Salford City

[Luke Imp]

^ That guy is brilliant on the video when Wrexham had a goal wrongly disallowed at Kidderminster. The shot went in, but broke the side netting.

EnglishRed, Master D etc will remember that one well!

 

[Vanni]

Hahaha, I remember that one.

 

[OhGodGlovePuppet]

I have no truck with their Cup game being on telly - had it been any other League Two team drawing Leeds at home it would probably have been on telly.

And if it wasn't they'd just be stoking up MK v Dons instead.

 

[shoddycollins]

With Bury now expelled from the league is it time again to debate Salford: The solution or part of the problem?

Despite them being a well-run club and doing everything sustainably and abiding by FFP and all that stuff; they're still somehow apart from the other 71 league clubs. Bury's problems could not have happened at Salford and Salford's solution could not have worked for Bury.

They feel less like a fellow small club struggling to meet the rising costs of football while providing for their fans and more like Premier League interlopers inflating transfer fees, wages, agent fees etc free from the burdens of historic debts, expensive old stadia and expectant fanbases while everyone else, already trying to keep up with the clubs directly above them in the pyramid now have to keep up with Salford too who will overtake them and give incentive for other manufactured clubs to come from non-League and take greater and greater bites of the EFL cherry.

I know that people will argue that this is just jealousy that another club is well run and has rich investors but my main worry is that Salford have no real fans. We hosted them on Saturday and they brought decent numbers but they were clearly something different to what we know of as fans, they enjoyed themselves too much, they cheered as much when they were losing as they did when they were winning. These were tourists, coming up on subsidised coaches to sample a bit of the lower league atmosphere before going back to following the ManU score on their phones.

Salford may technically have existed before the class of 92 came on board and people who go to watch them play may technically count as fans, a handful even supported them before the class of 92 but they're only a tiny step away now from the sort of investment we all need ignoring our plights and instead creating totally new clubs, RedBull United, Facebook Athletic and so on, with no connection to place or to people, designed from the ground up purely to be a global televisual spectacle and consigning the rest of us to Bury's fate once and for all.

AFC Wimbledon were founded by fans and admittedly aided in getting sponsors by how much sympathy there was for them, battled their way up through the pyramid to reach League One (which is about where Wimbledon FC's natural level would have been). I can't see an AFC Bury managing to do that though, too much money down there now for a fan-owned club to compete and it will only get worse in the ten years or so it might take them in the best-case scenario to get back to the league.

Football is supposed to exist for the fans, clubs with fans also come with baggage but in theory there should be no point to just bypassing all this by setting up a new club (taking over a tiny amateur club and rebranding them) because then you, the rich owner are just doing it for yourself. Yeah you'll get interest from people who already love another club but are attracted by something novel in your setup but it's not the same. The fact that Salford's owners see a point in doing what they're doing is the strongest indication that what has been true in the premier league for a while is now true right down to the lowest levels, that football is about money, return-on-investment, global merchandising, and providing another source of light-entertainment for Sky Sports viewers.

 

[Chris FGR]

creating totally new clubs, RedBull United, Facebook Athletic and so on, with no connection to place or to people, designed from the ground up purely to be a global televisual spectacle and consigning the rest of us to Bury's fate once and for all.

There's already a YouTube channel team called Hashtag United getting decent crowds in non league I think.

 

[shoddycollins]

There's already a YouTube channel team called Hashtag United getting decent crowds in non league I think.

Not sure they have serious plans to break into the league though.

 

[mase]

This is just jealousy that another club is well run and has rich investors

 

[shoddycollins]

This is just jealousy that another club is well run and has rich investors

Maybe but I'm jealous on behalf of football fans as a whole who don't see similar investment in their clubs, not just on behalf of Carlisle, who let's face it, are right down the bottom of the list of potential investment opportunities

 

[dedwardp]

We hosted them on Saturday and they brought decent numbers but they were clearly something different to what we know of as fans, they enjoyed themselves too much, they cheered as much when they were losing as they did when they were winning.

There are plenty of away followings that seem to get louder when they're losing and plenty who will say they're there for a good day out and the football is almost a side-show etc. Perhaps even more so after a promotion when expectations are lower and you're at bigger grounds you're not used to. Not sure that's really a stick to beat them with.

 

[Buxton Vale]

There was a strange relaxed atmosphere at their place went we went the other week, almost like it was a distraction or hobby, coupled with a few wearing Man U shirts. They don't sing much either. This is not a football club as we know it. I was angry to see Phil Neville complaining about Bury's demise and his life long connection with them, while he and his brother ploughed money in this vanity project.

 

[Chris FGR]

At least the class of 92 aren't asset strippers or con men. Don't know much about Salford but maybe they do at least benefit the local community in some way with local projects etc, so there might be an upside for the people of Salford if nothing else.

Would have liked to have seen them invest in Bury given their connections but it's their money so they can do what they like I suppose. Can't see any reasonable way of stopping that.

Maybe once we're out of the EU we can change the laws to cap wages in the lower leagues without worrying about European employment laws.

 

[Son of Cod]

^ That guy is brilliant on the video when Wrexham had a goal wrongly disallowed at Kidderminster. The shot went in, but broke the side netting.

EnglishRed, Master D etc will remember that one well!

That guy is Master Debator...

 

[Vanni]

That guy is Master Debator...

Wrong. Do you still have that pic of those Wrexham fans, the one with that strange fellow staring at the tv cameras? That's him.

 

[Son of Cod]

Wrong. Do you still have that pic of those Wrexham fans, the one with that strange fellow staring at the tv cameras? That's him.

Hahahaha don't have the screenshot but I think it's on the best Dom Vose goal ever video.

 

[Posh Harry]

Maybe but I'm jealous on behalf of football fans as a whole who don't see similar investment in their clubs, not just on behalf of Carlisle, who let's face it, are right down the bottom of the list of potential investment opportunities

Whoa there Shoddy. There would be some serious competition for that slot. I think you will find that we are a more unattractive investment opportunity than you lot. Not that it’s something to be proud of

 

[Chris FGR]

Wrong. Do you still have that pic of those Wrexham fans, the one with that strange fellow staring at the tv cameras? That's him.

Haha is that him? Looks like a sex pest.

 

[WilsdenBantam]

I couldn't really care about Salford, it's tiresome the media attention they get, but that's because of their owners. I don't hate them anymore than the other tin potters who bought their way through non league like Fleetwood, Crawley etc.

If their owners pulled out and they scraped around league 2, in years to come nobody would bat an eye lid.

No doubt 95% of their fans aren't genuine, but I've been to Park Avenue games before, I imagine it's similar if United are away or they can't get tickets to just go to a Salford game instead. Park Avenue get around 500 per home match, if they got the same level of investment their numbers would be 6-7 times that in a few years, just the nature of the beast.

 

[Luke Imp]

Hahahaha don't have the screenshot but I think it's on the best Dom Vose goal ever video.

It is, yeah. They've not scored many good goal if that's the best in their history!