League Two Salford City

[NottsYellow]

On Saturday, Salford had lowest crowd in the league with only 1,687 to see their game v Newport.
Doesn't look like the locals have taken to Neville/Scholes/Giggs project. In fact they have probably ruined a traditional lower non-league club, where the fans were happy to go along on a Saturday afternoon, stand on the open terraces and watch some raw football, eating their burgers etc etc.
They must be losing £ millions, people like McALeny don't come cheap. I guess some players must be on £3k + per week. Not sustainable on crowds of < 2k.

 

[Wallop]

On Saturday, Salford had lowest crowd in the league with only 1,687 to see their game v Newport.
Doesn't look like the locals have taken to Neville/Scholes/Giggs project. In fact they have probably ruined a traditional lower non-league club, where the fans were happy to go along on a Saturday afternoon, stand on the open terraces and watch some raw football, eating their burgers etc etc.
They must be losing £ millions, people like McALeny don't come cheap. I guess some players must be on £3k + per week. Not sustainable on crowds of < 2k.

Well that depends on how much money the class of 92 alumni are prepared to put in, anything is sustainable if owners gift funds to a club. In addition the TV spin-off documentaries and Salford being chosen for every live TV opportunity going will aid their kitty.

 

[Marked Ox]

Well that depends on how much money the class of 92 alumni are prepared to put in, anything is sustainable if owners gift funds to a club. In addition the TV spin-off documentaries and Salford being chosen for every live TV opportunity going will aid their kitty.

It isn't just the class of '92 iirc as I think the billionaire Valencia owner holds 50%.

 

[Wallop]

It isn't just the class of '92 iirc as I think the billionaire Valencia owner holds 50%.

There you go then - very sustainable on sub 2000 crowds if that owner pumps money in.

 

[Pete Burrett]

I've done no online research on this (sorry!) but I seem to remember lots of clubs attracting 'sugar daddies' over the years who've pumped substantial amounts into club coffers without necessarily achieving success.

Colne Dynamos spring to mind, also Fleetwood and Brackley. Forest Green might also fall into this category - low support base but a wealthy owner prepared to finance a club to pursue his 'green dream'.

 

[MarkG]

I've done no online research on this (sorry!) but I seem to remember lots of clubs attracting 'sugar daddies' over the years who've pumped substantial amounts into club coffers without necessarily achieving success.

Colne Dynamos spring to mind, also Fleetwood and Brackley. Forest Green might also fall into this category - low support base but a wealthy owner prepared to finance a club to pursue his 'green dream'.

Also Histon , Rushden and Diamonds, Lewes where i think the manager got sacked for getting promoted. If owners want vanity projects they should have a viable back up plan for when their money runs out.

 

[Wandering Yellow]

I will never understand how Neville et al aren't interested in saving struggling former big sides like Bury FC or Oldham Athletic but instead go in cahoots with Billionaire Lim to thunderbolt a random non-league team into the football league.

 

[Pete Burrett]

Also Histon , Rushden and Diamonds, Lewes where i think the manager got sacked for getting promoted. If owners want vanity projects they should have a viable back up plan for when their money runs out.

I'd forgotten about both Rushen & Diamonds and Histon. Histon's chairman bought phantom season tickets to make attendances look slightly less poor than they actually were. R&D was the ultimate vanity project for Doc Marten's boss Griggs (I think the name was). Wanted a team to out-perform nearby Kettering so pumped £ millions in. Very nice stadium though. Saw OUFC there several times. The stadium no longer exists.

 

[unification]

I will never understand how Neville et al aren't interested in saving struggling former big sides like Bury FC or Oldham Athletic but instead go in cahoots with Billionaire Lim to thunderbolt a random non-league team into the football league.

Bearing in mind that the Neville family had links with Bury and Scholes is an Oldham fan, I'm surprised too. But - hey - the vanity project that is Salford is the one they opt for. When you consider how many clubs there are already in the north west, what new fans are going to start supporting another? I can only imagine they may attract the odd priced out/disillusioned Manchester United fans or a handful of diehard Salford fans in the first place.

