Here's a quote from the Times about players playing for more than two clubs (note the word 'playing' - seems irrelevant whether this is on loan or not). I hope RFC have got this figured out - I'm all for taking calculated risks, but i'm not sure this is a good one?? It would be normal to get docked points for fielding an inelgible player.
Portsmouth hampered by two-team rule
Nick Szczepanik The Times
January 2, 2010
Portsmouth’s plans to cash in on their playing assets to help pay off debts could be hampered by Fifa rules that prohibit players appearing for more than two clubs in the same season.
Blackburn Rovers are thought to have inquired about Kevin-Prince Boateng, the Ghana midfield player, who cost Portsmouth £4 million from Tottenham Hotspur last August.
However, Boateng appeared as a substitute for Spurs in a Carling Cup tie against Doncaster Rovers before moving to Fratton Park, and Fifa regulations state that, although a player may be registered with a maximum of three clubs during one season, “during this period, the player is only eligible to play official matches for two clubs”. Any club signing Boateng would have to appeal.
The Premier League confirmed that, short of the player launching a personal appeal on the ground that 31 minutes on the field at the Keepmoat Stadium should not restrain his trade, the only other possibility would be for a club to buy Boateng, then loan him back to Portsmouth — an extreme and unlikely act of philanthropy. The same rule would prevent the resale of Tommy Smith, who made five appearances for Watford this season before signing for Portsmouth.
A website that has been used as an unofficial conduit by the club suggested yesterday that deals aimed at easing cash-flow problems were at an advanced stage before “a major refinancing programme”. The plans involve securitisation against future TV and gate revenues as well as Fratton Park, the naming rights for which are for sale.
Portsmouth host Coventry City today in the third round of the FA Cup, the competition they won in 2008 — at some cost to their future, as has now become evident. The present regime at the club is frustrated at the perception that it is to blame for the club’s plight and a look at the team who beat Cardiff City 1-0 in the final at Wembley makes it plain that the problems began much earlier.
Under the ownership of Alexandre Gaydamak, the club had taken out a large loan the previous summer to finance the signings of players such as Sulley Muntari (£7 million), John Utaka (£7 million), David Nugent (£6 million) and Glen Johnson (£4 million).
They were joined last January by Jermain Defoe (£7.5 million, but cup-tied and unable to play at Wembley) and Lassana Diarra (£5.5 million). Winning the Cup and gaining entry to Europe seemed to justify the outlay, but the hidden cost was the wage bill, which could not be supported even if Fratton Park was full every week. Sol Campbell earned £60,000 per week, while even squad players were making phenomenal sums. Lauren was lauded by Harry Redknapp as a bargain signing at £500,000, but on £40,000 per week for 20 league starts over 2½ seasons, he hardly represented good value. Djimi Traoré (11 league starts for Portsmouth in two years) cost £1.5 million and earned £23,000 a week, most of which the club were still paying during two spells away on loan.
And although the club were able to sell on some of the big earners, at a profit in the cases of Diarra, Muntari and Johnson, those who remain continue to earn ruinously high salaries. Utaka, for example, is widely reported to be on £80,000, and the total monthly wage bill is £1.8 million.
Utaka, Nugent and David James are among those whom the club would especially like to remove from the payroll, while it is fair to assume that other members of the Cup Final team who remain at the club, such as Kanu, Papa Bouba Diop and Hermann Hreidarsson, have not taken much of a pay cut since appearing at Wembley.
Sales are believed to be necessary to satisfy creditors including Revenue & Customs, rival clubs and Gaydamak, with debts estimated at £60 million.
Now Avram Grant has to work with a cut-price squad that will be slashed even more if the club can find buyers. He has also lost several players to the African Cup of Nations, while Tottenham have refused to let on-loan Jamie O’Hara play against Coventry, a match in which the poor form of both teams suggests that a shock is on — Portsmouth might win.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle6973412.ece