538 replies to this topic

[sweaty craiq]

Yes

I almost won the roll over lottery - well I would have if I had got all 6 numbers and bought a ticket.

[roughyedspud]

come on down the the championship salford...

and cut super league to 10 while we're at it

[Fax1978]

I really hope the RFL step in to provide some form of support for salford financial or otherwise. This is just sad to see.

Worst case they should as others have suggested step out of SL the two tiers of 10 looks to be moving into view.

[shaun mc]

It really does sound late in the day for Salford to go through survival, being taken over, put a team together and make the start of the season if that is what happens.
It is also far too late in the day for any other side to play in SL. There is a real possibility that the season will have to run with 13 clubs. That in itself isn't too bad a scenario - each team gets a week off twice in the season, players have less games to play in the World Cup year, etc.
However the Millenium Magic will be severely disrupted, tickets have already been sold. Play a Championship select side instead? Invite an Aussie club over?

[shrek]

However the Millenium Magic will be severely disrupted, tickets have already been sold. Play a Championship select side instead? Invite an Aussie club over?

Make it the Challenge Cup 1/4 finals or last 16 (venue permitting the extra game) see how it works for a year.

[shaun mc]

Not a bad idea Shrek.
I have thought previously that the 4 quarter finals would make a good MM type weekend
SL would then run with a 24 game season as opposed to the 27 planned. Jamie Peacock will be happy.
Apologies Salford fans if we are jumping ahead.
The debts do seem too large for someone to take on.

[Padge]

Nearly going bust is a long way from going bust. Just as having financial trouble isn't having no money.

Salford have nothing to offer the RFL, but Salford have a lot to offer their landlords, who if the club go under, stand to have built a huge white elephant. If Salford aren't playing there, and with decent crowds, then Sale will have the problem of nobody to share the service costs with and being a side on a downward with an owner not keen on spending his own any more they will have a the same original problem as Salford.

Salford's problems seem to stem from the greed of the investors in the stadium and the naivety of the current management. They seem to have been offered a peppercorn rent but then got stuffed on a service charge. They also seem to have fallen for the "build it they will come" mentality, they will if they know about it, and they will come back if they have a good experience once they have been.

[bigred]

1.5 million to the Council BUT I think John Wilkinson is owed £2 million plus

BBC Interview :- http://www.bbc.co.uk...league/20029722

According to the Salford Star, the total debt is £4.5 million, around £2.25 million of which is owed to the council!
What I want to know is who is going to pay the wages of the players Salford are foisting onto us?

http://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=1616

Edited by bigred, 11 December 2012 - 11:06 PM.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

Awful situation, but who didn't see this coming unfortunately?

Salford have no money. No assets. A small squad. A small fan base. Who's going to buy them out? I think that unless a multi-millionaire willing to make a huge loss for a few years is found quickly, the RFL need to make a decision. Salford won't make it through the season for sure under present circumstances. Should they shop around for a potential replacement?

[shaun mc]

Is this another club that have pulled the wool over the RFL's eyes in the licence grading?
I know the RFL employed a national accounting business to undertake this audit, but if the money they were willing to pay was low, then they'll have been given a green graduate or 2 who tick boxes and agree with everything they are told and see.

Was Salford on the agenda at the recent conference? Sounds not, but they should have been.

[The Future is League]

Salford to me have in recent years only payed lip service to junior development. Their match day marketing has also been poor in my opinion. They did very little in my opinion apart from theimmediate locals to let people know when they were playing a home, against who they were playing a home game, and the day and the KO time time for their home games.

[CANETMAN]

The licensing process was a farce from the word go,i posted on here before what happened when they visited the dragons when they came a few years ago.

RL did some great work during his tenure at the RFL however he could see this all coming a couple of years ago which is why he wound down his involvement put NW in charge and then jumped ship he is not stupid.

Expect more doom and gloom before the season starts,SL needs a whole re-branding and fresh start as i have been harking on for months a 10 team league is the way to go (Although i expect the RFL will chicken out and opt out for 12) otherwise i see the top clubs breaking away and doing their own TV deal.

Without wanting to go on about other previous posts expect everything else to come out in the wash if a new regime takes over (Crowds etc)

CM

[mmp]

But you didn't give any money so why the concern? I did and am not bothered because ultimately the club are still here.