Generally, these kind of clubs hit the ceiling in League 1 where the next major cash injection is needed to get to the second tier. Fleetwood, Rushden and Crawley all got stuck at this level. I have little doubt that Peter Lim and the Class of '92 have the funds, but do they want to invest that much and what return would they get from it? We're talking very wealthy people here but not so wealthy that they can afford to write a cheque every season for their folly like Sheikh Mansour and Roman Abramovic do for their respective clubs.

I don't think we'll see the back of them yet but my prediction is that they'll make it to League 1 and then flatline. The owners will realise the financial needs are too great and they'll slip back away or more likely fold.

I'd forgotten about both Rushen & Diamonds and Histon. Histon's chairman bought phantom season tickets to make attendances look slightly less poor than they actually were. R&D was the ultimate vanity project for Doc Marten's boss Griggs (I think the name was). Wanted a team to out-perform nearby Kettering so pumped £ millions in. Very nice stadium though. Saw OUFC there several times. The stadium no longer exists.

So sad what happened to Nene Park. Such a neat and tidy ground and it was in relatively good nick until it was demolished in 2017. Whilst I don't condone breaking and entering, there are some good urban exploring videos that show that with a bit of 'Homes Under the Hammer' style flipping, it could have been reused if a club fancied moving back in again. This one was from 2016 and it's amazing to see so many fixtures and fittings in situ in it still.

 

[Marked Ox]

Bearing in mind that the Neville family had links with Bury and Scholes is an Oldham fan, I'm surprised too. Buy - hey - the vanity project that is Salford is the one they opt for. When you consider how many clubs there are already in the north west, what new fans are going to start supporting another? I can only imagine they may attract the odd priced out/disillusioned Manchester United fans or a handful of diehard Salford fans in the first place.

Generally, these kind of clubs hit the ceiling in League 1 where the next major cash injection is needed to get to the second tier. Fleetwood, Rushden and Crawley all got stuck at this level. I have little doubt that Peter Lim and the Class of '92 have the funds, but do they want to invest that much and what return would they get from it? We're talking very wealthy people here but not so wealthy that they can afford to write a cheque every season for their folly like Sheikh Mansour and Roman Abramovic do for their respective clubs.

I don't think we'll see the back of them yet but my prediction is that they'll make it to League 1 and then flatline. The owners will realise the financial needs are too great and they'll slip back away or more likely fold.



So sad what happened to Nene Park. Such a neat and tidy ground and it was in relatively good nick until it was demolished in 2017. Whilst I don't condone breaking and entering, there are some good urban exploring videos that show that with a bit of 'Homes Under the Hammer' style flipping, it could have been reused if a club fancied moving back in again. This one was from 2016 and it's amazing to see so many fixtures and fittings in situ in it still.

I don't know where they got to but Salford City and the Rugby League club were negotiating to swap grounds. Yet the Football club can't get near selling out their current ground with less than 2000 home fans!

 

[Wandering Yellow]

Bearing in mind that the Neville family had links with Bury and Scholes is an Oldham fan, I'm surprised too. Buy - hey - the vanity project that is Salford is the one they opt for. When you consider how many clubs there are already in the north west, what new fans are going to start supporting another? I can only imagine they may attract the odd priced out/disillusioned Manchester United fans or a handful of diehard Salford fans in the first place.

Generally, these kind of clubs hit the ceiling in League 1 where the next major cash injection is needed to get to the second tier. Fleetwood, Rushden and Crawley all got stuck at this level. I have little doubt that Peter Lim and the Class of '92 have the funds, but do they want to invest that much and what return would they get from it? We're talking very wealthy people here but not so wealthy that they can afford to write a cheque every season for their folly like Sheikh Mansour and Roman Abramovic do for their respective clubs.

