I must admit I got rather excited when I heard about the idea of UEFA imposing a continent-wide limit on what clubs can pay players.

If this salary cap ever becomes reality, it could have the power to revolutionise the entire sport and create a new version of football that is more equal, fair and competitive. Of course, despite UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin’s claims that everyone is on board with the idea of limiting wages, that is very far from the truth.

While most clubs will no doubt be happy with the plan as it will reel in the spiralling cost of player wages, the players themselves were obviously not going to greet the prospect of having their earning power limited with unbridled glee.

In fact, Professional Footballers’ Association chief Maheta Molango was instantly on the case when Ceferin made his comments, saying players will “rightly be angry” and that it is “not the solution”. “Players need to be treated as the most important stakeholders and central to these conversations. When players read that ‘everyone agrees’ with capping their wages, I think they will rightly be angry,” he said.

And I can see his point because, while I happen to believe many footballers are vastly overpaid, if you cap their wages you might end up playing into the hands of those club owners who are treating teams as money-making machines.

If clubs face a limit on what they can pay players, then ultimately that has the potential to make them more profitable. Savings won’t be passed on to the fans, of course, so owners are going to end up pocketing more cash at the players’ expense. At least, that’s how this entire concept could pan out if it isn’t properly thought through by UEFA.

As I said at the outset, I agree with the general principle of a salary cap. It certainly has the potential to make the sport more equitable and sustainable. If it stops clubs overspending, sees ticket prices drop for fans and avoids the horrific reality of teams going out of business, then it can be a force for good. But if introducing it ends up making more money for the likes of the Glazers, then it will be an epically tragic move.

If introducing [a salary cap] ends up making more money for the likes of the Glazers, it will be an epically tragic move

Meanwhile, talking of ticket prices dropping for fans, over in Germany, one club is taking that concept to a whole different level – by offering free entrance to all fans.

Second division Fortuna Düsseldorf will be making entrance free for some home matches next season with a view to making all their home matches free to attend within five years. The idea is to make up the money lost in ticket revenue through sponsorships.

Now, I am not sure how this will work from a business point of view as it sounds like any club going down this route would need to find a hefty chunk of sponsorship to cover the cost (In Fortuna’s case, estimated at nearly €40 million over five years). And you would imagine they can’t exactly say, for example, ‘we will give you the shirt sponsorship in return’, as that would kill a different revenue stream. But I can only assume they have a plan in mind that makes this whole thing feasible or they wouldn’t have gone public with it yet.

You would imagine this free entrance scheme will have a significant effect on home attendances. On average, the club gets crowds of around 28,000 at the moment, meaning their 54,000-seater stadium is barely half full. When it costs nothing to watch you would imagine that average will be closer to capacity.

And that massive additional backing could have a significant impact on the team’s performances. It will be very interesting to see how their innovative little plan works over the next couple of years.

Who knows, if UEFA get this salary cap thing right and Düsseldorf’s plan comes together, we could have a situation in a few years’ time where football is a sustainably run sport, with all clubs having a decent chance of success and the fans no longer being milked for money on a weekly basis.

I admit that sounds a little mythical considering where we are right now, but it’s nice to think for a fleeting moment that football may actually be getting its act together.

Dixie still slightly ahead

I’m not going to even think about saying anything disparaging about Erling Haaland.

The man is a football genius – possibly the greatest natural striker of all time – and you would have to be a complete idiot not to acknowledge that.

Last Wednesday night, Haaland scored his 35th league goal of the season in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over West Ham United, taking him one ahead of Alan Shearer and Andy Cole in the Premier League scoring charts. But despite the Norwegian’s incredible achievements in his first season in England, I feel compelled to once again point out to modern generations that there was life before the Premier League.

Step forward Dixie Dean, the Everton legend who banged in an incredible 60 league goals in 39 games back in 1927-28.

Haaland may still have a few league matches left to play this season, but even he is going to struggle to grab another 25 goals. And let’s not forget that when Dean was plying his trade, he was essentially wearing asbestos shorts, concrete boots and playing with a ball made of lead.

Even if you compare the ‘goals in all competitions’ statistics, Haaland with his 51 still has some way to go to match Dean’s 63 (65 if you include the Charity Shield). And again, we should bear in mind that when Dixie was doing his stuff there were no Champions League or League Cup games – his only opportunities for finding the back of the net were in the league and the FA Cup.

Allow me to reiterate that I am not trying to be negative about Haaland – the lad is an awesome specimen of football perfection.

It’s just that every now and then I like to remind people that football wasn’t invented in 1992...

E-mail: James@quizando.com

Twitter: @Maltablade