theswanmcr

Talk about the benefit of hindsight! Have said this before but here goes… RFL wanted minimum standards for SL - at the time everyone was looking at shiny new stadiums to replace 100 year grounds. Salford we’re one of the first to start this - then money problems, Red City Developments going under and the troubles start. In the end we did get a new stadium though. The likes of Cas and Wakey put a billion paper plans in, constantly get dispensation and are happily still today playing in their original delapidated grounds. Basically they got away with it and good luck to them for doing so. Many things to bash Salford for - Koukash, academies etc - if you want but the stadium isn’t one of them. We tried to do the right thing and in the end it is those that did nothing that have come up smelling of (white) roses.

No I’m not missing the point - I’m saying exactly the same thing! Agree that we need big clubs in big grounds. In reality Salford are not and probably never will be that - and my point is that this isn’t intrinsically their fault. We are one of a number of clubs who are just not at the level of Leeds, Saints, Catalans etc. A big ground hasn’t helped us. So realistically you play at a ground at your level - if this means others overtake us then so be it eg Toulouse

We’re obsessed with the notion of tiny grounds. Sticking Salford, Huddersfield and Wakefield in big shiny new - and empty - grounds doesn’t solve anything. We should be worried that a quarter of the clubs in our elite league are simply not big enough full stop - playing in tiny or oversized grounds doesn’t change that fact.

Problem Is there just isn’t enough clubs that are big enough to really meet the standards. So you have Huddersfield playing in a lovely big stadium (standards box ticked). In reality they can’t come close to filling it, it’s way too big, looks rubbish on TV and has no atmosphere for paying fans. Bournemouth played in the football Premier League recently. Tiny stadium for the sport with only 11,000 capacity. Nobody kicked-off that it was a disgrace to the sport. Back to our sport and Salford potentially play at a 5,000 capacity neat little stadium that will be much more suited to our crowds, have a good atmosphere and look good on TV and everyone loses their mind.

We’ll said. Not everyone but there is a lot of Salford bashing on here. We are hammered for the mess we are in with the Stadium - fair enough and mistakes were made, but we built a new ground (after the much better original design collapsed) and didn’t just sit on our a*** like others. Turns out it was the wrong option in the end but we showed ambition and it backfired. So now we have Hobson’s Choice by the looks of it with Moor Lane. And many having a go at the lack of ambition and small time look of a 5k stadium… after we have clearly shown that a bigger ground is too big for little Salford! This ground option - though by no means perfect - will be fine for where we are at the minute and as you say Shropshire looks good when full. if other bigger clubs with bigger grounds can come from somewhere to take our place in SL so be it.. but having been to both stadiums I’d rather go to Moor Lane than AJ Bell any day no matter what league we are playing in.

We’ll ok but there’s obviously different levels/terms of lease. If we have full commercial control and (presumably) some level of agreement on how the lease is set - eg the council can’t up it 100% each year then this would be a much better deal than we currently have at the AJ Bell(End)

It is not a dump. You and other may, quite rightly, see it as too small etc but is not a dump. It is a neat and (very) compact stadium that can create a good atmosphere when full. The issue of stadium and what is good enough standard is an emotive and personal one. Castleford is a dump. A total dump. But is also has a great feel to it and is the perfect size. Huddersfield is a fine stadium but it is way way too big and has no atmosphere and looks grim on TV. As ever it’s a balance and not many clubs have the perfect size stadium for their needs and level.

That’s fair enough. Being realistic it’s hugely unlikely we’ll find/build another ground so it’s a 5k stadium or bust and we take our chances with that. Unless of course this all changes… nothing signed and sealed yet and (another) multimillionaire might appear off Regent Road in the next few months!

While there’s some good and fair points on here there’s also a case of some kicking a club when it’s down. Salford are not a big club. The Super League 1.5 joke was about right - along with a few others we are not really big enough for SL in terms of crowds. But only a few clubs are. So were caught in the old catch-22 situation… move to Moor Lane in a ground that is perfect for now in terms of capacity and we’re hammered for a lack of ambition. Stay where we are (not that that’s an option) and we can’t pay the rent in an oversize stadium. None of it is ideal. Moor Lane is fine, will get a good atmosphere. But if the RFL said that we couldn’t play there in SL due to minimum standards the fine - but you need to be just as strict with other clubs too.

Yes and moving to Moor Lane would partly be about finding our level - which is in reality halfway between SL and Championship. We also have very little choice at the minute - it looks like this option or we’re homeless.

Football is the one truly global game. It is easy to play, even on your own as anyone can kick a ball against a ball - unlike rugby. Because it is national/global it doesn’t feel small-time. It is also simple to understand the basic rules and from there you can pick up nuances and tactics as you go.

