So, who is in league 2 for 21/22

[Monkey Tennis]

Salford are going up this season.

 

[Robshep]

They will fizzle out soon hopefully

As soon as the Glazers are gone from Man Utd their support will shrink by 75%

 

[Salvador]

As soon as the Glazers are gone from Man Utd their support will shrink by 75%

That and/or Co92 pulling out. I went to a game of theirs a few years ago v Halifax. Think it was the season they came up from NL. Almost every other person there seemed to be a foreign tourist or someone wearing old United club gear. Soulless place full of bandwagoners. Nice food and beer on offer though, so that help make it seem less shit.

I don’t mind a small club growing. Christ, we’re minnows ourselves compared to most of the FL so I’d be over the moon if we rocketed up the leagues. But it’s just all so plastic at Salford. That and they’ve nabbed our top goal scorer on a free transfer 2 season in a row so they can fook off.

 

[Greenacres]

The club to watch out for are Dorking Wanderers, currently in the Conference South, who were only formed just over 20 years ago...they started out at around Level 17, in the pyramid and not the pop band, and have had something like 12 promotions in the intervening time. I expect them to make it into the Football League within the next five years, although their meteoric rise is bound to slow down eventually, not sure how high they will go though.

 

[GEORGE]

The club to watch out for are Dorking Wanderers, currently in the Conference South, who were only formed just over 20 years ago...they started out at around Level 17, in the pyramid and not the pop band, and have had something like 12 promotions in the intervening time. I expect them to make it into the Football League within the next five years, although their meteoric rise is bound to slow down eventually, not sure how high they will go though.

Are they being bankrolled. Also my local team Bridgwater United ( were Town ) have been taken over by the old Bournemouth chairman ( who sold out to the Russians ) and have put plans in action for new stands at the present ground and to build a brand new ground for the Ladies team. He is talking Conf South in 3 to 5 years. Players joining from all over.

 

[Salvador]

The club to watch out for are Dorking Wanderers, currently in the Conference South, who were only formed just over 20 years ago...they started out at around Level 17, in the pyramid and not the pop band, and have had something like 12 promotions in the intervening time. I expect them to make it into the Football League within the next five years, although their meteoric rise is bound to slow down eventually, not sure how high they will go though.

Dorking away would invoke some 10cc vibes.

 

[Greenacres]

Are they being bankrolled. Also my local team Bridgwater United ( were Town ) have been taken over by the old Bournemouth chairman ( who sold out to the Russians ) and have put plans in action for new stands at the present ground and to build a brand new ground for the Ladies team. He is talking Conf South in 3 to 5 years. Players joining from all over.

When we talk about bankrolling it is usually someone taking over a team that isn't too far down the pyramid and investing enough money to give them an immediate advantage over most of the clubs in their division, pretty much all clubs will have had that happen at some time in their history...regardless of their current size.

Dorking started off playing at the bottom of the West Sussex League, a level where you find village team reserve sides, playing on a field sandwiched between a vineyard and Box Hill on the North Downs. They have since moved to a re-developed stadium near the town centre, which was obviously necessary for their continued development. I don't know if they have someone with disposable funds backing them but suspect that given the amount of time they have been on the rise it has to be pretty unlikely, there are some far easier targets in the local area for anyone who wanted to take over a club and fund a move upwards, rather than create one and start at the bottom.

 

[Robshep]

The club to watch out for are Dorking Wanderers, currently in the Conference South, who were only formed just over 20 years ago...they started out at around Level 17, in the pyramid and not the pop band, and have had something like 12 promotions in the intervening time. I expect them to make it into the Football League within the next five years, although their meteoric rise is bound to slow down eventually, not sure how high they will go though.

Similar to Colne Dynamoes who moved up the leagues faster than they could improve the ground. They got promoted to what is now the NL but when they couldnt find a suitable venue the owner just binned it all.

 

[Robshep]

Dorking away would invoke some 10cc vibes.

You have terrible luck with posting videos.

 

[Salvador]

Similar to Colne Dynamoes who moved up the leagues faster than they could improve the ground. They got promoted to what is now the NL but when they couldnt find a suitable venue the owner just binned it all.

Weren’t Colne going on to try and take Burnley’s place? It was all around the time Dale, Burnley and Stockport were dead men fighting for re-election spots.

 

[Robshep]

When we talk about bankrolling it is usually someone taking over a team that isn't too far down the pyramid and investing enough money to give them an immediate advantage over most of the clubs in their division, pretty much all clubs will have had that happen at some time in their history...regardless of their current size.

Dorking started off playing at the bottom of the West Sussex League, a level where you find village team reserve sides, playing on a field sandwiched between a vineyard and Box Hill on the North Downs. They have since moved to a re-developed stadium near the town centre, which was obviously necessary for their continued development. I don't know if they have someone with disposable funds backing them but suspect that given the amount of time they have been on the rise it has to be pretty unlikely, there are some far easier targets in the local area for anyone who wanted to take over a club and fund a move upwards, rather than create one and start at the bottom.

