yes they have to honour all existing T&C's, esp regarding basic pay

Bet there's a few high paid players they're hoping have short-term contracts then. Think there's a few high paid players who have hardly played for a couple of years. They must be costing a fortune.

By a 'few' I presume you mean Scruton?

Well Burgess and (probably) Hargreaves are leaving at the end of the season, so we're going to need Scruton regardless of how much money he is on.