I don't think we'll see the back of them yet but my prediction is that they'll make it to League 1 and then flatline. The owners will realise the financial needs are too great and they'll slip back away or more likely fold.



So sad what happened to Nene Park. Such a neat and tidy ground and it was in relatively good nick until it was demolished in 2017. Whilst I don't condone breaking and entering, there are some good urban exploring videos that show that with a bit of 'Homes Under the Hammer' style flipping, it could have been reused if a club fancied moving back in again. This one was from 2016 and it's amazing to see so many fixtures and fittings in situ in it still.

I think you've raised an interesting point here. Peter Lim's net worth is around £2.5bn and that's before you factor in the wealth of the CO92. My prediction is they will keep trying to gain promotion from League Two without just financially supercharging it and risking bad PR, before they do decide to just throw money at the first team to silly levels and get promoted.

Sadly, I think by the 2030's Salford will be a solid Championship club. There's too much money and misplaced enthusiasm for them not to be.

 

[OUFCGav]

On Saturday, Salford had lowest crowd in the league with only 1,687 to see their game v Newport.
Doesn't look like the locals have taken to Neville/Scholes/Giggs project. In fact they have probably ruined a traditional lower non-league club, where the fans were happy to go along on a Saturday afternoon, stand on the open terraces and watch some raw football, eating their burgers etc etc.
They must be losing £ millions, people like McALeny don't come cheap. I guess some players must be on £3k + per week. Not sustainable on crowds of < 2k.

They were paying Adam Rooney £4k/week in non league.

 

[MarkG]

Due to the nature of football clubs being rooted in a community and where generations will support the same team for decades, I think it is always going to be a struggle to build up a village team to sustained football league status at the top end of L1 / Championship. Fans from the catchment area will probably already support someone else. Perhaps new towns may be an exception, but for instance football fans living in or near Stevenage probably already support one of the North London clubs like Spurs or Arsenal.

 

[oufc1991]

I suppose for a team like Salford they’re not competing with the two big Manchester clubs for fans but the clubs like Rochdale,oldham,bury, fc united of Manchester and those fans of those teams aren’t going to support Salford

 

[Marked Ox]

Due to the nature of football clubs being rooted in a community and where generations will support the same team for decades, I think it is always going to be a struggle to build up a village team to sustained football league status at the top end of L1 / Championship. Fans from the catchment area will probably already support someone else. Perhaps new towns may be an exception, but for instance football fans living in or near Stevenage probably already support one of the North London clubs like Spurs or Arsenal.

Based on somebody else's observations as an away fan. Man Utd were playing later that day and apparently not long into the 2nd half a load of the Salford end disappeared, probably to go to Old Trafford. Can't have been good after they left considering the already small crowds.

 

[MarkG]

Based on somebody else's observations as an away fan. Man Utd were playing later that day and apparently not long into the 2nd half a load of the Salford end disappeared, probably to go to Old Trafford. Can't have been good after they left considering the already small crowds.

Reminds me of an away game where we went to a social club pre-match (Plymouth I think). they were showing an EPL game for perhaps Man United or Liverpool, and one of the fans was wearing that team's top. Then at the final whistle he stripped that shirt off to reveal an Oxford United shirt. I was speechless.

 

[unification]

Reminds me of an away game where we went to a social club pre-match (Plymouth I think). they were showing an EPL game for perhaps Man United or Liverpool, and one of the fans was wearing that team's top. Then at the final whistle he stripped that shirt off to reveal an Oxford United shirt. I was speechless.

@Junior_1 has been rumbled .

 

[Wandering Yellow]

Reminds me of an away game where we went to a social club pre-match (Plymouth I think). they were showing an EPL game for perhaps Man United or Liverpool, and one of the fans was wearing that team's top. Then at the final whistle he stripped that shirt off to reveal an Oxford United shirt. I was speechless.

Christ!

 

[oufc1991]

Christ!

I don’t think it was him

 

[Wandering Yellow]

I don’t think it was him

He's a Beitar Jerusalem man