Tranmere Rovers rise from where we are now to 3 play offs to get in the top division between 1987 and 1994 was bankrolled. No way a club that was struggling to get 1500 crowds in 1986 could be signing internationals in 1992 if we weren't. More sensible approach now.

 

[Salvador]

You have terrible luck with posting videos.

First link I’ve posted! I use various ad blockers so maybe why. I did notice a few others posted videos I couldn’t access. At least I didn’t paste a pornhub link I guess

 

[Robshep]

Weren’t Colne going on to try and take Burnley’s place? It was all around the time Dale, Burnley and Stockport were dead men fighting for re-election spots.

If i remember correctly their chairman tried to buy Burnley. They turned him down and he resigned from the league.

 

[Robshep]

First link I’ve posted! I use various ad blockers so maybe why. I did notice a few others posted videos I couldn’t access. At least I didn’t paste a pornhub link I guess

I have no idea how to put videos on anything other than Whatsapp.

 

[Salvador]

If i remember correctly their chairman tried to buy Burnley. They turned him down and he resigned from the league.

Crazy times. Now a days post re-election they would’ve come up. Probably something like Scarborough and disappeared mind you. But still.

 

[Robshep]

Crazy times. Now a days post re-election they would’ve come up. Probably something like Scarborough and disappeared mind you. But still.

Rushden and Diamonds were the warning sign.

 

[chipmunx]

Weren’t Colne going on to try and take Burnley’s place? It was all around the time Dale, Burnley and Stockport were dead men fighting for re-election spots.

We played Colne in the FA Trophy Semi-Final in 1990, and managed to beat them 1-0 away then drew 1-1 at home in the 2nd leg. That's the year they won promotion to the National League. I think there was also some talk of the Colne owner having business issues too - although i might be remembering that wrong. I know they couldn't get their ground up to standard quick enough and i think he also blamed the council for being very unhelpful at the time.
Incidentally we played Salisbury in the 2010 Trophy Semi Finals.... and like Colne they ended up folding later in the summer - so don't play us in Semi Finals guys - it's not good for your clubs health....

 

[AdamStag]

Rushden and Diamonds were the warning sign.

in fairness that was a quality ground for the conference/league 2, however the fact it was in a field in the middle of nowhere kinda didn’t work out.

 

[Robshep]

in fairness that was a quality ground for the conference/league 2, however the fact it was in a field in the middle of nowhere kinda didn’t work out.

Manufactured club from two tiny clubs with money behind it. Got to League 1 very quickly but once the money went they also went quickly.

 

[shoddycollins]

You have terrible luck with posting videos.

Think it's the site... there must be something under the hood at the moment that Youtube doesn't like because it won't allow any videos to be posted here.

 

[shoddycollins]

Rushden and Diamonds were the warning sign.

To be fair not much of a warning sign considering how quickly it all fell apart, if that was the sign of things to come then Salford are on borrowed time and should be bankrupt within a year or two... somehow I suspect that won't happen. It will happen eventually because they aren't really in a place to attract new fans and if they get into the Championship with the attendances they currently have, or even less once the novelty of supporting a small club run by your ex players wears off for ManU fans then I think the Co92 will quickly decide 'what are we actually hoping to achieve here?' and sack it off. The only way I can see Salford becoming a long-term league fixture is if they actually make it into the Premiership and convince disaffected ManU fans, rather than just treat them as a diversion, to actually sack ManU off altogether... but can't see that happening.

 

[AdamStag]

To be fair not much of a warning sign considering how quickly it all fell apart, if that was the sign of things to come then Salford are on borrowed time and should be bankrupt within a year or two... somehow I suspect that won't happen. It will happen eventually because they aren't really in a place to attract new fans and if they get into the Championship with the attendances they currently have, or even less once the novelty of supporting a small club run by your ex players wears off for ManU fans then I think the Co92 will quickly decide 'what are we actually hoping to achieve here?' and sack it off. The only way I can see Salford becoming a long-term league fixture is if they actually make it into the Premiership and convince disaffected ManU fans, rather than just treat them as a diversion, to actually sack ManU off altogether... but can't see that happening.

i think salford will be around to stay, you’re right that theyre not at their natural level due to investment but they’d be enough fans and money in manchester to keep them going

 

[Chief Rocka]

To be fair not much of a warning sign considering how quickly it all fell apart, if that was the sign of things to come then Salford are on borrowed time and should be bankrupt within a year or two... somehow I suspect that won't happen. It will happen eventually because they aren't really in a place to attract new fans and if they get into the Championship with the attendances they currently have, or even less once the novelty of supporting a small club run by your ex players wears off for ManU fans then I think the Co92 will quickly decide 'what are we actually hoping to achieve here?' and sack it off. The only way I can see Salford becoming a long-term league fixture is if they actually make it into the Premiership and convince disaffected ManU fans, rather than just treat them as a diversion, to actually sack ManU off altogether... but can't see that happening.