Yep that’s pretty much what I was getting at Steve but without the fancier title!

Salford are a ‘shambles of a club’ because they are - like the majority - not quite big enough for Super League. We don’t have a wealthy owner (like Huddersfield) and we aren’t the only show In town (like Cas). We can pull in a big latent audience like for the Grand Final but only have a core of 2k fans really. We’re a shambles because we’re trying to be up there with Leeds, Saints etc but we aren’t and never really there. Moor Lane will be a good base and much more suited to a top Championship side (like we are in reality).

Salford City have hit a bit of a wall after a rapid rise. They had £10 admission, offered free coach travel to away games etc and really capitalised on the Class of 92 factor to those you can’t afford to go to Old Trafford. Trouble is as they rise through the ranks playing costs escalate - admission is now £15 (still cheap really but growing) and novelty wears off especially when they aren’t winning. Gary Neville has said this move has come too early for them really - think this saga has a few more twists and turns yet to come.

Just to clarify - one thing that keeps being mentioned is that there are no toilet facilities at Moor Lane. There were portaloos when I went so a) it’s not like everyone was s***ing in the woods and b) that’s 100% better than p***ing against a wall like the good old day of the Willows Not really an issue and you either hire them in or there’s room to build small blocks.

Thanks Johnoco. Even if it all works it’s not really a master stroke. Unless a sugar daddy comes along to buy us a new stadium we have no choice. We owe the council millions, have low crowds and despite best intentions from the start the new stadium didn’t work. Lets see how it all pans out as nothing has been confirmed just yet.

The AJ Bell is and never was right for Salford. Too big, soulless, in the wrong location for our fan base , standing area in wrong place (should be down the side like the Shed at the Willows) etc. I’m not happy about potentially moving to Moor Lane in many respects - and yes it does show a lack of ambition - but we are where we are.

It’s actually perfectly fine for Salford in terms of where we are at the moment/where we are likely heading/where we’ve pretty much always been (I’m a Salford fan by the way) ie it is a perfectly good Championship good. If you get a full house in there it has a great atmosphere as you’re so close to the pitch. I know from seeing a local FC United v Salford football derby there. Negatives as mentioned are that facilities aren’t great, stands are semi-permanent, no room to develop, on the very edge of Salford, little parking, no pubs, not quite big enough. Positives are we aren’t made homeless, has a good feel to it, not a soulless oversized pit like AJ Bell, is already painted red which is handy

I know what you are saying and especially agree with last point that we and others need to get to that level. Of course the irony is that this World Cup promised to be the most competitive challenge for Australia yet - with 4 teams capable of winning it. Still way off other sports and they are still favourites but a big step forward. And ultimately it’s the sport’s World Cup. Even if you win it every time, even if you are a class or more above everyone else and even if you don’t respect it as a competition… the sport’s administration/should have the decency to respect others who do see it in a better light than you and not pull out with 4 minutes notice.

Excellent post and summation of what has happened and where we are currently all at the moment.

Yes some good points in that previous post. However I think most people are critiquing the NRL and not Aussies and there is a difference. NRL want to reduce the number of international opportunities to suit their players and needs eg the incredulous no games ever 4th year and no games ‘in season’ as they stupidly call it. Of course the SL are the same with too many games and also RFL with the challenge cup. Until somehow we go back to the national associations being able to implement fixture planning then we’ll never change things as the clubs are (as ever it was) all powerful.

1. We're screwed thanks to the NRL 2. Loads probably - obviously we won't be compensated by NRL 3. Because the NRL held a gun to our heads and 'asked' us to postpone it for a year, then pulled the trigger and that means it clashes with the FIFIA World Cup. They won't move the NRL season by 4 minutes to help with this clash. 4. The NRL don't care about them The IRL/RLWC tried to grow a pair and carry on without them and then the NRL have 'persuaded' everyone (not just Aus and NZ players) not to go.

I feel sorry for whoever has to write the prepared RLWC2021 press statement for tomorrow. How do you put together a professional response when all you want to do Is call the NRL a bunch of bullying ******?

Well let's hope so. No guarantee of that. I imagine that the NRL will declare the 'post season' women's comp a huge success and say it needs to stay in that position. Or they will just come up with some excuse. Aussies laughing at it yet again as they bully us into doing what they want.

If only RL here was as big as Britpop. We are folk music - a specialist area with a weekly late late show on Radio 2 / 5 Live with regional programming along side this. We have a proud working class history that we never escape from. We have some big occasions (Cambridge Folk Fesr / Challenge Cup Final) with a loyal following. No one else cares. occasionally we will have our day in the sun when a big star goes through their “folk phase” (cross-code) but there is less of this these days. Or something like that!