You made a virtue of raising the £500k suggesting it made Bradford more deserving of a bail-out.

i'm not concerned other per-se other than i don't think its right at all to suggest that Bradford are more deserving of a bail-out based on a very dodgy ask they made of the RL community for £500k. remember, lots of non-Bradford fans contributed - some significantly - only for the club to then need bailing out again. Bradford should have come clean up-front as I am sure many contributors would have found a better use for the money they put in. there's no virtue at all in the way that was done.

[Johnoco]

I didn't say Bradford were more deserving, only that plenty of people were willing to help the club out. Hence the RFL saw it as a sign of interest still being there.

I hope the same thing happens for Salford.

[flyingking]

I didn't say Bradford were more deserving, only that plenty of people were willing to help the club out. Hence the RFL saw it as a sign of interest still being there.

I hope the same thing happens for Salford.

Totally agree, but feel that things are looking much bleaker for Salford. Everyone in Bradford showed how much the club meant to them; the fans, players, coaches and local businessmen/politicians were all prepared to take a financial hit to ensure the future of the club.
The word sadly that you would use to sum up the current plight of Salford is indifference. Their splendidly loyal fans have not been able to persuade enough of their mates to come along and make the club viable, and this is despite having access to one of the biggest potential fan bases in the country. Their best players, understandably, are doing what is right for themselves and signing for other clubs with more potential. The local politicians have now washed their hands of the club and despite the Greater Manchester area having many millionaires, not one has stepped forward to bankroll the club.

[Leeds17]

As a Leeds fan going to Salford has become quite a depressing affair. I loved the willows and even though okay it was old and a bit run down it had the atmosphere and I came away having enjoyed the occasion.
I went last season to the new ground and I have to say it is in my opinion the worst ground in Super League in all aspects. Terrible location, no pubs, nothing to do around the ground etc the list could go on.
I have nothing against Salford or the fans I just think the stadium change was a bad move and I along with many other Rhinos fans last season all said we would not go back again!

[JohnM]

Atmosphere? The Willows was a dump..unfit for purpose. How long has the new ground been open and yet its already being rubbished? It can't be that bad as over 9,000 turned out at the weekend to watch Sale Sharks..more than the England v France game I went to.

[Ant]

It strikes me that this has been on the cards for Salford for some years, probably since they last got relegated I think.

Unable to grow their crowds at all - where other perennial strugglers like Wakey and Huddersfield had done. Persistently poor results, lack of investments (or a more "managed" administration like ultimately seems to have benefited Wakefield)

Perhaps even the very changing demographic of the City of Salford has actually scuppered it? (As with many traditional club supporter bases)

Salford strike me as a club that "should" be in Super League, but the city of Salford isn't the place for them and can't support them any more - if that makes sense.

I hope it's sorted for them though.

[Amber Avenger]

Couple of things about the Bradford saga -

It wasn't fraud, the initial 500k was stated as getting the club through the immediate future, as in the following two or three weeks. That money went exactly where the club said it would which was to the tax office and the players/staff and got the club through that two to three weeks. What didn't occur was the further invesment in the club that was more likely to happen if the initial 500k was raised. That's for a whole multitude of reasons, but it certainly wasn't to line the pockets of anyone who wasn't already owed money. That was always the gamble and it was explicitly stated that raising the money is only a guarantee of the club existing a few more days, and it did that.

Someone chipped in about SL not stepping in to buy Salford - the difference in this case is that it was essentially a powerplay to flush out a buyer (and a bloody good one at that), essentially rendering the administrator powerless. If SL had been accepted as the owner of the Bulls, it wouldn't have been permenantly, they knew there were interested parties waiting in the wings. If there hadn't been, there is no way the clubs would have bought Bradford. Alas, it doesn't look as if anyone is willing to step in for Salford at the moment, and they aren't currently in administration so it's not comparing like with like.

Sorry to derail the thread further. All I can say to the Salford fans is I hope for the best. I'll certainly be helping out in any way I can. The situations may not be the same on paper, but if you are anything like me I know you'll be feeling just dreadful. Hope it's turned around soon.

[Johnoco]

Have they launched a fundraising appeal? I'm sure most wouldn't mind donating a few quid/pence? I'll chuck something in anyway.