Rushden had A sugar daddy, Salford have about 8.

 

[Vanni]

....check check..... Youtube Videos.....

Hmm it's true then.

 

[shoddycollins]

That and/or Co92 pulling out. I went to a game of theirs a few years ago v Halifax. Think it was the season they came up from NL. Almost every other person there seemed to be a foreign tourist or someone wearing old United club gear. Soulless place full of bandwagoners. Nice food and beer on offer though, so that help make it seem less shit.

I don’t mind a small club growing. Christ, we’re minnows ourselves compared to most of the FL so I’d be over the moon if we rocketed up the leagues. But it’s just all so plastic at Salford. That and they’ve nabbed our top goal scorer on a free transfer 2 season in a row so they can fook off.

I'm quite happy to wish a quick demise upon Salford for numerous reasons.

As people have said, there's a difference between a non-league side getting into the league, even if it is done through a somewhat unsustainable cash injection, and Salford, and the fans are the big difference.

Football is for fans, and even if people may criticise the ways in which Crawley and FGR got into the football league; you can't really argue that the fans of those two clubs deserve league football less than fans of say, Wrexham or Halifax. Same if Wrexham get back into the football league on the back of Hollywood investment (when is Wrexham the movie coming out by the way?) even if people feel it's bad for football for clubs to just spend beyond their means and get success that way.

Salford are pretty much different to every other bankrolled club like this in terms of both how insignificant they were before being taken over and in terms of the wealth and influence of the people who took them over. It's basically the insignificance of R&D combined with the wealth of Wrexham... and whose benefit is that for? I'm not sure what Peter Lim expects out of it, think he's just helping out a mate, it's certainly not for the fans because there aren't any... so it pretty much benefits Neville et al's egos and nothing else.

Slightly tone-deaf from ManU fans who turn out to watch Salford as a protest against the Glazers too.

 

[shoddycollins]

i think salford will be around to stay, you’re right that theyre not at their natural level due to investment but they’d be enough fans and money in manchester to keep them going

Well I mean you just have to ask Bury or Rochdale how easy it is to attract fans when you've got two of the world's biggest clubs on the doorstep. Salford have the additional problem that half of these wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole.

 

[AdamStag]

Well I mean you just have to ask Bury or Rochdale how easy it is to attract fans when you've got two of the world's biggest clubs on the doorstep. Salford have the additional problem that half of these wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole.

True, but neither bury or dale were aligned to manchester united, the players wouldn’t bin them off it’d be too embarrassing for their egos.

 

[shoddycollins]

True, but neither bury or dale were aligned to manchester united, the players wouldn’t bin them off it’d be too embarrassing for their egos.

I think the higher up the leagues the go, the more that being aligned to ManU will become a handicap.

ManU fans might go along to watch a lower-league club run by the Co92. A lot of the anti-Glazer elements among the Salford fans enjoy they're not watching players who get paid seven-figure sums and all the other stuff that comes along with lower league football and might seem like a breath of fresh air to them; but once you get into the Championship then it starts to look a lot more like the Premiership. Especially if Salford continue to spend above the average of the clubs around them; Salford in the Championship would pretty much be signing Premier League players and paying them Premier League salaries. I think quite a few ManU fans would lose interest if Salford got to that level.

 

[Essex2Wessex]

I'd not care to predict Salford's future, there are too many unknown unknowns: do the funders get fed up after several more years of failing to get promoted out of here, or if they do go up, do they become fed up with splashing the cash in a way that a higher level (certainly the Championship) demands? (Hospitality being of necessity well off-site from Moor Lane being another pre- and presumably post-COVID oddity that can't help any pretence that they are run like a business rather than a vanity project) Not least as their stadium isn't adequate or intended for any higher than their current level. And, well the tickets costing a tenner and away travel being heavily subsidised isn't going to last forever, is it? (This season, even?). And it's not as if there's gonna be an influx of on the one hand Bury, or on the other hand Oldham or Rochdale fans pissed off at THEIR owners.

I like to think they'd implode in their current form of their own free will, but money and connections are, for a while yet, likely to remain on their side (how many televised games?)

I mean I'm a bit worried about our future once we move to EcoPark, which is conspicuously not in or within walking distance of Forest Green, and fear circumstances could conspire to send it all tits-up. But the problems that could cause that are mostly foreseeable (preventable? Hmm).

Salford are way murkier, and it's quite possible they could stick it out for a few years longer. But Greater Manchester is maybe probably the last place in England in which a new League club could sustainably grow and thrive. Regardless of how unpopular the Glazers are.

 

[northstandexile]

Once Salford get to the Championship, then they will ground share with Manchester United.