while the argument of coaching may be valid personally for me it's the size of the cheque book. The 3 at the top of MPL pay their players, or at least a handful. It filters down from there, attracting quality players will attract other players due to the players around them. Is it good for the game? Absolutely not, it's half the reason the player pool isn't dispersed. Bet your bottom dollar if the big 3 Mpl clubs and add to that United in Ccl who also seem to have a supply of money to try to buy the league, then we propably wouldn't see such a bridge in quality. I'm pretty sure Selwyn do not, coach has built the team over past few years, Halswell clearly do not due to the player exodus and possibly taking a leaf out of their neighbours book towards the future. I'm all for spending money as long as it's towards grassroots and coaching, not players!
Coastal don't pay their players, so you can scratch us off the list.
Neither do ChCh United. They pay them to coach. As players they'd be a pretty poor return on investment.