar.

[Griff]

Did he play?

[dboy]

9 hours ago, Gooleboy said:

With the squad Wakefield have, why have they done this anyway? I would guess Trueman has taken the place of someone who is very dissapointed at the situation.

They did it to get him into their own rehab programme.

Powell has won this mind game hands down.

Of course, Trueman WILL play next week and kick the winning dropped goal.

Phantom and Gav lost the plot on the game thread so are trying their hand here.

"It's not against the rules, but..." - should have just stopped after the first 5 words.

Stop crying!

[Impartial Observer]

19 hours ago, johnh1 said:

You have come in for a lot of sticky on the other thread, Phantom, but I think you have a very valid point here. Another solution is to state that a season long loan only finishes when the season is over for all clubs.

For Hull the season was over in March

[NRLandSL]

17 hours ago, The Blues Ox said:

Im not sure of the rules for the semi pro game but Ive seen rules in the amateur game that a player must have played at least 1 league game to be eligable for the playoffs.

I can't find similar for the Championship but a search on google brought up the rules from the Womens game and I would presume they will be similar.

Same thing in Australia. I believe it’s 3 games you have to play to be eligible for finals, or in NSW at least. 

[JonM]

11 hours ago, Griff said:

Did he play?

No. Can't imagine they'll play him in the final either.

Rule should still be changed though to bring it line.

[Griff]

26 minutes ago, JonM said:

No.

So everybody's fears unfounded then.

Edited October 14 by Griff

[Worzel]

It may well be that this wasn't the intent of the Wakefield and Hull deal, but yes you're right if this possibility exists then it should probably be prevented by some sort of "minimum regular season games in order to play in the play offs" criteria.

[phiggins]

Football has this right. A loan is a temporary transfer of a player's registration, and the player going back is a transfer back to the parent club. That means that if a loan ends after the end of a season that the player isn't eligible to play until the next season /  transfer window.

[Griff]

9 minutes ago, phiggins said:

Football has this right. A loan is a temporary transfer of a player's registration, and the player going back is a transfer back to the parent club. That means that if a loan ends after the end of a season that the player isn't eligible to play until the next season /  transfer window.

Same as Rugby League, then.

[phiggins]

2 minutes ago, Griff said:

Same as Rugby League, then.

Clearly not, if Trueman is eligible to play for Wakefield now, having played for Hull after the deadline.

[Griff]

6 minutes ago, phiggins said:

Clearly not, if Trueman is eligible to play for Wakefield now, having played for Hull after the deadline.

I'm missing something then.  Hull's season is over, the loan's finished, Trueman returns to his parent club and is eligible to play.

[The Phantom Horseman]

58 minutes ago, Griff said:

So everybody's fears unfounded then.

What were everybody's fears, please? That's a really poor take, I said on both threads that there was a chance Trueman wouldn't play anyway, the point as clearly stated in the original post is that this is now an established opportunity for other clubs to do the same type of manoeuvre in future years, unless the rule is changed.

[phiggins]

19 minutes ago, Griff said:

I'm missing something then.  Hull's season is over, the loan's finished, Trueman returns to his parent club and is eligible to play.

My original point was that in football, a loan finishing was considered to be another transfer of a player's registration. Which in this instance happens after the transfer deadline meaning he wouldn't be eligible to play for his parent club until the following season.

[The Blues Ox]

1 hour ago, Griff said:

I'm missing something then.  Hull's season is over, the loan's finished, Trueman returns to his parent club and is eligible to play.

You are. You didn't read what Phiggins wrote.

[Griff]

1 hour ago, The Blues Ox said:

You are. You didn't read what Phiggins wrote.

Read it three times, actually.

[Griff]

2 hours ago, phiggins said:

My original point was that in football, a loan finishing was considered to be another transfer of a player's registration. Which in this instance happens after the transfer deadline meaning he wouldn't be eligible to play for his parent club until the following season.

Well, you're better acquainted with soccer than I.

[The Blues Ox]

6 minutes ago, Griff said:

Read it three times, actually.

Looks like you didn't understand it correctly then.

[Griff]

10 minutes ago, The Blues Ox said:

Looks like you didn't understand it correctly then.

As I said earlier.