SKY SPORTS pundit Jon Wilkin believes that Salford Red Devils and head coach Paul Rowley “will regret” the fiasco concerning their 82-0 loss to St Helens last weekend.
Round One of Super League, generally, saw the ten top flight sides go hammer and tong at each other in closely-fought encounters.
However, despite successfully being taken over by a consortium led by Swiss businessman Dario Berta, head coach Rowley was told that not all of his Salford players would be at his disposal for Round One.
That’s because the due diligence from the RFL regarding the new owners had not yet been completed, meaning the special measures of a £1.2 million sustainability cap imposed by the governing body were still in place.
Despite Rowley naming a relatively strong squad for their Challenge Cup Third Round clash against Midlands Hurricanes, the same could not be said of their squad pencilled in for last week’s fixture against Saints.
For Wilkin, it’s a “mess” and it is only Salford’s fault.
“It’s a mess. Salford have had cash-flow issues. They were placed in special measures, bailed out by the fans in a crowdfunder, they asked for £500,000 advance on their central distribution,” Wellens said on Sky Sports: The Verdict.
“To put it simply, Salford have been living beyond their means for some time. The RFL were left with no choice but to impose a sustainability cap.
“The RFL said ‘if you don’t shed £800,000 of costs, you will go bust. We are going to impose a cap limit so you can only spend £1.2 million on the field’.
“Salford have known about that for some time. It’s no surprise for Salford who have known for a long time about their financial issues.
“Paul Rowley said that it was like having a Ferrari in the garage and you couldn’t drive it. It’s not. It’s like having a Ferrari that you can’t insure, can’t afford to put petrol in it and you’ve got one just to say you’ve got a Ferrari.
“They don’t have the ability to get through tough cash-flow issues as they don’t have a wealthy backer.”
Wilkin went further, claiming that the club tried to ’embarrass’ the sport with the side that Rowley fielded during their 82-0 loss to Saints.
“What they tried to do is embarrass the game by fielding such a weak team. It was irresponsible to do so as they put young players, who are not physically or aesthetically developed, against serious athletes in Round One of Super League.
“It was a bad look for the sport, the game and Paul Rowley.
“It’s accepted that your best players are rested by teams before a big game but I’ve never known it be acceptable in Round One and not when the week before Paul had fielded a team worth £1.2 million on the pitch.
“He could have done it again and he chose not to. Salford cannot afford the squad they have got.
“They have got investment coming in from overseas and they are being vetted. Because they are from overseas it takes time – it’s not like going on Companies House.
“As it stands, that money or investment has no basis to whether it is valid or not. I applaud the RFL for being strong and consistent and deplore Salford’s behaviour.
“They will reflect on this, and I think Paul Rowley will regret it.”
